2017 Marathon Training Thread

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  • Well done on the D33 SM6- I decided not to do it this year, as 33 on tarmac is tough! I'm on for LK mara next weekend - still tarmac, but not as flat, or a s far as D33. 
    My cold finally settled, I've been building back up- did 3.5 hours last weekend on the drymen- balmaha- drymen section of WHW - ie, over Conic hill twice! That's the first time I've done that. 
    Today I did a flat canal-side 18 miler , saw 2 runners who looked suspiciously like Eilish McColgan and Laura Muir- I suppose they need to run somewhere, so it's not entirely impossible.
    Well done to everyone else, I've been a bit absent whilst suffering from the lurgy, but lurking occaisionally. I'm definately back on it now. MArathon next weekend is a long slow training run for me ( and I'm doubling as a mobile first aider on the day).
  • No PainNo Pain ✭✭✭
    Super mouse welcome and good luck for Paris.
    SM6 Some super long running by you banked and that ultra looking very doable  :)
    Great milage for last week and this.
    Cal I'm not sure if any 20 is comfortable, glad you felt ok after the two days of forced rest not sure about sleeping feet, well done at the park run after your fall in the warm up. Sorry to see you didn't get another long run in hopefully you can manage a shorter run before flying out to Dubai but thats still a good load of miles in the bank.
    SC A nice mix of running gym and body balance for you and nice to see you starting to build up again.
    Teknik 47 miles last week is a good total for a week, nice to see the speed work in with the club. As for the cramps I had them last year or the year before during the night and I know it sounds horrible and it is but sipping vinegar did the trick....
    Fiona  Great long run last weekend, some great training during the week and a good mix of speed work and turbo sessions. Great running yesterday but go easy with the coughing but you are like me and can't....
    Ollie Sorry to see you also struggling with asthma it's the bloody cold weather :s 
    Sounds like a plan for the autumn marathon, nice park run and 13 miles yesterday.
    DAD AGAIN Welcome and well done on the two days of speed work hope the 20 went ok yesterday.
    Sub 17 Well done for getting out for the Park run.

    Sorry I was awol for a few days Monday was a Swim, Tuesday easy and speed work, Wed was 10 miles and Thursday two runs, Friday just a swim, Saturday Park run and 58th 1st place. Today was 16 miles at 7:16 total for the week 52 miles. Will cut back a little this week to i'm fresh to pace the 1:30 group at the half marathon next Saturday. Couple of niggles with the Achilles but plenty of stretching and tape seems to be doing the trick. Looking forward to the next few week as I want to build the speed up again. 



  • Well done guys great results. 40+ per week is excellent mileage. I would be taking my runs exclusively indoors on the treadmill if I had to endure the bitter cold weather you guys experience in the UK. 

    On Sunday I managed a 90 minute walk, 2 laps around a hilly loop. My hamstring and knee hurt quite a bit as I struggled through a heavy storm. 



  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    Take care of that leg, S17. As for cold, it's rarely bitterly cold where I am (London). There were only a couple of runs where it actually dipped below zero - nothing that a few layers won't take care of. One of my long runs was on a cold but sunny day and it was quite nice, actually, especially as it kept my water bottles nicely chilled. :D
    NP - no apologies necessary, you've been busy! Good luck with the HM and hope the achilles doesn't get any worse.
    Tricia - yeah there's definitely a lurgy going around. That would have been cool if it was those two ladies you spotted! Good luck with your race.

    I wasn't happy about missing my long run yesterday so I determined I would go out today whatever. 4-6 miles if I still felt off, or 10-12 if I felt alright. Honestly, I did feel a bit cruddy when I woke up but once I got outside, the sunshine lifted me and I ran through the stiff bits and niggles, enjoying the blossom and the daffodils and being able to run in a T-shirt for a change. I was enjoying it so much that when I got to the point I'd head for home if I was going to do 12, I thought, screw it, let's just make it a half marathon.
    I was trying to run at MP but my speed kept creeping up again, so even with the two slower warm-up miles, my average pace was 9:55. The fastest miles were 10 (9:30, though it was on a downward gradient), 12 (9:34) and 13 (9:35) so I was definitely running breakfast miles at the end (what I call it when you want to be done with a run so you can go and eat your breakfast).
    I wasn't sure how long I'd be out or how far I'd go so I did this run dry and didn't even think about water until the last mile.  Also dry in so far as I didn't apply any Vaseline, but I seem to have got away with it this time!

    Right, off for a massage!
  • Fiona CFiona C ✭✭✭
    Stuart it sounds like the D33 was a great training run for your ultra in April  :)
    Stewart its a long time since I've been up to Abriachan, I used to live up that way. It's a lovely route from Drum to town - I took the bus out once so only one way back but theres a horrid hill at the start!  :o
    Tricia good that you're over the lurgy and good luck with the marathon - is that Loch Katrine?
    NP loads more great training by you and sounds like good timing on the cut back week before the half  :)
    Sub17 take care with the injuries  maybe best to stay away from walking too?  :|
    Cal well done on the impromptu half marathon! I hope that the massage went well  :)
    I had a lovely catch up pedal with a friend on Sunday with coffee and cake  :)  and managed just over 50 run miles for the week so that is the 7th consecutive week over 50. As Sunday was an easy day I did my intervals yesterday (5 x 5 minutes threshold) then an easy run today but blowing an absolute gale!  :o  Club turbo was tonight. Hope to get out nice and early again tomorrow - loving the bright mornings! 
    F
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    This thread seems a bit quiet! Anyway, thanks Fiona. Massage was pretty brutal - he stripped my ITBs and then spent a good while gouging my soleus muscles while I made faces and chewed on my fist. I didn't realise the tight soleus is the cause of shin pain, since it attaches there, so that explains why the edges of my shins have been a little tender. My anatomy is pretty good but I learned something new!
    I also did a first aid course yesterday morning (it was the most basic one - pretty much just CPR plus a few pointers about choking, burns and bleeds). I'd done longer courses when I was teaching but the last certificate expired in December so it was great to get the opportunity to do this. I didn't even have to pay as it was organised by someone from parkrun. Speaking of which, I'll be doing my first stint as Run Director at the end of April. Yikes!

    Anyway, well done on the 50 miles weeks, Fiona. You definitely earned the cake.

    10 miles today. Not sunny like Monday but it was fairly mild once the mist had burned off and I was glad I wore a T-shirt again. I did one mile warm-up (10:43) and the rest at MP. I'm pretty comfortable at around 9:50 - 10 minute miles so I should be able to go sub 4:30 at Manchester, but since I only have the one (not very nice) experience of running over 20 miles, I'm not sure what will happen. Eh, I'll take it as it comes, I guess.
  • SM6: All the best with the Ultra.
    Super mouse: Good luck in Paris.
    Tek: 47 miles is great work.
    SC: Good mix of training.
    Ollie: Good running and battling against asthma.
    Fi: 7 consecutive weeks over 50 miles is amazing mileage.
    Tricia: Good luck with the Marathon.
    NP: Excellent 50+ mile week
    Cal: Good 13 mile run.

    ------------

    3 rest days in a row since my Park Run on Saturday. I ran 10 miles on treadmill today. Sub 40 mins for 10km and 4 miles in 25 mins, 20 mins doing weight machines and 10 mins on rowing machine. 2 rest days  ahead of my Park Run on Saturday. 
  • Afternoon All
    I would like some advice on using caffeine gels I am training for Brighton Marathon in April, two weeks ago I used a Cliff Caffeine gel with about 3 miles left of my 21 mile run it contained 25mg of caffeine but was very thick it worked wonders within 20mins I felt really good and like I could go for a lot longer. This week I tried the SIS Berry Caffeine gel which can be taken without water and contains 65mg of caffeine and is a lot smoother, I had planned to do 22 miles the instructions said it would take an hour for the caffeine to kick in so I took it after having been running for 2hrs thinking it would kick in around the 3hr mark when I would need it, I had also been taking regular gels at roughly 5k intervals from the start of my run. Anyway the SIS caffeine gel never kicked in at all nothing I was exhausted by 20miles and stopped, having been stop start from about 18 miles so any tips on what may have happened ? I was pretty upset had to get the wife to come and collect me in the car it was a complete contrast to the previous week I carb loaded two days before on both occasions however my pace on the failed 22 miler was 5.10 per K and the 21 miler was 5.15 per k my goal pace for the marathon is 5 min k`s want to try and do a sub 3.30 which according to all my stats I should be able to complete. The only thing I can think of is maybe I was just too tired during the week I had done 10 x Yasso 800`s at 3.30min K`s with 400m recovery for 3 mins and the day before my long run I did a PB at Park Run 21.27 taking 15sec off my time along with a 4 mile recovery run.

    Any words of wisdom would be gratefully received as that was meant to be my last long run before my taper and I don`t really want to be going into race day with the memory of what happened eating away at me as I approach the latter stages
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    If the Cliff gel worked better for you, then use that one again. Take it with some water so it goes down a bit easier. And you're right, you're likely just fatigued at this point. Don't stress it - we all get the odd run where things don't go quite right. Races are always different as you have people around you, crowds cheering and pacers. You'll be fine.

    7 relaxed miles in the sun today. Still very fresh (hands took two miles to warm up) but lovely.
  • Thanks Cal appreciate your advice did 9 miles last night felt ok so maybe it was just a blip, got Reading Half on Sunday I will go back to the Cliff gel and see what happens, funny how your hands take a while to warm up isn`t it even when it is relatively warm
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    I have crap circulation so mine definitely do!

    Just 4 miles (easy) today. Were I not flying out to Dubai this evening, I would have taken this as a rest day and gone longer at the weekend, but I felt obliged to fit in another run before my 5 day recess. Gorgeous out, so I should have enjoyed it, but my legs were so fatigued that I just wanted it over with. At least I know I am ready for the taper! If I were still fresh and bouncy, then I'd be worried I hadn't worked hard enough. :D


  • Fiona CFiona C ✭✭✭
    Cal hope you have a wonderful time in Dubai!  :) Shame that the legs were tired but great to get a pre holiday run in.
    CK I would agree with Cal that you get some runs that don't go to plan - all of my long runs this time round seem to have been like that - but its all good training.
    Sub17 it sounds like you're back on track and that the injury has settled. Well done on the treadmill running and cross training in the gym  :)
    I have had to juggle things around a bit this week so ended up doing my long run today. Only 3.5 degrees and constant rain/sleet when I was out and made things worse by taking beetroot concentrate (didn't bother to dilute it as that would only prolong the nastiness of the drink). Felt really sick for a couple of hours so started the run feeling yuck. Legs weren't bad as I kept the pace down but got so cold. It was a mix up of easy/marathon pace and a short burst of threshold at the end. Ended up 22.45 miles at 7.48mm pace. Slower than the same run pre Frankfurt but I really suffer in the rain/cold so not feeling too bad about it. Hope everyone else gets decent weather for the weekend long runs or races.  :)
    F
  • Hello :)

    Fiona - Wow, that's an amazing long run! :) Great consistency with 7 weeks in a row over 50 too :)

    Cal - Enjoy the holiday! :) Crazy to think that it's taper time for Manchester. My mates are all talking about just doing 15, or Alloa HM @ MP this weekend. Whereas I'm planning 24 :D
    I know I've said it a few times but i really think you can do 10 minute miles, but understand exactly why you aren't looking at that!  :)

    CK - I'd say based on your 5k time those long runs look rather hot, although admittedly I do tend to do my long runs fairly slow but even during last summer when I was probably in 17:45 5k shape my long runs were slower than that.

    S17 - Good midweek training

    NP - How's the niggles? Good luck on pacing duties  :)

    Tricia - Well done on the 18. That's pretty cool seeing those pair while you were out too :) I remember having Eilish McColgan sitting next to me on the train from Stirling to Dundee a couple of years back. Is LK this weekend?

    -------------
    I was fairly stiff earlier in the week after last Saturday, so had 2 days off. Then only done 2 short runs Tuesday.

    10 miles @ 9s on Wednesday and 9 with 4 tempo miles (6:50, 6:38, 6:40, 6:32) last night. Quite pleased with that tempo as last time I couldn't hold 7s, and pulled up after 3 miles.

    12 planned tomorrow, and then Sunday I'm going to run to Alloa then run the HM @ 7:55s. Which will be approx 24 miles in total.

  • I skipped Park Run on Saturday due to wet weather.
    Easy 25 mile cycle on Sunday. 
    My training week will be as follows:
    Gym sessions on Monday and Wednesday. 
    Easy cycles on Tuesday and Thursday.
    A rest day on Friday ahead of my Park Run on Saturday.
  • StewartCStewartC ✭✭✭
    II don't think I have posted in over a week, how time flies!

    Tricia, well done with the long run on the WHW and the canal 18, those two are very impressive athletes, I always think the elites make running look effortless.

    NP, another good week of training, I saw a picture on fb of you pacing the half it looks like you were enjoying yourself

    SM, you deserved a few days off after the ultra, well done with the sessions looks like the speed is returning

    Fiona, I did the drum - Inverness section a few years ago, and I had to walk some parts of the first hill on the switchbacks, well done with the consecutive 50+ milers all that consistency will pay off in the long run, a good pace for that long run too

    Cal, you are running well at the moment, enjoy Dubai,

    CK, welcome aboard

    S17, a good weeks training bank for next weeks assault on parkrun.

    ----------------

    I managed five runs this week, it has been a while since I have ran that often, two trail runs along the canal and up around the Craigs, two easy runs and 7 miles up at Daviot woods  today, 25 miles in total, the Achilles has settled a lot but still not 100% but is progressing. 
  • No PainNo Pain ✭✭✭
    AWOL again sorry had a bit of a cut back week with a swim last Monday followed by a Interval session on the Tuesday with the club, Swim only on the Wednesday and easy Turbo session on the Thursday all due to the achilles playing up, Friday was my normal rest day and to tell the truth I wasn't looking forward to pacing on the Saturday because of that.

    Sub 17 hope the injury is ok and you had a good Parkrun.

    Cal well done on the dry Half Marathon ;) and thankfully you got away with it :) Followed with a brute of a massage 10, 7 and 4 miles not long to Manchester now.
    Hope you do plenty of stretching on the plane and have a great time in Dubai!

    Fiona well done on the 7th consecutive week over 50 miles and a great mix of running and cycling your last run of  22.45 miles at 7.48mm pace in very poor conditions was great because if you can run in that London will be a gift.

    Cuthburykid forget about the caffeine in gels and try on your next long run 2x pro plus tablets, these will stay in the system approx 4 hours but MAKE SURE YOU TRY IT IN TRAINING FIRST. Some people can't take them, also its better if the week of the marathon you go coffee and tea free to get that extra boost.

    SM6 Nice weeks training mate and nice to see the tempo pace improve

    SC Great to see you out again and getting the miles in and thankfully the corner is now turned regarding the achilles.

    Teknik and OH hope everything is good with you guys.

    Saturday arrived and the achilles was still sore but walked the dog and had breakfast and set off to registration. Meet up with loads of people and guys from the club who where also running, the other 1:30 pacer gave me the flag and back pack and with over 2000 people running the registration was massive so the race was delayed for 15mins. After a warm up I put on the back pack and flag and made my way to the start. Once the race started and we settled into a steady pace we had a big crowd around us and the banter was great. At the start of mile 7 is a hill which a lot of people have difficulty with so the first few miles are a little in the 1:30 pace to take this into account. 6:46, 6:48, 6:46, 6:47, 6:45 6:42. Mile 5 was into a very strong wind and I told everyone to tuck in and close any gaps thankfully that was the only mile I felt any real wind during the whole race. Turning on to the hill I dropped the pace and assisted as much as possible to keep the group together but like the previous two years it's at this point that those who are over reaching are found out. 6:56, 7:18 cresting the the top of the hill is a turn and looking back I could see that the group had split so slowing down and taking the downhill into account I managed to gather a few of the rear markers. 6:31, 6:51 and back on to the coast road and the run in to Larne just after the 10th mile the other pacer pulled up with cramp.  The last 3 miles came in at 6:43, 6:48. I crossed the line with the clock showing 1:29: 15 and stayed at the finish to cheer on a few that had dropped back. My time was gun time so plenty ran some great PB'S and dipping under the 1:30 for the first time.

    Sunday was just short of 10 miles and yesterday and this morning I just walked Buddy on the trails to stretch the legs back out with the club tonight.


  • Fiona CFiona C ✭✭✭
    NP great job on the pacing - it must be amazing to help folks to achieve their dream times  :) I hope that the achilles has settled down.
    Stewart you're running well again - hope that your achilles is behaving too! You've been doing some hilly runs so if the achilles copes with them then that has to be a good sign.  :)
    Sub17 good planning again - I hope the cycle went well today.  :)
    Stuart I hope that you're ok - I noticed that you had breathing issues  :/ that was a good tempo session last week. It's nice when the speed starts to come back  :)
    Cal I hope that you are enjoying Dubai  :)
    After a couple of days of easy runs recovering from Fridays long run I did another 20 miler today. Work getting in the way tomorrow and Thursday and off for the weekend on Friday with a friend so can't be disappearing for 2-3 hours at a time! It was fairly baltic this morning and windy but managed to get the session done - 3 lots of marathon pace included - then the finish was on a hill which is bad planning but happy to tick it off. Not many left now thank goodness!  :)
    F
  • All well now with me NP. Just getting going again after kidney stone.
    Planned DNS at Loch Katrine Marathon but back to much usual time at Saturday's parkrun. On holiday in Lakes just now (Green Gable and round of Buttermere today - both walking)
  • StewartCStewartC ✭✭✭
    OH, good to hear you are well, pass on my best to the misses, she was look strong in the pic on fb.
    Fiona, well done getting another 20 in the bag, it was really cold yesterday, 
    NP, awesome job getting the train in on time, I bet they were all chuffed.

    --------

    6 miles last night with JS, first time back in months I was enjoying the run but in the fourth mile my left calf(uninjured side) tightened up, I managed to get back to the car park without it worsening, I am not sure if it is just a muscle spasm but have decided to take a rest day today and have been treating it with heat, which seems to be helping, I am hopefully it is nothing serious and will be able to run again in  a few days. 
  • No PainNo Pain ✭✭✭
    Fiona another great 20 in the bank in bad weather, in need of loads of vitamin D needed here. Hope work is going well for you soon be taper time.

    OH Nice to see things getting back to normal.

    SC Fingers crossed the calf is ok and well done with your first run back with JS.

    The club session on Tuesday night went well and I was feeling ok but yesterdays run was in very poor conditions cold, wet, and very windy think that and feeling tired didn't help as I felt rubbish, achilles and hip playing up so today I just used the turbo for 40 minutes. Feeling a bit better now and glad I set the bike up again in the garage.

  • Fiona CFiona C ✭✭✭
    edited March 2017
    Good to hear that you're getting back to normal OH  :) enjoy the holiday.
    Stewart I hope that the rest did the trick, good to be getting out with the group again  :)
    NP you have done so much great training this winter, fingers crossed the last few weeks won't be too bad! Great news that the turbo is pain free and its good for a change to get out of the rain and cold :/ I can't wait for the last of the long runs, I'm just finding them a miserable slog at the moment.
    Just an easy 5.5 miles on the treadmill yesterday as I just couldn't face going out in the cold again. 8.5 miles easy today. 
    F
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    OH, glad you're on the mend.

    I haven't had time to read through all the posts yet. I had a blast in Dubai (literally actually - I got sandblasted on one of the outdoor coasters. It's little wonder most of their parks are indoors) but am still recovering from the long flight and jetlag.
    I tried a little run today and it was awful, so I've excused myself from the club team relay tomorrow.
    Hopefully I'll feel better once my sleep patterns are back to normal and I've got a couple more (gentle) runs under my belt.
    Just over one week to go!
  • Panic Panic Panic
    so last week Tuesday came down with man flu still managed a 9 miler on Wed and a 8 miler on Fri skipped Park Run on Saturday because I had Reading Half on Sunday the Half didn't go to plan just couldn't convert the oxygen quick enough chest was really tight ended up run walking it in 1hr 50m which I wasn't that unhappy about considering my PB is 1hr 44m but then Tuesday this week I have been struck down with gout can't even walk I'm in bed and have been since Tuesday I am meant to be on my taper for Brighton Marathon which is in 2 weeks time and I'm really panicking that all the training I've been doing since Christmas is slowly being flushed down the toilet. I'm hoping the gout will be gone by Wednesday next week but what do I do training wise for the marathon ? Race day week on the plan is hardly any mileage do I try a long run next weekend or maybe just keep doing 9 milers until race day Please give me some advice feels like everything is going Pete Tong 
  • I ran 17:35 in my Park Run today to make it first place finish #33.
  • Ian5Ian5 ✭✭✭
    Cuthbury-As long as the gout goes you'll be fine.I'm in the same position for Manchester, 2 weeks out until yesterday with a shin injury but your endurance will last.It takes 3 weeks (apparently) for any training to have an impact on your time so just get yourself to the start line. 
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    Cuthbury - what Ian said! I went on holiday for the first week of my taper (it was in Dubai so no running). You'll be fine, so long as the gout has cleared up.

    Repeated yesterday's 4 miler and it went better today. I'm still tired and sluggish but it was a good bit quicker (last three miles around MP, give or take). I feel a bit run down though - sneezing a lot. Probably caught something on the plane. I still seem to be on Dubai time as I woke up before 4am and then fell asleep again after breakfast. Hopefully I'll be back to normal by next weekend.
  • StewartCStewartC ✭✭✭
    NP, I hope the hip and Achilles is feeling better today, not long now to London and the taper will help you get over the niggles.
    Fiona, well done with the couple of runs, at least the weather is improving now, it is looking lovely out today.
    CK, sorry too hear about the gout, just concentrate on getting well, better being 100% fit on the start line.
    S17, another cracking time at parkrun, and congratulations on another 1st place

    -----------

    4 miles last night along the canal, calf was a little tight but no worse, I have decide not to run today but will go to the gym instead and will run tomorrow if all is well.
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    7 miles this morning. First four miles were OK, then I tripped on a rock and almost fell. I'm actually not sure how I actually stayed on my feet but somehow I did. It knocked me out of my rhythm, though, and I found the second half of the run quite tiring. I had considered doing 10 but once I got past 6 I figured the only thing that would achieve would be to tire me out some more, which is not what I need, all things considered.
    One week to go!
  • StewartCStewartC ✭✭✭
    Cal, I am glad the trip hasn't done any damage, enjoy the last week of the taper I suspect you'll be checking the forecast every hour I know I would :)

    ----------

    Gym yesterday and nothing so far today, I decided to write off this week and start afresh next, the calf is still a little tight so I'll x-train and hope to get out for a run on Tuesday.
  • Cal JonesCal Jones ✭✭✭
    Thanks Stewart. Weather looks to be OK so far... But why is my bum aching as though I ran a half marathon? Gah!
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