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P&D Autumn Marathon Training Thread
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That should say you only should get 1 LT run a week...max.
Just back from my 15mi in 1hr55. Ran it at a fairly easy pace, not out of choice but out of that's all my legs allowed.
Fed up with being drenched with sweat when I get home.
I'm having a meltdown and it's nothing to do with the weather!
Every run is such hardwork! And the more I've thought about it the more I feel that the amount of effort and time that I was putting into training just wasn't worth the end result of a 4:20 marathon time. I realise that this isn't a 'bad' time but for me personally it doesn't justify the training I was doing. The next time I do a marathon I want sub-4 to be a realistic goal which it isn't this time round. I think deep down I was hoping that I'd get so far into training and suddenly have an epiphany and realise that I could actually run 9 minute miles for 26 miles after all!!
I'm also due to have some blood tests done so maybe that will explain some of my lethargy - apart from possibly overtraining
and the heat having some effect!
I feel like such a lightweight reading about all your great training!
awww, acp, c'mon - chin up! If I remember you've been doing monster mileage already before most of us even started with their plans - could it be overtraining?
I could never do no rest days - I need to have a good few to deal with my hangovers 
If it helps - I had severe iron depletion last year (without noticing) when every run became a struggle and paces dropped week on week rather than improving. It may be the same for you. Have those tests done - if it's iron depletion it can be fixed in a couple of weeks with supplements.
Take it easy until you have the results from your blood tests.
Glad no-one has to do 2 LT runs in a row
15W: no rest days is not healthy
Ran into work this morning - 14 miles. It was a nice and cool 16 degrees and hooray, that pesky calf niggle has disappeared
Hey acp - might be a good idea with the blood tests...some iron tablets may help. Plus, this heat is exhausting...and you are running a lot of miles. You are going through mid training blues...stick with the script....but also recover well. Go treat yourself to a massage or sauna or something. I doubt it is overtraining...but you could certainly be overdoing it a bit...so a few days off may help.
Chick - I am an elite - I cannot have rest days....saying that I may have a day off soon. Well done on your 14mi btw.
acp, you aren't a lightweight - these guys are all finding it hard too (judging by the amount some of them keep whingeing
) and actually that is one of the things I liked about the old P&D thread, i.e. when I was actually doing it - that everyone is having to work equally hard because each doing similar programmes at their own level. But the question of whether it's worth it or not is different and something only you can answer - I think there was at least one person on the vlm thread who did get a PB, but thought maybe all the extra effort put into this programme for a small improvement hadn't quite been worth it.
acp... stick with it... as a few have said, we're all finding it hard at the moment.
If I was you I'd take some of 15W's advice... drop a few recovery sessions and keep the important ones... go fo a nice bike ride or a swim instead... I can imagine the monotony of 5/6 days running a week getting me down as well. I'm doing zero recovery runs, just cycling instead... just back from a leisurely 90 minutes pootling around the local villages... much preferrable to a dull recovery run and probably equally beneficial.
acp agree with everyone else's wise words. Have a few days of rest and relaxation, and hopefully you will start feeling more positive about it all. Do as Mark and 15w have suggested drop all the recovery runs and just focus on the key training runs and that may also help.
BTW I too am finding it really tough and when I read what others are acheiving on this thread and others I feel a bit shit
. But then I remember that we are all at different levels and at the end of the day it is about 'our' race and not someone else's. I also think that it is important to not be a total slave to the plan as that way we can run the risk of becoming demoralised when we have shit runs. Running is also about having fun and enjoying the process (I think!!).
Oh and one last thing, I am totally fooked today and it is again too hot so I will now be be taking a rest day today instead of the inital planned 12mi which was changed to a recovery 5 miles as per earlier thread, so if that makes me a lightweight so be it
Lisa - having fun and enjoying the process? I'm confused.
Lit, I am pretty sure that I have heard that some runners actually enjoy running, maybe its just one of those rumours that gets bandied around sometimes
Lisa - what are you on about?
14ML for me today. My ML/LR pace range is 7:18 to 7:58 (for a target 6:38MP)
Trying to get away from a constant steady pace, I ran the first 10 @ 7:33 and the last 4 @ 6:30 to make a 7:15 average. This is my second P&D marathon and the advice is slowly starting to sink in!
acp - agree with everyone else. You started the plan long before most of us and in my eyes you are a legend! Don't compare your times to times of others on this thread. As Lit said, it's about how hard we're all working and reaching our own potential. There are some right speedy chicks on here and I'll never be at their level but I'm really pleased about how my own training is going and you should be too.
You'll definitely be on for a PB but only you can decide if this training plan is worth it. Can I ask if you're doing all your runs on your own? I do 3 of my runs a week alone and the other 2 with a club so I get some varied routes and it turns into more of a social activity than a training run. Could you rope some running friends into joining you? How about having a friend riding alongside you on a bike for a long run?
Just please don't give up, I'm sure you'll regret it. Take a rest, recover well, renew your energy and enthusiasm and come back and smash it!
Andrews - great run!
Just waiting for brekkie to settle and then I'm about to attempt my longest ever run - 18 miles. No marathon paced miles in this one and it's all about the distance so I'm going to choose a hillyish route, take it sllooooow and just focus on getting the miles done.
Ok, ok I will shut up now with all my talk about having fun and enjoying oneself whilst running!
Off out in a bit for my recovery run from yesterday, and it has at last rained overnight so hopefully it will be a bit cooler.
Tiny good luck with your 18 miler.
acp - definitely worth getting your blood checked. Iron depletion can creep up on you slowly. Hope you can rest up a wee bit & get better soon.
Last LT run of the plan for me last night & it was a toughie. 12 miles with 7 @ LT pace. My husband very kindly joined me on his bike and I was chuffed to be able to converse a little here & there while managing to maintain 7:45 pace. Looking forward to going slowly on my 20 miler this week. Doing it tomorrow due to weekend plans & having a lovely day of rest today.
Happy running!
Thanks for all the words of support and encouragement!
I've had low iron levels in the past so I've started taking iron tablets again and hopefully my energy levels will pick up again soon! Going to have a week or two of low, slow mileage then carry on with the schedule but rejig things around a bit (again!). I'm actually looking forward to the speedier stuff that's coming up - more for the variety than anything else.
Lisa - I do all my training on my own, mainly because of the time I do it, but I quite like the solitude. It's nice to get some peace and quiet away from the kids!!
Back from a 6.5 mile slog rather then the planned 5 mile easy run. That felt really tough both mentally and physically, even managed to get a stitch after 1 mile. I am hoping its just the humidity - currently 90% according to my garmin. Off to have a coldish shower and hope that my 10mi tomorrow feels better.
Clag really well done on maintaining your LT paced run
Chin-up acp... you'll get through this and come out stronger on the other side.
Supposedly easy 16k this morning.... got out early as it promised to be another hot one... struggled early doors but made it OK.... wish I'd have left it a bit later in the day... it's hoying it down out there now... would be lovely to run in.
26k with 16k at MP planned Saturday morning... pretty sure that will be beyond me.
Your garmin measures humidity?! Cool man.
Got 7mi recovery run scheduled today...although may be less depending on how I feel. Got 20 tomorrow as like Clag got a stuff on this weekend.
acp - rest up and eat well.
Thanks Lisa... just noticed that Garmin Connect does show humidity... 83% this morning... no wonder I felt rough and clammy.
great advice all around for you, acp. Hope you feel slightly more upbeat
dense fog this morning, nearly 100% humidity and 22 degrees meant my legs felt like lead and breathing was completely off. Inhaler didn't help so I just jogged around for an hour and that was it. May try LT tomorrow, hoping for less humidity 
Right, bailed out of my planned 10 with 5 @ LT pace, so complete lightweight too
So - decided to ditch the 7mi run for an hour's cross training and weights etc in the gym...1. to give my legs a break, 2. I pay for this gym and just use the shower, so thought maybe should use it occassionally.
Quite nice to do something a bit different to be honest...maybe you should try it acp (doesn't have to be gym, go cycling or swimming or walking or something).
Easy 4.5 miles for me in the sun and took in a few short, sharp climbs. That's me resting now til Saturdays long run.
Does anyone suffer with their feet getting really hot during a run ? I've tried wearing thinner socks, soaking my feet in cold water before my run but after a few miles they get really hot again. Does anybody have any ideas how to overcome this or is it just something I will have to put up with ? Shoes in the freezer before a run ??
Carter - shoes too tight? Last time I got new shoes in an actual shop I tried on a pair that were so narrow my feet were hot before I even started running in them, then got progressively hotter for all of the 3 or 4 minutes I spent trying them out on the treadmill.
15W, you're setting a terrible example. Tsk.
(though obvs acp might be worth trying the cross training)
carter.... I've tried loads of different socks but stumbled on drymax socks in a running shop in the US earlier this year... I bought half a dozen different pairs and all of them are without doubt the best socks I've ever had.... comfortable, wicking & cool... even the thicker ones in this weather....
http://www.drymaxsocks.com/future.php
...not sure whether they're available in Europe though... worth a look.
Lit - I dont generally have my laces too tight and I've only started struggling with it the last few weeks when we started with this nice weather.
M.arkF - cheers, I will look in to that
I didn't mean done up too tight, just maybe a bit on the narrow side - which might just be at the moment because your feet are swelling a bit in the heat.
Right. I hadn't considered that, I will check that out later. Cheers
Not sure what you'd do about it, though! Except perhaps loosen the laces further down the shoe, rather than just keeping the bit you tie up looser.
Recovery 5 this morning in the rain. Refreshing, despite the humidity.
Then the sun came out, so my daughter and I floated about in the sea in our wetsuits. That's a proper recovery!
Tomorrow I'll be between night shifts, so she'll have to come to my local track with me while I run around it 44 times. Poor thing!
Put my feet on a diet ! Do they have running shoes for fat feet then ??