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Hey Carl glad to hear that your little one is okay, you made the entirely right decision. I would of done the same and you know bothh you and your daughter would of been highly agitated if you had of left.
Next year if there is a gap between Dublin and Stort30 I'm definitely wanting to do both, if not there is a tough choice to make.
I'm looking forward to Ricky's race report.
Hi Carl, Yep I agree with Oirish. The correct decision made there. There are other runs, just bad timing. I feel gutted for you as you have not had a great time all round with training etc, but you seem the kind of guy that is strong and will get on with it. Look forwar, not backward eh?...
Hi Oirish, great report. You are a right warrior. Not sure I could have ran that far with an injury like that. Hats off to you and I am looking forward to a book out of you one day!
Looking forward to hearing from Ricky and a report, well done Ricky!
Went on to the Run Nation site today and got my official time of 3:20:04, it was not chipped so reliant on the stopwatch. And I came in joint 5th with the guy I ran with from mile 15. Still very pleased with that time although just the other side of 20, but expected it. I am more pleased that the fact the ITB behaved, although I think every other part of my body complained ;0)
Just back from the physio and she let me off easy today, said she just felt my hamstring below my right glute was a bit gritty. Apart from that she said I was good and warned me to complete rest for at least 10 days. And if I have to run after that make it short and slow. I think I will obey, last time I came back a bit too hard in the second week and it was not clever
Hi Orish, I echo your sentiments on the ultra with respect to the smaller organised runs. There were 82 runners in all on Sunday and every one I met was great. Everyone was ready for a chat after and when we were passed by some of the HM guys in the latter stages every one shouted encouragement when passing. I really enjoy these events!
Apart from the hills!!
Oirish - great report ... kept me entertained on the 2hr bus journey home! Well done sir... respect on the Ultra distances! Great mental toughness running through the pain - I read the back of a guys t-shirt today just after the start which said "Pain is only weakness leaving the body"!
Finally dragged ourselves away to get the 5pm bus home.
Well folks not long in after an afternoon spent sampling some of Grafton streets finest Guinness & all day breakfasts
What a great marathon - I was genuinely blown away by the support, enthusiasm & passionate encouragement by throngs of spectators lining the entire route. There was a real carnival atmosphere the whole way round - the best marathon I've done by a long way!
Roaming wasn't enabled on my phone and hotel Wi-Fi was intermittent at best so apologies for lack of updates.
Anyway got down to the expo for about 4pm on a wet & windy Sunday afternoon and bought a few gels and High5 zero tabs... this was a 3k walk from the hotel and then we hoofed it back to the City Centre to seek out a suitable Italian eating establishment. Gamberi (prawns) in spicy tomato sauce for starters and a big Calzone pizza for main ... yum yum.. We probably walked close to 10k on Sunday and my hip/left glute was sore for all of it - didn't bode well!
Back to the hotel for 9pm only to be greeted with a 200 yd queue for the nightclub! Anyway the music thumped until 3.30am followed by a hubbub of revellers outside until 5am after kicking out time. Then a car alarm started going off intermittently until 6am! So not the most restful nights sleep!
Race day dawned sunny & bright but with a decidedly brisk westerly wind... elected for vest only & inappropriate race shorts with an old top to discard just before the off.
Started with mate the GW Kenyan and lined up between the 3.20 & 3.30 pacers. I had decided to start easy and let the 3.30 pacers pass me on the warm up mile and then run with them for a while to see how the pace felt.
First mile was impossible to run at any sort of steady pace given the crowds, jostling, tight corners etc - however I stuck to my plan and sure enough the 3.30 boys came past at mile 2ish so I tucked in followed them into phoenix park at 4 miles and stayed more or less in touch until we left the park at 8 miles. The run through the park & past the zoo was amazing & so well supported - thru 10k in the park in 50mins so all good.
I then made a conscious decision that 3.30 wasn't going to happen today and decided to drop the pace back a little to try and avoid that hellish last 6 mile blow up scenario.
My readjusted goal was sub 3.40 but with hopes of 3.36ish as I was wearing a 3.40 pace band and was 3 or 4 mins ahead of the splits.
Mile 11 - 13 I found quite tough as we turned into the wind and it was a long uphill drag the whole way ... went through halfway in a few secs under 1:48 so again all good. The course turned at the top of the hill just after halfway & left the wind on our backs and a flat section until 15 miles and I felt quite good at this point.
I was now focused on getting to 20miles in good shape and despite a few short, sharp tough hills I was still feeling good picking the pace up for miles 17 - 19.
Got to 20 feeling better than expected and felt sure sub 3.40 was on the cards... the pace did drop off on miles 20 - 23 by about 20 secs a mile but I was ok with that! Started to get very tough at mile 24 and I had to mentally tough out mile 24 & 25 out to make sure pace didn't drop off much more. I knew if I could do this I could afford to run a crap last 1.2 miles and still duck under 3.40.
Mile 26 indeed proved to be my slow
Mile 26 indeed proved to be my slowest mile @ 9.04 and I was digging deep... support on this mile around the city centre was amazing with a "tour de france" style funnel at one point only 6 feet wide with spectators cheering on each side only inches from me.
When I saw the slow split and saw the watch ticking up to 3.40 I could a bit concerned as the mile markers were now about 0.2 miles ahead of my garmin at this point. So that meant I actually still had 0.4miles to run on the watch to the finish.... I realised I need to empty the well to be sure of sub 3.40 so managed 7.47 pace for this final 0.4 mile stretch.
Went over the line in 3:39.22 (later confirmed as official chip time of 3:39.23) - Job done
I was in pain the whole run from my hip/left glute and then from 15miles the top of my left foot started to get very sore. I had considered not running earlier in the week given the pain in my glute and after walking round Dublin on Sunday was concerned I might DNF - so all told delighted with my 3:39 and a 5min PB which was set when I was 7 years younger!
Mind you getting to the bag drop & then back to the hotel after the race was probably the hardest bit - I was in severe pain and limping badly... so much so that passers by were stopping to try & help me. Freed up a bit as I got closer to the hotel and as the day went on I began to walk more normally.
Splits:
.... however I make it a positive split of only 3mins so I'll take that.
8.09; 7.49; 8.01; 7.57; 8.09
8.14; 8.11; 8.00; 8.07; 8.26
8.09; 8.29; 8.27; 8.19; 8.05
8.24; 8.07; 8.10; 8.17; 8.46
8.40; 8.26; 8.33; 8.39; 8.41
9.04; 3.07 (0.4mls @ 7.47pace)
Thru 20mls in 2.45 so Haemorraghed most of my time in the last 10k - running it in 54mins
I won't need rocked to sleep tonight
Oh - my sports physio who rubbed my legs on Thursday finished 5th in 2:23
Wow wow wow so much to catch up on.
oirish it is so great to hear from you. Congrats on being an ultrarunner. An elite club you have joined. Very proud moment. Race sounds tough but wow you did it. Really really well done.
Carl- so gutted for you but you 100% did the right thing. Imagine you went and your wee one was actually not so well, you'd feel bad the whole time, you put your family first and much as we all love running our families are irreplacable and you should be proud you did the right thing even though it's sad you didn't get to run.
Ricky- great report, so glad Dublin turned out to be a great race for you. You did really well with that time, we knew you could do it! Sub 3:40...I can but dream. A 5 min PB no small feat. Great great running and you deserve a week's worth of Guinness and all day breakfasts! (OK that's what I told myself post Loch Ness but with wine and crisps instead...)
Great week for lots of us so congratulations to all.
Yesterday I finished my week with almost 11 miles, first mile v slow to warm up then 10 miles progressive (OK apart from the last two which were uphill) with splits 09:50, 09:50, 09:35, 09:30, 09:25, 09:19, 08:47, 08:40, 08:46, 09:02. Was really chuffed with that as first long run since Loch Ness plus the fact I had the energy to get faster as I went on. But bloody hell did it feel tough- it was blowing a right gale here yesterday and raining to boot....but sometimes that feeling is quite nice when you feel like a 'real' runner in the kind of weather most people wouldn't brave...
Started this week with a shortish interval session tonight at the gym, followed by a cool down on the spinning bike and a couple weights. Achy now.
Carl - it was a no brainer mate. Kids come first. Just wasn't meant to be - there are plenty more marathons.
Anybody enter Berlin ballot a few weeks back? Ballot results out early November!
Ali - loads for me to pick up on from reading back over the last few days. But I thought this summed up for me what this thread has been about for the whole of this year. This has always been a very welcoming place for people to come and join in. And yes we are all in slightly different places with our results but we probably all have slightly different goals. It has never been about being faster than everyone else or everyone having to be able to run sub "the same". It is about helping everyone else by sharing our experiences. I have learnt more about running on here than from anywhere else. I am gutted that I could not run yesterday. I know it was the right call and it is great to hear that from you and everyone else. Nell absolutely nailed it this weekend. Oirish pulled off an amazing feat. Ricky dug deep to get a great PB. Big G has shared some fantastic experiences with us recently and completed a really tough race last week. Each and every story of their individual battles against the elements, their pain is amazing and just shows what can be achieved. Carter has had a rough year but is still pushing us all on and will come back even stronger than his spring training suggested he could do.. You have achieved some great things too. Loch Ness was amazing. You helped somebody else get to the finish. Not many people have that in them. And yes I am convinced that you will push yourself even harder. You have as much right to be here as any of the rest of us.
Well done everybody. I suspect that we have many more PB's in us.
Now just need to start our list of races for the remainder of 2013 and our 2014 list.
Carl you are dead right! We have all got to some good places, and no doubt been helped by the shared experiences of others on the thread... so long may that continue.
Well said Carl an even more so as your weekend didn't go as planned for yourself, I've been a bit quiet on here when my training started to go the shape of the pear and I knew Sunday for mehad the capacity to go hideously wrong so I was quietly trying to get prepared and not do too much whinging.
When I found myself watching an unchanging screen waiting for Ricky's tracker to update from 20 miles to finishing time it did make me think how we've all come so far together. I'm not entirely claiming all the credit for Ricky's barnstorming finish, obviously he did some of the work but I was certainly willing him home.
Ricky- Congratulations, superb run and report. I hope you are feeling ok and finally got some shuteye. Another PB in the bag, we knew you had it in you. So you'll be off to te sub 3:30 thread then eh?
Hi all,
I've spent some time reading back and echo what has been said. This is a great thread! Well done to all who managed some great times, and Carl, you made the right decision not to travel. As has been said, there are other marathons out there.
I can't write much at the moment. I'm on holiday in Bruges (lots of lovely Belgian beer for me, and lots of lovely Belgian chocolate for my wife). I purposefully haven't brought my running stuff with me as I decided I needed a few days off. I'll get back to it when I return, and devise some cunning plan to get that sub-4
I seem to start all of my posts on here with 'not been on for a while but'... Never mind, what can I say, I miss you guys! Had a crazy busy first term back at work but recovering with the kids this week.
Wow some inspirational stuff to catch up on, but that's what I love about this thread, there always is something that makes you sit up and think, wow that's an amazing effort.
my running is slowly picking up again, ive struggled to find the time the last 8 weeks with work and the kids so do more than a couple a week but I still ran the Oxford half a few weeks back. A few months back my brother of ten yrs older said that he was interested in running a half as I was already entered for Oxford he joined me with a target time of anything under two hours. I promised to run with him to get him round in this time which would be well under my normal half time. I was quite worried leading up to the day as my training had been minimal. (relaxed loads with my training knowing that i wasnt going for a quick time.) on the day we had some of the worst conditions I've ran in but all went well, set of at a 8.45 pace and pretty much stuck with it to the finish line. I tried to get my brother to kick on for the final 3 miles but he was having none of it so we came in at 1:55 he was really pleased and it felt very nice to finish a race with plenty in the tank as opposed to my last few when I pushed so hard int the final mile or two that I thought I would be sick after I crossed the line!
since then running has been getting a little more frequent, I've managed a couple of 10mile runs at the weekend and consistently seem to average between 7:30 and 8:00 min miles.
will endeavour to get on here more often over next months, training for Brighton Mara begins at the start of December. Going to follow the P&D 55mile 18week schedule with a few tweaks (I want to get a half mara in and increase the length of a couple of the long runs as I want at least one 22 and ideally another 20 mile in the build up,)
lol at oirish- not 'entirely' claiming credit for Ricky's victory eh? You are very generous
Now that you mention it I feel a small part of the credit is mine too.... 
G- enjoy your holiday- you seem to get away to lots of nice places in Europe! Sometimes a non running break is just the tonic for when you come back!!!
Andrew- good to hear from you again. Congrats to you and your brother, great time you helped him achieve, I would have been well chuffed with that as a first HM time.
Ricky and Nell- how are the legs?
Hi Ricky, Great report and again well done on your PB. You sounded as though you ran very intelligently.
Hi Carl, well said sir! Yes I must admit I do enjoy this forum and there is always something to take away from it. Besides I am always awaiting another epic from the legend Oirish!
Hi Big_G, Enjoy the beers, Leffe Brune...yum yum!
Hi Ali, The legs are pretty ok, just aching when I am in bed. Hoping to get a decent nights kip tonight. I am enjoying the aftermath of the marathon and doing nothing...bliss!
Hi Andrew, Good to hear from you, sounds like you are getting back into things
Oirish your willing me home (along with half of Dublin) definitely helped - thank you sir
.... awesome stuff from you on the Ultra. Funny we chatted at the Expo on Sunday to the organisers of Connemara & Tralee Ultra's on their respective stands and talks & thoughts of Ultras next year were afoot. We all agreed however after the race yesterday that those talks & thoughts were silly onea & best forgotten - the pain of the marathon still freshly etched in our memories!
Hello again Andrew! Your brother did well for his 1st half.... has he got the bug and is this the first of many? - tell him my first(since returning to running) was 2.06 last year and I have since knocked a full 30 mins of it!
Ali - legs have been steadily improving. At their worst immediately after finishing resulting in a slow shuffle/limp to the bag drop but improving to a slow walk/limp on the half mile walk back to the hotel,
Today I felt much more normal however sitting at my desk in work for a couple of hours wasn't sensible - when I got up it took 3 or 4 strides to walk normally! Out on work appointments this evening and on my feet so walking fairly normally and stairs are ok.
No running planned for at least a week!
I see I finished 2818th from 14,619 starters so finished in the top 19% ....... pales into insignificance compared to your 5th place though Nell! Great stuff.
Ali, Bruges is a great place to visit. We catch the Eurostar over to Brussels and then it's another hour on the train from there. I tend to do my sightseeing based on local bars and pubs and this place is a favourite. Their house beer is 11% and for that reason they only let you have 3 glasses...
http://beersay.wordpress.com/2011/05/07/de-garre-bruges/
I feel I needed a break from the running for a few days but hopefully I'll get back to it feeling fresh
Hi Big_G, That looks good. It is funny when I went to the physio for a massage on Monday, she did comment that when I had a terrible week at work 5 or 6 weeks before the marathon she reckoned it was the best thing that could have happened. It is funny we go on ploughing away when sometimes if we stand back and take stock a rest is sometimes the best thing for us and our body....so have another beer!
Hi Ricky, You are too kind (remember numbers in my race were just under 100). When I look back on the run from Sunday, the wheels could have come tumbling off very easy for me. I went into the run from the 3rd to about 12th mile just over my HM pace earlier in August. I was certainly in unchartered territory and thought at the time this could blow up in my face!
Looking back though, when I ran the HM back in August, I had not long come back from holiday and I then just started training for this marathon. I was very lucky to meet up with Dave on the 13-15th mile and then hook up with him until the end. He had ran a HM earlier in the year at 1:28, so I thought we were pretty well matched and we did get each other through those hills on the last miles. By the way it was his first marathon!
Another Hill (Nell Blue in the Blue!)
Morning all. Carter checking in quickly from the sunny algarve. No running done yet but have got my stuff with me so hopefully get out later.
Ive had a quick read back but will take it all in when I come home. All I would say at this stage is that it's been a fabulous couple of weeks on here, very well done to those who have raced recently (it will be our turn soon Carl so chin up), I feel very proud to be part of it.
Right, off to the bar.......
Good to see that everyone who has been exterting themsleves and doing us all so proud are now relaxing and enjoying a bit of non running time.
Headed out tonight for the running track. No running clubs tonight so no lights but as this is London that is not really much of a problem. Hopped over the fence and had the running track all to myself.
Decided that I would do a mixed session with 2 miles warm up, then about 3k at 5k pace and then a mile at 60sec slower than MP and a final mile at 30sec slower than MP.
So 2 miles wu at 9:22 and 8:53 mm
My 3k (2miles) were at 6:40 min/mile and 6:47 min/mile. This was running at sub 21:00 for 5k. I thought about going for it but decided against as it had been along time since I had eaten and I knew that 5k at that pace was just not in me at 8:30pm (Last food had been taken on board at 2.00pm).
My final 2 miles were at 9:00mm and 8:27mm.
Overall 6 miles with a mix of paces. I really enjoyed this session and running on the track. I am lucky to have one close by that I can access when it suits me.
Nell - fantastic running from you. Great picture.
Ricky - great race report. Great result too. It wont be long now before you break the 3:30 barrier.
Hi all, new to this thread and looking for advice. I'm running Boston in April which will be my 5th marathon. Just wanted to know if any of you do strength and conditioning work as part of your training and the effect it has had on you?
I've been doing some strength work but I'm not sure it's having a great effect - basically I'm knackered! Also, what sort of paces do you guys run your long run at?
Many thanks!
Sarah
Hi Carl, Good running on the track, good to see you are still cracking the whip ;0)
Must be nice having the track to yourself?
Hi Speedy Fen, Yes I perform strength and conditioning during training as I suffer from ITB. Earlier this year I had it in my left knee and went away and did a bit of research on it and with a bit of trial and error I think I have hopefully gone forward with things.
I ran the Edinburgh Marathon earlier this year and ITB kicked in on both legs mile 22 and 23. This pretty much confirmed to me that it was Biomechanics that was the issue.
I follow this guys routine 4 or 5 times a week http://strengthrunning.com/2011/02/the-itb-rehab-routine-video-demonstration/ and I have also gone to the gym to perform squats, single arm deadlifts, and lunges. I eased off and did not go too heavy on the weights as I believe this was giving me an imbalance with the larger and smaller muscle groups. The larger groups overpowering the smaller groups, giving the imbalance.
In training for my October marathon I eased off the gym weight sessions and introduced a hill rep session once a week to try and give a more balanced workout, I think this may have worked as I ran the October marathon stronger and with no ITB pain. Obviously I think the correct running posture has a lot to do with your injuries also.
I see a physio once a month and if training intensely may bring that down to 2 or 3 week intervals, to get a massage and keep on top of things.
I am still a work in progress, but I think I am getting there.
Hi Speedy Fen.
Generally I do follow not too bad a strength routine and do a basic all over body workout at the gym with exercises using weights, and body weight exercises.
Ironically when I could do with this most, training for a marathon, I tend to end up doing less, as I don't have much time for anything other than running. I am going to try and keep up the conditioning work during my training for my next marathon. Not too much, just a couple of sessions a week that I feel are beneficial.
I feel it helps with good form and also helps to keep certain muscles really strong. I also do try and stretch especially when I have very tight hips as I do get when I run a high amount of miles. I am a recent convert too to the foamroller at my gym which I love after a good run. Some people find it painful but I find it a kind of satisfying feeling
To be honest I can't say what it's done for my running because I've always been quite into the gym, it's not something I've just started since running.
Nell - great pic! Must see if I can get one posted of my lumbering frame from Dublin!
Carl - good session there. I'll not be going to the sub 3:30 thread just yet! I do think I have a sub 3:30 in me though based on my 1:36 HM a few weeks back. It just didn't happen in Dublin. That said my B goal was sub 3:40 and C goal a PB (sub 3:44) so still pleased. My MP throughout training was 8.20 and my avg pace in Dublin was 8.19, I didn't hit the wall, avoided a hellish last 6 miles and ran a fairly even split. So all in all pleased with the effort!
Looking back I have had a good year running 4 HMs and 2 Marathons - my two overriding goals were a sub 1:40 half and a sub 3:40 marathon - and both are now in the bag
On a less positive note I got my second rejection today - now unsuccessful in the ballot for Berln as well as London
On a very sad note, a visiting English runner collapsed with heart problems after crossing the finish line in 3:10 @ Dublin on Monday. He passed away in a Dublin hospital yesterday. Ironically he was running for the British Heart Foundation. Tragic - thoughts with his family.
SFB - hello & welcome!
I am the worlds worst stretcher & strength trainer so won't be much help - however my recent experience might be of interest to you:
I have generally considered myself as a lucky type who didn't need to bother with such rubbish. I would however do a few basic stretches pre & post runs. However during my recent marathon training I become more cavalier and for the last 5-6 weeks dispensed with stretching almost completely. Then a couple of weeks before my marathon I developed hip pain which was then diagnosed as tight glutes. The result was I ran my marathon in considerable pain and my finish time probably suffered a bit as a result. I have learned my lesson the hard way.
I know a guy who has competed internationally at triathlon and he is pushing me to do some strength/stretching training and guarantees that the improvements in my running times will be huge. Still haven't done any mind you...
Nell - it was fab having the track all to myslef. Funny how living in London you can still find a part of this planet to be all alone. It was good to get a hard workout in. I did not realise that I was running the 3k at sub 21 mins for 5k. It is little wonder that I was really feeling it. But the most important thing was I enjoyed being out there with the elements doing what I enjoy doing. Running
.
Really impressed with your understanding of everything to do with biomechanics. Seems to work for you.
SFB - welcome to thisthread. Do stick around as we are always on the hunt for new members to join the party. I am probably in the same school as Ricky. I do the minimum amount of pre and post run stretching. Sortof know that I am not getting any younger and probably should do more. I have never been a fan of the gym. You would not know that with the amount I have spent on gym membership over the years but I find it dull. Since I rediscovered the running bug a few years back and really got into it this last year, I am not sure where I woulod find the time if I was being honest. Work life, family life and running life. Not much time left for any other kind of life.
But Nell swears by it and he knows what he is talking about. Ali does it and has been doing it for some time so it probably does benefit.
If you have the time and are curious it might be worth seeing does it help. If it does great. If it does not then at least you will know. The fact is we are all different and what works for one may not necessarily work for another.
Running Boston next year. That will be some experience. One day I am hoping to qualify to do it. Must do some more training .... and must get a qualifying time too ...
Ricky - you are the man. A great years running from you. Yes you did not quite pull it off in Dublin but you got your PB's and goal times in the HM and the 26.2. That is truly amazing.