Howdy, Stranger!
Categories
Options
Shades Marathon Training
The materials in this website are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor, qualified personal trainer, therapist, dietitian or nutritionist Runners's World, Part of the Hearst UK well-being network © Copyright 2017
Comments
Big G - Nice mileage!
Clocked 80 miles for the first time ever last week, and first time over 70 to! 37.2 miles (60k) on Saturday at an average pace of 9:08 min/miles, where I clocked an unofficial 50k PB (4:48), although that's on the flat rather than a hilly course! Really strange as the first 5 miles were slow and felt tough, but got to 6 miles and had my planned walk break to eat and drink for 0.5 miles and after that everything felt better! Was meant to run 35 miles but upped it to get to 60k, felt strong after the first 5 miles, got caught in a really bad downpour at about 35 miles and was soaked when I got home....shoes were still drying this morning!! Then went out Sunday for another 15 miles, but rounded that to 15.6 so that I could hit 80 miles for the week, legs felt surprisingly good and averaged 8:29 min/miles.
Tapering starts now.....that might be worse than the training!!
Shades - Yes, I've just looked on Strava and was just under 12 hours of training last week! Will be nice this weekend when I don't need to be out for almost 6 hours on Saturday, will be more like 2 hours!!
Steve-Massive mileage,80 in 1 week is incredible,enjoy taper time.
Big G-Well done on getting a barca buddy.I'm 90% certain I'll be joining you on the start line,should know by the end of this week.
As for today I was meant to be doing 18,but from the start it felt tough,probably because I did my 16 on Thursday,ended up doing 15 instead so a bit behind but didn't want to push when it wasn't feeling good.
Ian5 - my OH as watching and waiting while I was in transition and she described me as a caged tiger, pacing back and forth.
Just looked at the results, I had the 7th fastest marathon time of the relay teams and the 35th fastest time overall. My OH took some pics of the day and she got a brilliant one of me mid grimace trying to run through the cramps in my side.
Steve - bloody hell!
So just the one mile for me today. I decided I wouldn't run this morning and debated whether I should go to Vinyasa yoga at 12, but I'm glad I did because I was really stiff after a morning of (ahem) gaming and not doing the foam rolling I'd promised myself.
Got to Battersea Park in good time for the relays, picked up my team's numbers (since I was the first on my team to arrive) and chatted to the other Chasers who were there. The format was fairly simple - each team consisted of three people and it was an out and back course along the road with a roundabout at the end. No chip timing or prizes (in fact, no bag check either) - a very low key event but it only cost me £4. My team was one of the slowest ones in the club, mostly because of me, but we had one 5 minute-ish guy who was taking the last leg.
I opted to go first.
I tried to pace myself as best as I could and then pushed towards the end. That was when my breathing began to sound like someone stepping on some bagpipes. I managed to kick a little right at the end when I went past the Chasers who had already finished. It's nice to have people supporting you.
I was pleased and surprised to get under 8 minutes. My Garmin made it 7:54, but that's allowing for the fact I was nowhere near the front when the Klaxon went so it was probably closer to 7:50 in real terms. My throat feels pretty raw now but all the other runners were coughing too (I still am, actually).
No idea what the results were. My team wasn't last, at least, although I'm pretty sure we were the last Chasers home. But I really enjoyed the event - it made a nice change from the usual.
On that note, I definitely won't be doing Wimbledon Common half on Sunday because it's sold out. Probably a blessing, given the grumbly hammy and the fact it's hard to get to and I could do without the extra expense (the start is nowhere near a station - last time I got a taxi there).
You might have to do more of the housework during your taper then
Iain - Outlaw is a good choice for your (first) IM, you know the set up now and the marathon course too and not too far to travel. As IM races fill up so quickly lots of folk have to opt for European races.
Cal - well done on getting a great mile time, you did really well and a lot faster than your test mile in training.
What's going to be your next race now then?
Quite cool and fresh this morning, lovely for running. I've noticed it's getting darker in the morning already
I did just 5-miles last night, with the club. A run leader couldn't make it at short notice, so I took out the "Improvers", which is just a 4-5 mile run at a very steady pace (11s, when we were running). Plenty of regrouping and breaks and there were only 7 of us this time, including me. A couple really struggled, but obviously I made sure no one got left behind.
No running for me today, but I have my photoshoot later. Looks like the weather is going to be good too. It's seems quite odd/surreal, as these two guys (the photographer and his assistant) are coming down from London to take pics of me running about. I hope they capture my good side.... It's a shame it didn't get done before London as obviously the whole reason I've done it is to get publicity/donations for WAY, but I'm hoping the article will be well received. I'm kind of okay with what has been written, but they've sensationalised it all a little bit with some of the wording/phrasing, but I suppose it's what they have to do for that section of the mag and I've given the green light on what they've written. It's going in to the "Human Race" section, I believe. I had reservations about putting my name out there relatively publicly, but I think I've made a good compromise doing something with a running-related mag; WAY initially suggested contacting the tabloids about me doing London, but I said no to that.
Big G - Hope the photoshoot goes well!
Shades - I have considered that and probably will at some point in the future!
Easy 4 mile recovery run today (9:40 min/miles), got home to discover I had no running water due to a burst water main.....luckily the water came back on in time, so I could have a shower before going to work!!
Good luck with the shoot, Big G. I hope they manage to flatter you. I always manage to look like a lumbering rhino in photos, even if I remember to smile.
Steve - I'd be more worried about having water to drink than a shower!
12 miles for me today, and I have to say the current temperatures make things a hell of a lot easier. Once again I seemed to naturally gravitate towards MP and went a bit quicker too. Even my final slow down mile was only 6 seconds slower than my average Manchester pace.
Hamstring grumbled a bit towards the end but was fine for most of the run. I thought the fast mile last night might stress it a bit but it didn't seem any different today.
The run took 2 hrs 59 seconds, with an average pace of 10:05. Fastest miles were 8 and 10 at 9:36 though both were a bit downhill. I hit the halfway point at 1:01:50 so there was a good neg split there, which I'm happy about.
I admit I have been thinking in terms of marathon pace being 9:55 - 10:15 (I averaged 10:14 in Manchester but the first half was just under 10) but if I want to get a PB next year it needs to be quicker. I'd be happy with any PB, but I'd like to shoot for 4:15 which means I need to average 9:43. That's obviously something I need to work up to, given I also have to get more comfortable with the distance, too. Anyway, Manchester (take 3) is a long way off yet.
Am a newbie on this thread although I regularly haunt the Mature and Over 60s Runners threads. Am an age-decent (20:29 this year) 5k runner. Tend to be relatively low mileage - occasionally run a 10 miler in training (in about 85 mins). Traditionally I underperform in longer races and despite running for 35 years have only had 2 marathon attempts back in my early 50s (I'm 62). For each of them I undertrained and clocked nearer 4.30 than 4 hours.
Yesterday I went out on a training run which was meant to be 10 miles and I managed 6. I just lost the will to run! I walked home past a new gym and (being an ex- gym monkey) thought about throwing in running and going into gym based routines.
Woke up this morning and went to another running thread (for runners who support Brighton & Hove Albion -of whom there are quite a lot) and saw that someone had posted a link to a (November) marathon which is staged in a velodrome -the oldest in UK - and consists of simply running around it 70 or so times. I signed up.
So I thought I'd pop over to this thread and, knowing the terrific support that the running community gives, drink-in some of the marathon training tips. Of course I might not make it to the start line and if I do I might not make it to the finish line. But I'd like to give it a go and as time is not really on my side I'd dearly like to clock a sub 4 hour as this is missing from my CV - in my late 30s I did a 2:28 20 miler and that's when I should have gone the whole hog and had a crack at a marathon and it's kind of nagged away at me ever since.
So there we are. If anyone - a particularly any other older runners - has got any tips on how to transform someone like me who could probably deliver a 10 mile race time of (just) sub 80 into a sub 4 hour marathon in 4 months I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for reading.
Steve - there aren't many road 50 kms races just 2 or 3 a year
I agree the shower before work is the main thing, you can always drink something other than water
Cal - maybe you need to find a race you haven't done before that is easy to travel to.
I agree with Big G, you do seem to do a lot of your training at a faster pace and slowing it down will help you get that target of 4:15.
Lovely Pilates class today, I'm going to stick to 2 Pilates classes a week, have dropped one of the Yogalates as I wasn't enjoying it.
70 times around a Velodrome, that's going to be quite a challenge but at least you won't have to worry about the weather.
Well I've just put your 10 mile time of 80 minutes into this race calculator as with this one you can put your age in and it will give you the WAVA prediction which as we age an be more accurate. So it says sub 4 well within your capabilities.
http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/racepaces/rp?metres=16090&hr=1&min=20&sec=0&age=62&gender=M&Submit=Calculate
So it will all be about the training, you said yourself that your previous marathon attempts were done on too little training and the marathon is not an event you can 'wing it' on the day.
Shades, the donation page is still open, so I'll see what happens there.
--
I've just entered Barnstaple Marathon, which is 24th Sept this year. I did it last year and just took it really steady and I had a great time, stopping at the aid stations, eating all the food available, etc etc. This year I was in two minds of whether to do it as we were lucky last year with the weather - in bad weather conditions I think it could be a terrible course as it's so exposed. But I figured if I want to do a few more events, I can't dodge courses like that, especially as it's relatively local to me! Whether that philosophy extends to my dreaded Dartmoor Vale course, remains to be seen! Anyway, I've entered, as it was selling out.
It's basically two loops/out-and-backs, either side of a river, with one loop going around an air field. Last year, the part with the air field was in the second half, but they've swapped it around this year so the part with the airfield is in the first half of the race (I hope I'm making sense!). If it is bad weather that may be better as at least that really exposed airfield will be out of the the way early on.
Can't add much on the marathon front as I'm a 4:30 runner myself, though I'd like to get to 4 eventually. Might take me a while, though. Not sure I'd fancy a 70 lap race but Ian did a track marathon so he might have some advice for you. As Shades said, it really is about the mileage, but you'll need a good deal of mental strength to cope with the monotony.
Shades/Big G - yeah, you're right. My legs were good today so I just went with it, but once I start extending the runs to include Brockwell Park I will slow it down. I'll have to anyway as that course is rather undulating.
Cal - I have a water dispenser built into the fridge, so had water for protein shake and coffee! Nice 12 mile run too!!
Shades - I noticed that too, most seem to be trail, which I guess is understandable. I had looked at Canalathon which is pretty flat and Stort 30 (although not 50km)!!
The top and shorts they had me in were not from a running brand and also not running top material, which was a bit odd, and I couldn't keep those items anyway. But the shoes were Asics RoadHawk FF, which I could keep - and they fit perfectly. I hadn't heard of them before but I've just checked and they're 245g and 8mm drop, so I'm keeping them. In the next couple of weeks I will do a couple of runs in them and if ok, I'll keep them for races. So it seems my lighter shoe dilemma is solved, although if the Reeboks I have on order are okay, I'll still keep them.
I'm sure on the phone they said it would be New Balance gear, but I'm obviously happy with Asics as they're the brand I use anyway.
A great couple of hours, so it'll be interesting to see what the article is like. I still can't believe 2 guys travelled 5hrs (each way) to take pics of me running about on a beach!
Cal-Nice longer run there.
Big G-you must be rivalling shades with the amount of marathons you're doing this year.Great news the photo session went well.Really hope it looks good in print.
A really enjoyable 8 miles after work today, 4 easy and 4 MP and felt good doing it.
It's very psychological,not just in the running laps but the hardest part is seeing the top runners lapping and lapping you,I had a guy finish in 2:40 or something daft so probably lapped me 40 times so you need to just concentrate on yourself.
The biggest tip,if you can measure a lap on your watch vs the official length,because mine was a loop it measured it very short,luckily I practised on a track beforehand so expected it but a few got caught out thinking they had finished because their watch said so and still had a few laps left.
Big G - that sounds like a good photo shoot. Can you let us know when it'll be out?
Cal - I definitely think that you can get that PB. It's just a case of working away with your training
Rest day for me today but i've had a busy one nevertheless!
Cal - good Sussex pedigree. I think my first trip to see the Albion was in 1963! (We don't tend to mention that unmentionable South London team.)
Ian - thanks for the tip about being lapped. This will be a new experience for me other than when I did a track duathlon last year and guys on £4K bikes kept whizzing past me and my £200 Halfords machine. I can't blame the bike this time.......................
Emmy, I've been told that the article is going in to October's edition of the mag, which is published on 24th August. There have been a few delays though, so I'm in the process of confirming that.
6-miles easy today. I was going to go on a speed session with the club tonight, with the intention of not pushing it, but I know taking it easy at these is easier said than done. So I thought I'd best just do my own thing. In the run up to London I injured my groin area on one of these speed sessions and didn't run for 10-days, which wasn't ideal. I don't want that this time around!
Legs feel a bit stiff/tired generally. Don't know if that's because I did too much last week, or conversely whether it's because I've eased right off this week? Or maybe a bit of both.
--
Just a general observation about this site since we've migrated over to this new forum. Obviously there is still this thread which fortunately is keeping really active, but the rest of the site is pretty quiet now. Every now and again there is a bit of activity from some old forum users on a thread (there was one yesterday which got a bit feisty about the old favourite of combining runners and cyclists on a road), so people seem to still check in every now and again, but generally they're just not posting. I wonder why? I know there are some other long-standing threads that are still popular but generally it's gone very quiet. Surely Runner's World (and their sponsors) have noticed this vastly reduced traffic, and they can't be happy with it, can they? I have no doubt that somewhere at RW Towers there are usage stats and it must show that the site traffic is down hugely?
I have got used to the new forum, and just get on with it now, but it seems we have definitely lost a lot of the old regulars, which is shame. Also, the fact that there is some system in place where new users can't post questions easily must have had an impact, as those threads often prompted a lot of discussion. I think these days with the instant-access/response systems like Facebook/Twitter etc, stopping new users from posting is a bit of an odd thing to do (even if it was with an attempt to stop spammers, which hasn't entirely worked anyway!).
The spam thing is massively annoying. These threads and posts are not getting removed (at least not quickly). I've moderated/administrated a number of forums in the past and getting rid of annoying spam is pretty quick and easy. I wonder why they're not bothering. Perhaps RW has a deal with the guy trying to flog fake passports.
The other thing is the Events section is now crap. People drawn to the site by that are now looking on other sites like fetch.
Anyway, 4 recovery today. Took it very slow (>11).