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Paris Marathon 2013
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Malc - Congratulations....that is AWESOME!!
Weedy - Not sure what brought that about but Thanks!
Apparently you lot are worse than taking a bunch o bairns out on an outing..........
Torrential rain, and gales here. Shit day to be delivering mail, but I finished in record time!!! Now to get dry and warm......
I've said before TD, sometimes we need to be more spontaneous.
Old team mate of mine finished 16th yesterday!
Wow so much to catch up on.
PF - it might be taper madness but nothing like getting a haircut to give you a lift.
Malcs - that was some time, well done, and great testament to the thread.
Runners AND supporters at VLM, bloody well done everyone. I am so proud of you all and just a tad jealous I couldn't be there.
Emmy - perhaps we could do a thread Eco Trail in Brussels. I'm keen to do it, just need to get organised. There is also a trail weekend in the Pas de Calais 7-8 Sep if you are interested.
www.trailcotedopale.com
Weedy - could you add to the list for me Nike Paris We Own The Night 10k on 26 May?
Tonight I'm doing the Boston Strong Paris run from Bastille to Concorde, along with 123 other people.
talking of spontaneous - hair appointment 4.15 tomorrow afternoon - its the oscars anne hathaway cut rather than the razor look of Les Mis!!! Thanks for the support through taper madness - legs feeling lovely after massage ......
hey ho hey ho its off to yoga I go ....... (if only I could whistle)
Oh and oh wonderous list fairy put me on the definite list for Paris 2014 - a lovely excuse to spend valentines day in Paris on the Monday after a little trot on sunday me thinks
Will post a pic of hair once done - if all goes well that is
Thanks for that TP - more than happy to start a thread. I'll definitely be in for the ecotrail. That sounds like a good training weekend - i have a feeling that i've got something planned but will check
PF - have fun at your hair appointment. I need to find a decent hairdresser than wont hack at my hair
As we are talking hair, do I get mine shorter again or persevere with it all hinging doon as my mother would say ...
Anne Hathaway mk II
PF - you do know that Valentines day is February and Marathon day is April, don't you
Malcs - respect, mate. Well done.
Oh, yeah. I didn't twig, and I can't blame taper madness.
Dannirr - is he the chap that does the run-walk marathon method?
Holy Moly its blowing a hoolie oot there.........I severly hope Sheena cancels our run tonight - I don't feel like going, but I won't be the one to cancel either!!
I have had a very productive afternoon - I fell asleep in front of the fire!
Means I will be playing catch up tomorrow..........
After being busy since getting back from Paris I have completely lost this thread, sooo many posts I cant catch up.
Well done everyone who ran and supported in London, I was busy yesterday so couldnt watch it all but the support looked amazing.
Will definitely be applying for London next Monday with my fingers tightly crossed till October!
After a gentle run last Tuesday I did a few good sessions on the treadmill over the weekend and think I'm now fully recovered from Paris and raring to go.
Can the list fairy add me to the following:
27th April - Haldon Heartbeat
12th May - Killerton Half Mara
Yes, he is.
After about 10 hours sleep since 5:30am on Saturday my brain is a bit befuddled as I try to type this but ... having never experienced London Marathon - and been quite dismissive of it in many ways - yesterday was an eye opener in some respects.
The support really did seem very good aside from a few silent voyeurs here and there. The people of London really did seem to buy into it. Our spot at 11 miles felt quite different to the one we had at 8km in Paris. Plenty of people at both but more energy in London and people there for far longer.
As a race though it sort of reinforced some of my negativity. Paris seemed much, much more a runner's event. When I saw the pacing groups go through I realised that in London I'd have felt like I was almost in the vanguard as the overwhelming majority of runners seemed to be first timers completing the marathon for charity rather than racing it for themselves. The difficulty of London's start, and this, meant that runners were really spread out in the later stages.
Many of the runners seemed really naiive too. JB noted that so few carried gels or anything with them and far more seemed in a bad way at 23 miles than I'd have expected. They looked far worse than the competitors in Paris did at 24/25 miles - real chalk and cheese.
However, as a spectacle of human endeavour and the range of emotions that go with it it was almost the gallant naiivety of the competitors that made it so moving and I will absolutely definitely be back again next year - plus I get to spend some time with some members of a great bunch of people.
IF Berlin goes ok I'd be interested to get a GFA for London in 2015 now, just to see what it would be like to run after hearing Eggy & Audrey's comments.
Good observations Rob. Better to think of London as being 5 or 6 races all rolled into one event. There's the elite men and women, the wheelchair/ hand-bikers, the serious runners chasing times, the massed runners including tonnes of newbies who saw it on the TV and thought it would be a laugh and have run literally tens of miles in preparation and then there's this long tail of fancy dress/ charity runners. When I visited the Expo for VLM I thought I'd never seen such a collection of people who looked so un-athletic before.
As long as they don't get in the way of those who want a crack at a good time and they do raise a lot of charity money and wear some great costumes... I think the whole lot put together draws out these fabulous crowds which is the making of the event. (In fact, if you see the elite ladies go, there's hardly anyone on the streets). they all come out a bit later on.
Ballot for VLM opens on Monday 29th April. Give it a go.
Was supposed to be seeing Beth Orton in concert tonight, but she's got tired and homesick so called off the rest of her tour. Ah well, shall be working on ITLR prep instead.
The runners at 23 miles were death marching, it seemed tougher than Paris. Maybe I've just blocked out the pain!
Its a big IF Jim
Relies on me making full and quick recovery, great training and great conditions - none of those are guaranteed.
TD shame about the women's elites - people will have missed Jessica Augusto's bum
Malcs - 26 minutes off your PB! Wow! Brilliant effort. You do realise that, being so tantalisingly close to 3:30, that will be your new target whether you want it or not....
Kaz - only you would chase PB's on a postie's round!!
Been off work sick today - must be a sickness and liquid stool bug.
Still can' taccess RW on my phone. Maybe Dr Iain is having the same problem? And this laptop is a nightmare.
Simon Mac.. I can't access RW on my phone anymore either...
So much to say on the thread now.... that was a good observation DLR...
Poor you Simon - that explains that bad day yesterday though. Hope you're taking it easy - do you need the Stool Chart as a reference point?? I believe one exists somewhere...
Agree with what DLR said about London - I was really shocked at how few runners after, say, the 3:45 pace group were carrying gels or any kind of drink. They were going mad for the jelly babies we were handing out....something I can't imagine doing in a race. We must have offloaded 3 huge bags in about 10 minutes.
I was also quite suprised at how totally shattered a lot of people looked by mile 11. Now, I have no point of reference as it's thre first marathon I've supported so maybe we look like that in Paris too, but I doubt it would be in such big numbers.
I made the no gels error in my first marathon. I thought I'd thought of everything that day too but hit the wall terribly at 20 miles.
I didn't even know why I'd hit the wall either. I had read books and googled loads of running stuff at the time but never came across gels and fuelling - either that or I completely missed it. Maybe other beginners are the same.
I should have known something was wrong when the guy next to me in the pens turned, looked me up and down and asked, "first time mate?"
Thanks again to everyone for the pats on the back - really do appreciate it.
Simon Mac - ha ha
Yes, 3:30 is tantelisingly close now. At least I don't have to knock off another 26 mins to get it - 3 will suffice 
I have my place booked for York in October already!
I had a chat to my cousin earlier - he's done both London and New York. The first time, in London, he hit the wall spectacularly at 18 miles. I asked him what had gone wrong and he said he's only ever run 18 miles in training. Turns out he didn't use any gels, or indeed, anything else either.
Then he went and did exactly the same thing in New York
2nd point, gels on race day. As soon as you have even the slightest negative thought or doubt-get one down yer gob. My gel belt holds 7, I need one that holds 8 for the next time I do a marathon.
Agree with a lot of what was said about the race and support yesterday. Very much a different event at the back. I was at Mudchute until the sweeper bus went past, and there were people in real trouble even at mile 17, who had obviously been walking for a while, if not the whole way. I was also thinking about gels, but what struck me was that very few of the fast club runners at the front seemed to be carrying them either - it was mostly the mid-pack, experienced but not necessarily lightning-fast runners who were running with gel belts and bum bags. Whether the faster guys were just organised with supporters at feed stations or not I don't know. I guess if you're only out for 2 1/2 hours, maybe you don't need so many?
Kaz - love the idea of you aiming for a PB (Postal Best).
PF - I'm going in the opposite direction - having had my hair shorter, I'm working on it 'hinging doon' (TP - you're not my long-lost sister are you?).
Plans for this year and next are forming in my head. Ideal plan would be Isle of Maus marathon in August, but run as a training run for Ladybower (possibly with a few extra miles). If I do that one under 5 hours it can be my qualifier for Comrades (needs to be a marathon or further after 1 June this year). Ladybower 35 in September. Boston next April, if I can, or Paris if I can't. Then Comrades. Then maybe London in 2015 (GFA lasts for 2 years).
Dannirr - interesting thought about Boston. I was wondering if it might be more difficult to get in next year, if they offered places to people who ran this year but didn't get to finish.
Of course, all this rather relies on my getting off my backside and actually doing some running, of which I've done precious little recently.
Interesting about your cousin yer_maj. I think that there is a tendency amongst newer runners to blame poor performance on not doing longer runs. People have asked me in the past how you can expect to run a marathon if you haven't run almost that distance in training (and by that they mean 25-26 miles at MP).
I don't think fuelling is something that is very common knowledge. That's in race and pre-race. This is the first year that I did a proper 2 day carbo load and I'm on my sixth marathon. In previous outings I only ever had a big bowl of pasta the day before.
It was great to have that info from TD the other week. I felt confident I had enough carbs with me and that taking them early and frequently I had the best chance of avoiding the wall. In the end I took 20 jelly babies (1 per mile for the first 20) and one gel at 8 miles = about 140g carbs. I have to say my 21st jelly baby got spat out. By then I couldn't stomach any more food. Even water was not sitting comfortably.
I didn't hit the wall at 20 miles. I suffered from missing two 20 mile runs in training. And the legs were tired. But the rest of the body felt okay. Not like the 17 mile run I did and felt I was about to die.
I started to take a sachet of gel at 5 miles and then every 4 or 5 miles after that. Plus jelly babies. However, I didn't take much water on. Just a sip at each drink station.
The oranges were beautiful. The best oranges I have eaten. I know they say don't eat anything you haven't eaten in training. But they looked so nice. And the sugar cubes. I have a fairly sturdy stomach from years of eating doner kebabs and chicken vindaloos.
malcs - great time. Also my first thought was 'ah 3 hour 30 mins beckons'.
Started my shrewsbury half marathon training. Not that I probably need to go over the top with it. Set myself a sub 1 hour 40 mins.
My work colleagues have also benefited from the wisdom found on this forum. Everything I have picked up I have passed on. Spread the word I say.
Well run wasn't cancelled........a very hilly 10k in howling gales needless to no PB's!! Feeling better for getting out again, so just over 11 miles today plus postie round......its no wonder I need afternoon naps!!
I must admit, after Paris this year I don't know what to think re long runs, fuelling etc. In the past I have don 4/5 20+ miles in training with mp miles in both plus mid week runs and things have gone seriously wrong.....this time 1 x 15 mile, and 1x20 mile plus midweek runs of 10 miles @ what I hoped would be MP and I had a far better run. Also relied on gels in the past plus water, this time just jelly beans and they seemed to work far better for me too.........