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The Thousand Mile Club - 2018
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I really would like to do London one day.
Think we may be in for be in for a race report to remember, hope so
YTD 416.49
Steven, 600 miles is knocking on the door, well done
Local race for me today, surprisingly tough with a bit of trail and road. Managed 3rd in age group...Bronze bling.
536 miles YTD
307 YTD
Did 4:57:41
18 seconds faster than last year
Saturday 8.64 miles (including Parkrun)
Sunday London Marathon
YTD = 949.24 miles
Well done to Hobie, I've never had a running medal of any type other than those given for finishing, so third in an age category sounds great.
Nell: I hope you haven't fallen out with us? Long time without posting. I hope London and Boston have been great experiences and everything such an endeavour deserved to be.
YTD: 366.3
Little Nell maybe on her way back up North today - she did finish yesterday.
Decided to finish off clearing the back garden instead of a recovery run today - got puffy eyes from the heat yesterday.
Booked two marathons for May,
Three in June and three in July
Am trying to reach 150 by July next year and currently on 131
Still some great mileages being logged, well done everyone.
Steven, Surely over the 600 mile mark by now? Well done in advance.
Hobie, Bronze bling and 3rd in age, great running.
Andrew, Over the 300 mark, keep it going.
Harmander, Great pacing on Sunday, especially in those conditions. Where are the new marathons you have booked, surely I must be doing one of them.
As for me, a fair few runs to add, along with yesterday's St George's Day Marathon in Kent organised by SVN Running.
It was a lovely day for a run, however due to a military event the route was changed from the seafront to a wildlife park. It was again a multi lap event this time consisting of 8 x 3.28 mile laps, with two fairly large hills each lap. I had a great run and really enjoyed this one and finished in 4.01.16 (official time still to be confirmed)
Next one is on Friday May 11th and back to the Thames path.
Stats for last week
17.04.18 - 12.5
20.04.18 - 6.25
23.04.18 - 26.2
24.04.18 - 5 (Nice recovery run this morning)
YTD = 441.25
23 June - Midnight Marathon - Dartford
That marathon list is bonkers!
3 miles for me this morning to just have a light turnover of the legs.
310 YTD
PS - Nell, have you fallen off the face of the earth?! We are sitting here waiting for reports damnit!! ;-)
I know,
I am mad and it gets worse in the cooler months.
YTD = 959.35 miles
First off - very sorry for the extended hiatus in posting... been slow to get my arse back in gear after epic marathoning adventures!!!
Great, consistent running and mileage logging by all. Sorry I won't be able to name check everyone... my post would fill an entire page! Some highlights though...
Huge congrats. to our newest ultrarunner, Hobie - awesome stuff!
And also massive congratulations to Andrew for a fab. new 10K PB... 1 min. off your previous time is a nice big chunk!
Donnie - LOL!
David - kudos on your own engineering company... hubby was long time self-employed and I know it takes a lot of focus. Thanks for quenching my nosiness and putting myself and Dubai out of our misery
Was, indeed, lovely to see Harmander at the VMLM Expo last week. We had our pic taken together but in the one on my phone I'm pulling the most peculiar face so, Harmander, you have my permission to post one from your phone if you are so minded and there's an acceptable one!
Mileage update and race reports to follow in a separate post - to try to avoid a "wall of text" post
Was great to see you at the Expo
YTD: 374.3
A tale of two cities (or two city marathons, at least) - it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness... and wasn't that the truth!!!
Never could I have imagined two more contrasting race weather conditions if I'd tried
Boston - the coldest for over 30 years: starting at -1 deg. C in Hopkinton and rising to about 6 deg. C in downtown Boston, but the 25 mph gusting headwinds made it feel like -5 and the driving, increasingly torrential rain made for the most challenging conditions I have ever run in - EVER! No amount of training could have prepared me for the conditions! All the clothing that I had worn to the start intending to discard once under way I actually wore for the whole race - two pairs of gloves and a long-sleeved, fleece-lined top that I switched to be under my club vest.
Despite the atrocious weather, the crowds were still relatively large and vociferous - and full of typical American positivity
So to London... via a first class BA flight (I cashed in a load of air miles to ensure my legs could get the most rest possible) and a glass of "champagne" - I should say "sparkling wine" - from my native Cornwall
Quads were tired and left calf was particularly grumbly... but I felt surprisingly good - all things considered. Popped along to the Expo on Thursday to try to avoid the planned DLR strike (although it was called off just as I left the ExCel!) and met with the inimitable Mr. Harmander Singh. Also invested in a half-hour massage... the best thirty quid I've spent in a long time! A lovely young man sorted me out (hahaha... ooops!) and my legs felt great.
Sunday morning dawned, as everyone now knows, with the mercury rising... along with everyone's stress levels! Yet more fortuitous meetings meant I bumped into a family from my club on the train. We went our separate ways at Blackheath and I made my way to the green GFA start. Walked in, looked around, and immediately stumbled upon two more club mates, then another turned up - so there were four of us chatting together before the start!
Set off fairly steadily and found an unexpected downhill section pretty soon after the green start... quads had a few comments to make about that state of affairs! The crowds were amazing and I had a great time high-fiving kids and even some adults, smiling, and taking in the atmosphere. It was incredibly hot but I didn't find it too uncomfortable... followed the advice of "drink, drench, drain, drop" with the water. The Cutty Sark appeared shockingly soon and I was enjoying myself. I managed to sustain a fairly even pace up and was on track for part 2 of my A target, until about 20 miles when my legs pointed I was being stupid and there was nothing left in the tank. My quads were dead and I just couldn't maintain my leg speed. I felt fine - I just couldn't run at my previous pace. It was sad to see so many folks getting medical assistance at the sides of the course... the conditions were as tough as Boston but at the other end of the spectrum!
This time I had not quite banked enough time to hit my A target and crossed the line for a 4:05:50... barely 6 minutes outside my target. My B target had been a cumulative time less than 8:30:00... so, with a combined time of 8:02:52, I smashed my B target and I'm pretty happy with that.
And... that is that. Sorry! I promise I won't ever write such a long post again
Mileage was: 4.15 mi., 3.26 mi. and 26.42 mi. in Boston, with 3.19 mi. and 26.52 miles in London, along with the previously unlogged training runs of 5.06 mi., 12.07 mi. and 5.24 mi. before I left for Boston makes...
YTD: 533.55 miles.
You should be incredibally proud of yourself...
I am going to finally plan in my first and hopefully not last marathon, I have now run 7 halves over the past 3 years with another 3 planned this year. But I think its time to take the plunge and get one done.
23rd 3.69 miles
25th 3.58 miles
YTD 227.86
VLM 2019 entries open on Monday
Go for it
I have asked if anyone who withdrew this year to start it as it would not have the same impact if I started it.
You can check out this years discussions on VLM 2018 to inspire you.
Can I ask a question without the risk of being shot down in flames - why are people so obsessed with doing the London Marathon?/ I know you get the sights, crowds etc, but surely it isn't the race which gives you the best shot at doing the best possible marathon time, for a number of reasons:
Crowds - must mean the first mile or so is slow??
Having to queue for over an hour to even cross the start line - must mean you are knackered before you even start?!
Timing - as this year showed, late April can be pretty warm!
Not to mention the hassle of starting and finishing in different places, not being guaranteed to get into the race etc.
To me, if I was ever going to do a marathon it certainly wouldn't be London (or any of the big city marathons for that matter). if I was going to dedicate 3 months (or more) to marathon training, I would want to give myself the best chance to get a good time and would do a smaller marathon in March/October.
Anyway, well done Nell on battling through two such extreme sets of weather conditions! Not sure which one I would have found more unpleasant!
I have been laid low with a bug for the past couple of days, so haven't run since Tuesday morning.
I think we are all different and I respect every one's personal perspective even if I do not share it.
I can therefore only talk about my motivation for running generally and the London marathon in particular.
It is not a secret that I was a naughty child and always in trouble at school - I passed my 11+ to gain a place at the local Grammar school but my mum couldn't trust me to behave myself on the bus journey on my own so sent me to the nearest comprehensive with our neighbours kids - it happened to be (then) a dump school and I got bored easily. I nearly got expelled three times but my PE teacher was a bronze medalist at the previous Olympic Games and suggested I expend my excess energy in pursuit of sports - including running. From then on I represented my educational institutions in hockey, football, cricket and of course athletics. In 1979 I ran 10,000m in 30:14 which was just outside the Moscow 1980 Olympics qualifying time. Undeterred I started running for the love of it and helping others. In 1983, I came runner up in Student Superstars.
After being inspired by my uncle who took up marathon running when aged 38, I took on the half marathons and marathon challenge. I missed out on the first for of the Great North Runs (where my uncle is one of the less than 100 ever presents) and the London Marathons by running my first of both in 1985 and have the unique record of having run both every year ever since.
So, for me, running the London Marathon is an integral part of my life as I hope to keep this streak going till I am 74 as I will have run both races 50 times each (God willing).
My fastest London marathon time is 4:09:23 which was the first and only time I went for time, after that I just ran to enjoy myself and raise awareness of the charities I ran for. Nowadays I continue my passion to help others by pacing. I know I am not going to get PB's at my age but hope to help others get theirs - be it at parkrun or any of the 25 other marathons or half marathons I do each year.
I have now run over 1100 actual races since leaving school in 1977.
Getting a PB for each course is in my opinion just a rewarding.
Hope I haven't bored everyone by this long post.
I missed out on the first four of the Great North Runs (where my uncle is one of the less than 100 ever presents) and the London Marathons.
On Sunday I caught up with my uncle's total of 131 marathons - he is 74 now and only runs one or two a year, I intend to run at least 16 this year.
My marathon PB is 3:11:36 at the Wolverhampton marathon on 31 March 1984 - I don't think I will be able to run that time ever again - even if it was all downhill and I was the only runner.
My average time for 125 marathons (the other 6 are Ultras) at the moment is 5:25:48 and includes 9 slow ones with Fauja Singh and the 9 hours 59 minutes and 57 seconds with the late Buster Martin in 2008.
My next target is reaching 150 marathon by end of July 2019 when I reach my 60th birthday. 19 marathons i 15 months is a fair challenge methinks
Sorry Harmander, my comment wasn't really aimed at you, as I can see why you continue to do London (especially given the context above), what I really meant was why anyone considering a marathon for the first time (or indeed at any time when they are of an age where they could set a pb) would consider London.
Maybe I am just very selfish in that I don't see any point in racing unless you stand a chance of doing your absolute best time for your current fitness. Even to the extent that I hate starting further back at a parkrun, as it adds vital seconds on to my recorded time! (Disclaimer - I do usually start on the 2nd or 3rd row, as I don't want to be one of those idiots who starts on the front row and then gets in everyone's way!)
To clarify - my comment wasn't 'aimed' at anyone on here, just a general observation about how London is seen as 'The' Marathon by the media etc