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Our club do the Lucozade station just before the underpass so I have seen it from the start and the elites to the sub-elites, the club runners and the masses and it slowly goes from organised, to organised chaos to pure chaos. At the end the underpass is wall to wall discarded drinks bottles, a lot of puking plus a lot more other bodily fluids as the urge to use a toilet exceeds the patience or ability to queue. The people running 5 or 6 hours for a marathon seem to be able to take a drink from most of the 26 water stations so dehydration is not an issue.
Wow - how did we get to 4.5 weeks to go?
Club session last night, and I really felt the benefits of having done my LSR on Saturday and then had a rest day on Sunday as my legs were nice and springy. 8 x 2 mins @ 5.43m/m average. Last two were the fastest (in that I could tell that because I ran past the point I'd run on the earlier reps). Hurrah!
I’m BACK! I haven’t read the forum in over a month so hope things are going well for everyone? I'll read back over the next few days.
I’m happy to say I’ve been given the all clear from skin cancer and I’m now back running again. I was supposed to wait 6 weeks before running but decided that 5 were enough.
It’s only 6 weeks until the Belfast Marathon, so it will be interesting to see how I perform after a 5 week layoff and gaining 10 lbs.
Happy training everyone!
Yaaaayyyy!!!!!
Get In!! Wicked skills BB!!!
GD
Badbark
Awesome news!
Good news BB - delighted for you
(and your family too)
4 miles at MP last night on the way home, then 13 miles this morning. The training log now shows 1000km since the 1st of Jan which is about (just short) of where I wanted to be at this stage.
BB - just had to pop in to say that's fantastic news. Will be intrigued to see how you get on at Belfast, given you must have loads of residual aerobic fitness still after a monster couple of years.
Welcome to JT & NM3 (can't remember if I've done that previously or not!) and good to see Minni posting too.
Keep on keeping on everyone...
Badbark, YES! So happy for you. The reset button has been pushed. Carry on!
12 easy miles yesterday and only a short 5-6 miler planned today. Not much sleep this week so am dragging a bit. Looking forward to getting some sleep this weekend.
BB - fantastic news
10 miles done - legs feeling very tired today, but no achilles pain after the first mile so I will take that.
BB that's chuffing great news that is, good for you.
Glad others hate the hateful underpass. Apart from the puking, the worst bit is coming out the other side, feeling like a Roman criminal entering the colosseum to be eaten by lions.
Minni - still ouch. But every cloud has a wet-suited lining. I have never swum from that beach despite living there. Too cold. Let me know if you are planning an outing.
+1 for that. I also hate the embankment, it's all horrible until you are pretty much at parliament. Perhaps some proper training would help.
For me, once I am out the tunnel it is all familiar training routes so not too bad. Worse bit for me is from about 20 to 23 when you are close but not close enough.
I have never seen any puking in the tunnel, but I like it because my family always wait and cheer at the other side, so I know I'm just about to see them when I go in (and make sure I am smiling and looking speedy when I come out!).
I'm sure it was around 23 miles that Speedy Goth finally put me to the sword a couple of years back on her way to a massive PB. There is a similar tunnel in the Paris marathon, and 2 years ago they found a novel way to brighten up the gloom with a full disco including flashing lights in the middle of the tunnel- that was very wierd.
Great to hear from you BB, very happy news. I suspect 5 weeks rest might actually do you good if you can shed the weight.
3 months without running Minni- what a dramatic life changer that must be- pleased you found an alternative though.
Junior crushed me on the track last night. I'm front ending the week to excuse myself from a long run on Sunday for the 10k.
Fantastic news, Badbark
BikeIt - great daily & year's miles
VTr - hope you get the required sleep time soon
Freemers - good news re the tendon
Minni - good to hear from you - really hope you get sorted and back running soon
no more tunnel/embankment for me, as of course last year was my last LM - possibly last mara (or so I said at the time) . We'll see - in the meantime I'll continue with the pleasure of sharing the achievements of you lot !
In the 'Diana' tunnel in Paris i saw the pillars that her car hit and as I was almost out I looked to my right to see a bloke crouching in a recess having a poo!
The tunnel in London used to be my nemesis. in 2006 I was walling bad, in tears, spaced out, wanting to die and then the incline onto the Embankment almost killed me.
In 2009 I trained for it. It was a real focus to my long runs.
I saw the tunnel like the tunnel coming onto the pitch at Wembley. There was a calmness in there, time to prepare before my running brothers and sisters came out to play the final, the final section of our challenge/ordeal in front of thousands of cheering fans.
Works for me!
5 cheeky ones at 6.53 pace tonight. Surprised at how bouncy I felt as that's 5 consecutive days in lycra and 45 miles. Rest day tomorrow and 20 on Friday to have a rest over the weekend.
GD
+1 for being a fan of the tunnel on the Embankment - as GD says, it's like coming out into the sunshine at Wembley / Twickenham (or at least how I'd imagine it would be) plus the fact that it signals you're on the last stretch.
Great news from Badbark- delighted to hear it.
Also great to hear from Minni, although sounds grim that you can't run. Glad to hear that you're enjoying the wet stuff though.
6 x 600m reps for me this morning alongside the Clyde - surprised myself a bit by managing them all at 6:10 pace or below, including one at 5:57 pace.
Badbark - Your rest result ever! Wohoo!!
Gul – Mid to high 40’s sounds like a sensible alternative to P&D’s plan.
OO – Sounds like you will need to get a move on to see junior take her place on the podium!
Bike it – 50 max sounds good to me and I base that on what I have heard from my brother in law who is based in PE. He has done 10 Comrades with a low 8hr pb. He is still going strong in his mid-50’s and reckons the reason he never cracked the 8hr barrier when he was younger, was because he did too much mileage in prep for the race and as a result has had quite a few DNF’s to his name too. It’s interesting though as ultra-running has really taken off and has become more of global thing now and it’s not unheard of for runners to do ultra-events almost back to back but I expect it all depends on what you do outside of running too. Nice breakfast but I was expecting some vors in there?!
Minni – Hi & great news re the swimming and hope you get to realise your running comeback soon!
Abbers – Are you well? Back to cricket again??
Freemers – Nice 10 & good news re the lack of pain.
Birch – How many LM’s have you to your name?
G-Dawg – Sweet jeebus, 2006 was a year to forget for you by the sound of it. How times have changed and all and a nice 5 today. What’s with the lycra though?
Lorenzo - Nice reps!
I’m loving the nostalgic marathon stories, albeit some grim stories of underpasses and the climb up to embankment but I like the thought of light at the end. London 2013 was my first marathon and one I will never forget. From the day before the race, when I was sooo excited about completing my 1st ever marathon and then later that day collapsing in a heap in St. James Park after both my lower limbs became turncoats and decided to render themselves paralysed. I’ll always remember that day when I had to say to my two friends, just leave here, I’ll be grand in the morning. I got round in the end and along the road a green mankini man, a zombie, a very tall gorilla and lots of other forward thinking folk were incentive enough for me to keep on going. I’ve only ever run 3 marathons since, 2 in Jersey which I can’t remember much of and the other was spent running around vineyards in Medoc in a wedding frock quaffing wine and eating cake and cheese. I wonder what my lasting memory of my next one will be……
Nice reflection Gerard
13 LM's completed, Gerard . . . .1st in 1988, 13th in 2015
My first 4 marathons were all in London, 1993, 1994, 2006 and 2009. (8 maras in total)
The 'walling' 2006 event also saw me have to see off an 8ft Pepperami sausage!
Throughout the race I could hear kids shouting, "Look Mummy, here comes the sausage man!" I beat the bugger though. I scored a 3.47 that day but I checked the Pepperami result (got his number from photos we were in...I cropped him out!) and he beat 4hrs. Fair play to the lad.
In 2009 I left a troop of 6 Smurfs for dust just past Deptford.
Running can be so surreal sometimes.
GD
I beat a Dalek at the Bath Half in 2013, GD, and I didn't catch him until mile 6 (I dipped under 1.24 that day on pretty even pacing). You also get quite a lot of breasts at Bath because breast cancer awareness charity Coppafeel tends to have runners there, who show their support by wearing giant, inflatable breasts.
Badbark - that's brilliant news - so pleased for you. All the best for Belfast!
Jools - great reps.
Bike It - on track!
VTr - enjoy the sleep.
OO - smackdown soon.
Birch - never, say never
GD - speedy 5 miler.
Lorenzo - I checked and 6x600m appears twice. Once in the LT/endurance cycle (that's where I am) and once in the race prep (presumably where you are!)
GM - nice story!
My only recollection of the underpass is stopping to call my wife and saying that I'd be about another 40 mins to the finish (nightmare of a day)!
8 easy miles for me this morning.
GM - yes, all good thanks, just keeping a low profile while everyone else continues with their mara prep as I've not got anything coming up race-wise, so am just ticking over. And yes, cricket starts again soon - once the clocks change at the weekend, evening nets are back on the agenda!
You do get all sorts at races, I've been beaten by many fancy dressers at all sorts of events, most memorably Buzz Lightyear at the Bournemouth Half who had full suit, including wings, which must have been a significant hindrance running into the coastal wind! He was still well under 90 mins mind.
I love running underpasses. My favorite is the runway under Haneda airport in Tokyo. It was a nice run along the Tama river from the hotel where I used to stay. Around 18 miles. But then again I love the power station in the Brighton marathon. As well as the cruise missile silos on Greenham Common. I must be a sucker for industrialisation.
10 miles this morning at a snails pace, then another 4 miles at lunchtime to commute home. 98.6 miles in 8 days - no I am not doing an extra 1.4 miles this evening.
Overtaken by a womble on Bird Cage Walk in my first marathon - London 2000. I think it was Orinoco....
Got my final mag for VLM today. The annoying course changes from last year are still there, so the uphill to the Westferry roundabout and then the 180 degree turn between miles 19 and 20. That was even worse than the underpass!
Race start time back to 10am this year which is good.
After my first London Marathon in 2006 (this year will be my ninth London Marathon), I met up with the rest of the family glowing with pride at having done a marathon (which was intended to be the one and only marathon before I got bitten by the bug) only to be reliably informed by younger Lorenzito that Scooby Doo had finished just ahead of me. Took the shine off my achievement a bit.
Good mileage there BI