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VLM 2016 - First timers?
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Hi everyone, sorry I haven't posted on here in a while. Sorry to hear some of you have had injuries problems. I think every long run I've done throws up a new niggle but luckily (touch wood) they havent developed into anything serious. With my work and private life schedule I'm only getting out on the road twice a week and once a week at the gym, but I'm on track. My longest run was last week and that was 14 miles. I've done a half marathon today but I felt queasy and shaky when I got back. I think I need to start looking at fueling. Any advice for that?
Harminder - I was thrown into despair by your description of the distances that one needs to do but I need to keep focussing on the fact that I am there to try and finish rather than to run an amazing marathon...
Blithespirit,
No need to despair, I was just saying that if anyone wanted to 'enjoy' the marathon they should (in my opinion) be doing a regular 10 miler now and a half marathon distance by end of Feb. The hardest part (particularly in London) is when you turn right on to The Highway just before the halfway mark, you see on the other side of the road those who are approaching 23 miles and they appear to be running darn fast.
So during March I suggest that first timers need to start doing longer than half marathon runs during March - going up to say 18 if not over 20 at least twice so you can start tapering down by mid-April.
Basically, one 'hits the wall' at a distance about a 1/3 more than your latest longest run - so if you only run 15 miles regularly towards the end, you are likely to have problems by about mile 20 - and you still have a double Parkrun to go - the cheering crowd can then seem a nuisance because you are forced to smile back.
If you are going for a set finish time, a general rule of thumb suggests that you should aim to reach 80% of the distance in 75% of the target time
Some other tips I picked up include:
Don't increase the distance by more than a couple of miles from your last run.
Stay hydrated - even a sip or two every mile or so, even before you really need it.
Test which drinks/gels or other boosters agree with your palate now, not on the day.
Don't save a new pair of shoes/clothes for the day, wear them a bit before the run.
Planing how you are going to celebrate your achievement on the day is an incentive.
Enjoy.
A lethargic measley 10.05 miles in 1 hour 48 minutes 42 seconds (terribly short 'long run' I know)
YTD 169.50 miles in 30 hours 32 minutes 59 seconds
The above is my entry on another thread (Thousand Mile Club)
If anyone is interested, I will be taking my club runners from Tower Bridge to the finish line of the marathon on Valentines Day at 11 minutes/mile pace and the following Sunday at 12 minutes a mile pace- meet at Tower Hill tube station at 8:00 am for 8:15 start.
Total distance is 14 miles
Let me know if you are interested
I managed 8 miles today with only two brief stops to strech and another two to take advantage of a water fountain. Quite pleased with that. Had a fun 5 miler this week along a river path in the pitch black, since I'd been too lazy to go before work.
I'm following the same plan as I did three years ago (when I got to a 16 mile long run, did some damage and didn't run again until marathon day!), and comparing my 8 mile run then to today, it was 1h11 then and 1h30 today! Massive difference, but I suspect that pushing myself too much was what led to injury last time, so happy to relax the pace.
NickW - I'm no expert here, but I'm not sure squash is the best cross training to be doing. Lots of sudden movements could be relatively high risk of twisting something? Might be worth getting advice on whether its wise to take a break, especially as you get closer to marathon day.
Blithe - really pleased you seem to be on the road to recovery, and hopefully just a minor setback
After 10 days of rest I need to get back up to my plan. I am aiming to do 9-10 next week then 13-14 on valentines day which takes me back to where I was with my long runs prior to injury. Then back to the galloway plan of increasing every 2 weeks with a shorter run every other Sunday. It's the Galloway way and it suits me. It means a slow increase and it doesn't sound like a lot of running but I trust my man Jeff.
My time out means I will have missed two long runs which on the original plan would take me to 23 miles but I can't fit them on without altering the plan to run back to back long, long runs on consecutive weeks and I fear that will lead to another injury. I would rather be slightly under prepared.
If all goes to plan, I will have done 3 runs over 15 miles (16,19 and 20) and that will have to do.
Just crossing fingers my lower limbs don't get injured again as if they do I will almost certainly have to pull out as I won't have adequate training time. Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly from here
Midlands Lass - Please be careful not to jump in too quickly. I read somewhere a rule of thumb of going back two weeks in your plan for every week missed. That may well be overly conservative, but as you say, better to be somewhat underprepared than not make the start line. Again, no expert, but going straight back into 9-10 then 13-14 sounds like a lot to me. I'm only on 8 now and haven't missed any long runs (admittedly following a different plan).
As my long runs only increase every other week it gets a bit confusing.
I had 10 days off in total and missed 1 Sunday run of 6 miles as it was a light week. I decided to take 3 weeks to get back to where I started in my plan ie 13.
I did 3 instead of 15 last weekend as I was just getting back into it.
I did 5 this week as I was on call all weekend hence was going to do more next weekend and get back to where I was the week after that. Then start the increasing every other week again. I thought I would be fine as I have already done runs of 9 and 13 miles.
This was Based on the internet saying' if you have a week to 10 days off have 2 easy weeks then resume your plan. And picking the brain of a fell runner I work with.
It's all very confusing though I grant you
If I go too far back I simply won't get all my long runs in.
This is the dilemma.
I might just set out on the next 2 Sundays and simply see what happens and go as far as I can then reassess
Thanks for all the good wishes - very kind... I managed a full 3 miles tonight and feel great so am back to irritatingly cheerful! I've also looked up the Galloway plans and am refusing to feel downhearted at the fact that I have only walk/run 3 miles and have a half marathon in three weeks.. I'm really hoping all that cross training has kept me fit and that the walk/run will keep me injury free.
Lass - please be careful! I'm determined to do this thing with all of us so you need to take care of yourself. Russell - good to hear you again and Harminder, I would join in with the 12 mm but I'm doing a half that day in Richmond park (hopefully...)
Do you think it matters if I'm way behind the others in it? What made me laugh tonight is that I got a faster time walk/running than I did previous to my injury when I just ran it.. Here comes a 3 hour marathon (JOKES!!)
Hugs to you all...
Good advice Harminder.
Madmum, fuelling is something you need to think about once you get beyond a HM. You don't want to set off on a full stomach (think carbs, eat at least 1.5 hours or more before running) so this means fuelling on the go. You should take some water (or isotonic drink if you start to suffer cramps), maybe take a water bottle with you in a waist belt? Or take some money and run past a shop which sells water at around half-way? Most pubs will be happy to give you a glass of water if you ask.
You could try flapjacks, fruit, etc. Many people even swear by jelly babies. Gels are easy to carry and an efficient way of replenishing energy, but....they can be an acquired taste, and it takes trial and error to find a brand / flavour which agrees with you (you are likely to know very quickly if it doesn't). Try a few different types while out on long runs, and when you find one you like, stick with it. There are various strategies for gels, but on race day, you'd want to take the regularly - e.g.- @ 6, 10, 14, 17, 20 & 23 miles (6 gels). I will even make a note of these on the pace band because if I'm trying to run hard then my brain struggles to remember anything.
You're right to think about fuelling, and the time to experiment is during your long runs. The right food / drink will make a big difference and will give you the energy to keep running a long way further than you would otherwise.
Dear all,
Thanks for the thanks as it were - just wanted to ask if you were kind enough to spell my name right please.
Anyone in East London, come and say hello.
Midlands - thanks for the advice, I will probably try and get to see a physio next week unless it's cleared up.
Russell - I'd agree squash probably wouldn't be your first choice of cross training, but I've played it for most of my life and (touch wood) never had a serious injury from it. In any case I play for (and run) a team, enjoy it a lot and would really like to keep doing so. My current knee trouble doesn't seem related (certainly doesn't hurt while I play, or seem to hurt any more than before once the adrenaline has worn off). Our season finishes on 31st March though so I will probably not play too much leading up to the LM.
Harmander - thanks for the offer to join in running the route, unfortunately don't think I'll be able to make either date.
Madmum - I tried an energy gel on my long run this week (someone bought me a bunch of them for a Secret Santa present), it seemed to help and was no trouble to take round. I did have a little trouble opening it with freezing hands though (it was colder than I expected)! It was very sweet, I suspect they all are, luckily I have a sweet tooth. Seemed to agree with me though and the run went well.
NickW2, It is an art to open the sachets, you have to grip one edge with your teeth and pull while trying not to squirt the contents everywhere - I tend to hold the sachet near the tear point so at least some still stays in for me to squeeze into my mouth - lol.
Hah glad it's not just me then...sounds like I did quite well as I got it open with my teeth and didn't squirt too much of it everywhere - just a bit on my finger (which remained ridiculously sticky for the rest of the run). To be fair I did walk while doing this, may have been a different story if I'd been running!
Dear all,
I realise that while it may be your first London marathon, it is not necessarily your first marathon so my offer of showing anyone interested the second half of the route was not intended to be patronising but just a helpful offer.
The slowness of my run at 12 minute mile was to take account of the crossing of roads and chatting along the way. On Marathon day we will obviously not have to worry about such things and I aim to run at 11 minutes a mile for the first 21 miles leaving 67 minutes to do the last 5.5 miles. - just in case anyone is wondering why I say 5.5 miles and not 5.33 miles is because we can never all run along the blue lines and over the marathon distance end up running an extra 1/4 mile or so.
At the moment I have no other takers for either the 14th or 21 February - so it will be just the runners from my club
Back in the game!
Hope everyone else is getting on ok.
A circuit round my small town is 5 miles and halfway round is 3 miles so I do laps of the town. My lack of speed seems to amuse the men in the hand car wash...........
I saw my physio again too yesterday and I am good to go with no restrictions. Itching to get some miles in my legs again.
Morning All,
First timer here too! Thought I'd get involved with the discussion, if you'll let me
Training going really well, completing 13.1 miles in 1hour 44minutes at the moment, got 15 miles pencilled in for this coming Saturday then the Liversedge Half Marathon next Sunday!
Hope everyone's training is going well.
I've had a very up and down week with running.
I should have run on Tuesday morning, but after going out for a friend's birthday the night before (only one wine, but a late one) I just couldn't bring myself to get out of bed and hitting snooze once to many meant I didn't have time. I went on Tuesday evening instead and felt awful. 3 miles in bad pace, knee felt sore, just felt a bit rubbish all round. Inevitable self doubt started to creep in - 'if you struggle with 3 miles, how will you do 26?' etc.
Today I felt quite sluggish, quite tired and not really up for it. Forced myself out for my 5 miler that I should really have done yesterday. Much to my surprise, I felt fantastic! Maybe having a few days off helped, perhaps the caffeine from having a rare trip to Starbucks this afternoon, but whatever it was I just felt like I was flying. My pace, while nothing to a lot of people, was the best I've done in a long time. I'm going out for a few beers tonight, but no amount of alcohol will match the high of finishing my run today feeling great.
Hope you all have great runs this weekend
PS - Welcome on board Chris, sounds like you're well on track to marathon success
PPS - Harmander, thanks for the kind offer of running partof the course, but like others I'm a long way from London (just over 1000 miles - or 39 marathons!).
Harmander - very kind offer but your pace is quite fast for me!
Chris - many welcomes to the thread..
So news from my end. Saw the physio on Thursday and I have been discharged - yay! I ran 3 miles on Thursday and 8 miles today so really feel that I am back in the game. Today my fitness was there, so all that cross training was worth it, but my hip felt a little sore at the end. I'm going to continue with the exercises though.
Run well everyone....
Blithespirit,
what pace would you like me to go at?
happy to repeat it at slower pace over the Easter weekend at say 13 minute/mile which will mean 3 hours for the 14 miles.
It might mean you getting me a big mac meal with extra fries though. lol
Offer is open to anyone living in London as I realise the logistics to come from further afield can be a bigger challenge.
I will keep the Easter Sunday free and do it anyway - maybe even start from the 11 mile mark and run/jog the last 15 miles including running over Tower Bridge - hoping the Big Mac Meal is still on
Great, that means TWO Big Mac Meals for me
I don't want anyone to panic but there are only 76 shopping (I mean training) days to go and given it is good to rest after the longer runs maybe we only have about 35 training sessions left. I suggest go for progressively longer distances, even if it is run/walk to get used to being on your feet for several hours in one go.
I was 9 minutes slower over the same distance of hills today than a month ago but only feel good about crossing the 200 miles run this year - aim is to get 500 miles in before the big day - about 4 miles a day.
Happy to share my running experience (do not want to call it advice) with individuals either on-line or directly but not sure what the rules are about connecting off-line. I would not want to break any.
10 miles done. Next week will do 13 / 14 and will be back to where I was before I had my comedy knee fat injury. Then it's pushing on to 20. As I increase by 2 miles every other weekend, that means only 4 more long runs until the big day which is rather unnerving.
Today was hideous. I didn't realise how cold and strong the wind was before going out and didn't take my gloves. Then there was a short blustery storm with hail. My hands got so cold they swelled up And I still can't get my wedding ring off. When I got back, I took my husbands advice and tried an ice bath to speed recovery. I nearly cried!!! Now warming up with hot tea.
Well the ice bath worked a treat. My legs are much less sore today than they usually are. I am going to 'man up' and do it after every long run.
Having a real crisis of confidence today. The Galloway plan has 2 short midweek runs and a long run every other weekend. It suits me but it doesn't feel like much running in the week. I was relying on the long runs taking me the full distance in the run up and that would give a confidence boost. Now I won't get there due to the time off I had. Harmandar's post has made it sink in that its only 12 weeks away and I am feeling somewhat scared and underprepared.
Sorry to be a bit negative. Does anyone else feel like this??