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Freeman's Wharfer

Running a Half Marathon

By Freeman's Wharfer, in General Chat

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David Guiza

David Guiza

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Xen said:

Anyone else had any races lately?

 

Had a month off back in June and spent July slowly ramping back up. Had my first race back yesterday - the Carl Rutt 10k in Whitwick. Ran it last year in 54:34 and managed to knock off 3 minutes from that this time around which of course I'm very happy with. Still a way off my 10k PB, but the course is super hilly in the first half so it's not really surprising. Started near the back and managed to keep reeling people in - first time in a long while that I think I nailed the pacing through the whole race.

 

I've got Equinox24 coming up in September which I'm woefully unprepared for, so I'll be treating that more as a social event and run-walking to - hopefully - 5laps (50k) or more. I'm then entered in Leicester marathon in October but the injuries put paid to that, so I'll be dropping to the half instead and seeing if I can beat last years time of 1h48.

Congrats!

 

I've got Windsor Half Marathon in September and Amsterdam in October. Hadn't realised Amsterdam doesn't start until 13:30 - i'm used to a 09:00am start! 

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Guest

Guest

Posted
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On 01/07/2019 at 18:00, Bob Weasel Fox said:

Not quite a half marathon but I entered the John Fraser 10 at Countesthorpe on Sunday September 8th last night 

 

limited places left, it sounds a good but challenging undulating sort of route

Good luck, but it’s a net uphill for the first half, and the last mile or so is uphill. 

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swanlee

swanlee

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On 12/08/2019 at 15:05, David Guiza said:

Congrats!

 

I've got Windsor Half Marathon in September and Amsterdam in October. Hadn't realised Amsterdam doesn't start until 13:30 - i'm used to a 09:00am start! 

Good luck. I entered Amsterdam years ago. I got Injured in the build up to it and couldn't make the start. I was so gutted I didn't even take advantage of the flight I'd booked and go over for a jolly. 

 

My only experience of an afternoon start was in Stockholm back in 2009. How to fill an evening before a big city marathon. I mean later start, means later night right? I started out with good intentions. But oh dear - i went to a spa, ended in the sauna. I then started suppin' a beer and ended up boozin' all night and well into the wee small hours (the sun doesn't go down in stockholm you know - the sky was pink!). I woke up feeling a bit groggy and to find a mini heatwave was in effect. The temperature was soaring! 

 

Tbf I'd ran the london marathon 5 weeks previously. And I was really unsure how I was supposed to train in between the two. But even so, the sauna, beer, late night & heat all combined and i suffered massively.  Not the best o' prep and my slowest ever marathon time by some way.

 

Lessons learned - stay well hydrated and get a solid nights sleep - whatever the start time!

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David Guiza

David Guiza

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On 24/08/2019 at 14:18, swanlee said:

Good luck. I entered Amsterdam years ago. I got Injured in the build up to it and couldn't make the start. I was so gutted I didn't even take advantage of the flight I'd booked and go over for a jolly. 

 

My only experience of an afternoon start was in Stockholm back in 2009. How to fill an evening before a big city marathon. I mean later start, means later night right? I started out with good intentions. But oh dear - i went to a spa, ended in the sauna. I then started suppin' a beer and ended up boozin' all night and well into the wee small hours (the sun doesn't go down in stockholm you know - the sky was pink!). I woke up feeling a bit groggy and to find a mini heatwave was in effect. The temperature was soaring! 

 

Tbf I'd ran the london marathon 5 weeks previously. And I was really unsure how I was supposed to train in between the two. But even so, the sauna, beer, late night & heat all combined and i suffered massively.  Not the best o' prep and my slowest ever marathon time by some way.

 

Lessons learned - stay well hydrated and get a solid nights sleep - whatever the start time!

Cheers! 

 

The route looks great, and the finish even better. I'm not looking forward to a 13:30 start though as you mention, though most of my training runs/general runs are almost always in the afternoon/evening as opposed to the morning. I am fearful of falling into your trap though as a mate of mine will be there, who is running also, but it's his birthday the day before. Either way it will be memorable I guess!

 

Just out of curiosity - did you get a ballot place for the London Marathon or charity? I've applied for the 4th/5th time but again not hopeful. I've looked into charity places, but the £2000 minimum is a hell of a stretch! 

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swanlee

swanlee

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Posted (edited)
18 hours ago, David Guiza said:

Cheers! 

 

The route looks great, and the finish even better. I'm not looking forward to a 13:30 start though as you mention, though most of my training runs/general runs are almost always in the afternoon/evening as opposed to the morning. I am fearful of falling into your trap though as a mate of mine will be there, who is running also, but it's his birthday the day before. Either way it will be memorable I guess!

 

Just out of curiosity - did you get a ballot place for the London Marathon or charity? I've applied for the 4th/5th time but again not hopeful. I've looked into charity places, but the £2000 minimum is a hell of a stretch! 

 Yeah - I mean who wants turn up in a foreign city - put their feet up, rest, sip water all evening and be in bed by 10pm. It's difficult one -  I love exploring on foot - my first overseas marathon (Copenhagen), I must have walked 42 km the day before the race sight seeing. And then there the saturday night nightlife! Takes discipline. 

 

The good thing about Stockholm was it was a Saturday afternoon. So while it was late May and bloody hot, come Saturday night its time for a big blow-out and everywhere is buzzin'.

 

Four or five times for london. You must be due a break soon. The run in 2009 was through the ballot. That's why I was doubled up with Stockholm five weeks later. Really wasnt expecting to get in. Although I have had to work hard to get there, I've been lucky enough to qualify for london since with good (smug) for age placings. The atmosphere is electric everytime. 

 

I wouldn't get to hung on getting in though. Law of averages says you'll get a place sooner rather than later. And there are so many great races. My favourite was Berlin. Great city for a post-marathon unravel. And after months of training, you need to blow off a bit of steam.

 

Hopefully the cautionary tale above will keep you on the straight n' narrow. But whatever, get the training in, put those miles in the bank and cash 'em in on the day of the race. Then you n' yer' mate can go and get well & truly Amsterdamned. All the best.

Edited by swanlee
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Xen

Xen

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Had a few ankle issues (yay, a different injury for once!) causing me to abort the third lap of a 3x10km training run for Equinox last week, so took the week off to let that recover. That time off just so happened to coincide with the heatwave and the inaugural Launde 6 race which by all accounts was a pretty tough one. Not feeling guilty at all about putting my feet up instead lol

 

Woefully unprepared even for Leicester Half, let alone Equinox on the 21st/22nd Sep. It's going to be awful, but oh well lol. Dropped my goal to 'just' 5 laps/50km, which over 24hrs is a very conservative effort and I can walk big chunks if needed.

 

Going to try and get back in the groove this week. Leicester Pride parkrun this Saturday, another Equinox training run on Sunday and hopefully I'll be ready to run JF10 the week after. Haven't ran JF10 before so looking forward to it.

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Xen

Xen

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2 hours ago, Stuntman_Mike said:

Anyone doing the Leicester half ? 

 

I'm really struggling to motivate myself this time round. 

 

Hasn't helped that my diet has been terrible lol

I'm entered for the full, need to let them know I'm dropping down to the half. On-off injuries all year means I've never really got into a rhythm with any sort of training - the last time I was consistently running for a full month was March, and before that it was November last year.

 

Running the John Fraser 10miler on Sunday and seeing how I get on with that - my ankle was noticable but not painful on my 8mile 'long' run yesterday, so I'm hoping by then I'm fully healed up. Then I've got Equinox 24h (eep!) in 3 weeks and Leicester HM 2 weeks after that. If I come out of those three with anything that even approaches a respectable result (by my standards) then I'll be shocked.

 

HM PB at Leicester last year was just under 1:48. Think I'd be content with a 1:55 this time around.

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Bellend Sebastian

Bellend Sebastian

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On 02/09/2019 at 10:32, Stuntman_Mike said:

Anyone doing the Leicester half ? 

 

I'm really struggling to motivate myself this time round. 

 

Hasn't helped that my diet has been terrible lol

Yeah, I'm in.

 

Not trained as much as I should've done so my bold plans of getting a PB won't come to anything but I should get round OK.

 

Keep getting massive blisters on my feet, but interestingly, they seem to be healing up faster each time

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Stuntman_Mike

Stuntman_Mike

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On 02/09/2019 at 12:57, Xen said:

I'm entered for the full, need to let them know I'm dropping down to the half. On-off injuries all year means I've never really got into a rhythm with any sort of training - the last time I was consistently running for a full month was March, and before that it was November last year.

 

Running the John Fraser 10miler on Sunday and seeing how I get on with that - my ankle was noticable but not painful on my 8mile 'long' run yesterday, so I'm hoping by then I'm fully healed up. Then I've got Equinox 24h (eep!) in 3 weeks and Leicester HM 2 weeks after that. If I come out of those three with anything that even approaches a respectable result (by my standards) then I'll be shocked.

 

HM PB at Leicester last year was just under 1:48. Think I'd be content with a 1:55 this time around.

I'd be more than happy with anything under 2 hours this time, in fact maybe even 2:30 my prep has been that poor!

 

Good luck with the runs before, I'm sure they'll set you up nicely for the Leicester one - sound sensible to step down this time from the full.

12 hours ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

Yeah, I'm in.

 

Not trained as much as I should've done so my bold plans of getting a PB won't come to anything but I should get round OK.

 

Keep getting massive blisters on my feet, but interestingly, they seem to be healing up faster each time

Have you got yourself some decent running socks? they make a massive difference.

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Bellend Sebastian

Bellend Sebastian

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Posted
1 minute ago, Stuntman_Mike said:

Have you got yourself some decent running socks? they make a massive difference.

The simple answer is 'no', but only last night somebody said pretty much the same thing to me, so I've done a bit of research today.

 

I didn't even know such things existed, which is ridiculous because OF COURSE they would, wouldn't they?

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Stuntman_Mike

Stuntman_Mike

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4 minutes ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

The simple answer is 'no', but only last night somebody said pretty much the same thing to me, so I've done a bit of research today.

 

I didn't even know such things existed, which is ridiculous because OF COURSE they would, wouldn't they?

haha it sounds so obvious but I was the same to start with!

 

makes the biggest difference and will stop you getting blisters straight away

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SystonFox

SystonFox

Posted
Posted
On 27/08/2019 at 09:18, Swan Lesta said:

Walked up Y Lliwedd side of the horseshoe of Snowdon yesterday and jogged back down into Llanberis.

 

Legs are a right state this morning!

I walked up y lliwedd side of snowdon early August and I must say it’s a fantastic route. Walked back down miners path but that route up and the scenery is pure stunning

 

autumn wolf run tomorrow. 3/4 for the year

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Xen

Xen

Posted
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10 hours ago, Bob Weasel Fox said:

Did the John Fraser 10 mile race in Countesthorpe today

 

1.18 ish in the end so pleased with that

'Grats mate.

 

Not too far behind you, just sneaking in under 1.21. Very happy with that given the lack of consistent training. I'll get you next year :thumbup:

 

Next up, Equinox...

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Izzy

Izzy

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, Bob Weasel Fox said:

Did the John Fraser 10 mile race in Countesthorpe today

 

1.18 ish in the end so pleased with that

That’s good going Bob, nice one :thumbup:

 

How the Fvck does Mo Farah do 13 miles in 59 mins though? That’s crazy pace! 

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