Howdy, Stranger!
Categories
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
Do wonder if London should start everyone at 9 am as they do with the ladies ( they could go at 8.45) but then to be fair we're on course for the hottest April ever recorded.
Well done to everyone who nailed their pbs and commiserations to those whose day didn't go quite so well.....Will have a proper read back through the course of today to comment on how others have done. Off the top of my head...RWH storming run, TR (amusing random meeting) that's a quality time in those conditions imo, Coro/Marigold impressive times as always
Amusingly ended up walking alongside TR to the start, good laugh that, haha Met some of the other threaders at the FGFA start. Ended up running with TR, MtR, Ode for a little bit but then decided on doing my own thing. I had a pretty disasterous sleep the night before as most do obviously but proper imsomnia set in and I think I ended up with about an hours sleep ffs. Need to learn to chill out more before these things as its affecting me going into races.
So thought I'd give 6.30s a go for a while to see how they felt and fairly soonish decided I needed to be more sensible so eased back a bit but felt in a decent groove. At 10 miles I got the first sense that I didn't feel great but it wasn't affecting my mood in terms of enjoying the day. Got to halfway in 1.27.30 feeling ok but by that point I really was noticing the heat on the isle of dogs. From 18 miles it really became a bit of a death march and I was more just concentrating on not blowing up completely but again I wasn't feeling totally negative but just an honest acceptance of the situation.
Came in at 3.00.16 (yes I did have a laugh about just missing sub 3 at London again, lol) but didn't feel at all disappointed. I managed to avoid a total blow up but if I'm honest I didn't feel great through most of the race and ran as hard as I could on the day. Had I run more controlled first half in like a 1.28.30/1.29 I almost certainly would've gone under 3 but I wasn't that fussed about that today I thought I'd give it some and if it didn't work out (which it didn't) then so be it. Was more of a tough it out to the finish performance.
Actually still really enjoyed the day, took much more of it in this year, saw ridiculous number of people that I knew on route which was great. Some pretty sorry states out there, people collapsing all sorts, carnage at some points. Sorry to see MtR at circa 22 just after his hamstring must have gone. Feel content anyway even if the time is a bit of an anti-climax to all the training but I'm boxing the marathon away for a while to work on shorter distances and come back a better runner in whichever marathon or marathons I do next year (probably London or Rotterdam then Berlin).
Great to meet some of you on the day. I was at the Red Lion for a bit but then ended up going to another boozer. Could barely stand up at the running club do at about 9pm after my 8th or 9th pint. haha
RS
Well done, RS - perilously close to 2.59.59!
Ah, Drifter, I was fairly sure it was you I saw walking briefly as you went past me (about 22.5M) and I was worried you were in a bad way. Looks like you just held it together.
JFK superb run - brilliant pb. Definitely definitely retiring ... ?
Drifter - really nice to meet you too and well done for toughing it out.
RS great race report and well done for toughing it out. So close to the 3hour mark!!! Well done on keeping on keeping on.
Will post some other general reflections in the next day or so, including one or two critiques of the organisation, but only after race reports have come in which is the focus for now.
Definitely a good move wearing that blue cap by the way!
I'm convinced after trying loads of different ways, that for a well trained runner that both are over played. I'm more convinced that the following is the best approach:
1. Don't eat more than normal in the days leading up to the race (pointless and counter productive)
2. Have a decent brekkie
3. Have a banana and a drink an hour before the start (strong coffee)
4. Have a lucozade 10-15 mins before the start, and another as you run the first couple of miles (taking it in one big hit at this time will mean it's absorbed twice as fast as in dribbles and when stomach isn't stressed and you won't piss it out either)
5. At every water station, sponge or wash arms, head and neck with water to stay cool - much more effective than the token showers or drinking
6. Wear a knotted hanky (optional)!
It's all straight out of the Noakes book in fact. I know we're all different, but this has always proved pretty infallible for me.
This means you have the additional few hundred cals you need, you don't have to worry about fuelling on the run or getting dehydrated, and you are not running with loads of extra bloated weight, and using water stations only to stay cool.
Interesting stats from LD there re. finishing times around 2:48.
Great to meet so many before during and after the race (including some during the race twice!). Like many, the legs never felt `right' from the off but I kept plugging away clocking off 6:05-6:10 miles up to halfway then felt decent until 20 (2:03.30) thinking `this is finally my year' after all the disappointments. Then my left calf started to spasm. I had to stop and stretch it out and then every time I tried to up the pace in the last 10k to what I needed to go under 2:45 it spasmed again. So all I could do was to carefully nurse it through. Two whole bottles of Lucozade sport at 24m meant that things improved by birdcage walk for a strongish finish and a 3rd best time of 2:45.50. Halfway in 1:20.45 so a 1:25 second half. I felt I had a 2:42 in me but it wasn't to be. As promised though I carried on racing as hard as I could and took a few scalps along the way. Enjoyed finishing in a reasonable time and like many, will feel I `could have' gone a bit faster on paper but not on the day.
Hilly battled through excruciating pain to record 3:10 (which I was quite relieved at actually as I feared she would have to walk large sections).
Some really class runs throughout the ability range - Marigold's 5th Brit nearly living up to my dream of a few nights ago which had him winning the UKA championships and Coro perfectly executing a solo time trial. RJ and CD for some high class running. LS21 and RWH justly got huge pbs as a reward for consistent hard work. TR - I thought you'd come good on the day. CL - you held it together well with that leg and looked very strong at the end.
However, thoughts with those who threw everything into the campaign to find they did not get the rewards on the day - MtR and others yet to post. And Dull who sounds like he went through agonies.
Like LD I thought I'd retire after this one but you really cannot beat it for VFM and quality of experience - well that's when you're having a good or non-disaster one. So I'll be back next year knocking on the sub 2:45 door again.
Maybe it wasn’t too hot for the Africans, but I’ve got a sunburned neck and shoulders, I don’t remember anything that warm at 6am. And my black shorts had a nice salty wash to them by the finish. However I’m not making excuses this time. Running a sensible pace got me a better finishing time than folks that are better runners than I am. My quads groaned from early doors and did wonder what was going to happen as I struggled at times to keep up with Ode and MtR in the first 8M.
Main worry is that my hammy’s were twinging last yr at VLM, in the NF middle distance in Sept, but actually spasmed y’day. I need to find out why. Maybe I need to spend a bit of time on the legs rather than the engine. Maybe it was just the salt loss, maybe I should try an Autumn marathon one day.
I’ve done 4 marathons now (all VLMs) and they are all within 2m 53s of each other. Consistently consistent consistency indeed.
RS – great to meet up, I looked up your result. You’re as bad for 3:00 as I am for 2:55 !
CW – awesome !
GN – well done, our paths must have crossed. I bet you caught me when I cramped up.
Pisc – got to be happy with that given the build up. Impressive.
JH1 – massive performance, really chuffed for you. Great to meet up again.
JK – wow, great stuff
LS21 – shame about the timing mix up, but still a sub 2:50
Drifter – well gritted out
CRAB – flipping awesome, especially given how much you don’t run.
TJK - very well done on a huge PB and going sub 2.45. Very glad that I didn't try to run with you because after your storming first half I think I'd have been in a world of hurt. Enjoy your 'retirement'.
Marigold, coro, Race Jase, CD - I have so much respect for your excellent consistent performances.
GAWD - really sorry to hear that your day didn't work out as planned. Unlike some of us here you have many, many more years to run the superb marathon times you are obviously capable of.
TR - very pleased that you didn't run 2.55 again! Was that a PB?
MtR - I have been so impressed by your training over the past few months. Really sorry that yesterday didn't work out the way you deserved.
JH1 and CRAB, not sure from your posts whether you got PBs, but well done on staying with (or moving in front of) the marders train. When it passed me at 23-ish miles there seemed to be very few passengers left.
Lord Didsbury, I'll bring you a sugar lump next yearLots of PBs yesterday, well done RW-H, CW, Ginger N, Andy Cracknell, bus boy, Gilly1709, piscator, LS21.
Apologies to those I've missed. Well toughed out, those whose races didn't go to plan.
Absolutely gutted now that I didn't make it to the Red Lion in time to meet you. I really was pretty incapable for a few hours after the race, had hardly any movement in my arms bizarrely. I'll have to HTFU before the next rendezvous.BR couldn't agree more on the marathon, I had goosebumps all the way across tower bridge!
TR I'm sunburnt as well and I was very salty at the end
Morning and WOW! So many fantastic efforts and times. I don't think anyone can be faulted on what they achieved whether it was outside what they wanted or well within. Everyone of you should be proud! Really nice to have met so many afterwards too and sorry I didn't get to speak to others as I spent most of the time unable to get up off the ground
LS21, RWH, RJ, Marigold, Coro, CW, CD, excellent pbs. Sorry if I'm missing anyone out, but so many to remember! TR, glad you were able to overcome the 'wobbles' of pre marathon days and come good. MTR,GAWD sorry it wasn't your day! I just really want to say well battled everyone!!
Jools, thanks for your spectating
As for me...
A lovely weekend in London, meeting up with many from the forum and having a really nice time. As for the marathon, I could go into a tale of woe, but no I won't becaue 2 weeks ago I didn't think I'd make it to the start, but I did. I gave it all I had while suffering terrible lower back and left leg pain. I was always going to be outside the sub 3 that I still think I could achieve, but was handicapped on the day not through fitness, but through mechanics. I finished in 3:10.xx and to tell the truth I was just glad to cross that finish as at one point I really questioned what damage I was doing to my body running with such discomfort. But it's done and now time to rebuild the broken bits for another marathon later in the year.
I was 12th in my age group, so not a bad result, but boy am I envious of a local rival in my age category who managed to do 2:54 on her 2nd marathon and finish first female 45 in front of Clare Elms who I have great respect for.
First time posting on this thread but happy to say after trying at it for a few years I managed to break 3 hours for the first time yesterday- ok so 2:58:54 isn't quite as impressive as a lot of the times people have posted on here but I was personally elated. A plethora of niggly little injuries means that I've had to cut back my training to about 3 times per week so am a little dumbfounded as to how I managed it - who knows, maybe if I gave up on training completely I would be giving Mutai a run for his money!
Congratulations to everyone who finished, hope you achieved your goals but if not, keep at it and I'm sure you'll get there.
Morning everyone. Don't post so much on here now, but I always take a look at the marathon reports the morning after VLM. It's not exhaustive of everyone who has posted, but a few comments below.
RWH - great discipline to drop back in time to still have a good run, many better runners didn't run anywhere near as sensibly
gawd - you know you're much better than that so you'll come good. Maybe practice taking on different drinks in harder long training runs to figure out what works for your stomach
CD - well done holding it together when it got hot and you cramped up
tmap - you couldn't make that up with your bag! I wouldn't have had the class you showed by not naming names!
LD/RJ - well done, probably improved your position in the second half despite slowing down. A friend of a colleague at work ran about 3:40 with exact splits and we worked out he overtook 3,000 people in the second half
AC/filthyrich/CW/jiffle - well done on the PB, don't undervalue any time you run a best
TR - solid run, looking forward to the New Forest 1/2IM!
coro - great run considering the build up you had compared to last year
Gilly - one of I suspect very few under 3hrs with a negative split!
JH1 - also, great splits!
CRAB - I agree with you regarding the conditions. Was saying afterwards that although it got warmer, I didn't feel it enough to use as an excuse for any of the faster finishers. Maybe different people react differently when it warms up.
LS21, good to catch up with you before and after the race and congrats on your sub 2:50
brilly - well battled as ever
As for me, my Half Marathon build up race was 1:08 down on last year so changed my sub 2:30 target to running just about fast enough to give myself a fighting change of a PB. In the end I was 1:07 down on that in 2:32:41, but made up 46 places in the second half and also ran my fastest ever marathon second half (need to stop running 2 min +ive splits to have any chance of sub 2:30 though!). However the team did a fantastic job and knowing every second would count kept the wheels rolling in the last 10k.
Interesting that it is CJ and CRAB who didn't think it was that warm. Both based on the south coast, whereas LD and other northerners found it hot. The word going through my head for the last hour was `brutal' - more carnage than I can ever remember around me.
CW - I think your 2:42 was a fine performance. RS - agonisingly close.
CJ - did you work out whether you were 2nd team? Great performances all round, particularly impressed with IG and his V60 result!
RS - So close, to sub 3, but glad you are still happy with it, some shorter stuff will lead to a huge PB when you step back up.
CW - Great time and PB off (relative) short mileage, very impressive.
LS21 - Considering the time you spent on the bench that result is brilliant, chuffed for you.
RW-H - How was the weather?
Coro/Marigold - Amazing performances.
TJK - Massive PB congrats.
BR - Well toughed out and a great time.
Hilly - A great time, esp. when you consider the pain you were in from the off.
MTR - Really sorry to hear it wasn't your day, you deserved far better, it'll come soon mate keep at it.
RJ - Top work.
CD - Nice to see another great time.
Drifter - Nicely done, sounded like it nearly got very messy.
Sorry to those I've missed.
Did anyone see Lemocello? He was a broken man.
I was pretty dehydrated, and I expect that was a big factor in my problems yesterday, which were then exacerbated by letting the heart rate climb too high from 7-12 miles.
I didn't go for a pee from the end of the marathon until this morning - despite putting a lot of liquid (water, lucozade, beer, wine, tea) inside me. And I was very salty during my death march - took on a fair bit of liquid then, but to no avail.
I've been doing a lot of thinking and come to the following conclusions:
1. I allowed myself to get dehydrated, I drank a tea and bottle of powerade in the start area, but should have had a bottle of lucozade in the last half hour - I normally do this, but forgot.
2. I didn't take enough nutrition on board. My gel belt failed and instead of carrying 5 gels I carried 3. I then didn't take any lucozade (except for the vile cherry stuff at mile 15)
3. I ran too fast too early. I should have backed off at 7 miles by 10 secs a mile. I'm convinced this is why I succeded at Abingdon in 2008 and London 2009.
4. My training, whilst of higher volume than ever before, possibly suffered from a lack of quality. I didn't run enough tempo sessions, interval sessions or races. I didn't put myself in the hurt box enough.
5. My Sciatica causes me pain down my right leg. That's the leg where I've now suffered major hamstring cramp for 2 years.
Until 22 miles I was convinced I would still finish well under 3 hours. But looking at the Garmin, my heart rate was very high by then, and pace was dropping, so I'd defintely overcooked it.
Rumours of my retirement are untue - even if it was me that was spreading them. But I won't be doing an autumn marathon - I'll be dipping toe into triathlons and some cycling. Next event is a 110k sportive on Easter Monday. But before that I'm off to the Gower for a few days of R&R, with some cycling and swimming included. Legs feel OK this mornng - really enjoyed my ride to work this morning, spinning away in a low gear to clear the crap out of my muscles.
Drifter: I think I saw you at the Red Lion, but I was lying down at the time.
Kinaseboy: Ditto, I remember this because I did notice the matching shoes and socks from my prone position.
Sorry to hear about Dull and MtR.
TR - you are a model of consistancy for this thread
Coro - stunning again
Marigold - excuses and plans that a pro would be proud of and then a great run.
Well dones to all I missed.
SL - cheers. Irrespective of how the marathon goes on the day performance wise I still feel "slow". Since I started running properly in 2005 as opposed to keep fit running here and there all my running has been based around training for marathons which means I still feel like more of a plodder without any faster gears to go through. Dropping down to shorter distances like 10ks, 10m races and regularly doing parkruns and track gives me a fresh new focus/challenge. A mate of mine who I used to run with a lot ran yesterday and ran 2.49. We used to be about the same pace but he's done exactly what I'm planning to do and its paid dividends for him the half and marathon.
I watched most of the race this morning. Lemoncello was in tatters at the end. Mutai in full stride at the end of the race really was something. Can't get my head around folks running that quick, its outrageous really.
Trying to resolve the different reactions to the weather, it seems to me that those that are not on good form or starting to have a bad day will find the heat (or any other incumbrance) hits them worse than those having a flyer. It's the same with a hill at the end of a race which is a challenge if you're going well, but the final nail if you're struggling.
I suppose my point is that the effect isn't even, partly because of innate or trained physiological differences, but is also contingent on how much of your available resources you've expended early on.
I have a nice bruise on my calf.
Congrats to RWH for doing what was said on the tin and for a huge PB, also gilly.
TR: well done, I knew your legs would come good on the day.
FR: good to meet you at the start, a PB is still a PB
TJK: that's a big marker, see you next year
LS21: 2:49 still ain't bad, that's a great PB
JH1: those are great and intelligent splits, more than can be said for most of us
Marders: congrats on breaking 2:45, you must be well proud
tmap: that's a stinker, sorry to hear that.
BRilly: good to meet you, you should both be proud of your runs
RS: glad you got the sub-3 in autumn otherwise going so close again would have been frustrating!
impressed by those who didn't drift off 4-5 minutes from what they were aiming for: Marigold, coro, CD, RJ..maybe not a coincidence these are all at the faster end of the fred. Looks like everyone aiming in the 2:40 - 2:55 range was a few minutes slower than their target.
MtR: commiserations, your training deserved a lot more
On heat and temperature: its clear that the effect of conditions on fast well-trained runners going off sensibly is no more than a few minutes. The 2007 Chicago marathon, which was abandoned at 3.5 hours due to heat, was still won in 2:11. That said, if a marathon start goes badly there are many ways it can go very badly, even in good conditions, and this is exacerbated if it starts heating up. A good marathon sits on a narrow plateau with steep sides: if the temperatures are warm, the plateau is narrower and the sides are steeper. OK, dumb analogies over.
quick one to say tough day at the office MtR, nice analysis, and hope you come good for the next one (am sure you will). Well toughed out anyway (along with Hilly).
TR - thats a top run, shoudl eb very happy, well done. I saw you around 24.5 miles as well and you looked strong, i guess that was after the cramps. Without those, you definitely still have a sub 2:50 in you, adn another very consistent performance, top stuff
RWH - congrats - are you the only new sub 3 hour person from yesterday off the thread? Bad luck on not hitting the sub 2:45 or 2:50 - but you did what this thread is all about - and it's really a very good time and seems well paced.
Re the weather - personally, i think it's much like training choices, speeds, volume, hydration, nutrition, whilst a few basics clearly apply in general accross the board - everone is differnet. differet folks run better in heat than other folks (i remember Padams commenting he seems to run "relatively" better than others in the heat. i think i do as well, even though i sweat copious amounts and am always very salty, i just seem to not get as impacted as others in the heat - and in fact, suffer more in the cold and seem more prone to tweaking a muscle then. i reckon yesterday, it would have FELT warm, especially runnign in from the east, as the slight breeze there was was with you all, so it probably felt like no breeze at all. but the actual temperature while i was standing there till abotu 13:45 never got above 17C, and for the most part was 15-16. we did all get sun burnt though.
will try and read back and comment later - but well done everyone, i am yet to hear of a DNF actually, so expsically to those who had a tough day at the office, really well done for toughing it out and finishing anyway.
oh, and class sub 2:30 Coro, and sub 2:20 Marigold, as always.
Ummmm. Yes. Possibly not one of my better decisions but have to do it now as I've been raising a bit of cash for a local charity on the basis of running both marathons. I may just plod round with my OH but the thought of being out there for 4 1/2 hours is as appealing as going for sub 3 again so I've no idea what I'm gonna do at the mo.
TJK - talk about retiring on a high. Well done.
Managed to find some time to read back on the posts and it sounds like there were some real battles and teeth grinding out there so well done fighting your way through it.