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DT, loved meeting you - and having random photo at the end. Lol.
Also good to meet lit and the surreptitious marrows
Mace - great stuff, well done.
Kelly Holmes was right behind me! I had a grand day out, missed A-goal of sub 3:10 by 10 seconds but really don't care, as AAA goal was to have a good time and I really did. I didn't bother running on the blue line and high fived kids and chatted and generally soaked it all up - it was a 20 mile party, 4 miles of moderate discomfort and only 2 of wishing it was over and wanting the crowd to shut up
Just about to crack into a papa johns and a bottle of champers.
Well done, Mace. Still a good time from where you started out your training.
Well done, mcf. Sorry you had some issues, but still able to pb.
Hello everyone! What a lot of excellent PBs.
I didn't really have a back-up plan after last week's illness, so I just decided to stick with my previous back-up plan post-injury of 'run with Phil and try and do sub 3 hours what could possibly go wrong', and miraculously nothing much did, so I finished in 2:58. Hurrah! I am a bit disappointed mace didn't try a bit harder so we could cross the line #handinhand again though.
Well done folks - results to be proud of.
Unfortunatly didn't see any of you running.
It was a bit cold but I didn't lose and children.
Lit - I tend to be a little over ambitious in my predictions and have yet to hit my A target in a marathon. There was no way I was doing a 2:58, you massive sandbagger
Hey! I said I was going to do a sub 3 ages ago. That's not sandbagging!
Fantastic Madbee. I saw KH finish on the box but didn't pick you out in front.
That's a sub 2:59 though and is just showing off
My clubmate who did 3:00:xx last year followed that up with a 3:01:xx this year ... so close again !!
The one who did 3 training runs since January ( with a 2:58 pb ) managed a 1:38 / 2:37 split ... OOOOFFFFFFF !!!
Well where to begin!
Madbee - that's an awesome awesome run! Incredible stuff.
Lit - likewise. Sub 3 after the winter you've had is fantastic.
Mace - Solid stuff, a couple more weeks training would have seen you Sub 3 I reckon.
DT - great work, massive PB! Shame you had shoe issues but you managed to hold it together for an excellent time.
McF - Brilliant run and PB, sorry to hear you struggled. Great to run with you for a couple of miles behind the turtle and the rabbit
.
So for me…after seeing my training partners suffer badly attempting 3:10 at Manchester I decided to dial it back to target 3:14. Pretty much went to plan up to 22 miles and my pace began to drift, not massively but I just couldn't maintain 7:24's and the last 4 miles came in about 7:40's. My first 3 miles were also below target pace due to the crowds and having fears about blowing up later in the race. Probably shouldn't have been high giving kids around the Cutty Sark etc either...Resulted in a 3:17:50, which I'm really pleased with, particularly as I was hoping for sub 3:20 when I started marathon training at Christmas. So a 35 minute PB and a good base to work from for some shorter stuff over the summer before targeting an autumn marathon.
Just done a nice 2.5 mile recovery run down Regents Canal. Legs feel pretty good.
My legs hurt.
Though this year it is only my calves that hurt and not my quads. Does anyone think that is because I wore those ludicrously minimal shoes? I got ridiculous blood blisters under both my big toenails too, but otherwise I seem to have got away with it.
Cheers Tommy and well done you too
Will do a report probably tomorrow.
Well done Tommy. Sounds like next time out you'll be chopping off another 30 mins ! Did you sprint for the finish ? I saw on the box that there was a Tommy-a-like going for it down The Mall right after the chap in the tutu had finished his press up challenge.
Shame it wasn't so enjoyable McFlooze but it's terrific to pull a pb out of the fire. Middle distances now for a change ?
My hamstrings are really sore. I cant walk on my left foot due to blister as well.
Yes it isn't a bad pic. My friends and family mock me us in unable to smile for photos, but I seem ok there.
I cant wait to ho again next year!
Marathon running. An activity involving pain, suffering, pure grit and focus.
...did I mention that I quite enjoyed myself?
Mace nice to see you on the FGFA start mate and thanks for taking the photo, well done on your time which will keep you on FGFA
Lit well done on another sub 3
Everything went to plan for me this year coming home in 2:55:02
Yay! Well done NP; all the best runners do times ending in :02.
LOL last year was 2:57:02
We don't need to google it cos it's right here on the forum. Though I have only a vague idea of what a towie person is, so I'm not sure if that makes it a better story or not.
Here you go. Everyone's favourite computer programmer has been doing some investigations.
I love the happy photos, Madbee - reminds me how much fun I had in 2013 (when mace reckons he remembered me for being smiley and having a shit headband) and 2014.
How're everyone's legs?
Some great some runs on Sunday, I enjoyed spying on everyone via the tracker!
Madbee, run of the day from you I think. Nearly 5 minutes off last year and all with a big smile
DT – I think you can be very happy with that, especially off your low mileage plan.
Lit – Reliable as ever and impressive to reel off a sub 3 given recent training.
Mace – Given where you were a few weeks back getting close to sub 3 shows you are well on the way back to your best.
Tommy – A huge 35 minutes PB and comfortably within your original sub 3.20 aim. Nice!
McF – Shows what great shape you are in to run a big PB despite things not going quite to plan.
As always London has got me thinking of doing a marathon so I think I’ll start looking at an autumn one.
My legs feel pretty good, which is fortunate as I have to walk around a mine in Devon all day today. Maybe the 2 mile recovery run yesterday helped or maybe I didn't try hard enough.
On the topic above, it irritates me why people bother doing that. Just run half the race and pull out if anything.
I did wonder if it was him. I reckon he'd take umbrage at being described as a mere computer programmer though.
McF and I marshalled the Regency 10k a couple of weeks ago. McF tells me she saw the two last place walker cut across the park, thus saving a minute or two and overtaking the second to last walker. I think she should report them to the organisers.
VLM 2016
Be warned this is long.
London 2016 was my third marathon. Last year was a pretty pressure free run. I’d accidentally got a ballot place and with my baby only 9 months old on race day and still carrying post-pregnancy pounds expectations were low. I’d trained well though and knocked off 19 minutes off my PB to come in a very respectable 3:27 and securing a Good For Age place. After that though I’d picked up a foot injury that pretty much killed the summer racing season and it wasn’t until the late Autumn that I started to see any return to form. Ironically the turning point was a track 1500 “race” at LCAC that involved me plus a bunch of blokes pacing me, in which I achieved a surprise 5.45 off no speedwork. That seemed to be a catalyst and I started setting PB’s at all shorter distances – subbing 20 in 5k, a 41.06 10k and finding that I am actually pretty good at cross-country. Short and fast seems to be where my bias is. So, 2016 was to be the year for Going For It for a fast marathon and then I can drop it and focus on what I am good at (and enjoy).
Training started well. I followed the P&D up to 55 mpw plan again. I seem to be able to fit it in around work and family commitments quite well – especially because I can do a medium long run pushing my toddler in the buggy on a Wednesday whilst she has her nap – massive help in getting the miles in. The plan was to do Cov half as a marathon paced session and then fully race Retford half a couple of weeks later. As HM was the only distance I didn’t PB in last year I hoped for a good result.
Coventry went really well. Had decided to pace it at about 7:15 so held back on the first half but ran more by effort in the (downhill) second half, with a clubmate all the way, coming in in 1.31.09. I felt great. Strong, not tired, full of running. I’m sure I could have gone under 1.30 if I’d pushed it but of course I was “only doing it as a session”! Then I got cocky. Figuring that my performance at Coventry was “only a session” albeit a pretty hard session I thought I’d head to tempo to attempt my big tempo session of 7 at LT pace. After all I’d taken a day off between Cov and this was Tuesday. In the session I struggled. I made it to 5 miles at a decent pace and thought I’d sensibly stop there as legs were really tired. The next day I set off for my planned medium long run. I felt so tired before hand I nearly bailed but in another attack of “not listening to your body” I went anyway. 2.5 miles in I felt a sharp pain in my hip. I had to stop. I’d strained my hip flexor.
Now I listened. I took a week off and frustratedly rested and did a couple of turbo sessions and saw my physio. We made a plan of icing, massage, strengthening work. I really wanted to sub-1:30 in Retford half the following week. A few days before I was allowed to test it out. It felt ok, some stiffness but the marathon was back on. And I decided to go for it at Retford. Any pain and I would pull up. Retford was hard, my legs were just not feeling it, aerobically I struggled. I tried my hardest but could only come out with 1.31.08. A measly 1 second PB and felt in tatters, in stark contrast to the fortnight before at Coventry. But I’d survived and was able to get back into the plan.
The issue I faced then was that I only had one good week of training before going away on a ski holiday. I duly got a good weeks worth of mileage in (58) and then had a great