@taeliesyn : you rocked your bunny ears!

@DianaLovesCoffee : congrats on completing your program!!

I am reconsidering the running plan I've implemented. Because I'm trying to improve my 10K pace, I need to find long stretches of time for training. With back-to-school right around the corner, activities with the kids and a week of bad (really, really bad) weather - I just don't think it's practical timing.

I went out for a 12k run this evening, hoping I'd found a window of clear weather and 7k in, it absolutely p*ssed rain. I was saturated and had to call my husband to come rescue me after giving it my absolute best for another 2k. Bonus, my pace REALLY picked up for the last two km!

I didn't start running until early spring, so . . . I have no experience with getting out in the bad weather. I don't think we were meant to be friends, the rain and I.

Adjusted my fitbit stride based on a known mileage. I ran 5 but my fitbit tracked 6.5. Running tonight another known distance so will be able to see if this is more accurate.

@Just_Ceci I irritated my rotator cuff last thanksgiving. It's such a pain. It still gets inflamed now and then when i do too much aerial yoga

Did a quick 2 miles in the dark with a flashlight last night. Not very safe but I ran against traffic on a pretty lightly traveled road. I was also afraid of tripping. Probably won't try that again. Good news is that by putting in some long slow runs, my short distance time is much better!

Nice going everyone.

Re running in the dark, I use a headtorch with variable illumination levels and a focusser. It allows me to have a wide beam or tight focus and dependant on the light levels be able to adjust how bright it is. I also tend to have some Nathan clip on flashing lights and a Nathan visibility vest. The flashing lights help to make me visible to other road users and the reflective strips on the vest give other visual clues. The headtorch is so that I can see where I am going. I never run on roads/ shared cycle paths with headphones on just so that I can hear other road users coming. The disconcerting thing for me is wildlife that you hear scuttle away without seeing them. Well done for getting out and after a while you become attuned to running in the dark. Have fun

More commuting for me, by bicycle, not too much running, planning to get out this afternoon for a run.

Links for gear

http://www.torchdirect.co.uk/unilite-head-torch-range/unilite-prosafe-ps-h8-head-torch-with-focus-control.html

http://www.nathansports.com/visibility/led-lights/pulsar-strobe

http://www.nathansports.com/visibility/reflective-gear/lightstreak-vest without the lights

had a brilliant run this morning! 10 km in 1h:00m:46s : best time yet! beyond the pleasure of a new pb, i was able to enjoy a run in the cool morning while the sun was rising. no rain to drench me. no wind blowing me about. i've been lazy most of august, and got in the habit of taking my runs in the evening, today confirms that i definitely prefer the morning! enjoy your weekends, everyone!

MM glad to read that you are back on the money

@moyer566 it is always good to check with Strava etc. However you are doing brilliantly regardless of the score. Just think how far you have come.

@maggiekat7 only 46 secs of breaking the hour mark, well done you, expecting that to crumble this month. Great work

Despite the warnings from @taeliesyn I went out to see if I could mongrel a HM. So I nearly talked myself out of going out this afternoon. I nearly talked myself into taking every short cut home. I thought about the thought process and I concluded that what I was really scared of was the knee failing during the run and then it would be obvious that the the FM at the end of the month was impossible. Well I carried on and did a HM in 2hr15m, 20 mins off my best but the good news is that the knee survived, my cv was ok but my calves and thighs are showing the effects of not running for the last month.

I hope your runs are as uplifting as mine was today, I am not intending to run again until Tuesday.

Have fun

Kids have been back at school for a few weeks so I haven't had time to check in here. Huge congratulations to taeliesyn for winning his 12 hour race!

I have been struggling with injury again but I think I have finally got to the bottom of the problem, I took the insoles out of my Skechers as they were causing blisters on the bottom of my right foot and giving me plantar faciitis. My feet felt great once I had taken them out but since then I have been getting injured on a regular basis. I put the insoles back in and it killed my feet but next day my knee was much better! I am hoping that my training will be back on plan, ran 7km this morning just a few seconds outside my target pace, and no problems with my knee, can barely walk though, haha!

Thanls Romy
A few good days running, with a nice 24k trail run this morning. All done at occasional chatting pace. My legs are letting me know they haven't worked that hard for a while. Aahhhh trails, so much easier on the joints, but harder on the muscles lol. Great way to round out an 85k week, although I'm not sure how a 60k week became recovery, and 80k became normal for me.

Stiff today but coaching went ok, spent the afternoon trimming bushes and bamboo. Have got clearance from SWMBO to enter an offroad duathlon 5k run, 16k bike, 2.5k run during November. Should be fun!! Looking at last year, people came in pretty mucky.

Crappy run for me last night, legs felt so empty I called it and turned for home before I had even reached 4k. Considering 8k is my normal re-*kitten* distance, that's saying something. Not sure if it was the heat, bad/lack of fuelling since Sundays 24k, or a combo. Got home, recovered for a moment and then headed back out with the puppy. Got 3.1k with the dog. Our furthest run yet and she handled it well.
Oh well, 14x400m intervals tonight. Must start the mental mantra's and embrace the suck.

I ran my 10k this morning. It was incredibly hot and humid. I finished in 1:00:14.9. Not my PB, but I beat last year's time on the same course by almost 3 minutes!

One of my co-workers runs maybe once a week, a mile or two. She ran the 10k today in 1:09:11. She has now decided she will run a half marathon in April. I told her she probably should train for that one. Looks like I'll be running a half in April with her.

Hi everyone!
Just checking in. Everyone is doing great! As for myself, still plugging along with the half marathon training. I've been using the 16 week plan from halfmarathons.net ... The plan is geared towards people with a more solid foundation than myself so I scatter in a few extra 3 mile runs.

Last weekend was beautiful and was able to run 7.5 miles at a 11:30 min/mile pace. But this past weekend was brutal. The heat and humidity here in the midwest definitely affected me. But I was still proud of the 8 mile run despite the 13:30 min/mile pace

So far, I've been able to run without needing any water or food during the run. Usually in the morning, I have half a banana and a glass of water 20 min or so before I run. But this last run made me realize I need to start thinking about options. I had to stop at the grocery around mile 6 to get some water.

There were a lot of labor day sales this past weekend so I bought one of those small handheld water bottles which I'm eager to try out on my next long run.

What do you folks do for energy and hydration on your longer runs? Do you have a system based on miles or time or just go by the way you're feeling? Keep in mind, I run so slow that it took me an hour and 45 min to run 8 miles...

Yikes, that's a long post!

@PaytraB Feel free to message me with your program, or share it here and I'll offer any advice I can (Once you're back from your holiday!)

@JSC145 I've been caught on the water on the hot days. I generally do water based on expected time out, rather than distance. Energy quite often I won't do/have anything. Unless it's really hot or I'm doing interval work though If a run is under an hour I don't take anything.

Better run for me last night, hit my interval paces, though I walked more than I was meant to during my cooldowns, which does mean a longer recovery phase. Still happy with the session.

@PaytraB I think you've nailed it yourself. You need a program of some sort if you want to improve, or more correctly you need to change what you're doing. You've run yourself into a plateau.
Go enjoy your holiday, and we can figure something out when you're back