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Milton Keynes Marathon
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Hi all
I entered today, looking forward to this, also doing Brighton on 15th April so 2 in 2 weeks, so busy April, cant wait training starts 2 weeks today.
take care everyone
I see that there is an official training run for Milton Keynes on 19th February, which can be either 9 or 14 miles covering much of the marathon route. It fits into my schedule quite nicely, a couple of weeks before the MK half marathon, and a week before the GVH 17 mile training run.
Also, it looks good that they are lining up bands to play along the route on marathon day.
Hi Tenjiso
Good progress indeed - should put you in a good place for the upcoming HM! Are you aiming for a time for the HM? I kicked off on the mara training on Sat with a (marathon pace due to Spousal time pressure
) cheeky 10 miler, felt pretty comfortable. Am hoping to do a slower 12 miles on this Sunday.
Good to get the email update - reported entrants nearing the £3k mark too - woohoo!! I would be tempted to come up for the training run but have a Stag Do that weekend. Great that they're laying one on tho and getting some local bands involved on the day...............
Cooks
I'll probably start off at around 9:30 pace and see how I feel.
This run for me is going to be about completeing the distance rather than chasing a pb, I'm hoping to get round feeling comfortable but think I may be out there some time.
I haven't booked the MK half yet.
Should be fine to race a HM that far out - I'm planning one 4 weeks before so I hope so!!
Just signed up
This will be my first Full Marathon, so not entirely sure what I've got myself into!
My Half Marathon PB predicts sub-3:30 for the marathon, but I think 4 hours is probably more realistic with the amount of training I'm planning on doing. Going to train and race quite conservatively - make sure I finish!
Hi all
Also signed up to MK half. My first marathon, one month before I turn 40, and it's on my doorstep so I couldn't miss it... I imagine it may be my one and only marathon - definitely prefer shorter distances!!! Someone on an earlier page mentioned a training schedule - 'P and D', I think. What is this and where do I find it? I am looking for a schedule that will get me round under 4 hours I think, and training no more than 4 times a week. Similar to Tom, the race predictor reckons I could do faster (around 3:45) if I put in my 10k PB (45:20) but I know that longer distances are definitely worse for me. Longest race previously is a Kilomathon (26.2km) in March this year.
Very much looking forward to it and certainly the numbers already registered look like it'll be a good day out.
Liz
I too got the email about the training run, and so i'm up for that. Fits in the schedule quite nicely. Will wait for the further details. I assume they'll split into training groups at various paces, maybe provide some water etc. who knows.
Hi Tom/Elizabeth
What HM times do you have? Just to share my experience - I did my first marathon at London this year and had a (I thought sensible) target time of 3.45, with a recent hm pb of 1.38ish and came home in 3.57....... I was pleased as secondary goal was sub 4 but, with hindsight, I was undercooked in terms of not only long but also slow training runs (plus it didn't help that second half of the race was quite hot). They're definately the most important aspect of mara training afterall... I did the stereotypical thing of hitting the wall at around 19-20 miles..............endurance was simply not there after that kind of distance, although I had and do have a reasonable amount of stamina/endurance at shorter distances..... So this time am following the P&D plan (as per Tenjiso above) to see if it is better suited to me. The book is a really interesting read - explains a lot about the physiology, nutrition and approach to training re marathons. The plans are pretty hardcore - the entry level one is the 55 miles per week so might well be too much (I'm having doubts as want to make sure I still have lots of qt with the family) but worth considering if scaled down a bit...... I think I managed to pick it up on Amazon for about a tenner.................
Cheers
Cooks
thanks all. Might have a look at the P&D plan but I think 55 mpw is too much for me. And also realised I said I'd signed up for MK half and meant to say MK marathon! What other schedules do people advise? I really can't run more than 4 times a week, as my knees would give in. Not to mention my chlidren who would complain.
Cooks, I don't have a HM pb as the only one I did was over 10 years ago - and I was slower then... I did the Kilomathon in 2:20 which I was pleased with but looking at my 10K time I should be able to go faster. I wasn't really as knackered as I thought I'd be at the end. At that speed I imagine I'd need to aim for 4 hours for the marathon?? I don't usually run very long. The Kilomathon was going to be my 'marathon' but then I saw the MK mara and felt I had to enter. Not sure if I'll regret it!!! I'm not used to doing more than 10 miles normally (and usually only about 7-8) so will defo take the advice about LSRs being critical. The 14 mile training run in Feb sounds like fun but I know it'll take more than that...!!!
Liz
Liz - no regrets, you've definately made the right decision!
Was the Kilomathon a good event? I don't know much about it or even when it was! Good that you're pleased with your time tho and so you should be! Well done..............
In my opinion, if the race predictor says 3.45 then it's wise to start off maybe thinking about 4 hours & possibly slightly more for the purposes of pacing the early part of the training. I think that the predictors give are geared up for runners with a few maras behind them (and hence a good bank of endurance) and can give quite low predicted mara times for the relatively inexperienced runner. Last time I looked - my predicted mara time (using McMillan) was something silly like 3.15. I have improved this year but not that much!! If the training feels easy a few weeks in, its always possible to revise the goal upwards a bit - better than pushing too hard at first and risking injury/illness. Really its all a bit of a voyage into the unknown for first one so whilst worth having a target time is good - it's only worth inking in nearer the race.
Other plans - Runners World ones look good and come in Garmin ready format too.....but they're driven by target time. I used the BUPA intermediate for London which I liked (although a bit light on the long runs), would be worth checking out too as they have different options for how many days per week to train..............
My PB's are:
HM - 1:38
10M - 1:13
10K - 42:11
I've got Marathon by Hal Higdon, which I'm finding very useful.
My running at the moment is 2 short runs (usually 3 or 4 miles at 7-8 minutes per miles) and 1 long run (usually 10-12 miles run-walk at 9-10 minutes per mile). Plan is to keep doing that but increase the short runs to 5 or 6 miles and the long run up to something like 20-24 miles. That may not be enough to get under 4 hours, but I'm worried I'll get injured if I do more than that - finishing is my primary goal, getting under 4 hours is secondary.
Morning all,
Cooks- I agree about what you've said on predicted times. My half mara PB (1:42) gives a McMillan predicted time of 3:35, which I've only been able to get close to in my last marathon (3:39) which was my 7th stand-alone attempt. It's also worth bearing in mind that if you put a PB time in, you'll need to be in PB shape to run that time over the longer distance.
Liz, there's a long running thread here:
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/forummessages/mps/dt/4/UTN/72631/
which uses a three run a week plan to get round a marathon. I got round Hastings on a three week a run plan which looked a lot like Tom77, but if I was doing a three run plan now I'd have one short/fast/hills run, a medium midweek run and then the LSR at the weekend. I think there are also some other marathon plans out there (Smart sounds familiar) which also use 3 runs per week.
Great stuff, thanks all. I know that for my first marathon I should worry about getting round more than the time - and will try to do so!! But I'm a bit of a competitive soul at heart, so I know I'll have 4 hours in the back of my mind whatever I do.... Will take a look at other training threads and see what I can cobble together as a schedule.
MK mara seems like a really great event and the website looks very good. I have had several emails updates as well which is motivating, plus they have some useful info in them.
Cooks - Kilomathon is a newish event I think. It was fun but expensive unless you raised money for charity (which I did). They only have two events this year I think and I know there were criticisms last year at the cost of entry. The race I did was in March, the midlands and it was lovely, with a stadium finish. It would be a good stepping stone to a marathon though. I never intended to enter a marathon after I did the Kilomathon
I remember finishing and wondering how on earth anyone could run another 10 miles!!! But to run one, locally, just before I'm 40, will be good (I hope).
Liz
Hi Tom
Haven't heard of that one - sounds as if worth checking out! Tidy pbs by the way!!
Great to be sensible re risk of injury...the 10% rule is a good one to stick to, i.e not increasing by more than 10% week on week, worked for me! If you time it might be worth fitting in one or two recovery jogs in too... bumps the miles up a bit, gets the legs ticking over in between proper sessions and can help to prevent injury as long as done slowly enough..........
Earlier this year, i did a 1/2 PB of 1:54:43, which give a prediction for full at almost exactly 4hrs, and 20 mile prediction of 3hrs.
I did my 20 mile race in 3:13 and the VLM in 4:27. So I must have just been having a really good day at Silverstone!!!!
I was quite pleased, however, that my 2nd half of the Marathon was only about 3 mins slower than the first half, despite the heat by then, but thankfully not a wall in sight!!!
I'm basing my training on 4 runs per week, with a swimming session, and a gym session hopefully thrown in for good measure.
That's really helpful Clamshell. Well done on your times! How experienced are you in terms of longer races? And what are your 4 training runs/speed? It sounds like I'm probably around the same kind of standard as you. What is your 10k time?
I would have thought Silverstone would be good prep for the MK marathon. Isn't it in March? And presumably nice and flat like MK.
Liz
Would recomend McMillan as a race pace calculator.
Predicted my marathon pb within a minute of it based against my pb HM time. However, as said above you need to plug in a "recent" race time to get an accurate prediction based on your current shape.
Tom77 - a sub 4 should be a breeze based on your PBs and planned schedule.
For those asking about training schedules the Hal higdon plans available on line are worth looking at.
I enjoy long runs and hate speed work main problem I find with training schedules is finding one that dosn't start off too easy.
Steve/,
Look at the P&D schedules. The 70 mpw schedule (IIRC) has a 15 mile LSR in the 1st week and assumes that you are running off a base of 50-55 mpw.
Not sure what the 50/55mpw schedule looks like, but I guess that will be off a base of 40mpw.
You talked me into it
70 mpw is a bit much at my current standard but the 15 miles from week 1 sounds about right, I'm sure I will enjoy the book, might even inspire me to go running.
We have done similar round willen lake in the past, are there any other good spots on the course the locals can recommend, nice scenery, parking, circular route on safe cycle paths with maybe the odd play area enroute?
I've just been looking at the mk marathon website and they have a link showing the route of the 14 mile training run. looks like it covers all the northern parts of the marathon route starting and finishing at willen if I'm understanding it correctly.
@ Elizabeth
I've been running for 6 years, and until London, i'd just done halves, about 8 in total. This year was the first time i'd run over 14 miles.
I'm doing Silverstone and Oakley again in prep for MK, and hope to improve on the 20M time, but maybe pushing to better Silverstone 11.
My weekly run's speed are approx. Tuesdays - Steady/Tempo at approx 9.30 m/m (6/7 mile runs)
Thursday - Club night, usually intervals of some description, or hills. total usually about 6 miles. Efforts pace at approx 7.30 to 8.00 m/m
Fridays - Steady run - 5/6 miles pace depending on how i feel!!
Sunday - long runs 9.30 to 10.30 m/m (my 22 mile training run in 2011, was done at 10m/m pace)
My 10k PB is 51:33 again at Silverstone in May 09.
Some say Silverstone is a boring place to race.....but its a lovely surface, fairly flat and fast!!!!
Hope this info is of use!!