Experian Robin Hood Marathon

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  • Vixx how have you managing a run tonight - Go get em. A night of beers and a stinkingly hot bath later me thinks. A 4 miler tomorrow and a massage for good measure I think.

    At least the legs feel alot better this week than they did at this stage last week.
  • Hey all...I'm here, cheers Alison for the shout!
    The race? Well it went! Here's my report...

    The first half was good, felt fine tried to be sensible about my mile times, not too fast. Thought it was hilly like a lot of you guys but to be honest nowt too serious. Gotta train for those hills! The section around the Uni grounds seemed to climb for quite some time mind!
    Wasn't too happy about the split from the half-ers as if I'd been in a more feeble mind I may have joined them - and trust me, later on I wished I had!

    Saw 'Team Jules' on the river bank after the split and that was good. Got out to mile 18/19 fairly okay. Ran with a few other guys and they kinda helped take my mind off the pace and the gradual hurt creeping in.

    And then the Watersports section arrived. I'm not going to regurgitate whats already been said about switch backs etc but I say Yay to all of it. Hard.
    The wheels fell off around mile 20 and I started the 'whateverittakes' strategy to get home.
    What it took was a 100m (ish) walk at every mile marker between 20 and 24. It gave me opportunity to take some Gel, water and Lucozade sport on board. It was also something to look forward to!

    The last 2 miles however were like the previous 24 had never happened?! I found a lighter step and ran in really strong.

    No PB's but weren't really expecting any. Picked up a 3:45 pace band before hand. At mile 16 I was 7 minutes ahead of the band. On finishing I got...3:45! So not too shoddy, but not a good day at the races.

    Again? Yes! Well a marathon but Nottingham? With a whole better approach to training (more tempo runs!) ie No broken wrists and plaster casts in the middle!! yes, I would do this race again!
    I would still like a sub 3:30 marathon. If I'd run all the way then maybe this would have been a reality. But this is definitely something I need to work on in training.

    Next up? Birmingham half..my PB course! Let's see shall we...

    Thanks for listening, take care all!
  • Glad to see you made it Jules! Bloody hell, that's a great itme...well done!

    I'm going with the advice that you should rest a day for each mile that you ran...woohoo! 26 days of rest, here I come! image Don't even know who told me that, but it sounds good man!

  • Well done everyone, some very impressive times there!!!  I've only arrived home about an hour ago so just getting caught up with it all!

    My race report is very similar to a lot of others.  I started off a bit quick & when i seen my 1st mile was 8.45 (was aiming for 9.09!) I was a bit worried!!  But I felt really good & was able to keep my pace around the 9.00 pace throughout the 1st half.  I really enjoyed this half of the race, the hills were tough at times but I didn't cope too badly.  I found after mile 2 my garmin was clocking miles a lot sooner than the official markers, so were a lot of others around me.  Went through the halfway mark at 2mins under my planned goal at 1.58 & was confident of getting under the 4hrs.

    The 2nd half continued with a similar pace all around 9 min miles & at 18 miles just before the water centre I was feeling brilliant & even more sure I was going to break the 4hours with a few mins to spare.  This being my 6th marathon you would think I should have known better!!!  I can honestly say the water centre was the most soul destroying 3 miles I have ever run!!  It messed my head up so much running up and down there repeatedly!!  I went through 20 miles still well on target but then out of nowhere my calves started to cramp.  I managed to keep going but knew my pace was gradually slowing.  By 23 miles when I met my husband on the gravel path, I would have run past him if he hadn't shouted at me!!  The last 3 miles were the hardest I have ever encountered running a marathon.  It was nothing but sheer bloody mindedness that kept me moving & when I could look across the river & see the finish but still have a mile to go, I could have cried!!

    When I got to the last half mile, a girl I met through Realbuzz spotted my Larne AC vest & ran the rest of the way with me, while I yelped like a dog with the spasms in my calves!!  As I rounded the corner towards the finish I knew it was going to be so close whether I would get under the 4hrs.  I sprinted ( or what was my best attempt at a sprint!!) for the line & stopped my garmin at 3.59.41.  I had done it, finally breaking 4 hours.  Or so I thought.  Later that night I got a text from a fellow runner telling me my chip time was 4.00.08.  It was like thinking you had won the lottery then being told your ticket was invalid!!  I can't figure out how the chip time is so different as my garmin shows a distance of 26.26miles run & 3.59.41 time.  So it looks as if I'm going to have to do it all again!!

    Today I'm feeling a bit happier as regardless of whether I had a sub 4, I still took 16 minutes of my p.b. which is quite an improvement.

    Good things about this marathon - race village, great support, lovely scenic 1st half

    Not so good things - there is a lot more off road than I expected, that gravel path from 22-24 miles was horrendous.  The water centre, surely there must be a better alternative in Nottingham than this?

    I'm feeling a bit stiff & sore today & I'm heading towards a Radox bath very shortly!!

    Hope everyone got what they wanted out of this race!!

  • ran a sad hm today in 2:30

    was never in it TBH,

    i dont feel well at all

    so pleased we never attempted the 26, it would have neen foolish of me

    I'll full blog again
  • Lots that I can relate to in that report Heather. I actually spotted your time and knew you`d be disappointed. I went through the half in the same time but didn`t see you and then I started slowing. You can be proud of that time though imo. Tough day!
  • well done to you all

    My race went a bit like this set of feeling good and went around the first half in 2.02 feeling good and was bang on my target didn't feel like i had pushed it , then things went horribley wrong . Got to about 16 miles and calf started to cramp up so had to start walking and jogging , then at about 20 to 21 miles my thigh in the same leg cramped up , then to top it all at 24 my other calf joined in the party by the end i did all i could to run the last mile but had to walk a bit just as i got passed the 800 to go sign , got round in what i thought was 4.43 then realised later my garmin was on auto pause and must have lost reception and stoped when i did ended up with 4.45

    Hope you feel beter soon Mick was good to see you and have a chat  before the start       

  • Heather - I'd go with the Garmin! It seems all of us had our Garmin's beeping before each mile - very strange indeed!

    In my opinion, anyone who gets through an entire marathon is an absolute hero, let alone the time they do it in!!
  • Hi folks,

    got back this eve, seem to be some great times/PB's, well done one and all and on what i have to say is a slow course (see below), soz i never made it to pub, kidneys were a bit sore (bit dehydrated) so a lie down for me. I did 3:01:25 was aiming for sub 3 but the wind put an end to all hopes of that in the last couple of miles (i hate the wind)image, but snowdon is my target race and this was more of a long run so not overly concerned.  my garmin made it 26.38, but i always allow for +/-1% for garmin fluctuations and even more in big city mara's so I'd say its on the money.

    positives;- good value for money (when you include offers on kit), Excellent organisation, motivation drinks stop was excellent and thanks for the cheers especially miss Yelling, seemed to be plenty of first aiders, drink stop etc.

    negatives;- Only really one the course, a few friends had told me it was defo hilly so was expecting that, what i didn't expect was how much was off road, i reckon a good 4 and more likely 6, thats a lot for whats supposed to be a road race. also a lot sharp turns, dog legs and chicanes, plus very tight in the first half.

    A good race but not one to target, their are much faster, nicer courses out their, but still worth doing and an enjoyable day.

    hope to catch up with you at another mara soon

    CT

  • micknphil / vixx soz you had to pull out at 13.1 but better to live and fight another day
  • Thank Carrot Top image

    maelca - I am indeed running GNR! Then the Birmingham Half image What about you?

    MicknPhil - sorry you didn't feel up to the full. You passed me after half a mile and I shouted Go Mick! You two are a real inspiration!

    Have just done a gentle 5 miler and feel better image
  • Gentle 5 miler you must be crazy my legs won't work for days now!!
  • a gentle run every other day or even every day will do all well

    it does'nt have to be mad -

  • They were a little stiff yesterday but I stretched 3 times and had a good walk too along with a hot shower and a walk break on the journey home.

    I quite clearly had not worked hard enough!
  • Vixx76 wrote (see)
     I quite clearly had not worked hard enough!
    a mate said that after we both dun edinburgh a few years ago, he decided to do mile reps that week managed 1.5 reps, then pulled up injured for 4wksimage
  • I only do gentle mileage after a full marathon. No set training as such, just a gentle run 2 or 3 times in that week, plenty of stretching and lots of hot showers to keep loose.

    Is it bad that I tend to see a half as a long steady run rather than anything else?
  • YES! Either that or you must just be mega fit! I feel totally drained and ache so much more than if I had relaxed and jogged round!!
  • The only thing I tend to suffer with after a race are calf and foot cramps. I do a lot of stretching, just gently, nothing heavy and I walk loads. The only thing I occasionally get after a marathon is a tight calf.

    I'm not fast anyway and probably never will be, so I think that probably helps too. image
  • Vixx the bottom line is you can do a marathon! One day I hope to be able to do the same! What's your weekly mileage like then??
  • "Is it bad that I tend to see a half as a long steady run rather than anything else?"

    Many apologies if I have offended anyone. I don't mean to. I have extremely low self esteem and I see everyone else's achievement as being much better than my own.

    Many apologies again.
  • Vixx what are you apologising for?!! Don't be ridiculous. If there is one thing I have learnt it's that we all have our own individual achievements and you cannot compare them to the next man or women. We each face our own personal battles, and as I've always said, I truly think anyone who gets off their backside and can run for over an hour, regardless of speed, distance or time, deserves a bloomin' medal!

    Keep it up! image
  • Feel a lot better today. I had a cold bath early on Sunday evening and then put the recovery socks on. I did have to cut the toes out though as they were just too sore. Popped a blister that was underneath a toenail and felt much better straight away. Stuck a load of nappy cream on it too! Also I have a very active job so keeping moving all the time has helped. Contemplating a jog on the grass tonight but we`ll see!

    I`d always go with the race time and distance. At Nottingham, there was a lot of scope for cutting it short by taking good lines and, equally, there were many occasions where the crowds may have increased the distance run. People rely too much on gremlins.

    Colin - I had similar thoughts. My LDR needs to be later not at 7am. On Sunday I was hungry by 10 miles which must have affected me later on. I need to fuel up more in the morning and run later, at least once or twice. Glad I practised with lucozade as some folk struggled with it.
  • Egyptian - do recovery socks make a big difference do you think? My calves (and quads!) still ache a lot!..

    Also what do you think of 'skins' products? I'm contemplating buying some trousers/leggins for my long runs and wondered if they do make a difference?
  • Malakite - I have two running buddies who swear by them, and they've just persuaded a third running buddy to try them. I don't have the cash at present but am seriously considering them.
  • Interesting, perhaps worth a go then?? They are not cheap are they!!

    Also one other point, was it just me who felt really dehydrated on the day?? I hate running when its hot, and although I took on lots of extra fluids two days before the race, I felt so dehydrated it wasn't funny!
  • Malakite - I think so. That said, mine are from Aldi and the socks I ran in were from the same place! There stuff can be a bargain. I don`t know whether I`d pay the price that skins and the like charge. I reckon that even a decent pair of football socks help; they keep the calves warm and slightly compressed / supported. I know of folk who use the flight ones for DVT, which you can get from boots.
  • I've used the flight ones before and had no calf issues, so they could be useful, and cheaper. How much are the ones in Aldi egy?

    Malakite - I was so dehydrated at one point I couldn't swallow my lucozade jelly beans image It was quite warm!
  • Interesting, I guess as you say, it's mainly to do with the slight compression long socks offer.
  • I'm still not 100% sure about the compression socks / calf guards. I've been wearing them for the last 4 weeks. For the past 2 weeks my calves have been so tight. so maybe they help too much. Going for a massage tonight after not wearing them for Sunday so will see if there's a difference.

    I reckon the skins / 2XU leggings after the race help though.
  • Aldi do them for £5 when they have their running specials. Also get good normal running sock for £3 and a nice jacket for £10.
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