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I must be mad - The Great North Run !

Beach bum

Beach bum

Hello all I have just signed up to do the great North Run (which is a half marathon in September in the UK) in aid of crohns and colitis. :ybatty:

I am really rubbish at sticking to a exercise timetable and I am not really a fan of running at all :lol2:

I will be keeping a diary of my training here, if for no other reason than to shame myself into doing it, especially by reminding myself why I am doing it and how lucky I am to be well enough to even considerer it.

Now where did I leave my sports bra ....?
 
Cat-a-Tonic

Cat-a-Tonic

Super Moderator
You can do it, Beach Bum! That's great that you're well enough to consider undertaking something like this, and I look forward to hearing about your progress in training for the run. Have you done any running at all lately or are you basically starting your training from scratch? If it's the latter, I have heard good things about the "couch to 5K" program - haven't done it myself but others on the forum have mentioned having good results with it. Here's the link to it:
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/

Good luck and have fun!
 
Beach bum

Beach bum

That seems like a good plan and website , thanks.

Yes I am starting from scratch, I did a bit last summer, but I especially struggle with motivation in the winter time and havent really been doing anything.
I will probably start with a bit of dog-jogging , which means doing a bit of jogging when I am walking the dog , it's quite good because it has natural breaks for snifffing , peeing ect. (her not me haha ).
 
Cat-a-Tonic

Cat-a-Tonic

Super Moderator
I hope your dog is a better jogger than my dog. When my brother was living with me awhile ago, he tried taking my dog out on jogs. My dog is a corgi, so she has short stumpy legs, and she's a bit overweight too, so not really an ideal dog for jogging with. Sure enough, they made it about 2 blocks and then my dog decided no more and she stopped and refused to go any further. We take her on long walks all the time and she does okay with those, but I guess jogging was just not her thing! :p
 
Grumbletum

Grumbletum

:ylol: Lol good on you. I wish you all the very best. Your post did make me laugh. Our boy Beagle stops every two seconds to pee, sniff etc. and can't be let off the lead or he'd head for the hills and/or go after the sheep.
A group of friends here are doing the Edinburgh moonwalk. I am tempted, but would need to get out of hibernation mode. It is soooooo cold and wet here.
 
Beach bum

Beach bum

Yes it is horribly cold and wet here (we are in the south, although thankfully not hit by floods, we are soaked all the time).

I did my first dog-jog today - about 2 miles.

She loved it and seems to find it annoyingly easy :pika: , I found it a bit of a struggle getting up the hill but actually did a lot better than I hoped. I have been cycling to work lately, it is only 7 mins there and 7 mins home but I think it must have strengthened my legs some , which is good. :ylol:
 
Cat-a-Tonic

Cat-a-Tonic

Super Moderator
I must admit, I giggled a little bit at your dog finding jogging to be "annoyingly easy." :p Yes, I think any exercise is beneficial so I would bet that cycling has helped your leg strength and stamina. Well done, keep it up!
 
A

Axelfl3333

Good luck,I stay near a loch with lots of trees and walks and paths and just recently there's lots of people jogging with there dogs it's cool!
 
dave13

dave13

Forum Monitor
Location
Maine
An ambitious undertaking...might give me some motivation! My dogs stop and wait for me on walks.Good way to fight the awful weather blahs too.Good luck!
 
Beach bum

Beach bum

So I thought it was about time for an update.

Since beginging training we have done quite a few long distance cycles and short distance jogs, I try to do something every other day and have seen my fitness improve.
I am still enjoying jogging with the dog and can actually go quite far with her now.

But I am struggling with doing any distance over about 3 miles without stopping, on my own
I have decided to give music a go. My husband doesn’t hold with it and made some disapproving noises when I mentioned it – but I really just need something to take my mind off the constant winging in my head.
“My feet hurt. Oh no I’ve pulled something! Has it really only been 5 minutes? Are we there yet?” :boring: ect.

I will let you know how it goes :runaway: :smile:
 
Al77

Al77

I'm a keen runner. I started with Couch to 5k and it worked well for me. I'm in reasonable condition but needed a gentle start as I have a whole bunch of injuries.

You'll be fine for the run. It's only a half marathon and you have plenty of time to work up to it (September right?). I say "only" because, honestly, it's relatively short. We're running animals, we just spend too much time on our bums staring at computer screens and driving to the shops for milk, so we think that 20 odd km is a long distance.

Remember to stretch and work mobility exercises. Core exercises will help you too. And...read Born to Run.

But good luck! I'll enjoy reading about your progress.
 
Beach bum

Beach bum

Yes , it will be fine I am sure. :p

Actually I just came back from a longer run, I managed to keep going for 4.4 miles - so I am chuffed.

I didn't listen to any music on the way (Hubby cant find the ipod :yrolleyes: ) but I had a listen to the killers while getting dressed and had a warm up dance to Mr Brightside - I think it really helped :)
 
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F

fastfourier

Do it. Doesn't make a difference if you run it all or walk when you're hanging out, it's a good distance to finish... which most people probably couldn't!

Are you following a program?
 
Beach bum

Beach bum

Sort of , just making sure I run 3 times a week at the moment, even if it is only a 3 miles.
I started off really slow and walking as much as jogging but it is getting much better now :)
 
K

kel

I think you runner types are crazy but it is good you are working towards this goal regardless. Good luck.
 
Al77

Al77

Beach bum said:
Sort of , just making sure I run 3 times a week at the moment, even if it is only a 3 miles.
I started off really slow and walking as much as jogging but it is getting much better now :)
Click to expand...
Just try and add miles to one of the runs. Do two short runs (I can't work with archaic measuring systems :devil:), then add miles to a longer run at the weekend.

You don't need anything more than that for a first time halfie.

Two of the most successful beginner's marathon programs follow a similar routine, but with longer distances.
 
Beach bum

Beach bum

Hello time for another update.

I have been doing quite a bit of running, still 3 times a week at anywhere between 3 and 5 1/2 miles.
I have just come back from a 100 mile cycle split over 2 days (my beach bums a bit sore today , I can tell you :ylol2:)

I am doing my first proper run next weekend , entering in our local 10k (6 miles) which I am looking forward to and not too worried about :)
 
Beach bum

Beach bum

Well only three weeks to go , where has all the time gone ?

My last update was in April just before my first 10k. It was great fun I ran with my husband who is my training partner and my brother came down to join us from the Midlands. He is training on much flatter ground so the hills were a bit of a shock for him, also it was quite wet and muddy so that was different :)

After that I had a couple of dodgy months , I was suffering with some tummy troubles and fatigue so my training slacked off alot and I only just feel like I have gotten back on track. We are doing another 10k at the weekend so it will be interesting to see if I can improve my performance :D

To be honest I am just happy that I feel I can do the half marathon now, but it wont be quick or pretty . I will leave that to Mo Farah who is running it too :)
 
scottsma

scottsma

Well-known member
Location
Tynemouth,
Best of luck and well done.If you get behind Mo you might get carried along in his slip stream.
Please let us know how you get on,I might be inspired for next year.

But please don't hold me to it !!!
 
Beach bum

Beach bum

Well that's it all done; I came 25297 out of 50 odd thousand so I was pleased to finish in the top 50%. My time was 2 hours 20 mins, which on a hot day I thought wasn’t too bad.
The crowds cheering us on were amazing and we had a fly over from the Red Arrows!:banana:
I would definitely do it again and was delighted by the money we raised for Crohns and colitis UK (about £1200 between three of us so far).

Now I am thinking about doing a marathon before my 40th birthday in 2016 - but I seriously ache today so I will need a lot more training:eek:utahere::D
 
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