Great North Run 2011

My training is now finally progressing at a decent rate. For a while I have kept running a 7 minute mile and feeling like I was going to die. My fitness is now starting to increase as this morning I managed 3.5 miles in 26 minutes which I'm pretty happy with. At this rate I should be well on my way to my goal of the 13mile race in under 2 hours. :)

My new shoes feel good as well and are very comfy. It's mainly my lungs and lactic acid in my thighs holding me back now. One questions for other runners; If you go out running in the morning, do you eat breakfast before you head out, and if so what do you eat? At the moment I am running on an empty stomach, then coming back to boiled eggs. I am thinking I would be better off with some carbs before I start running (Like a bowl of oat granola)and this may help me run a little longer.

I have now also joined a gym. First time I have ever stepped inside a gym! It is mainly for access to free weights and resistance machines, but I will be doing a bit of additional cardio as well. Have started using the rowing machines as a warmup before hitting the weights. Planning on going to the gym 3 times a week (Monday, Wednesday & Friday) and am running on Saturday. I eventually plan on stepping that up to running on Tuesday and Thursday as well and leave Sunday as either a rest day or for walking/hiking. My body isn't going to know what hit it at this rate! :D
 
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Hi Kahn. Sounds like you're on the right track. I would urge you to slow down a bit and try and pace yourself a little better. The best thing I did for myself when I started running a couple of years ago was to buy a garmin watch. With this I was able to measure my pace and alter accordingly. At this stage you should concentrate on getting the miles under your belt. Once you've done this then you can start thinking about intervals, tempo runs, etc.
I would definitely eat breakfast before you go running - porridge and a banana is a great breakfast.
Doing weights alongside your cardio is a good idea but make sure you're eating enough else you will find yourself loosing weight and having low energy levels. MAke sure you're not over training - if you feel tired one day, then rest.
Build up the mileage slowly else you're very likely to pick up a niggly injury. Even if you think 'this is easy - I'll keep going' - don't. Be disciplined. I learnt this the hard way :(
 
Cheers UltimateBadger, I appreciate the advice. Yeah, I am trying to slow down and pace myself better. Today's run averaged 7.5 minutes a mile, so a little better, but I still need to get it a little slower.

I have actually been looking at getting a Garmin 305, not just for running but also to map and measure walks, as me and my GF often go on 15-25mile walks/treks. I do like the idea of it being able to set the pace as well as map my heart rate etc.

I'll make sure I don't increase the distance too fast. At the moment I am running 1 mile, then jogging a hundred yards or so, then running the next mile etc. I then plan on starting to remove those jogs. Add a few more miles with jogs over a few weeks and repeat. Any suggestion as for how much distance to add each run? Or should I just listen to my body etc?
 
The general rule of thumb is 10-15% per week I think - but you seem like you're relatively fit already. For your longest run per week I wouldn't add more than a mile on to the total distance. You've plenty of time so there's no need to go at it like a bull in a china shop :)
 
UltimateBadger said:
The general rule of thumb is 10-15% per week I think - but you seem like you're relatively fit already. For your longest run per week I wouldn't add more than a mile on to the total distance. You've plenty of time so there's no need to go at it like a bull in a china shop :)
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Looks like I broke that rule already, lol. Pleased with today's run. Managed a total of 5 miles at an average of 7.47minutes per mile (Have my Garmin Forerunner 305 now, so can analyse the pace etc) with a few jogs/walks inbetween to get my heart rate down and cool down. Heart rate generally sat between 160bmp and 180bpm with the highest being 187bpm.

My main adversary now is the heat. I run hot most of the time, but while running I absolutely burn up! Hope it isn't hot and sunny on race day! Going to look at buying some decent running tshirts/tops etc.

Anyway, that was tody's run. Pretty happy and I can see I am making progress. Also going to the gym 3 times a week for weights training, and warm up with 1Km (As fast as I can hammer it) on the rowing machine which is probably helping general cardio fitness. :)

Ps. The Garmin 305 is cool. Combining fitness with gadgets can't be bad. :D
 
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Good to hear your prep is going well. My running preparation has been hampered by ill health, but the last two weeks I have been comfortable getting back on the treadmill.

Last night, however, was a very strange night. So far this year, I have kept my runs down to 2 or 3km, at a reasonable pace (for me). The most I have ever managed in one go (since I started training last year) was a 6k in October/November last year. Last night I decided to go as slow as a man can go and still jog (8km/h) and I just went, and went, and went....and after exactly an hour and 8km on the clock, I stopped.

To be fair, I was starting to hurt at 5km, but I found it easy to run through.... I am suffering today though - thighs and calves are really sore...... but on the plus side, that's the furthest and longest run I've done in nearly 20 years. Felt like a real accomplishment - and a big step for me - very pleased, despite the pain :D
 
Congratulations on your PB. :) Feels good making progress doesn't it? I think I need to do some slower, longer distance runs now as well. Have also discovered that there is a weekly 5k run near me, so that could form a decent part of my training. :)
 
Messiah Khan said:
Congratulations on your PB. :) Feels good making progress doesn't it? I think I need to do some slower, longer distance runs now as well. Have also discovered that there is a weekly 5k run near me, so that could form a decent part of my training. :)
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What weekly event is that? Not sure I'd take part but I like to keep my options open, based entirely on how slow I am :D
 
Pookie Bear said:
What weekly event is that? Not sure I'd take part but I like to keep my options open, based entirely on how slow I am :D
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Ooh, didn't notice you were a fellow Geordie. The weekly run is the Newcastle Parkrun in exhibition park. It is entirely free, run by volunteers and caters for all abilities;

http://www.parkrun.org.uk/newcastle/Home.aspx

I think it's worth checking out even if I only go once or twice. :)
 
Haha! Based on the last set of results and my best 5k time (on a treadmill even!), I'd have come third last :D

I really need to get out on the roads - but I am suffering big time from my PB on Tuesday - blistered arch is really, really uncomfortable. Might need new shoes (even though these were made for my feet and running style!). My thighs feel like they're made of steel all the time. I think it will be next week before I can run again! :D
 
Messiah Khan said:
My training is now finally progressing at a decent rate. For a while I have kept running a 7 minute mile and feeling like I was going to die. My fitness is now starting to increase as this morning I managed 3.5 miles in 26 minutes which I'm pretty happy with. At this rate I should be well on my way to my goal of the 13mile race in under 2 hours. :)

My new shoes feel good as well and are very comfy. It's mainly my lungs and lactic acid in my thighs holding me back now. One questions for other runners; If you go out running in the morning, do you eat breakfast before you head out, and if so what do you eat? At the moment I am running on an empty stomach, then coming back to boiled eggs. I am thinking I would be better off with some carbs before I start running (Like a bowl of oat granola)and this may help me run a little longer.
:D
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Breaky depends on how much time I have before running and how far I'm going. Last Sunday I did a steady ~5 miles about 30 minutes after eating one piece of toast with jam (for breakfast). For a 10+ mile run or actual half marathon though, I'm up earlier and have a big bowl of porridge with syrup and possibly some dried fruit. I'll give that probably 2 hours to settle down. I think I'll need a bucket of porridge prior to the Edinburgh Marathon :D

One note about looking for a good time at the GNR - 50k+ runners means lots of zig-zagging and obstacles to dodge. Some people must put down times far quicker than they are capable of as we were passing people walking inside the first 3 miles. Unless you're in the 1st or 2nd start pen, I would take PB "chasing" with a pinch of salt (IMHO). Enjoy the atmosphere and event and see what happens with the time :)
 
:cool:

It's a great event - having to actually run seemed a disappoinment. The atmosphere around the start is fab, we got to talking to a lady (in one of the huuuuuuuge toilet queues) who lived in London and was going back home to Australia a week or so after the race.

Oh, toilet allowing, get into your start pen in plenty of time. Our pen had been released and were walking up towards the start line but runners were still the other side of the fence trying to get to their pen. The number of people who crossed the start line and went straight into the bushes for a call of nature was amusing.

There's plenty of fun to be had high-fiving all the kids watching and no end of locals dishing out sweets and biscuits.
 
Thanks for the advice guys. I'll be ok for toilets as I live down by the quayside so won't have far to go to the start line. I can also go ages without needing the toilet.

As for the amount of people near the start, this is now my biggest concern with regards to hitting my sub 2 hour target. How do you guys pace yourself? Is it wise to just stay at the pace of the masses until it starts to open up a bit, then use my saved energy to pick up the pace in the later stage of the race? Also does the crowd open up a lot later on, and if so whereabouts on the course can you start to stretch your legs?

On another note, really happy with today's training. Did a total of 6.6 miles in 56 mins 27 seconds, which is an average pace of 8:36 a mile (started off at 7:30 a mile, but this came down after about 2 miles). This would put me within my target 2 hours. I also did it with only one short jog break after the 4 mile mark (Because someone rudely put a big hill and steps 4 miles in!). Other than that I ran constantly with my heart rate around the 170bpm mark. I felt really good the whole run, my heart and lungs kept up absolutely fine. Infact I felt like I could have kept on going for quite a while longer. The bits that did start suffering a little bit were the tendons between the top of my legs and my groin, and my lower back (But this was from deadlifting at the gym yesterday). It made me really confident that I can run the distance, and suspect I will be able to get to the full 13 miles in training in the not too distant future. :)
 
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Yet more progress today. Managed 7.52miles in 1:03:01 which I am happy with. Can see a wall coming up though as the end was pretty hard. I am now managing to put myself in a sort of trance for much of it, but the lactic acid and some tendon pain started bugging me towards the end.

Last week I pushed it a little too hard and ended up suffering with groin tendon pain, and pain in the tendons of my foot. Nothing too bad, but a stark reminder that I can injure myself which would put the training right back. The tendons have recovered over the week, but I was anxious to see how they held up today. Fortunately they are fine so far. A slight ache from them, but nothing to worry about. The part that hurt the most today were my calves. Again I think it is mainly lactic acid build up combined with a slight pulling, but I need to keep an eye on it as I have had problem with my calves when hiking.

Although I already stretch before and after running, this is something I am going to have to pay even more attention to as my distances and times increase. :)
 
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emetic said:
Just remember the GNR is ages away, there's really no need to be pushing distances too early.
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Hehe, yeah I know it is a while away. I do however want to get to the full distance (and possibly further) a decent amount of time before the run. Then have time to work on getting the time down, working on my pacing etc so when it comes to the GNR, I can't just do the full distance, but be able to do it in a good time. I'm also hoping that I can end up getting in a position to consider a full marathon. :)
 
Pookie Bear said:
I like your ambition :D

I am still firmly set on actually finishing and nothing more! :D
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Hehe, I have ambition and stubborness but we'll see on the day if I have the skill and fitness, lol. :D

Today's run was hard! Did 6.8 miles, so down on last week and that was with a lot of walking/jogging in between. A few reasons for that; I have been feeling a little under the weather recently, and felt very phlegmy and tired. I have also walked 32 miles over the last 2 days, so my body is feeling a little punished. And finally I suffered quite badly after last weekends run, with my legs and feet being sore (The pain took 2 days to kick in!), so didn't want to end in the same situation this weekend (Especially as I have a session with a personal trainer in the gym tomorrow morning.)

While out running I felt disappointed at my performance, but with reflection I probably made the right decision for not pushing myself too far. Also looking at the graph of my distance, it is showing a good solid trend upwards, despite today's poor run.
 
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