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RW Forum Six - Sub 3:30
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Carrot-No rain here only sun. Don't like Achilles troubles so gald you were ok
2.2 k swim and 16.25 treadmill today.
Got to go.
Quick check in to see how Brol got on.
Absolutely fantastic Brol!!!!! So pleased for you.
Nice session carrot - good to hear the achilles is behaving.
Minni, I'm not sure gigging really counts as cross training!
Nice session Carrot - glad the achilles behaved. Seeing anyone good tomorrow night?
2Old - 16.25 on treadmill
- rather you than me!
Yes - probably quicker
Carrot - I'm not sure I could do justice to much of a race report! Let's just say the first half was bang on the pace I ran the GER but felt like much harder work, and the second half felt slow! Like Daren I CNBA to sprint for the line! The goody bag was pretty good - snickers bar, a cereal bar, packet of crisps, packet of haribo sweets, energy drink, banana
. Glad your achilles is behaving.
2old - is that 16.25k or miles? I hope it was k's!
kfc - good luck with the physio.
I didn't run yesterday but will get out for a slow one later.
Morning
Just back from 7.5 miles at MP during lunch break, last night was 10 miles at 1/2MP. may take the bike out tonight, Mrs DD has returned from that damp grey island in the Atlantic. No rain here 27C.
DD - I presume the servants got the house spick and span for Mrs DD's return
.
2old - Knowing you, I bet it was 16.25 miles, well done.
O4S - I hope your house is drying out now
Race report.
So as you all know the run up to my 3.30 attempt was less than ideal but actually the last week before San Seb went very well. I at last managed to relax and got some of the excitement back. I had slight doubts about my fitness with all the interruptions that happened but other than that I felt very good going into it.
We were flying with Mr B at 12.00 on Saturday to Bilbao and were then supposed to take a bus to San Sebastian which would take around 1.5h. Cutting it a bit fine which I wouldn’t normally do but with all the money we already spent on NY I didn’t want to pay for an extra night in San Seb. The expo was opened until 8pm on Saturday so it all looked very much doable with a bit of luck (haha).
We started landing and I said to Mr B- OMG it’s actually happening, surely nothing else can go wrong. I so shouldn’t have said anything. The turbulences that followed were not something I would want to experience again. The plane was jumping up and down and swinging from side to side, kids screaming and vomiting... just a general mayhem. It was quite clear that it wasn’t just a bumpy landing. We went back up and were diverted to Bordeaux because of strong winds. I thought it was slightly disconcerting that they attempted to land knowing what the conditions were- surely they get weather reports? Anyway...
I texted Minni when still on the plane but she didn’t want to believe me. It took a while to convince her I wasn’t joking. We were told we would be put on buses. Bordeaux is a 4h drive from Bilbao but only 3h from San Sebastian which is on the way. We asked (many people were going to San Seb) if they could drop us off on the way and initially the cabin crew said it shouldn’t be a problem.
I was in fits of hysterical laughter at this stage. I couldn’t find it in myself to get seriously upset, it just felt like I had nothing left. I think Mr B was growing slightly concerned, he expected me to be upset and was probably wondering if I’m about to lose it completely... I also knew that we had quite a bit of time left to play with and we should be able to make it so was relatively calm.
Hours passed and there were no buses. Around 7pm someone said that they wouldn’t arrive before 9pm and that we now couldn’t be dropped off in San Sebastian. The airline had the responsibility to take us to Bilbao and they were not interested in the fact that for many people it meant ending up in a strange place in a middle of the night with no accommodation and no transport options. We decided to get moving. We found 2 girls who were also travelling to San Sebastian and rented a car with them. As soon as we hit the road I could relax again.
It only took a couple of hours to get to San Seb and by 11pm we were in a lovely Italian restaurant stuffing our faces with pasta. My only concern was that I had to be at the start super early to pick up the number which meant I couldn’t have breakfast in the hotel. A friendly receptionist took pity on me and asked the kitchen to leave out some cereal and milk for me in the morning.
Considering the circumstances I slept quite well. Had some cornflakes in the morning (not really my breakfast of choice and I don’t think I had enough) and set off to the stadium where the race started.
There were only around 3000 runners which meant that the number pick up, baggage drop off and toilets all worked very well. There were no queues and I ended up with lots of time to spare. Found a bottle of red wine and a litre of chicken soup in the goody bag- lol, only in Spain!
The weather was perfect- 13 degrees and light rain. We set off bang on 9am to the sound of ‘we are on the road to hell’- very appropriate.
The plan was 4.56 but I was going to allow myself to go a few seconds quicker if it felt right and it most certainly did. 4.52-53 felt very comfortable and I kept it there for the majority of the race. The course is almost 3 laps around the city which didn’t bother me. I’m completely zoned out when I run and don’t pay much attention to the surroundings to be honest.
I actually enjoyed myself for a very long time. Got to half way in 1:42:48 feeling great and knew there was a good chance of nailing it if things carried on as they were. I had a few issues with manual lapping. Because of the nature of the course there were lots of km markers meant for different laps and different directions. I got confused a few times and pressed the lap button too early but always managed to correct it. I think next time will definitely add ‘lap time’ display to have a better idea of when the next marker should be coming up. There were only around 180 women running which meant a lot of support from the sidelines. Loads of people shouted my name, there was also a lot of ‘vamos guapa!’ going on which was very nice.
I think it started getting harder around the 32-33km mark but I was still holding the pace well under 5m/km. Had my last gel around 35km but it didn’t seem to make much difference.
The wheels started coming off around 38km. I was hurting like I never hurt before. Someone ran past me and shouted- come on, you have it in the bag, don’t slow down now and it really gave me a boost. I knew he was right. I had it in the bag and all I had to do was hold it together for a bit longer. I was thinking about everyone waiting to hear about the result and about Mr B waiting for me at the finish line and I gave it my absolute all. There were a couple of 5:17-5:20m/km sneaking in in the last couple of kms but it didn’t matter. I knew I could afford it and was still well under the target.
The last bit was tough tough tough. You get to the stadium but you still have to run all the way around it and then do almost a full lap on the track to get to the finish. It was the longest lap of my running career. MrB said I looked like there was nothing left and I was carried on pure determination- that’s how it felt.
Official time 3:26:49. So so so happy I cannot even begin to describe it. All the upset and tears and disappointments were so worth it. It wouldn’t taste the same without them.
It wasn’t an easy build up for me but on the positive side I’ve had a lot of luck as well. My training went from strength to strength, I had no injuries or even minor colds. I managed to do every single run I was supposed to do and hit all my targets. Wouldn’t have done it without Moraghan’s help so big thank you again if he’s lurking. Hope there is a lot more to come next year.
Oh and please do not despair all VLM-ers. The curse must now be surely broken!
<img src='https://us.v-cdn.net/6027274/uploads/forum/smilies/big
same here, Min.
. To add insult to injury: I ended up in a huge big puddle! Lots of bruises on hands and knees, a torn pair of running tights and the worst of the lot: Garmin screen broke. It's now completely black where the LCD stuff leaked 
. Hope it's just bruising and no serious damage. I finished my workout nevertheless. Pain was bearable and I thought with all that crap just happening I couldn't stand if I cut my run short... 10 miles all in all. Now stairs are my enemy. Walking downstairs is not good. The rest seems ok.
I fell flat on my face this morning ... stumbled over some roadworks barrier. It's been there a while but one of the weights to support it moved into my path
And my left knee hurts. A lot
Hope Garmin will do the swapping thingie. Not sure if they do when you are a complete idiot and break your device by falling on it ...
That's not good chick. It's amazing what damage you can do to yourself falling over while running, so take it easy. Get some ice on your knee if you can, it'll probably feel stiff and sore for a few days but you were able to run on it so there shouldn't be any lasting damage, just temporary swelling. Shame about the garmin though.
Bro- brilliant report ...real mental strength getting the job done so well
Chick- hope all is ok
Chick - hope you're ok, maybe anti-inflammatories to help with the swelling. Shame about the garmin and your running tights
Daren it's The Vaccines tonight, we've actually double booked as Sunderland are playing QPR. I've given my season ticket to a friend of Parsnip, he has given his gig ticket to my sister! I'd rather miss the match.
thanks CD ... yeah, I'm most upset about the Garmin. Knee has full range of movement which must be a good thing.
Bro: xposted with your brilliant race report earlier - again, well done
Bro - great race report and well done again
Chick - oh no! Hope you're OK and Garmin will do a swap.
Brilliant report Brol and brilliant run. You are just brilliant!
Chicka - ouch. Garmin will replace so don't don't worry about that.
PS Brol - haven't you heard.... London is cancelled!!
how'do! great to see the thread as bustling as ever! Stonking performance on the weekend - particulary Brol - Superstar!
I've run 6 days out of the last 7!
- not one of them worth montioning but im hoping a bit of consistency and regularity will form some building blocks to start the preseason! I have even been doing core work!!
Im on my travels again but have my kit with me as i am keen to keep this up!
(simon - can you recomend any decent runs in northenden/ wythenshaw area?)
Brol, I had a few tears in my eyes reading that. Top stuff. So happy for you.
Next question, which is your next booked marathon so I can run one - somewhere else!
Oh TR24 planning?
Chic, hope you're okay. didn't sound pleasant. and garmin broke too. Xmas present off someone generous maybe if they don't swap. I'm after a 910 but will likely end up buying it myself. doh.
As for the goals & things that keep driving you.. marathon not the ultimate end - not that bothered about them... a few PBs are nice - but having a good race all fine by me. Autumn rest certainly worked for me. I'll probably switch to doing more ultras, thunder run, lightning run type events. Lot more fun & camaradie as O4S would agree I'm sure.
Went to talk on hydration by a sports scientist last night... mostly things I knew but some good snippets on salts, super hydrating and there was free pizza too! I'd never heard of recommendation 49ml per kg of body weight to drink per day... and roughly a litre of water per hour exercise. Thats a lot of water. 3.5 litres normal day for me, and more running. yikes.
Oh, I washed all my water bottles too. sterlised if possible. Surveys of some athletes found feacal matter inside the bottles.
FRC - that is a huge amount of water! My calc without exercise works out at 2.7 litres which is a lot. I guess I have perhaps a litre of water plus 2-3 cups of peppermint tea a day. Not nearly enough then!
Bro - fantastic report. It was a marathon just getting to the start line and the way you handled the race was epic
Chick - ouch! Sounds like bruising if you have a full range of movement, but knees are delicate things so take care of it. Maybe also arnica cream for any bruising.
Running goals for me are still the marathon - I have unfinished business there.
Rubbish run at lunchtime today, just not feeling it today. Slow and sluggish 5 miles. I will call it a recovery run
These recommendations on how much water you need usually forget to mention that much of the water you need is contained in food, so you don't actually need to drink quite that much. The '1 litre per hour exercise' is a sweeping generalisation - an hour on a treddie in a gym and you might need that, or more. An hour running outside in the current weather and you probably wouldn't need to drink much at all.
Mind you, it's a decent excuse to down a couple of litres of beer after a marathon.
OMG - how much would I need to drink on a 100 mile ultra taking 24+ hours
I would most probably explode.....................
Great report Brol, I suppose the only positive in the whole sorry saga is that you didn't really have time to worry about actually running the thing - just getting there took all your energies
I keep a litre of water at my desk which I drink throughout the day on top of any other drinks I have, mainly coffee.
The more stressed I am the more coffee I drink and the less I eat!
Bro: ace report, you don't make things easy do you?
Chick: ouch, they replaced my garmin for a very reasonable price when i dropped it and broke the screen.
FRC: there are plenty of studies which suggest being slightly dehydrated is not a big problem
Chick - Hope you get the garmin sorted, or could be a good excuse for a new one for chrimbo. Did anyone see you fall over, and did you limp off pretending you meant to do it, as thou it was part of your training?
O4S - Yes I think you will did to get BA to lug a trolley full of water bottles round the courses for your ultras, mind you that will slow him down even more
.
Bro - Great race report, I bet Mr Bro is glad it's all over, and you can get back to a bit of normality, if such a thing exists when your married to a runner.
You're very close to where I work in Didsbury, which is just the other side of the river. The only run I know is along the tow path along the river Mersey which goes thru where you will be also. Mixture of tarmac, gravel, grass and mud. Probably lots of mud in this weather, but good fun as away from the traffic. When are you up here? Pm me if you want to meet up for a run.
I thought that O4S, a litre per water per hour of exercise, but not during the actual exercise. A long ultra , I could imagine drinking 1/2 litre per hour of water at a guess,? Although I guess you should include the day or so after to not have lost weight - that was part of the reasoning, athletes weight being monitored over 5-7 days of training & competition - some collapsing or having poor performances - rowers & boxers dieting to hit a weight.
As CD says, food all contains liquid. I always have a bottle of squash at work, but no added sugar version, suggestion was to have hi juice/ added sugar one so its stays in your body longer with the sugar.
Easy for some to be dehydrated DD, in your lovely sunny climate.
Beer after marathon though, definitely! Wonder if Brol is still on her alcohol drip feed...
hehehe - thank god no-one saw my spectacular attempt at flying
. It was early morning and still dark.
Garmin will give me the newer model (410) for half price (well, almost, it's a bit more) but it's a good deal, much cheaper than on Amazon. Just as well that I flogged stuff on ebay last week and have a few $$$ to spare