And so it happened that I had a bike ride again! SeweweeksPoort, the week after Cape Town. What an awesome ride... Next time I might actually try to not forget my water in LadiSmith the morning of the race! (That made for an interesting story...) Now, still struggling with the foot and having tapered/recovered for two weeks I am SO ready to do something. Might hit the gym tonight - before I actually hit somebody (or even worse, go running!)
NEVER measure your running progress/status against others' abilities. 7 min k's for 15 k's is most likely better than you dreamt of a couple of months ago. You do your pace and measure against yourself. There will always be somebody faster. And the most important measure is the size of the smile. If I was to measure my running against the distance or the pace some of my mates go, I'd be forever depressed. Do it and enjoy it!
If you're already racing a 15k, then a 21 finish should not be an issue. Do a couple of nice and slow 17-18 k runs before the 21 just for gradual increase and you'll be fine. Like everybody has said - gradual increase in pace or tempo (not both!) weekly and you'll remain healthy and enjoying it.
Because it's so close to CTM, just gentle stretching and rubbing/rolling. Also stretch the calve - slightly. Not pushing any of the stretches, just activating the area and stimulating the blood flow. I've been strapped to support the bridge area, but it is quite irritating. Edit: I have one of those b4play balls for rolling - love them!
Just came from the physio... so not as planned! Strained my foot a bit a couple of weeks ago and it's never gotten better. Now it's in a PF type state, but more towards the inside of the foot than the underside. (If that makes sense. Basically the big toe's bridge support tendon.) No land speed records were in any danger from me anyways, but now I'm just hoping to hit my goal. Expecting it to be a whole lot less fun than anticipated earlier.
I have a Bonati - love it. Unless specific requirements forces your hand, try and ride it out until a new version comes out... and it's about this time of year I bought mine, maybe a bit later. They tend to then want to get rid of the old one. Fortunately they had my size... (And I actually preferred the colour to the then new one!)
We were trail running once and I was wearing my Superiors - a first timer in the group also wearing Altra said her brother refers to them as the crocs of running! That says it all... they are just comfortable. I suppose it's not cool to say I am wearing my Altra Instincts (which is past their running days) at the office currently!
Sorry to hear, tjommies... take it easy and recover well. And know you're not alone. Also must've done something weird on my run Saturday. Sat afternoon started feeling stiffness in my one foot, but no worries, just a little tweakish feeling. Sunday morning was rainy and the foot was a bit worse, but towards evening it was quite manageable - walked quite a bit to try and get it working. Went for a run this morning and about a k in, it started giving notice. And by now it's is bleating like a wounded sheep, with this morning's pills having worn off. I'll definitely lay off running for a couple of days before the weekend's trailrun.
F5 ONLY uses your VO2Max values, nothing else. Not age, not experience, not all the other training data they have gathered. JUST VO2Max. I have the same predicted time than a 20-year-old who happens to have the same VO2Max as mine. About as accurate as saying I'm a musician based on the fact that I run with an ipod... (And this is not intended to get that debate started again!)
...and in the light of getting it horribly wrong - when in that level of trouble, we mostly revert to the hope (belief, at that stage!) that there's beer at the end.
I went through a couple of pairs of Altras already and no issues wrt suppliers? The suppliers aren't an issue, I even spoke to them directly and got very prompt and good feedback. Biggest problem is finding a shop that actually stocks them - but we're a bit more fortunate in Stellies with that. ​DJuice, similarly I have a hard time believing that HOKA has no supplier in SA any more. If you want to, I can find out from somebody I know - he's a brand ambassador for HOKA last time we spoke. And if I look at RUN store feeds, it very often features HOKA products.
Candz, it was a very lekker run! Well organized, except I do not think they expected the numbers - not enough portapotties by far! We were early, so no issues. But the people were still in a looong queue (decision time!) when the race was about to start. Only other mild issue was parking - having to cross the route right before the finish to get out. Run itself was great! Beautiful for a road run! Quite chilly but we expected to warm up quickly - and Red Hill provided this. Going up was fun and chatting pace - but my buddy is an out and out road runner. The moment it flattened out and/or we got the downhill, he was klapping it. So much fun to run with somebody for a change. We went through dips at different times - and then the other one was feeling strong and it was just gritting it and keeping up. So despite the discussion in the car being "just cruising for a sub-3", I told him at that uphill drag (the one you come flying down in Argus time in reverse direction, between the trees) that if this was his idea of cruising I picked the wrong day for a cruise. Big fun, first long run after Oceans, done. Feeling the legs a little this morning.
I am currently blessed with a lovely thick head. Head cold/sinus/allergy/whatever... And sore-ish throat to go. Early morning runs doesn't help much, but... pffff... Running a 30 with a buddy on Sunday, first long run I can remember since Oceans! He dragged me into it - Somewhere in Simons Town, incl Red hill. Will be a first for me, so looking forward to it. Except for the early rise to get there from Paarl!
That's weird... I also run in WC and have been using Saucony Peregrines (old 5's!) for over 850 k's now. Still going strong and I'm perfectly happy with them. Used my 8's for the first time the weekend and they felt just as awesome. Not sure what the diffs are between Peregrine and Xodus.
Sorry, but I had a jol, stopped everywhere. There were unadvertised wine at the second stop as well... and banana bread. Trust me, I had some. It was good. Also coke, water, powerade, jelly sweets, peanuts & raisins, fruit, squirt... what more is required? Oh, and chocolate at (at least) one point.
I may not be the most experienced runner and might get shot for this advise. But what I do is to run out and back on the same physical side of the road. That way I counter the camber since your one hip drops on going out, the other on return. Welcome to the club!
I'm not on this bus. You have to be able to run far to race far. And you can't race fast without ever having run fast. But you can't just do one thing/pace/terrain.
For me about 20s... but haven't run a 5k in anger in ages. That 5k was part of a half marathon (ironically not my best half) dating back more than a year.
Did Bastille a couple of years ago - awesome race! Just the shorter one though... 35? The pre-race drinks were essential! Was in the same valley this weekend on a much shorter run - and pretty glad I did not have to do river crossings on Sat morning!
