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P&D spring marathon 2017
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Muddy, sounds more positive!
Tommo, probably a bit late to try something new, I've just got the Kalenji trail shorts from Decathlon. Lots of pockets for stuff and gels don't bounce around. I've also seen Xempo advertising some kind of pace band / wrist wallet thingy.
Just looking at the men, times required to achieve top 5%, 10% and 20% at brighton:
Finishers 5% 10% 20%
2016 6698 3:13 3:24 3:39
2017 7436 3:18 3:29 3:46
So if it wasn’t for the heat reckon we’d’ve been at least 5 mins quicker. So I haven't given up on my dream of 3:15 next year (I will be 40 next January) and a GFA spot for London 2019. I can't be tipping the scales at 12st 1lb as i did this year though on the morning of the race. Prob have to get down to 11st, then think I can do it.
I'm also interested in Tommos question as on my marathon rehearsal run my gels were stuffed in short back pockets and the shorts were bouncing up and down excessively. I had the feeling anyone running behind me would not have had an altogether pleasant view.
Spoons - great news about the legs feeling good. The big question is, what next?
Good news Muddy - hope you'll be good for next weekend.
Tommo I've been debating what to do about nutrition too. Bananaman has no pockets. Was is here someone posted awhile about about safety pinning the tops of gels to shorts? I might give that a go, but use my costume belt as the carrier. Slightly harder with clif bloks, I wonder if I could velcro them to my shoe covers..
Muddy, when I ran my half a while back I was behind a guy in short shorts who had a phone in his pocket, it was indecent, I hope you were better covered than he was!
Joe - I don't think we could avoid each other even if we wanted to. Did you get the email about registration and group photo?
6 recovery miles for me which was a bit of a shuffle. Legs only started to loosen up at the end.
This. Seems such a shame as my training level generally has increased. 50+ miles a week I did, but I still put on weight. I know I can surprise people, but need to get under 11 stone and I can do it but it requires me to put similar dedication into my diet that I put into my training. On a similarish matter, on Sunday I only had 2 gels and felt sickish from about half way. There was food on offer but I didn't want it. Anyone else have the same problems. Oh and again... I haven't smoked for 12 weeks, last year I took the ridiculous decision to start smoking again during my training and reckon I had about a dozen smokes the day before the mara and immediately after too. I don't reckon it makes a catastrophic distance on your ability as a runner but I don't ever want to do it again because I hate it and wouldn't recommend it. No redeeming features.
I've had a real focus on diet for the last 2 months and it's definitely not easy, but I've come to accept that even though you're training hard, it doesn't mean you need to constantly load yourself with food while you're doing it. I'm 5'10" and I've gone from 11 st 12 to 11 st 2, and feel the strongest and fittest I've been in a long time.
JCG - got the e-mail about the group photo, should be fun. saw the press release as well, there are some ridiculous costumes!
10 miles for me tonight after work.
Strava seems a bit bit empty without twice a day spoons filling up the feed? Enjoy the recovery!
I use a FlipBelt for all training runs - carries gels, keys, phone etc but sits flush to your waist or hips so no bouncing. For racing, I use Ronhill cargo racer shorts. Pouches work well for the gels - spreading them nicely to avoid bouncing. And a zip pocket for the emergency dextrose.
JCG sure your stash of bananas will suffice?
7M with strides yesterday. Did them on road rather than grass and noticed the difference for speed, but also calf soreness. Pretty tight this morning before 4M grassy recovery. Will try to iron them out with the spiky ball and roller.
Looking forward to 3 x 1M on the track tomorrow. Will be solo, but want to go as hard as possible. Who else has this session?
Rob - great PB, a number of us have trodden the well worn path from 3:30 plus to sub 3:15, keep plugging away and it will come.
Trevo - sorry to hear of your experience, I credit my personal worst with driving me onto my PB but get yourself fixed first.
Spoons, great result, and one that in less unfavourable conditions would surely have been a little quicker, as others have said, how far you want to go is up to you.
In all honesty not sure where I am with London. I should just trot round at an easy pace but will see how I feel nearer the time.
Cheers Macca.
Runspoons - I agree adios are the go to marathon shoe I used the adios 2.
Rob - I was checking effect of heat on marathon times the day before as i was starting to panic, and most results showed a time difference of 5 mins for heat of 56F (forecast temp) over a temp of 40F and the forecast was miles out and hit 71F so probably was worth a lot more than 5 mins over ideal conditions. (tahts for 3:15 runners)
Im also a heavy runner - 12.5st and 5'8, but don't really want to loose too much more weight as I look ill. Its only a marathon a couple of days a year, and I would prefer to look good for 365 days a year!
Ive been reading that slower runners at brighton had no water as they run out, as the forecast was so far out. Quite a few angry slower runners which is a shame as marathons are for everyone taking part.
Well done to those that ran marathons last weekend. Not had a chance to read back yet.
Paris
Get your biscuits out, no graphs but pics in Strava.
Never having run a marathon outside of SE England I thought it time to spread my wings so, almost a year ago, entered Paris. Not having been abroad since pre kids (9 years) I was looking forward to the trip as much as the marathon itself. I arrived via an easy Eurostar journey, Fri pm at a hotel conveniently situated amongst numerous massage shops - they obviously go for runner relief in a big way here. There was time for a couple of runs before race day to test the still tight hamstring although I hadn't dared run at speed for over a week. In hindsight maybe I shouldn't have run at all but I wanted to tick every run of the 18 week plan off which I did. My start (staggered) was 8:22 am requiring a pre 6am start (5am BST) to consume breakfast. After a minor bag drop panic, where I confused the start and finish areas, I got into my pen in time to witness someone crouch and pee a puddle right in the middle of the pen, c'est la vie. The race started down the Champs Elysees but within a mile or two the perceived effort felt too high at 6:40mm so I settled into a more reasonable 6:50mm until the body got going which it never really did. Pace was guided by an app I had loaded onto my watch but alas I had forgotten to turn off auto lap rendering the data a little confusing for me, see Strava lap times ! I don't think I could blame the heat at this point as it was so early in the day but the first half of the race just felt too hard and I was aware of an increasing number of people overtaking me. Apart from a few short stretches, crowds were fairly thin although people out for a Sunday cycle kept the runners company. I had a vague feeling I was around 3hr pace, official stats later confirmed 11secs under at halfway and a gel seemed to give me a lift as we turned alongside the Seine and through denser crowds. In places it was like the tdf, crowds forming a narrow tunnel to cries of allez, allez. Although I started to pass more people between approx miles 13 to 18 it was hard work to keep the pace sub 7mm. Another sparse section ensued around mile 20 as we left the city and ran a gentle climb into the woods. Even though a long gentle descent followed I couldn't get my speed up and I thought I would take a 3:00:XX here if offered, although it did cross my mind I'd messed up a few FML predictions but I couldn't do anymore.
I still felt that I was passing more people than being passed by but I was definitely feeling the heat now. There was also a switch back in these woods which confused me. I saw runners ahead but I now think they were behind but I remember thinking oh no - miles to go, when in fact it was less than 1mile. Anyway, a sudden turn into Avenue de Foch and the finish line was greeted with relief and a satisfaction that I had toughed out a low 3:0x finish. Despite the ample "pic-nic" tables of food at the finish, there was no fist pumping or back slapping, just an atmosphere of spent people trudging to collect their bags on the way to meet friends and family, maybe the atmosphere was different 2 or 3mins earlier for the sub 3s ? I couldn't find my family, no wonder, they were in a coffee shop a couple of miles away waiting for me to get to them. They sheepishly claimed to have seen some runners whilst sightseeing but as the course didn't actually go through Notre Dame cathedral, they were never likely to see me. Regardless, it was great to have them around at other times.
To summarise, I loved the whole trip. I met some friendly people from the Paris thread, enjoyed time with family in a beautiful city, fulfilled a 17 year pledge to self to grow some and ascend the third stage (top) of the Eiffel Tower and travelled on Eurostar, all without any major incidents, despite a track record of missing 3 flights in recent years. If I'm completely honest, a small part of me is disappointed not to have run back to back sub 3s to show that the first last autumn wasn't a fluke but I've got huge respect for a 3:02 and that rounds down to 3:00 just about, doesn't it ? I've also picked up PBs at half and 10k on the way.
I don't know if any of the following factors impacted on my time, the travel, unusual surroundings, lack of a decent cup of tea, tight hamstring, early start, lack of focus (London in 2 weeks + others), heat, time on feet the day before the race, I could go on, maybe 3ish is just about the cusp of my potential, maybe I'm better suited to low key, nearby events I can drive to within 2hrs. I'm not going to lose sleep over it, as a package I loved the whole trip and will do it again.
On a cooler day and all the stars aligning I'm sure you can get back in the 2:5x zone again soon.
10 miles for me including 6 miles with the club. Legs could only handle the 9 min mile group but they loosened up by the end. Only 1 more double figures run left (7 in total)
Rob - congrats on a PB and even more so given the heat.
Macca - great report and very honest assessment of how it went. How's the hamstring recovering for London. May not allow you to have another crack at sub 3 but I'm sure like Trev you just need to get back to 100% to get the next sub 3.
JCG - I think it was Northender who suggested the gels pinned to shorts. I've tried it and it worked so far as you don't notice they are there but it's a bit tricky to open one as you have to do a half twist, not easy at MP!
I'm getting niggles left right and centre at the moment, probably partly taper madness but partly a small quad issue that has decided to flare up at the worst moment. Not sure exactly what it is but I'm feeling an annoying pain inside my left quad but only after running. Sometimes it makes me wince when walking downhill, so I did my recovery on the elliptical today and haven't noticed it since (although my calves are feeling it). My worry is it will rear its ugly head at 21 miles when It's pretty much downhill to the end. However am enjoying the scenic shoreline runs in San Francisco before flying to Boston on Friday. Having complained of the heat in Sydney throughout training it now looks like it could be a warm one on Monday, reaching 17C so maybe it will pay off after all.
Anyone else running this weekend?
Macca: I'll have a proper read of that report later but skimming though looks good! [Edit: just read full report now. Travelling all that way is bound to make a difference to your time and it sounds like you listened to your body and paced really sensibly which meant you posted a great 3:02 - if you'd of carried on pace wise regardless of what your body was saying you'd of blown up and gone slower so I think that's fantastic racing really!]
I swear I'm jinxed - I've had an awful week. Been in bed since Monday with some sort of gastroenteritis aka shits, vomiting and fever. I've lost 10lbs (11st13 to 11st3). Only today have the shits subsided a bit and a lot of the pain gone away. No idea what this means for Southampton now in 10 days but at least I'm gonna be a bit lighter.
John - getting close now. I'm sure all that heat training will be beneficial! Jealous about you being in SF, beautiful place.
AWC - oh no! Hoping you're over the worst of it - plenty of time to recover, at least it's not this time next week..
10 miles last night and about to go out for another easy hour or so.
Great report Macca-thoroughly enjoyed reading it and sounds like the whole trip was a big success including the marathon which was very well executed in the circumstances/conditions. I watched the end of the race on tv and that last few miles in the woods looked really unappealing as you described. Rest up now and you will be ready for London!
Not long now John-I'm sure all the niggles are taper madness as you say and you will be fine on the day.
That's one way to get down to racing weight AWC! Joking aside, sounds very unpleasant but hopefully you are over the worst of it now. Won't have any affect on your Southampton performance and at least it didn't happen next week!
Any target you would like to share yet BR?
Not much to report here.Did an easy 11 miles yesterday and then 8 with 3 x 1 mile reps this morning. Reps were a bit shit to be honest: 5:41, 5:42, 5:42 but subconsciously I was probably holding back a bit and I'm never good at the stop/start nature of reps-prefer a tempo were I build and then maintain a specific pace. At least I didn't hurt myself which I'm constantly worried about-even when kicking a football with my boy or doing some general gardening!
Tom, I'm the same with the garden. Have a few jobs to do over the weekend but paranoid about falling off a step ladder and any other comical accident.
On race day extra caffeine will give you a boost - it's googleable - there are some best practices here. (I love RunnersConnect - well researched and contextualised articles.)
(*) Wilmslow half was an exception
Traditionally I give up caffeine about 6 or 7 days out. It helps me to sleep better in the week and then you are supposed to get more of a boost from any caffeine gels taken in the race.
I do feel theres some unfinished business over there so I've entered for next year but after London, the focus will be on a few ultras for the rest of the year with maybe a training marathon or two.
John, hopefully those are phantom niggles, best of luck for Monday(I think), you've done the hard miles in the heat/humidity so enjoy the experience.
AWC - I'm going to buy you a quarantine unit for your next marathon to spend 18 weeks in. Seriously, hopefully its early enough not to affect next week, just concentrate on getting your strength back.
Tom - I'm having a beer right now. I'll probably abstain from Monday onwards but will carry on with tea and coffee as usual.
I dont know about you FBT but I intend to re follow the last week of the taper, no target yet but I felt quite "bouncy" today.
Hope all well with Jooligan - bit quiet on Strava ?
My first running day where I've done less than 5 miles. Starting to get some bounce back in my legs after Sunday.