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The RW Forum Six - The Pitch Thread
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Daffs ... October is acceptable I would say, make sure you have a good half planned in the middle
Doppy gets my vote, she ran well at boot camp, was very friendly and I couldn't understand why she didn't make the final 3!
I also have Insanity although I just use it for the core stuff now and again, bloody killer it is too.
If I get time tonight or tomorrow I will have a count through and see how many we have ... a few more wouldnt go amiss tho !
A few more of most things never goes amiss
I think we need to round up a few newbies
rich, i bet your pb was less than half the time of mine to start with!
is the Insanity workout thing a class or DVD based? Guessing if it's the latter you need lots of space?
Cool, may check it out. I have next to no space here so most DVDs just don't work for me
Theres some stuff on youtube about it. Good luck!!!!!
Hmmm, got to be worth a shot - here's my pitch...
I found out last Sunday that I had managed to get a place in this years VLM thanks to the fact that no-one else wanted the club place at East Grinstead Athletics Club. I joined this year to help gain an extra point or two in the Southern League Athletics League. I was a member of this club back in 1986 as a junior. How things have changed. In the 5k I was lapped by every other runner in the race just as I was in the 3k too. I didn't really care as it brought back so many memories of the mid eighties when I could run for fun and ran with so many good friends.
I am now 43 and having neglected running until 2008, I have since fallen in love with it again but I still have an off/on relationship with it. I'm the sort of person who has to sign up to a race to be motivated. Once I am out on the run I am always glad I went.
Away from running I have a job that sees me work from home at least a couple of days a week (usually) but two young girls (2 and 4) mean I have to work around them with regards to weekends and drop-offs/pick-up at the childminders.I am married and my wife has recently started to run a bit too but still isn't so keen on me running during family time. Guess that 20 mile run needs to be well organised?
All of my PBs are from the last couple of years but I have now hit a plateau. My HM PB (2011) was 1hr45:04 until October this year when I managed a new PB of 1hr45:02 in the Royal Parks!
My current PBs are:
10k - 46:56 (2012) 47:12 (2013)
HM - 1hr45:02 (Oct 2013)
MT - 4hrs27 (2011)
I have only run 1 Marathon and that was in Brighton. Back then I thought I could break 4 hours but screwed it up. I hit the wall after 19 miles and adopted a walk run strategy. I felt I had done well in training but in hindsight, don't think sub 4hours was realistic. According to my recent HM and 10k times I should now be able to break that barrier with change to spare. This is where I need the advice. What are my realistic targets? What pace should I really be doing that long run at? How many times a week should I be running? What should I try for fueling? Should I run with a fuelling rucksak? I don't know if I am like others, but I always felt I knew better than the magazines and books, i.e. that slow training pace is too slow, I should run faster...damn what's that pain in my shin.
I have used SmartCoach for the last 3 years and it has served me fairly well but I honestly believe I can go a lot faster but need that push. If I had to answer to someone who gave me advice I could trust, I know I could achieve my goals. I have read many many books, looked at many training plans and still don't know what my first real training run for the VLM will be on Monday morning.
Although I should be able to achieve 3hrs45 I would be happy to break 4hours and delighted to break 3hrs50. Should I be aiming higher? In order to get near these I know I need to train hard and be more disciplined. I know I need to try things in training to get me round the full distance. It's the advice I would like as well as the "why did I feel like that on this run" chat or "are you sure I can run this 26.2 miles" chat.
Should I be chosen as one of the six then I will happily share my story on the forums in the hope that it may be of help to others with their training. Like many, once you're accepted for the Marathon, the questions and the hard work really begin and you wonder why you bothered. For 16 weeks, anyway!
Thanks for reading my pitch.
Great pitch Lee Clarke!
+1 !
doppy - there's quite a debate going on the sub 3:15 thread of will she won't she. All interesting stuff. Swing by if you have a minute!
can't find it.
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/spring-marathon/sub-3h15/168846-1593.html
Kazza - sister bad habit has my insanity DVDs if you want to look
2 days to go
Here's my pitch. (thanks booktrunk for pointing to the thread!)
Hi, I'm Rachel and i want to be a marathon runner.
After years of not doing anything, I finally found the right combination of triggers to get me out and doing exercise, with the aim of losing weight. A friend suggested as a goal I enter the Run to the Beat half, so that was my first 9 months sorted, training for that, first C25K, then 10k, then the plan for a half. At the same time I convinced my sister to take part, so she started as well, running similar training plans. I did my first Park Run in 34:15, the most recent one in 27:54. My first 10k race was in May, with a time of 66:32, last month I managed 56:29. I made it to the half marathon, made it round in a time of 2:16. More importantly I beat both my sister and my friend
I then knocked 2 mins off that time 2 weeks later.
Then I found I'd got into the London Marathon! I'd entered as it was being talked about a lot, no harm in having a go, no expectations of getting in first time. But I did get in - giving me the opportunity to actually do the fantasy of running that race. So now it's time to take it further, build on a good year and and make the distance. I'm looking for a sub 4:30 time, which is what some of the results above predict for me.
I also put my sister into the ballot, but she did not get in. However, we are both doing the Silverstone Half, so she's busy training for that. My intention there is to beat her again ...
My strengths - once I'd made the decision - are my dedication to the plan and listening to advice. Weaknesses include wine and chocolate, not doing enough strength stuff and not pushing myself hard enough. I know I can do better!
It's been a massive journey for me. I've never liked running, hated cross-country at school and then avoided it ever since. But I'm 43, being unfit is not tenable for a long life. With running, you don't need a gym and you can squeeze it in at any time and it's been invaluable in my journey to fitness - along the way I've also lost 50lb+. Having a mentor will help me check I'm doing this right, not just the running but the other things around it too, the core work, the nutrition, the recovery.
Please pick me, I'd love this opportunity!
Great pitch Rachel
17 entries so far ... tomorrow is your last day !!
Ok here goes...
I started to run back in February 2012 as a means to lose weight, 17st and a bit of change I’m now just under 12st, and raise a little cash for my daughter’s Highland dancing school, I ran my first ever 5k fun run by mid march by which time I was hooked on the sport. I joined my local Jog Scotland group shortly after for some motivation, I am now one of the jog leaders isn’t it nice to give back. Since joining the group I have run in two 10k’s, five half marathons and two marathons, I do enjoy the race day atmosphere but what I really enjoy is the day to day training, and the stats I can get out of my Garmin.
I’m going to run Lochaber again this year as I have unfinished business, unfortunately I picked up a bug during the taper and I wasn’t fully recovered and I tried going out at goal pace which was a tad suicidal, as a result the last ten miles were painful, but I completed it in 4:28:xx, amazingly I took 26 minutes off that time at Baxters this September, but I was disappointed I didn’t manage to achieve my sub 4 target
Strengths - I would say that I am a fairly determined individual and I’m always on the lookout for ways to improve my race performances and I just love to run
Weaknesses – I probably push myself to far sometimes, and I don’t or more correctly won’t ease back and rest when it is required
PB’s
5k - 24:44
10k - 50:32
HM – 1:49:52
Mar – 4:02:13
I don’t really train for the other distances and run races just of my marathon training; I was delighted to get under 1:50 at my last HM and I hope to take that down a bit during this coming campaign.
I’m currently following a P&D plan 50-70miles a week but may revise as I am a relatively slow runner and those mid week MLRs will take over two hours to complete.
I would like to get the sub 4 this time round and with the right support and guidance I know I could take another chunk of my marathon time.
Bloody hell, that's some serious weight loss, Rachel and Stewart! Well done!
+1 to what Lit said. Thats some amazing weightloss!!
Thanks for the kind comments, there are some very inspirational canditates in here and no matter who gets picked following their journeys will be fun and educational
I hope so Stewart, whoever gets picked I hope that there is a thread for everyone to follow
thanks for the comments. I'm with StewartC, there's some great people here and some great stories still to come