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VLM 2016 - First timers?
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As newbies who have been struck by different injuries, our plans for 'runnning' just have to change a bit - that's all. Keep with the long runs and stop looking forward - just move from run to run and keep focussed.
If we have to walk it, we'll walk it. We are facing something huge and it's scary and the unknown. That doesn't mean we can't do it; just that we are doing it OUR way and that is just as valid as anyone else...
*steps off soapbox and gives Lass a hug!*
Thank you Blythe! The way I am feeling today, even walking it feels daunting! I think it's as everyone keeps going 'ooooo not long now, how's it going?'. And yesterday, a runner overtook me and said 'come on, up your pace'. If I could have done, I would have run after him and smacked his legs!
I am cheering myself up by reassuring myself that the 'beginners plan' on the VLM website is only 17 weeks long and we are slightly ahead of the curve on that front in that we started this thing more than 6 weeks ago.
I have also slacked off on my fund raising in case I needed to pull out when I hurt myself so I need to raise a heck of a lot of money too.
Chocolate is strangely helpful. I'll run it off later this week.
Oh, I am sorry if I inadvertently scared anyone, I am totally confident that we are all going to do it and more importantly, enjoy doing it. The reason for my optimism is that as the trainer of Fauja Singh, who ran his first marathon at the age of 89, yes 89 I only had ten wees to get him in shape - albeit he had jogged/walked a 20km distance for a charity a month earlier.
Blithespirit is absolutely right, with an 8 hour cut off for a medal, that is less than 3 and 1/2 miles an hour pace, we can all walk that. When I train newbies I ban the word 'can't' because it becomes self fulfilling.
I suggest that we have three goals for the day - if the first feels hard, drop to the second one, if that feels tough then fall back to the last one. The three goals are:
1. To finish in a realistic target time based on your training to date.
2. Slow down to finish the race in comfort.
3. Just finish.
I would advise against trying to keep up with others, you simply do not know their capability or strategy, just listen to your own body.
Hope this helps.
You didn't scare me Harmander - do not worry. The fact that there is only 12 weeks to go scared me. You simply pointed it out and I let it sink in!
Well if an 89 year old can do it, so can I!!!! I saw Fauja Singh on the news - he is amazing.
Not to self - positivity! I occasionally have a tendency to be less glass half empty, more glass has fallen on the floor and the carpet is soggy.......
Blithespirit,
Just checked my diary, no entry so happy to do Saturday but perhaps after lunch as I really would like to do Parkrun pacing too in the morning - say 2:00 pm?
For everyone else, yes will do Sunday also - If I can do marathons on consecutive days why not half the distance?
Midlands Lass, was it the news or the Ford 'UNLEARN' advert?
Oh OK, talk of the devil lol,
thanks
Hopefully that will inspire everyone to keep moving.
His marathon time in Toronto as the first 100 year old to complete the distance, just 72 hours after setting 8 world records (over 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, a mile, 3000m and 5000m one after the other in about four hours) was 8 hours 11 minutes. Six months later at the age of 101 I made him do it in 7 hours 49 minutes because of the 8 hour cut off time.
I suspect all of us are a little younger than him at the moment - incidentally, his fastest time of 5 hours 40 minutes was at the age of 92.
Only the last little bit up Bay Street - about 400 m, its nothing lol. The flyover at 40km is much harder.
I have done it a few times and it is my second favourite - after London although I have enjoyed (?) them all.
Toronto is a wonderful city. Maybe I will run there one day too. But a half!!!!!
Yes Toronto had two marathons, the one you refer to was the City marathon, I do the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon in mid-October. This one has University at the beginning but loops around to make the first 6 km mostly downhill.
Am doing it again this year if you guys care to join - really cheap package - less than £1000 for two for five nights at race hotel which is less than 100m from start/finish and next to the Eaton Centre - great shopping etc
Bring him with you!!!
Promise to stop the catter if he goes with you - and pays of course.
I have been getting away with saying to 'er indoors that consider it a break from my constant chatter - trouble is, she has started running too now and I am the one who needs a break.- we even do different Parkruns lol
I've run VLM a few times now, but the night before my first one (my first marathon) I was so nervous I almost felt sick, I thought that everyone else would be fitter and better prepared than me, and the whole thing just seemed too much. I really wanted to do it but didn't know if I could. One statistic which gave me confidence was the fact that of those who make it to the start line, more than 99% finish the race. So no matter how daunting it feels, you are almost certain to finish.
You've still got a couple of months, and in terms of distance you're half-way there. This is great going, because you don't need to run full distance in training. The biggest risk to your marathon now isn't so much the training, as injury - make sure you rest properly and don't overdo it (I'm speaking from experience here).
An injury now may not heal in time, or will at least compromise your training plan, so take care of yourself. It's also around this stage that the training is at its toughest - the weather is still rubbish, and the distances are getting longer and tougher, but the big day still seems a long way away. One thing which might help with this is that you're probably going to have a 3-week or so taper, so the end of the training build-up is closer than you think (start of March). Your last long run (maybe your longest) is not that far away, and you will feel great afterwards. You'll have finished "increasing" your training and will progressively reduce this in the coming weeks. You'll have broken the back of the training, the hard work will be over, and you'll be ready for the marathon; trust me, this will be a great feeling. Just a few more weeks before we get there, but you're not alone, there's many thousands of us out there feeling exactly the same and working towards the same thing. You're putting in the work now so that you're ready to do something amazing.
Running a marathon isn't easy (that's why it means so much when you complete it), and everyone else may seem to you to be faster / fitter / better prepared, especially when you look around at the start line. But they're not, and everyone will be just as nervous as you. Remember that 99% of us will finish, and the priority is to make sure we all get to the start line uninjured.
Thank you so much for replying and your encouraging words rodeoflip. It must have taken a while to put together such a comprehensive answer.
The main thing driving my fear is injury. The thought that I either won't make it through the training or that I will do some damage in the event itself.
I know I have said it before but as a beginner I have a genuine difficulty in listening to my body and differentiating between niggles due to the fact I am running a long way vs the early sign of an injury. People I know who have run marathons and ultras before say 'its normal to hurt a little bit' but its difficult to determine what 'a little bit' is as I suspect I have a rubbish pain tolerance anyway. So I feel like I am on a bit of a knife edge injury wise with the potential for my knee to go again if I am not careful. Hence my long runs are so slow at the moment I am almost going backwards and interspersed with walking breaks.
I know if I get to the start line, I will get to the finish line through a mixture of excitement and grim determination. It's the fear of not getting to the start line that is worse, after doing everything right: rest, physio, endless strengthening exercises and core work.
My knee doesn't hurt outright but I know its not right. I am going to use the rule of thumb that if I can run on it without it altering my stride and having to stop, its probably OK.
ML - sounds sensible - I know what you mean, if you're in training then it can be hard to know when something is seriously hurt and when it's just sore as a result of training. I wish I had some wisdom to pass on, but unfortunately I don't - you just need to try to figure it out yourself and learn to tell the difference. Grim determination is a trait which is not unusual amongst marathon runners, it's particularly obvious sometimes when you look at the faces around you at around 22 miles. In fact, it may b a pre-requisite for running a marathon.
If I stopped running to rest every time something was sore, I would never run. I have plantar fasciitis at the moment, which is a real pain and is not getting any better, but I have a place at London which I worked really hard for and I'm not going to let a sore foot prevent me from running (unless it's unbearable).
Your long runs need to be long, but they shouldn't be fast. Keep monitoring the knee and rest up if it gets really sore, and perhaps always make sure you've got £20 on you to pay for a train / taxi / bus if it goes while you're out running? You don't want it to flare up and you need to run 6 miles just to get home!
Rodeoflip,
Ah the blessed Plantar Fasciitis, some of the standard cures take too long for my liking (soak in apple cider vinegar etc) so I try the brutal ones like getting someone to apply as much pressure as bearable for as long as possible on the affected part of the sole in bursts to readjust the flexation until the pain is reduced and then the standing on toes on the edge of steps (achilles/calf stretch-) - anyway, it works for me.
Harmander, tried just about everything. Physio once per week, ice baths (foot only), hot baths (hot as I can bear), ultrasound, massage, using frozen roller under the foot, custom insoles, more stretches than I can remember. Even tried acupuncture - turns out there's a reason why they're reluctant to do soles of feet (agony).
It's been like this for over a year now, I've tried resting it for a month (sort of) and it made no difference. It comes on after about 6 miles or so but doesn't get too much worse if I run further. My cunning plan for London involves co-codamol and telling myself repeatedly that everything's fine. I suspect once I've finished my spring marathons then I mat rest it properly for a while.
rodeoflip, do you live anywhere near North East London? reason for asking is I know this chappie who fixed my cruciate ligaments in ten minutes when doctors tried for three years and failed - i was resigned to have surgery but did not need it after this chap 'fixed' it for me - i even walked home (3 miles) with no pain. - he does not charge anythoing but you can make a donation to a charity - just a thought.
Doctors had told me to rest (not run) but keep mobile, so I did 'keep mobile' by running 16 marathons and 30 half marathons in the three years (slowly)
Wow, that its keeping (very) mobile!
And no I live in the wilds of Cumbria, so about as far from London as I could be without leaving England to go live in Scotland (which I'll be doing next month!).But sincere thanks for the recommendation, much appreciated. You never know.......
ML - I agree on the niggle thing. After all I kept running on my hip even though I was limping. Stubbornness is a trait I think of the marathon runner. If it helps, I asked my physio when I was discharged about niggles vs injury and she said:
1) if you have to stop running because of the pain during a run.
2) if the pain is still there and you've rested for 48 hours.
Despite the fact that on my runs I've had occasional burning in the knee or aches in the hips, I haven't had either of those two things happen to me. That advice has helped me settle my nerves a bit - hopefully it will do the same for you.
Harmander - your wealth of experience is amazing! Looking forward to Easter Saturday as long as you do all the talking as I will just be gasping along...
How is your training coming along everyone?
Great job, sounds like your training is really back on track! Rule of thumb for injury v niggle also very useful. By that metric all my niggles are indeed niggles. Hurrah!
I've had fine short/medium runs this week; I have a rest day today, then onto 11 miles tomorrow. It's funny to think that what was a 'long run' a few weeks ago (5 miles) is now a 'medium run', and in a few weeks will be considered a 'short run'.
Hope everyone else is having a good week? For those of you with charity places, how is fundraising going?
Good advice on the niggles too. In that case, my niggle-ometer is at 3
1. Residual comedy knee fat injury right knee with the occasional twinge
2. Inner left knee which came on on my short Wednesday run as I went too fast as I was angry at Jeremy Hunt (I work for the NHS and he's not a popular man at the mo). It was ok on a short run last night although mildly niggly afterwards. Stupid Jeremy.
3. Right hip. I know it's my tensor fascia lata tendon and I had it last year too and it twinges when I stand from sitting for a while and at the end of a long run
Due 13 miles again tomorrow all being well.
I have given up booze until the big day. So the post marathon pint will be much deserved. I am also trying to make sure I get a bit more sleep although work is pretty stressful at the mo.
My fundraising is rubbish at the mo. I'll start again next week if tomorrow goes ok.
The charity says they allow 6 weeks after the marathon to collect the money so hopefully I will get enough otherwise I'll be digging into my own pocket. Which won't be do bad as I don't give enough to charity
Hope everyone's weekend long runs go well. Dig out the gloves and hat. It's freezing!
Your acupuncturist should have needled Bladder 57(on the calf) and Kidney 3 (on the ankle) connecting them with a TENS machine, so that the tingling sensation generated is felt where the PF is. Treatment needs to be for a minimum 45minutes, and probably up to 5 or so separate sessions, if no effect then continuing treatment a waste of time/money, but can resolve PF completely (nothing guaranteed, sorry).
Sorry, I don't make home visits, not to Cumbria anyway, and am now retired, so.....
Will be doing the first of the 2nd half of the VMLM route tomorrow with three others - those Big Mac Meals will be are going to well desereved as I intend to do about 16 miles bringing my total for the year to over 230 miles.
Running round and round my small town is so boring. I look forward to seeing the sights of London.