The All New MSE Running Club.

Indie_Kid

fufu_banterwaite wrote: »

Strange isn’t it? Dean Karnezes says in his book when he ran a 199 mile relay race solo his quickest mile was his very last one which he did at under 6 minutes – that was after running continuously for 198 miles and 48 hours!

wow!

Whereas I start off too fast and my last few miles are generally the slowest.

donglemouse

Indie_Kid wrote: »

London 10,000 for me at the end of May.

I received an email yesterday from the Bournemouth Marathon Festival. (BMF) They informed me there's "only" 22 weeks to go until my half.

Question for more experienced runners:
I've looked at various half marathon training plans. Some say to run for xx minutes and others say xx distance. I know we're all different; but is it better to run by time or distance?

if you search the net you can find a million training plans - of course all different

asics (the shoe manufacturer) has a program on their website myasics which I find helpful you enter a few parameters (how far/fast you can run, if you are training for an event, how many times a week you want to run etc) and then it creates a program for you

you run a mix of distances/speeds with the aim of both helping you to run further and faster

fufu_banterwaite

Indie_Kid wrote: »

Question for more experienced runners:
I've looked at various half marathon training plans. Some say to run for xx minutes and others say xx distance. I know we're all different; but is it better to run by time or distance?

I know everyone is different, but I’d say for something as relatively short as a half-marathon you don’t need a proper training plan, especially you Indie who has been running a while. I think you’d only need one for a marathon upwards.

I did my first half-marathon seven months after a big knee op, I only really started to do any serious jogging a month beforehand. All I would say is just make sure you are comfortable running at least 10/11 miles beforehand and then taper down in the week before.

donglemouse

each to their own personally i like a plan as then i just follow the instructions as to how far/fast to run - fwiw the asics plans i have used do take you up to a max 11 miles before a half marathon then cut the distance back in the 2 weeks before hand to allow recovery, so that's consistent with fufu's suggestion & most of the half marathon plans out there

fufu_banterwaite

I catch your drift DM, I guess what I meant is for a half-marathon it isn't essential to have a plan, you can easily prepare for one without one, but they can be handy if you are aiming for a particular time, etc.

Lizling

Isabella_Duke wrote: »

I had run my first marathon in 3 hrs and 17 mins within a year of my first run and was training for a 2 hr 45 min marathon when I injured my knee.

Wow, that is SERIOUSLY impressive stuff. I know a guy who runs that kind of time a year after doing his first 5k race, but he was a very fit non-smoker before he started running. This gives me hope that I might still manage my current target of running a marathon in spring fast enough to earn a gfa place in London the year after (3 hours 45):D I went to watch the London marathon and found it really inspiring. I can't help but feel that if *they* can run it in 2 and a half hours, why can't I? Totally overlooking little things like lack of talent of course... hey ho.

I'm on an easy week this week because I felt like I was starting out on tired legs on Monday's run, even though Sunday had been a rest day. I've spent the last month gradually building back up from 2-3 sessions a week to 4-5 and I've been pushing myself quite hard. Today might be the first day in a week that my muscles don't ache. Just goes to show how much fitness I'd lost, I suppose!



How about dried fruit and nuts or some flapjacks for the ultramarathoning food? And jellybabies.

Indie_Kid

Lizling wrote: »

How about dried fruit and nuts or some flapjacks for the ultramarathoning food? And jellybabies.

These sound like a good idea.

I am currently not using a plan and am just playing it by ear. Not quite going how I hoped. But I have until August at least.

swingofthings

Hello. Nice to see a page dedicated on running so thought I would say Hi too.

I am 43, married with 3 kids. Used to be fairly fit when i was younger; rugby and rowing helped! I also did a bit of running too; did the London Marathon and the New York Marathon along with the Great North Run a few times. My best time for the marathon was 4 hours 30 minutes whilst i managed 1 hour 45 minutes in the half-marathon. But I never seriously trained for these events as my "natural" fitness carried me through.

Last year I decided I had put on too much weight - was tipping the scales at 18 stones - so tried to sort out my diet and do some exercising aka running. I hadn't run for around 10 years so this was a big committment to make.

I now run twice a week and I eat fairly healthily although i still have too much chocolate especially when the little one is up at 2am in the morning like he was last night.

When I started running again last year I was doing 3 and a half miles in around 40 minutes (round about 11:50 minutes a mile). I did a 5.5 mile run on Monday in 47 minutes which was around 8:57 minutes a mile) so I have made great strides (sic) in the last year!

Like some people above, I find the first two miles are sub 8-minute miles whereas the last few miles are slower but that is because the course gets hilly.

Some quick advice for you ... I use the MapMyFitness app - allows me to listen to music whilst I run AND hear mile updates of how I am doing. It is great for tracking runs. I know there are other apps out there (a lot of people swear by RunKeeper) but I am sticking with what I know for now.

I also made an effort and got some proper running gear (t-shirt and shorts). Makes me feel more of a runner then using my baggy shorts and ripped tshirt that I used to run in.

Finally, I think it always helps to run with others. I run on my own and I am doing ok. But when i started doing running again last year, i did a relay at work within the first month of taking up running again and did 1.6 miles in around 14 minutes which equated to just over 9 minute miles. So, one could argue, that I haven't sped up in the last year but I don't think you can under-estimate peer pressure, so to speak!

I keep meaning to try out the park-run but it is always hard to get out at 9am on a Saturday due to our youngest having no sleep pattern of any description at the moment!

Cheerio for now

fufu_banterwaite

Lizling wrote: »

How about dried fruit and nuts or some flapjacks for the ultramarathoning food? And jellybabies.

Thanks Liz – yes it is dried fruit and nuts and flapjacks I eat when I go out for my long runs. I am hoping it was having my breakfast too close to going out for a run that caused the dodgy stomach last time round, will give it an extra hour to digest when I go out for my long run this Saturday.

pablakeman

I am training for a half-marathon (well, technically, I am only 5 runs in) and although I don't have a plan, I will do in a month or so. I guess it just helps a lot of people and there is certainly no harm in having one! I had a quick look at the asics site but I work in km rather than miles, so I might start tracking in miles from now on anyway.

Off out for a run tonight hopefully, I just need to spend 6 hours in the library first!