Manchester Marathon 2013

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  • hello, i've registered for the 4hour pacing group, not sure if i get a specific number or not, but i'm not too worried about delcaring my target. If i hit it great, if not it's either because i didn't train correctly for it, or because conditions on the day prevented it, but i won't be too disappointed. I'm actually hoping to go under 3:57:06, which is my mates PB (a bit of friendly rivalry), so my intention is to stick with the 4mile pacers for the first 10k / 7miles to make sure i don't go off too fast, and then increase the pace from about 9:09 to about 9:00 for the rest of the race, This should give me about a 1min negative split at half way. Sounds easy enough on paper, right?

    Re the garmin, i'll use lap pace, but switch of auto lapping as garmin can be a little bit out, so i'll lap manually as I go past each mile marker.

  • SallymaxSallymax ✭✭✭

    Oooh, good luck agentginger.  Looks a bit technical to me but hope you pull it off. 

  • It's getting way too technical all this garmin/pacing talk...you lot are way too competitive for meimage

  • cybarevcybarev ✭✭✭
    Sitting in car at Dorney Lake Eaton, waiting for start of Maxi Fuel Half marathon. Wind is blowing the finish line away, rain is chucking it down. Should be good practise for April!



    At least a I'm not out on the lake with the rowers ....... Now that is serious commitment!
  • SlokeyJoeSlokeyJoe ✭✭✭
    Good luck Cybarev! Sounds like some sort of hat would be in order.
  • SallymaxSallymax ✭✭✭

    13 miles done this morning, undulating is not the word, driving rain and wind, then after about 10 miles the sun came out and the sky was beautiful blue - mad weather.  Blew the cobwebs away and the effects of last nights wine!! Rest tomorrow and only 6 weeks to go - aaaaaah!

  • Happy running folks...sounds like I was lucky with the weather compared to you lot.

    20 miles done, slowly...and it was mostly sunny, I think I was lucky as it's really grey now.  I don't think the forecast is nice for tomorrow, so I am delighted to have it out of the way.  My legs and feet hurt like you wouldn't believe....it's bloody hard this training isn't it?!

    Panda

  • you're not wrong, Redpanda, I did a slow 19 miles (6 minutes slower than target pace) and it was HARD. well done to all who completed lsr today and happy running to those tackling it tomorrow! Now, a few well deserved drinks, I think image

  • cybarevcybarev ✭✭✭

    Yes, did it! Actually managed a negative split and did the half in nearly 30sec/m quicker than I was hoping for!

    What an odd location though. Bleak and deserted. Must admit I think I prefer races on closed roads rather than circuits. Hardly any crowds (Not surprising with the weather though). Has anyone done races like the Silverstone half? What were crowds like? 

  • SallymaxSallymax ✭✭✭

    Well done Cybarev.  All the races on the Isle of Wight are lonely.  There were less than 100 runners took part in last year's IOW marathon and I doubt there were hardly any supporters, apart from the marshalls.  The Great South is the only race I've done where there were crowds and I did enjoy it - just a bit frustrating at the start as you couldn't get going due to the amount of runners.

  • carterusmcarterusm ✭✭✭

    Afternoon all. I ran the South Yorkshire HM today as my fianl race before Manchester. I smashed my PB by about 8 minutes and finished in about 1:37:58 (unofficialy time). Very pleased indeed and a great confidence booster for Manchester. Now down to the last 3 weeks of serious training before tapering.

    Hope everyone is running well 

  • Excellent work cusm, that's a great time.  Has that had you revising your target finishing time for Manchester now?

    Got a 19 mile LSR in yesterday, legs still started to feel the miles a tad 15 odd miles in (general aches and stiffness setting in) but still completed it without any real dramas.  Only 3 more long ones left now.

  • Rocking Robin - I think i'm lucky with my PF, it doesn't crease me like it seems to some folk.  It's painful and uncomfortable alright but not debilitating and has never stopped me running.  I'd be happy for it to jolly well sod off mind.

  • 20 mile run today ... a little slow for what I would like to achieve on 28 April, and my legs started to tighten at around 2/3 of the way. Still time to take it up a notch though. Heading to New York for a stay in early April and looking forward to some training runs in Central Park.... an amazing place to run!

  • carterusmcarterusm ✭✭✭
    SB - Its my first marathon so i think I will stick at 3:45 target. Anything better will be a bonus of course but I guess it would be wise to err on the side of caution first time out. If I have that same, sensible attitude standing on the start line is a different matter !
  • Good to hear that people are on track (excuse the pun) and that plans seem to be going well

    Very disappointing 10 miler this morning after a good week last week. Keeping the mileage lower this week in the build up to Wilmslow HM on Sunday. Was hoping to get a good time in for confidence ahead of the race but ran it around 9.5 min miles which is the slowest I've run for some time and nowhere near the 1:50 pace I ran my last HM in

    Not sure of whether it's a case of I don't normally run on a Monday or something else

    Sticking to the plan though another 8 miles on Wed, 5 on Thurs and 2 days off before the race, tempting though it is to go out and do more to get a confidence boost in

    Back to the 18 mile LSR next week

  • carterusmcarterusm ✭✭✭

    RR - dont panic, we all have sessions where we feel we could have done better. I dont think that the pace in your easy run should be an indicator of your HM pace. For example, my easy runs are run at least 2.5 minutes slower than the HM I ran yesterday. Are you doing some speed sessions as well did you say ?

  • CUSM - I guess you are in ther same boat as me that we will be feeling our way through the first half of the race and plans might alter one way or another depending at how we are fairing and feeling at certain points in the race.

    Given that the furthest i've actually raced thus far is a HM, it really is a venture into the unkown in so many ways.  I'm sure by my third or fourth marathon, i'll have it all figured out :-/

  • carterusm wrote (see)

    RR - dont panic, we all have sessions where we feel we could have done better. I dont think that the pace in your easy run should be an indicator of your HM pace. For example, my easy runs are run at least 2.5 minutes slower than the HM I ran yesterday. Are you doing some speed sessions as well did you say ?


    Cheers CUSM, I guess I'm not that far off where I was last time and I'm doing alot more mileage than I was 6 months ago. There's also the adrenalin and such on the day of the race itself and I did feel a bit tired when I went out. My heart rate stayed low all the way round and I ran a much greater percentage of the run at fat buring pace, than usual, so perhaps I just went out alot easier than I intended

    I do a couple of shorter runs every week that are my "speed sessions" as such but I don't really have a defined formula for these other than they're shorter and I seem to run them quicker than the other weekly runs

    I haven't been putting that much thought into tthe speed side of it during marathon training, more the weekly mileage given that I tend to just go with the flow in terms of how my body feels like running and most of the time this works out as a reasonable pace

  • carter - excellent time! well done.

    I trotted round Rome in 4.14 equal 5k splits all the way through. Aiming for sub 4.10 in Manchester then a PB in Berlin in September (around 3.50)

  • cybarevcybarev ✭✭✭

    Marathon Molly, how did you find Rome? Was it yor first time you ran it? I heard another Rome runner say it was the best marathon they'd ever done, loads of history, phenomenal support, great organisation etc. Must admit even though I've told Mrs Cybarev Manchester will be my last marathon I'm seriously tempted by Rome next year! Wonder if I could get the whoe family out there for a couple of nights?

  • Well done Molly...Rome is a brill place eh?  Where better to carbo load?  Well done on your time.

     

    I knew someone (a really good runner) who didn't enjoy Rome.  He said the crowd were really ignorant of the runners and just used to cut across the course as runners were racing, and expect them to run round them etc!  Not sure if that was the case for you?   Berlin is a fast course so you should be on track for a good time there too.

    Sounds like everyone is doing pretty well with their running.  me?  Good days and bad!  my legs are still really sore from the 20 miles I did on Saturday.  I did 4 slow miles on Sunday too as I thought it might help but it hasn't!  I think the trouble is, I am not doing enough shorter runs to support these long runs (can't even manage spinning at the minute either) so I am suffereing with the big distances.  I have a feeling it;s really going to hurt this time!

    Still....I am sure people limp round with even less training so I will just have to grin and bear it I suppose! 

    Enforced rest day today, then hope to do 10 in the morning, 5 the next day...15 on Sat and 4 on Sunday....well...we shall see if that happens!

    Panda

  • Hi,



    I'm entered for Manchester with a mate. I've been running HMs for many years now but this will be my first marathon.



    So far training is going great. Following a brilliant plan that works for us.Plus I'm injury-free unlike the last time I attempted marathon training a couple of years ago and ended up with a stress fracture in my foot 3 weeks before and had to pull out image



    We did our 20 mile run today in 3 hours 34mins which felt comfortable though the last couple of miles my legs were lead! Just finishing for us will be the greatest achievement image so I'm not going to stress about time (but would love a 4.30 or thereabouts - not as speedy as you guys!)



    Anyway, what I wanted to ask was what's the furthest you should run for the long run in training? I have mates who are marathon and ultra marathon runners who say 22. Though my plan says at 20. Any advice would be appreciated thanks.



    I live in Devon (though from Wigan - I'm coming home!) so all my runs are hilly ones. I'm hoping that will help on the day seeing as the Manchester Marathon is meant to be so flat.



    Off to stuff my face! Thanks.
  • I've read various sources regarding where the magical 20 figure comes from and alot say it is just a nice round number and psychologically 20 means a bit more than say 19 in terms of getting to the magic 26.2 total but doesn't actually mean anything special in terms of whether or not you can or can't run the marathon physically

    My plan is like yours and has one 20 miler as the biggest run (in the week before the taper) I've done a couple more 18 milers than it suggested as I started from a higher base mileage than the plan was aimed at.

    One of the plans I was given was a straight incremental plan which never goes higher than 18 but I think some of the runners world plans that are aimed at the more elite runners looking to go around 3 hours will do a 22 mile run

    Someone said to me if you can do 18 (and you've done more than that already) you can run the race and complete it

    I think the hill training should stand you in good stead, it'll be more a case of keeping the interest going on the long boring stretches like Brooklands Road

    You're like me, it's your first race. I'd take all the advice you're given on board but have the conviction to stick to the training plan you've followed as it sounds like you're doing really well

    That said, alot of the advice and support I've been given by people in this thread has been really useful and kept me going when I've felt a bit like I'm not getting anywhere

  • Cybarev/RP - re Rome mara - I've done it six times and I love it although quite a few people complain about pedestrians straying onto the course. The central bit is quite isolated with no crowd support but the last 10kms in the centre is fab. It's definitely not a PB course, too busy at the start (after 1km there's a bottleneck) and there are far too many cobbles. If you fancy doing a marathon whilst looking at the sights rather than your watch then it's a great experience. It's not the best in the world but it's still worth doing.

  • The cobbles!  That's it.  I remember being on the verge of entering...it was a toss up between that and Paris for my first marathon, and I went for Paris as the cobbles were mentioned a lot as being a bit of a problem!  I would probably break my neck on them!  Glad you enjoyed.

    Hi Northern Lass...I wouldn't worry about going up to 22.  If you have done a few marathons and are maybe after a specific time it might be worth going up to that distance once, but as has been said, if you go up to 20 a couple of times that should be fine.  I am sure you will get under 4-30 on the day.

    panda

  • Cobbles? Tell me more!



    Thanks everyone. That's really great advice. I think I'll stick with my 20.



    Basically I'm doing a plan that incorporates one speed sesh, an easy run of 6-8 miles and the long slow run.



    Got the Taunton Half in a couple of weeks which I've done before but hoping to better my PB with all this training under my belt.



    Good luck all with your training! Keep up the good work.
  • Anyone doing the P+D training?  Did a 9 mile run this morning with 5x1000m intervals at 5k pace.  Man, that was a seriously tough session as the intervals started after i'd already stuck nearly 4 miles or so on the legs.  Knackered!

    Think my 5k pace may have been a little too rapid though as my intervals were at 6 m/m pace or quicker and my 5k best is 19.24 (albeit a hilly park run 6 months ago) which is about 6.15 pace.  Little hard to know exactly what pace to run these at when you know you could probably smash your PB after 4 months hard marathon training.

  • Strangely Brown wrote (see)

    Anyone doing the P+D training?  Did a 9 mile run this morning with 5x1000m intervals at 5k pace.  Man, that was a seriously tough session as the intervals started after i'd already stuck nearly 4 miles or so on the legs.  Knackered!

    Think my 5k pace may have been a little too rapid though as my intervals were at 6 m/m pace or quicker and my 5k best is 19.24 (albeit a hilly park run 6 months ago) which is about 6.15 pace.  Little hard to know exactly what pace to run these at when you know you could probably smash your PB after 4 months hard marathon training.

    I probably should be paying more attention to picking up the pace a little. My average speed for all weekly runs has dropped since doing a HM at Tatton last November and then starting marathon training in January, so I'm assuming that concentrating on and increasing mileage has affected my speed/pace

    Not expecting to get round Wilmslow in under 2 hours on Sunday which will be 10 mins slower than my HM PB. Got 2 runs left this week before a couple of pre-HM rest days, doing 8 miles tomorrow morning and then a nice 5 miler on Thursday

    Have been treating the race as part of the Mancheter build up but I'd be disappointed if my time was alot slower given the extra miles and training in the legs, since the last one I ran and the fact I've probably done 7 or 8 in training

    Also going to use the race as an opportunity to practice drinking and refuelling on the run although I probably don't need it in terms of the race itself but am also going to try running without my ipod which accompanies me on all training runs usually, just so I can get some things in place before the big race in APril

  • Morning everyone

    RR you might surprise yourself at Wilmslow...often just loads of extra miles helps you speed up.  I got a huge PB in a 10k just from marathon training and absolutely no speed sessions in training...I was shocked, but I read somewhere that you can become faster just by increased mileage....probably be faster still with speed training, but hey ho!  LOL....Don't know how you consider not having your ipod...I am afraid I would DIE without my music.

    Apart from my trainers my music is the next most important thing.  In fact, I would rather run in my flip flops and have music I think !!image

     

    Wow SB that is some intense training session....respect for that.  If that doesn't pay off nothing will.

    10 miles for me first thing.  I couldn't believe how cold it was for the time of year, it literally took my breath away!  It warmed up a bit towards the end but was snowing lightly too...very surreal.  Certainly not what you expect for mid/late March.

    Right....baby changing and soup making for me now!

    Take care folks

    Panda

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