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With Wangaratta Half (pedestrian 2:07 after spending it all in the first 15km) and Port Macquarie (4th last to finish the treble breakwall buster), had a curve ball thrown for South Africa with their committee basically being told by Athletics South Africa to enact the rule stating any international (i.e anyone who isn't a South African) has to get a clearance from their federation to run, which has normally only been enacted for those in contention to win the race, finish top 10 or win an age group (think an Aussie did so in the over 65s last year from memory). Whilst I've been told just to sit tight (which I may do until next week if nothing happens), other federations around the world are actually demanding money to get their runners a clearance. Whilst it is in the rulebook it's odd that this is one of very few races where an athlete's clearance (as opposed to a medical clearance which French marathons require) is demanded.
 
Looking for a few tips.
Not aiming to complete a marathon or anything like that, just want to run a good time for an 8km in January next year.
Hopefully start training this week, I probably run a 5 minute K at best at the moment.
So any Do's and Dont's would be greatly appreciated!
 
Plenty of time so you can build slowly. Depends what you're doing now and what your base is.

Parkrun might be a good start if there's one local to you. Free 5km time events every week. Walkers and runners all welcome.

Don't be shy to walk, then walk/run to get started.

Maybe aim for a 5km fun run along the way.

Overall at this point I'd just be looking to get active and run for fun. Get some kms in and build up the distance and pace as you go along. January next year is so far away and way over the top in terms of a training plan from now to then for a single 8km event.

Maybe tell us a bit about yourself. Age, current fitness etc....so we know where you're starting at. Also your profile says you're from Ballarat which is a super strong running community. Find a group and join them. So much better for motivation and inspiration (and ideas) if you have people to run with. All the better if they have some experience. Perhaps head in to The Running Company shop up there and ask about the group runs they run weekly. Julian the owner is a high class runner and coach and should be able to point you in the right direction.

https://www.therunningcompany.com.au/ballarat/

https://www.facebook.com/therunningcompanyballarat/
 

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stmookeyj said:
With Wangaratta Half (pedestrian 2:07 after spending it all in the first 15km) and Port Macquarie (4th last to finish the treble breakwall buster), had a curve ball thrown for South Africa with their committee basically being told by Athletics South Africa to enact the rule stating any international (i.e anyone who isn't a South African) has to get a clearance from their federation to run, which has normally only been enacted for those in contention to win the race, finish top 10 or win an age group (think an Aussie did so in the over 65s last year from memory). Whilst I've been told just to sit tight (which I may do until next week if nothing happens), other federations around the world are actually demanding money to get their runners a clearance. Whilst it is in the rulebook it's odd that this is one of very few races where an athlete's clearance (as opposed to a medical clearance which French marathons require) is demanded.
Click to expand...

Ah that sucks. Hope it's a smooth, and cheap, process.
 
MinerBoy said:
Plenty of time so you can build slowly. Depends what you're doing now and what your base is.

Parkrun might be a good start if there's one local to you. Free 5km time events every week. Walkers and runners all welcome.

Don't be shy to walk, then walk/run to get started.

Maybe aim for a 5km fun run along the way.

Overall at this point I'd just be looking to get active and run for fun. Get some kms in and build up the distance and pace as you go along. January next year is so far away and way over the top in terms of a training plan from now to then for a single 8km event.

Maybe tell us a bit about yourself. Age, current fitness etc....so we know where you're starting at. Also your profile says you're from Ballarat which is a super strong running community. Find a group and join them. So much better for motivation and inspiration (and ideas) if you have people to run with. All the better if they have some experience. Perhaps head in to The Running Company shop up there and ask about the group runs they run weekly. Julian the owner is a high class runner and coach and should be able to point you in the right direction.

https://www.therunningcompany.com.au/ballarat/

https://www.facebook.com/therunningcompanyballarat/
Click to expand...
is that you Moose? ;)
 
Haha. No PoopingHindi it's not lol. He does coach my running partner though lol.
 
So Canberra was pretty slow after the first 10km or so (no directional issues this time!), Cairns was brutal in that only 4 finishers broke 3 hours (I didn't), Wings for Life done and dusted with a similar distance to last year (16.79km for me). Now it's just a final long training run this weekend before winding down to the start line in Durban.
 
UTA 100 for me this weekend, can’t wait. Training has been OK, little bit up and down but hopefully enough to get through in one piece.
 
Had a 14:02 mate, 2 mins away from a silver buckle, bugger bugger. Enjoyed the event, spectacular scenery of course, really well organised but so many bloody stairs... was brutal. My left knee started playing up coming down Ironpot, about 30kms in, so all the downhills were really painful through the knee after that. Anyway hung in there, gave it everything and went up Furber Steps as hard as I could manage at the finish but couldn't sneak under 14 hours. Aid stations were pretty good (not as good as Surf Coast Century with the soup and risotto etc)... missus was volunteering at the 70km aid station so was nice to see her while I'm in a world of hurt for a bit of encouragement. Would certainly recommend the race!
 
To try to cut a very long story short (you can read my blog for the long story), I fell 2km shy of the last intermediate cutoff last Sunday at Comrades, which was 10km from the finish. Was considering pulling the pin because of knee issues at mid distance, but a little magic spray that really kicked in at the top of the 4th climb (Inchanga) saw me plow on. Even if I made the last cut off it would have been touch and go whether I would have made the final 12 hour finish line cutoff for a medal. The next 2 Comrades are DOWN runs (Pietermaritzburg start) as the 2021 event is the 100th anniversary of the first ever race. It was the fastest ever Women's UP run being the first time a female has broken 6 hours.

If anyone new wants to tag along for 2020, they're reserving 7000 of the 25000 spots for novices provided they run their qualifier (minimum sub 4:50 marathon, any course and chip time accepted as long as it's officially timed) prior to entering (from what I've been told unofficially the Perth City to Surf Marathon in late August is on the same day as the start of the qualifying period). I've also heard someone tried 15 times before finishing for the 1st time, so that means I've still got another 12 attempts before I break that record.

My schedule for the rest of the year
JULY 7: Gold Coast (will decide this week whether it will be the half or full, leaning towards the full)
AUGUST 25: Perth City To Surf (whether I enter the full or half marathon will depend on when the Comrades qualifying period starts)
SEPTEMBER 15: Sydney (Half Marathon)
OCTOBER 13: Melbourne (Marathon, my 7th Melbourne)
NOVEMBER 30: Singapore (yes it's a Saturday Night marathon starting at the GP pit area, tentatively scheduled pending finances)
 
This thread was linked from another one.. So if it's ok I'm just doing the ol copy/pasta job from there to share my story



I am coming up to the year mark of when I started to have a go at running.
As a kid I always hated running, I had a motto I'd stolen from a work mate "never run unless you're being chased"

Then a couple of years ago I did the couch to 5k plan and actually enjoyed it.. Then dropped away..

Last year I was looking to try get fit and figured I needed some motivation or a goal, a mates wife registered for the 10k at the Melbourne Marathon and I thought.. I can do that, so I registered as well giving myself 10 weeks to prepare.

Did the couch to 10k plan, goal was under an hour for the 10, i did it in 57 mins... Did a 10k in Geelong a month later wanted to get under 55, i did it in 53ish...

Then I was hooked on both the goal setting and motivation from it, and also just the great feeling after the run and how it cleared my mind.

Asked a few experienced runners I knew if I should tackle a half marathon or build up more as the half was only 6months after i started.. Was a 50/50 split really... Some saying to go for it, others saying to wait a year.

I went for it, trained for and did my first half marathon in Feb.. Goal was under 2.10, i had a shocker. Lost my way with my race plan, hit the wall massively about the 16k mark and it was the hardest thing I'd done.. Came in at 2.11 and was filthy that i didn't hit my goal.
Entered my 2nd half marathon in April, aimed for 2.05 or under.. My dream result was 2 hours. Stuck to my plan, had a really really good consistent run and learnt from my previous experience.. Came in at 1.58.
Was over the moon, 6 weeks or so from the run till end of May I'd just been doing 1 or 2 5-7k runs a week. Started going again currently building back up then next week start my next program which will take me to the Melbourne Marathon Half in October and will see how i go this time... (We have just had a newborn 3 weeks ago, so while I'm off work I'm enjoying easy access to runs.. When back at work it is going to challenge me no doubt)

Also trying to work on getting my 10k under 50mins.... Speed has never been my friend so just trying to build it up to be somewhat respectable.
 
Awesome stuff Willo_

Goal setting and ticking off some events is a great way to get started. Then once you meet a few like minded people, follow on strava etc, the motivation seems to build from there.
 

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MinerBoy said:
Awesome stuff Willo_

Goal setting and ticking off some events is a great way to get started. Then once you meet a few like minded people, follow on strava etc, the motivation seems to build from there.
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Cheers mate,
Strava and the goal setting certainly helps motivate me, and even though I've only been going 10 months.. Learning tricks and what works for me along the way.
Learnt I hate the treadmill, don't like running and not going/getting anywhere
Worked out podcasts are the best distraction for me and help me clear my head the best
Learnt how to pace myself at the start of a run and how to ignore others around me so I don't gwt dragged along at a pace I can't handle.
And most importantly learnt that as a 36 year old blole carrying a couple of extra KGs (a number that is dropping though) i don't need to compare myself to the good runners.. I just need to be better than i was a week ago etc
 
I've got a tip that worked for me, but obviously everyone is different. I worked my running cadence up to about 180 steps per minute (slowly over a few sessions) and I found that it is just free speed! I have also been pulling up less sore so it is win/win.

I used to run at about 168 spm or so, jut tried to ramp up to 172 then 176 a couple of weeks later, etc. It feels weird for a start, but I found that I can pretty much do a 5 minute warm up now and drop straight into around 180 pretty easily as well. I also found that quicker music helped with the steps as well.
 
I tried cadence focus but found I couldn't do an easy run (battling injuries currently) … focus on cadence meant speed picked up when I just need to run 'easy'.

thegrach have you found you can run 180 and still run fast, easy, slow etc
 
i'm not a fan of changing your natural gait just to hit some arbitrary number...unless you're seriously overstriding and it's causing injuries.
and as Miner says it will likely vary depending on pace.
...but if it work for you then :thumbsu:

180 (minimum) is a number Jack Daniels came up with while watching elite athletes at a track meet. i'm fairly certain that what they were doing doesn't apply to me.
180 cadence being optimal is one of those things that seems to have just become accepted as fact by the wider community without much research to support it.
a bit like maxHR = 220-age.

here is what Steve Magness and Alex Hutchinson (2 people who are well regarded in running, except perhaps on the letsrun forums) have to say about it.
www.scienceofrunning.com

180 isn’t a magic number- Stride Rate and what it means

Speed= Stride Rate X Stride length It’s simple. It warrants repeating. Through in Ground contact in and you’ve got a nice model….But I digress… There have been a recent surge in articles and blogs …
www.scienceofrunning.com www.scienceofrunning.com
 
PoopingHindi said:
i'm not a fan of changing your natural gait just to hit some arbitrary number...unless you're seriously overstriding and it's causing injuries.
and as Miner says it will likely vary depending on pace.
...but if it work for you then :thumbsu:

180 (minimum) is a number Jack Daniels came up with while watching elite athletes at a track meet. i'm fairly certain that what they were doing doesn't apply to me.
180 cadence being optimal is one of those things that seems to have just become accepted as fact by the wider community without much research to support it.
a bit like maxHR = 220-age.

here is what Steve Magness and Alex Hutchinson (2 people who are well regarded in running, except perhaps on the letsrun forums) have to say about it.
www.scienceofrunning.com

180 isn’t a magic number- Stride Rate and what it means

Speed= Stride Rate X Stride length It’s simple. It warrants repeating. Through in Ground contact in and you’ve got a nice model….But I digress… There have been a recent surge in articles and blogs …
www.scienceofrunning.com www.scienceofrunning.com
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Fair point, as I said I found that it have me some extra speed and better recovery, but obviously everyone is different.
 
Nice Willo_ best motivation is to find training partners, join Strava and keep revising and improving your own pbs. Try trail running, train in a few pairs of diff shoes and mix them up and don’t run every run flat out, slow runs are just as important. Nice reading your story, stick with it, it soon enough becomes addictive.
 
I'm on Strava, have joined the BF group as well.

I'm not sure if reading back a few pages is good for me motivation wise or crushing :tearsofjoy:

Also further to seeing the post asking about podcasts, I've been enjoying Casefile when I run, although it isn't ideal if you are going for a run in the dark!
If you are into NBA then the Ringer ones are good, they also do one called the Rewatchables about movies which is great, Zac Tuohy and Lachie Henderson have just started one that is only a few eps in but a very good listen.. But footy related at all..

Currently on the hunt for others to listen to myself though as i start to run more and therefore listen more.


Also am I right in that I've started to find I'm craving the run, my back and body tightens up if I go a few days without one.. It loosens me up, I'm short as and grumpy without after a few days.. It clears my mind and gives me focus and energy
 
Craving for runs is normal! Try Inside Running, it’s a ripper podcast, 3 Aussie elite marathoners, great to hear how they go about it and they have funny stories and great guests.
 
I'm in but if a running dry spell at the moment. Last run was last Friday (21st) and due to family and work commitments at the moment it's now Wednesday night and I haven't gotten out.

Getting itchy.
 
Ran the Sri Chinmoy half at Albert Park 1.5 weeks ago, stoked with a 1:25:31, a pb by 3 mins, and at 50 yrs old. Perfect weather and no wind made for ideal running conditions.
 
Harro59 said:
I'm in but if a running dry spell at the moment. Last run was last Friday (21st) and due to family and work commitments at the moment it's now Wednesday night and I haven't gotten out.

Getting itchy.
Click to expand...

I haven't run at all for nearly 6 weeks (physio recommended spell) and haven't run well for 6 months.

Going out of my mind.
 

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