GRcade

How often does everyone change their running shoes? My plantar fasciitis is starting to come back and I'm wondering whether it's down to the support going in my current pair of shoes. Last summer I had it and then it went away over the winter even though I was still out 3 times a week but I did buy a new pair of asics round about September/October. I'm probably at around 500km in the current pair.

I don't really have a set time. Just when they seem worn out. Manufacturers recommend replacements ever 200-250 km I think, but I always for way over that.

I signed up for a half marathon a while back as boyfriend is doing the full. Now it's suddenly arrived

Never done any sort of race of any distance before, and certainly haven't done the prep I should have for this. Any tips on not dying?

I've also ended up in a middle wave rather than at the back due to a number misallocation. I think that's okay though, at least it gives me a fighting chance of not coming last.

Red wrote:I signed up for a half marathon a while back as boyfriend is doing the full. Now it's suddenly arrived

Never done any sort of race of any distance before, and certainly haven't done the prep I should have for this. Any tips on not dying?

Just take it slow. Make sure you get plenty of water. It won't be as bad as you think.

If you get too tired you can walk although I would try not to.

Post about it on Facebook and drop it in to conversation as much as possible.

Yeah you'll be fine. Drink more than you think you need, your legs will probably start going around 10-11 miles in just through fatigue and that's generally a good time to pop something sugary to get you to the end (you might not need to but it helps.

It can help to have a mins/mile time to aim for but I only use one to pace myself, not speed up - the worst thing in a half is doing the first 4-5 miles too fast and then 4 miles later feeling dead because of it. Take it steady and see how you feel near the end.

Red wrote:
Never done any sort of race of any distance before, and certainly haven't done the prep I should have for this. Any tips on not dying?

I've done two, both times with not enough training. The first was horrendous and I was in bits afterwards; the second was great and I had a great time.

The differences were:

1) I went off too hard the first time. Felt great for 7 miles then hit the wall. The latter half of the race was torture. It's not in me to slow down/walk, so I near killed myself carrying on.

2) The second time, I paced myself better. Don't go off too hard: you'll lose more time in the second half if you're tired, than you would by relaxing a bit in the first half.

3) EAT SWEETS! Even if you don't think you need to, take some sugar on board in the first half. If you wait til you feel like you need it, it's already too late. Use gels or whatever you're comfortable with. But definitely do it.

Most important thing is not to go out too fast because you've got carried away in the excitement. Adrenaline will get you a long way but you need to start slowly. I tend to get overtaken a bit for the first 6 or 7 miles but then make more than the same number of places up in the final 6. I had a proper sprint finish at my most recent half for the last 100m or so and made up 15 or so places just in that time. Finishing strong is a great feeling!

Carry haribos or jelly babies loose in your pockets. Life savers.

Drink small amounts all the way through. If you feel really thirsty then your performance is already suffering.

Enjoy it! The events are such great days out! Which are you doing, out of interest?

Thanks for this, guys! That's all very helpful. Wasn't really sure about eating/drinking but will make sure I do. The pacing thing I will be super aware of, thanks!

I'm aiming roughly for 2 hours 15/20 mins I guess but I'll be happy just to make it round in one piece. I have to be fine so I can scrape my boyfriend off the pavement and carry him home when he finishes the full marathon.

I'm doing the Robin Hood one in Nottingham. It's all around where I live so hoping I won't get too caught out. There's a massive hill about a quarter of the way through, but I walk/cycle/jog up it every day coming home from work so I know how to handle it. Sort of.

I've not mentioned it to anyone so if I totally flunk it they will never know. I'm considering it a test - if I do it again, I can only get better from this point.

Glasgow half marathon today. Imma terrible person who doesn't train any more so was looking to just get round. Was surprisingly warm for Scotland in October, but managed to get round in 2:22. I'm happy enough with the time but the fact that I kept a good pace, didn't have to stop and felt very comfortable is even better.

Nice one Bunni - how did it go Red?

Had the Bournemouth Half Marathon yesterday. Fortunate with the weather and really pretty scenery. Recommended!

Am considering doing this Cotswalds 24 hour relay (9km loop, teams of up to eight) with a few friends - one person on tram at all times 12pm-12pm. Looks really fun!

Last week i did a local 10k. Managed to get 52:55 which was pretty good seeing as though I only really trained for the distance in the last 2 weeks.

Ive also signed upto another local 10k - the mad dog 10k. Entries opened on friday night, 2500 places and entries closed this morning. sold out really quickly. Its been voted the UKs best 10k in runners world magazine for the last few years apparently.

Mini E wrote:Nice one Bunni - how did it go Red

It was great! Had a really good time. Fantastic atmosphere. Learned a lot, like running is hard. Want to do some training and do it properly. All the advice was super helpful, so thanks. Got the time I predicted, so not fast but no worse than I hoped.

My boyfriend did his marathon in a great time, but proper wrecked himself doing it. Think I'll stick to doing the half...

I ran six miles today in about 53 minutes. It felt pretty difficult, although I did drink quite a lot Sunday night.

Got under 25 minutes for 5km last week for the first time since injuring my knee and the operation.

Men's Health: Survival of the Fittest in Nottingham this Saturday!
Pull up last night 2km into a run after my calf pulled

Cuban Pete wrote:Got under 25 minutes for 5km last week for the first time since injuring my knee and the operation.

Men's Health: Survival of the Fittest in Nottingham this Saturday!
Pull up last night 2km into a run after my calf pulled

What op did you have? What was the recovery time like, and did you get much physio help?

I am currently 12 days into my shoulder op recovery. I currently have very little movement in my upper arm.

I know trying to run on a post-op knee is completely different, and much harder, than running with a bad shoulder, but just wondering how you got on with it.

Meniscus repair to two tears.

Did a few physio sessions, was with a great bloke who basically gave me 8 sessions-worth in 3 sessions with all the basic movement and balance drills but then went through the next progressions and progressions after that.
I was doing a lot of prehab work too due to the actual wait for the op I was like 70-80% so could do most things. Op was 5 months ago and I'm back to 100kg squat and 140kg deadlifts. Running is fine, just when I go off-camber or when I'm trail-running and OCR stuff I tend to ease of a bit just in case. Little bit wise but little bit all in my head I think I do find it difficult to generate the same power from my quad on the op-knee side in the push-phase of running, but it's coming back.

I got through Spartan Sprint and Beast on consecutive days in July and that was tough (/silly!)

I achieved 22:03 at Parkrun a few weeks ago. The week after I got around 22:25. The week after 22:45. Weekend just gone 22:57.

Running strength is so much harder to keep compared with weightlifting strength!

So I've been put in the Orange wave for the Great South Run. This is the wave that starts with the elite runners... Hohum... I think that may be an error on their system this could be interesting. I can race Jo Pavey for the first 400m at least. On the plus side, I ran 10k in 50:56 at the weekend so my confidence is reasonably high at the moment.