eleanorhawkins Member

@quilteryoyo if I remember right, we did a virtual Boston for @PastorVincent and I think a vigil with someone running for him somewhere over 24 hours for @MobyCarp. That one was great because we had lots of people in different time zones, not sure if it would work now... Personally I'll be dedicating my next race to her…

Hi everyone, I've been awol for ages, too much going on to have time to sit down and get on forums, but I heard about Shana and am gutted. I knew she was sick but not that it was so bad. She was such a kind and lovely lady. I see many of you are running for her but feel a group tribute is called for as we've done for…

@martaindale thanks, and well done on your race! The only photos I have are the two that went on Strava... one group before the start, and one at km 63ish when I came over the top of the last climb and the view was just wow. Somehow we missed all the photographers, and my phone was at the bottom of my pack so I couldn't be…

Hi everyone, I have totally failed to keep up and the 150 unread posts is too much even for me to catch up on! I have a new job with long hours and can't get on the forums from my phone because it will only let me into the Spanish ones. D'oh. Summary... my ultra was last weekend, it was tough and took quite a long time,…

Hi all, back home and racing about trying to get stuff done as usual. Parkrun was pretty fun, my competitive streak had me go faster than I had intended. Now to work out how to make training work with my new working hours as of tomorrow. @AlphaHowls thinking of you Lenny, great to see you're recovering so well. The packing…

Amazing achievement @Laurz9191

Thanks everyone. It came out of the blue and has been a huge shock... literally days from diagnosis she was gone, no time to get there. To me the fact that the funeral will be more than a month after she passed is also horrific, here in Spain it's all over within a day and a half at the most. I truly dislike the UK and…

@quilteryoyo Thank you. It's going to get crazier before it gets better... I have the last of the local road race series on Sunday, fly to the UK for my grandmother's funeral next week, possibly start a new job when I get back, we're hiking another Camino de Santiago the first week in May for our anniversary, my 60km ultra…

I don't know what happened (well, I do, life got in the way) but suddenly we're well into April and I haven't been in here since mid March:-o Still reading but have to say this, above, is awesome, how cool that you met!

I started in Asics Cumulus, but then they changed something and they stopped working for me. As I like plenty of cushioning for road running, I was handed a pair of Brooks Glycerine in the shop and they were like walking on clouds but out of my price range. I ended up in Adidas Solar Glide, which I still use in rotation…

@ContraryMaryMary happy almost birthday! @TheMrWobbly another vote for walk breaks when necessary. Also, it's perfectly normal for your HR to creep up after a while, it takes a lot of very slow aerobic training, a lot slower than you think or want, to change that much. Also, are you reading it on a watch or a chest strap?…

Catching up, again. @quilteryoyo great news! @yirara ugh, you sure deserve a break. I hope they can get some answers for you Great running, everyone! We're finally seeing some weather here atm... the place we raced at last weekend is now covered in snow, and we have a tonne of rain here, so its chaos. Tomorrow is the 2nd…

@ContraryMaryMary It depends on the race, there are a few that don't allow it but as a general rule you are allowed to continue, although the rules specify very clearly that if you choose to do so you are no longer their responsibility. Maybe if I had missed it by longer they would have been more reluctant to let me carry…

In Spanish they use the phrase "estás como un cabra" to tell someone they're crazy :-)

I don't know if this will work: https://www.facebook.com/chitospeaker/videos/2265714327098294 @Laurz9191 very nice long run! @chris_in_cal there's only one thing worse than dogs without leads... dogs with 30M retractable leads that were clearly invented to kill runners! @martaindale thanks, yes they were very grateful!

Finally, I have 5 minutes to report on my latest antics hahaha. Putting it in a spoiler because I rambled a lot! I'm still pretty stiff and a little sore but should be recovered within a couple more days. At least I hope so, because I have the 2nd local road race on Sunday and another mountain relay race on the 23rd! ETA:…

Oh. Wow. March. I lost a few weeks there again, life has been crazy with travels and racing and stuff. @kgirlhart fully agree with what everyone else has said. You need to pay attention to the ground, work on your balance and ankle strength and mobility and forget any expectations re times or paces. Be prepared to be sore…

Thanks @Scott6255 and hey, nice shoes! And thanks, too, @martaindale I was pretty surprised as well, it serves me right for getting complacent I guess. Being vegetarian and used to eating a lot of veggies and legumes I just assumed it would be fine and that the fibre thing only affected people who don't generally eat that…

@Teresa502 I'm kind of surprised you have to ask LOL. Umm... we're definitely going back to that one next year. And I'm definitely going along to the next edition of one my friend went to a couple of weeks ago (but am praying they manage to change it to December cause two in a month could be painful for me). Right now I'm…

Wow, I'm so far behind it's crazy. Tried to speed read but so tired most isn't registering. Having said that, @quilteryoyo so sorry to hear about Gary. I ran my Backyard ultra on Saturday. It wasn't my day but I learned a lot and decided to stop at 7 loops rather than risk wearing myself out or ending up injured. Pro-tip…

Goals... I was kind of disappointed just now to see per Garmin that I ran 1986.6km in 2023, I would have liked to get another run in this last week but husband's poor health and the fact that I'm still recovering from my 8hr club Backyard made that impossible. Soooo, I would like to get to 2000km in 2024 or, better still,…

Welcome to the newbies! @kbrown1527 Oooooh fun, what is the format of the ultra? Is it a backyard or a go as far as you can in 24hrs or what? What kind of goal are you thinking of? Is it your first ultra? What's the most you've done before if so? So many questions lol.

Ugh, life got in the way and I'm 85 posts behind so will just say well done everyone and see you next year!

Now I want Oreo Balls. Gentle hugs to those who are unwell. To those who feel unmotivated, it's normal at this time of year and you are still awesome, and loved, and enough, even if you do nothing but stuff your face (with Oreo Balls). To those slogging out their runs, well done. To those loving their runs, well done!…

*waves* checking in but pretty exhausted. Today was our club Backyard... I managed the 8 hours/loops, the last 3 were TOUGH and it took a lot of will power to keep moving and finish the 8th loop with a minute and a half to spare. I ran/walked/hobbled 53.2km altogether, making it not only my first real marathon distance…

@polskagirl01 so sorry :-( glad you managed to get there ok.

@kgirlhart hugs, it's so hard to let them go. @Teresa502 the one this month is a club event and is 8 loops maximum, then we party 🤣 The real race in February my brain seems to want to aim for 10 to 12 loops, but it remains to be seen whether my body will agree. The club one will hopefully give me some insight.

@quilteryoyo the race is a Backyard Ultra. There is a 6.7km loop, and a new start every hour. So you have 60 minutes to complete the loop, do whatever you need to do and be back on the line to start again or drop out. Last man standing, everyone else gets a DNF when they drop out.

@polskagirl01 hugs, thoughts and prayers. I hope the journey, stress and emergency don't take their toll on you too much either. @quilteryoyo sounds like you maybe overdid it a bit, although it could also be a case of pre-race-itis. Hope icing and rest do the trick. Family problems since Sunday have led to various races to…

Happy birthday @shanaber and @Scott6255 ! Re: cross-training. Always the black sheep, I run 4 days a week, do mobility work and strength train twice a week and do at least 1 pilates session, or 2 if I can find the time, and I also walk or cycle on 1 or 2 of the non-running days, and I also try to do at least a few minutes…