Way to go Helen!

Hello! Just stopping in quickly but I see you've already got my time. I'm a bit disappointed to miss out on 3:45, but it's still a PB (and a good time) and the last month to six weeks of training was very disrupted, so I'm still confident that I'll get sub 3:45 eventually.

I'm feeling rather sore at the moment, but after vowing at mile 22 that I'd only do one this year, I've started to get tempted by another one...

lol...I think usually at mile 22 I swear I will stick to halfs from now on. I am in awe....

Hhmm..I think I need to post this somewhere in my house! Reading this, I feel pretty certain that my injury last week was from picking up my pace too quickly.

So I've been hobbling around all week and feeling sorry for myself. Today I was almost pain-free, though, so I went to the gym and did a really easy 35 minutes on the elliptical. I felt way better when I was done so it seems like my hunch that I'd benefit from moving a bit was right. It was hard to walk by those treadmills without running just a little but I knew my leg couldn't take it just yet.

Now I just have to decide if I'm up for joining a local 1/2 marathon clinic that starts next week. Anyone have any suggestions on how to decide if it's too soon after an injury?

Congrats on the race, Helen! Incredible job! It sounds like marathons are addicting for you! :)

I did 3 miles this morning and it felt good to stretch my legs since yesterday I did many hours of yardwork that involved too much squatting!

Hello, I'm in the post marathon blues spell. Everything still hurts a bit, and I'm looking for new goals. Well, I know the goal, it's just a case of working out how best to achieve it.

I want 3:45. I don't desperately want to do London again next year. It was good, but I'd live without it. But I do want to be able to say I'm officially good for age. It's stupid. I know that 3:48 is a bloody good time for anyone, let alone someone who's lost over 100lb. I was in the top 25% of finishers, and the top 10% of women. But I want to get that 3:45 monkey off my back.

I'd managed to convince myself not to do an autumn marathon this year, but I want that time. what's more, I feel like I've done enough training for it, and with a better preparation over the last four weeks or so I'd have managed it on Sunday. My leg injury has now cleared up, and the emotional trauma of the last few weeks is dying down a bit.

Last year my friend just missed her target at London, then decided to back up and do Edinburgh 6 weeks later, and took 7 minutes off her time. She did a couple of weeks recovery, one long run, a bit of shorter speedwork, and a taper. Do you see where this train of thought is leading me?

I haven't signed up for it at the moment. But I did Edinburgh last year, and I know it's a faster course than London. If my legs recover enough over the next two weeks to make me think that I can do two weeks of good training and then a two week taper, I might just go for it. Even if I still don't make the time, at least I'll have tried...

Wow, Helen, you REALLY want that 3:45! But just think about when you do get that time, say at Edinburgh if you decide to do that race in a few weeks... don't think you'll simply set a NEW goal? You sound like a very motivated person and motivated people like to have goals! And having goals is GREAT, don't think of it as a monkey on your back, think of it as a positive influence in your life! They give us focus and drive and if we could instantly achieve all of them they would lose meaning...

I guess what I'm saying is, if you can do Edinburgh WITHOUT risking injury and still enjoy the experience, by all means... but if not, take a breather than go for the 3:45 again at a later date! There is no dearth of marathons out there!

By the way, congrats on being crazy fast!

Morning runners! I did 3 miles this morning and it was quite windy and now my face feels a bit chapped. I'm not used to this dry, cool wind here in the deep south, I'm more used to thick, suffocating humidity!

Wow, quiet thread yesterday and today! Where is everyone? :)

I did a little over 6 miles this morning and it felt fine except for my only difficulty seems to be that towards the end of the run my hip flexors feel VERY tight. They are fine right after I finish and stretch them. I'm thinking that I should stop in the middle of my longer runs and stretch them a bit, then maybe I won't feel that discomfort.

Anybody else get tight hip flexors? Any magic solutions?

Jogged for an hour today, at least...some before and during my strength training for a warm-up and for "rest" between sets, then did 45 mins afterward and a bit of walking to cool down. No idea of mileage, but it felt good!

Helen, I hope you feel up to it, and get your 3:45 this time!

Josephine, I don't have any solution, sorry! :(

Helen - If you feel your leg is 100% healthy, I would go for it. From what I have read from other London Marathoners, the weather was also a bit of a factor? Looking at your HM PR, I really think 3:45 is well within your reach. Trust me I know the allure of "good for age" (or as we call it in the US "Boston Qualifying";)) It really feels like a whole other level ...even though really at 3:48 you are a goddess:D

If I manage to take off a little more time on my HM I'll be pushing for BQ in the fall and I think if I came in at 3:48 in PDX and was healthy, I would do Tucson 8 weeks later to try again on an easier course.

Of course I am sitting out this week trying to nurse along a few niggling injuries because I finally stopped being stubborn about them healing on their own...and what happens, I get a NEW one. Suddenly my right shin is shooting random pains. Buggers.

I think my legs will be fine. I've rested all week so far, but went out for 4 miles this morning, and although they were a bit heavy towards the end they were good enough that I'm not too worried about them.

I'm not planning too many more long runs between now and Edinburgh, just a couple to try out a new refuelling strategy (I've decided that the dextrose I use just isn't enough for race pace, even though it's fine on training runs, so I'm going to experiment with gels) so it will mainly be keeping the legs ticking over with one long run and maybe one medium long run.

A lot of people do both, they're just far enough apart that it's feasible. I've gone ahead and entered now, so my reasoning had better be right! Ah well, even if I don't get 3:45, at least I'll get another medal for the collection :)

Hi all. I am back running again and have been running anywhere from 1-3 miles in the past month. This week was 2+ miles per run. The muscles around my hips always seem to bother me, and they're sore after a run even though I do a proper cooldown and also stretch a long time. Tonight they are sore (I did 2 miles this evening) but when I touch the area I feel big bulging muscle. I usually don't feel that, so does that mean there is a chance that I am actually building some muscle there and this problem will stop soon? I hate feeling like an 80 year old with a hip replacement if I take my runs over 1.5 miles. Nothing else hurts other than my lower back which is a bit sore but not super painful like the hips. Any suggestions?

cakses -- you may have the same issues I do with my hip flexors, but I don't have any solutions either. I just stretch alot when I get done, I need to do some research on this I guess.

This morning I ran 7 miles and felt fine (except for the overly tight hip flexors at the end)...

Hope everyone has a great Saturday!

Just popping in to say that I went for a run today after taking a couple of weeks off. I really took it easy with lots of walking breaks and I ended up doing 2.8 miles in 40 minutes. Once I got warmed up my leg felt pretty good, so I stopped while I was pain-free!

Today's run was a test-run of sorts to determine if I would sign up for the Running Room 1/2 marathon clinic starting in a couple of days. Seeing as my leg felt better after the run than it did before, I've signed up! I'm really quite excited but intimidated at the same time.

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!