RW Forum Six – Sub 3.30

1383941434476

Comments

  • Hi Malcs, hows the foot? Have you done many runs this week?
  • Thats strange as I use to be able to receive messages....it has been playing up lately on here. I will try to message you instead as im not on twitter.
  • Thank you all for the great advice about the course. I'm even more excited about it. My other half will be there to support me and I did think around the 13 mile mark would be a good spot for him. According to the spectators' map in the VLM there are plenty opportunities for "refreshment" spots for him. ( about five pint glasses!) Although the crowds might be a bit bigger this year as many will want to catch a glimpse of Mo Farah finishing his VLM. I was also thinking that he should just try and get to the finish area early to get a good spot so he can watch the elites. There is such a great field this year, if I wasn't running I would love to watch it. Thank goodness for i player.



    Angela - how's the knee tonight? Has the swelling gone down? Good luck with the physio tomorrow. I'm so glad your dad got to see you run London. You have to remember how proud he was of you if it gets tough on your half. Dedicate the next mile to him and run it the best you can.



    Minnie - how did your 20 mile run go and car shopping in Edinburgh? Thanks for bringing some sun up here, makes a change from the snow flurries of last week.



    Sarah and Mr P. - I have been having doubts about endurance and pace as well. I felt confident afew weeks ago after running a good half marathon but now worrying if I have done enough. Hoping this is just part of pre- taper madness. I went out tonight to do a speed session but got a stitch in my warm up mile so I ended up just doing 6 miles steady pace. Legs felt really heavy too. Compression socks are on tonight and hope to try to do the intervals tomorrow morning. Tonight was such a good night for a run though, so nice to run after work in the daylight.
  • Hi dotty, actually had my sports massage tonight and despite the lump that's still there doesn't think there's any joint damage. I guess it's likely to swell and drain for a few days so I'll keep icing it, but. I have full mobility and no pain.

    Yes I'm really glad he came to see me in London - even my aunt (his sister) and uncle flew across from the states to watch...so was a really nice family occasion- topped off by going to KFC after image



    I think dedicating a mile to people is crucial- someone told me to do that before London, which was my first and it prevented any thoughts of giving up image



    Dunno what I'm gonna do when u've all done London! I've still got a month of training before my taper!!
  • MalcsMalcs ✭✭✭
    Angela - I entered the team just to get the ball rolling but as Sarah said, Tigger is the official team captain. I had already entered with my group from last year before we went to boot camp.



    I'm hoping both teams can get a pitch next to each other. Last year they allowed you to reserve an area if you arrived on the Friday and many of the teams did this quite successfully.



    Re. cost it was about 250 for the team so it's up to everyone how they want to split it. Done equally it would be about 42 quid for 6 or 36 for 7. That includes entry, camping and a pretty decent Addidas tech tee.



    Sarah - foot is improving nicely thanks. Only done one 5 miler this week so far but will be out tomorrow night. Bit tricky as its school hols.



    Minni - yes, TR24, make it happen! You know ou want to! image



    Andy - great 20 miler! All easy from here onwards. What about you? Interested in TR24?
  • Hi Dotty, I know what you mean, I'm quite disappointed that I will not be able to see mo! At the end of the race, after collecting your medal, tea and bag there is a meeting area with every letter of the alphabet spread out (I think they were on fixed pillows), anyway, this is a good place to meet family and friends afterwards. We all met at M last year ( for maltby RC)



    I think it is all pre race and taper madness and our minds playing tricks on us....well that's what I'm putting it down to otherwise I will be too scared to join the start line. I really don't think I could have prepared myself any more than I have done, but I do still have loads of doubts, which is stupid as I got round with much less training last year! I think you was wise to change your run if you didnt feel up to speed training last night, think being able to listen to your body is half of what the training is all about.. Good luck with the session today.



    I enjoyed coming home from work in the day light, was so nice.
  • Hi Angela, glad that you haven't got any pain from the knee joint itself and you have a full range of movement in it., fingers crossed all the swelling will have resolved by the weekend ready for your 20.



    I raised money for help the hospices last year, that kept me going all the way round (and helped motivate me in training, when I realised everything wasn't going quite to plan).



    We will have to set a TR24 thread up or something so you can get support on that and learn from any of our marathon mistakes!
  • Morning Malcs, are you off work this week (please don't make me feel jealous). Glad the foots ok. Goo luck with your run today.



    Would be lovely if we could get a pitching site next to each other, will keep my fingers crossed.
  • Hi guys



    Great running everyone- wish I could find the time at the moment! Managed a quick 6 x 2min at sub 5k pace with 1 min recoveries after work on the way to pick my son up from football training. Sad that I have to sneak these in to keep me sane and stop the better half nagging!



    I agree it is worth dedicating a mile or other ways to occupy your mind when doing a marathon, especially in the second half when it is getting tougher... I ran for Macmillan last year which was definitely a boost for me



    Angela- great to hear you're joining us for TR24! Should be a good experience. Where about in Australia did you live? What made you come back to the UK??? We were in Sydney for a couple of years and lived it. I agree about ocean swimming there being a but warmer than the uk. I would like to try some triathlon- did you have a training programme? What distance did you do?



    Sarah- any news on the race?



    Malcs- how's the foot? I've not got any races planned before TR, but doing the Great North Swim in Windermere in June so maybe find a 10k to do around then
  • Hi Clive,

    If you're the kind of person who can swim in lake windimere u should definitely do a triathlon- I think they have one based there? I did Maldon triathlon sprint distance though the bike leg was a bit longer than typical sprint distance which helped me as I was so bad at swimming - it was 750m swim, 28km (should be 20) bike and 5km run. I did follow a training schedule- I can send u an example week if you want, though it did come from a book 'women's triathlon' haha!



    In Australia I lived in freshwater, which is just north of Manly on the northern beaches... I was there as a kind of gap year after I lost my job in a bank at the start of the financial crisis, and I came back because my visa and money had run out!! image so glad I went to do it- had always wanted to do a gap year but that concept didn't compute with my mother before uni, plus I don't think my uni would have been particularly accommodating either, but when I was stuck it seemed like the best thing in the world to do, and certainly gave me valuable life experience I never would have had if I were still in the job I had before.



    It's weird, usually I'm thinking about fairly emotional things whilst racing- people I care about, or the charity, however during my Colchester half marathon I was so focussed on my time goal that and the threat of cramp in my calves was all I was thinking about the whole way around...



    TR24- yes we should set up a thread after London, otherwise I'll be all alone for taper madness and might forget to taper image
  • MalcsMalcs ✭✭✭

    Sarah - no not off work so you can stop going green now. I work from home though so effectively it's like bringing the monsters into my office for a week. Not ideal! image

    That said my eldest is 10 and he helped me put together a robot arm yesterday so they have their uses. I didn't even have to pay him!

    Clive - foot was pretty much ok on Monday thanks. Pain has been mainly in the arch and that was all but gone but the top of the foot was moaning a bit instead. We shall see how it is tonight. At this point in training I have always had something alot more painful which has had me worrying like mad for the final weeks. I'm confident this one will ease off (it already is) and hopefully I can have a final week free from injury worries for the first time in years.

    Good to hear you're managing to get some running in. Wait and see, after these spring marathons are over TR24 will be on us in no time. Who knows, the sun may even come out image

  • Hi Sarah,

     

    Can't believe you've made it to the taper already! Hope the excitement is building up nicely and the next week or two allows you to relax and enjoy the feeling that you are so close now...

    You've done amazingly well and it's been a pleasure to follow your progress on here.

    Can't wait to meet up for a race or two later in the year (going to recover fully first - don't want to make it even easier for you to beat me!!).

  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭

    image  I typed up a post earlier and it hasn't appeared.

    Anyway, sorted out Sarah's pacing question from earlier via text (whilst sipping a glass of wine and preparing roast pork, yum) and now for the TR.  I'd love to do it and we tried to get a team together from my running club.  However, I am a bit reluctant to put my name down because there's a chance we might be away on a family holiday then.  The family are so good with fitting things around my running leading up to the marathon that I try and not let it interfere over the summer.  Plus I'm away up the west of Scotland with group 60 kids (but not my own) to an outdoor centre just a couple of weeks before that.  So not great timing.  Soz!

  • Minni, so annoying when that happens! Shame u can't do TR24, though I'm sure you'll have a wonderful holiday!



    So I set off on my 8 miler in London tonight, I was a bit cautious given my last few runs, and my bruised knee. Less than half a mile into my run, my phone flys out of my bumbag because I forgot to zip it- now it has a gazillion scratches on the screen. Carried on, and was going at marathon pace, rather than easy, but it felt easy so I didn't mess with it. A few miles in, I started to feel the familiar tightness in my lower legs which was quite worrying. I focused on my form- I've been a bit rigid lately, and so I focused on running, not shuffling, even if it was too fast.



    At about 3.5 miles looking ahead, it looked as if the path was ending, but I figured I could find the extra half mile, then, my toe hit an uneven paving stone and I was mid air. It happened in slow motion and I thought this fall could be the end of my marathon campaign, especially after falling off my bike. I hit the ground, braking my fall with my hands. My water bottle went rolling across the road, and I banged my knees. There were 2 or 3 other runners around me and they just continued on their merry way, as did the cyclists on the cycle super highway. It was like that catwalk show in sex and the city where Carrie falls on the runway and the other models step over her. If that happened around here, someone would have stopped to help, but in London, all out for themselves. I'm glad the warmth of the London marathon redeems them!



    Having banged my knee I was worried to continue, so I waited a few minutes for it to settle. Eventually, it did. This was the turning point in my run, so annoyed that I'd tripped, I concentrated on picking my feet up so I didn't trip again, this seemed to help.



    I hope the rest of my runs this week are completely uneventful...
  • Hi Clive. No news yet on my race....did you fancy doing it at all if its still on?



    Glad you got a little bit of speed training in today....least it will keep you ticking over.



    Ive always thought about moving to New Zealand but I dont think I could leave my parents behind. Would you go back to oz?



    Great north swim sounds like my nightmare!!
  • Evening Angela...Im so jealous of you and Clive. I would have loved to have had a gap year and done something out side of England. I sort of had it in mind that I would do it after my foundation years as a doctor but then I met chris and settled down in York instead. As I said above to Clive ive thought about emigrating to New Zealand several times but I would have to take my parents with me and they are not as keen as me!



    Im quite glad that ive reached the taper, its nice to get a bit of life back and rest a little. Give me another week though and I will probably be going mad!!



    Your poor knees Angela. It sounds like you wasnt doing too bad until you tripped, maintaining marathon pace isnt always easy. I cant believe that no one stopped to help you. Thats so mean. Hope no body had you on camera!



    Hows your war wounds now? No more injuries and falls are allowed now, I think youve had your fair share for the year.
  • Hahaha, im no longer jealous now Malcs. I had some screaming kid in my room for 10 mins today....that was enough to do me in all day!



    I can remember cleaning my dads car for fun when I was a kid....what was I thinking!



    Hope you had a good run today and the foots behaving
  • Hi Steve....I cant wait for the battle to commence!!



    Its been nice to actually reach the taper after such a successful training schedule. I feel privileged to have made it this far injury and illness free....although I probably shouldnt speak too soon as I dont want to jinx anything.
  • Mr PuffyMr Puffy ✭✭✭
    Good evening!



    Funny day today, we drove down for our meeting and got it all done, then we had to have lunch at a services so I had some pasta from then waitrose shop and a flapjack with a cup of tea. My colleague decided not to use the toll road on the way back so were stuck through birmingham. Then there was a lorry stopped in the middle lane with a car stuck to its front at 90degrees so we got held up again. My back was killing me, it always does if I sit in an unfamiliar car, and we got back to work at five. I decided to go into the office to see if there were any issues and got involved in a bit of a debrief with the boss so I had to put my foot down on the way home and drive straight to the race. I got changed in the car park and trotted over to get my number. Not really conducive to a good race but i did get a couple of miles of warm uo done.

    I like our own club races, it's nice to see your friends marshalling and get a bit of extra encouragement on the way round



    I was a tiny bit disappointed with the result, 36.38, but I held back a little bit as I had a new pair of shoes on and my knee is only just better. My mate was a minute faster which surprised me, but then I was a bit faster than one of the girls who usually beats me so all all square!



    Splits were average 7:20, and if I put the recorded distance of 5:08 and the time into the calculator then it comes out at 3:28, but if anyone else postulated that as a reason to be optimistic I would pour scorn on it as speculationimage
  • Hi Minni, thats such a shame about TR24, but completely understandable. Are you planning on going anywhere nice for your family holiday?



    Im glad you didnt mention the glass of wine in your text as that together with the roast would have killed me. I was so hungry when I got to the gym...and there was you teasing me!!
  • Evening Mr P, I cant believe you managed to make it back in time for the race despite all the obstacles that were thrown your way. I think 36.38 mins is good for 5 miles, especially after being sat in a car for alot of the day and after just recovering with your knee



    What time did you get last year (if you ran it last year)?
  • Training Diary for Forum 6 sub 3:30 (VLM)



    Week 14 (day 93), aim; Resistance training + 6 miles @ 8:30 min/mls with 6 x 100m reps.



    Actual; resistance training + 6 miles @ 8:34 min/mls with 6 x 100m reps @ 6:22 min/mls.



    When I first started running my legs felt very heavy and stiff and I was starting to panic that I may have done too much last week especially as I have had a few nights where I havent been able to sleep ? over trained, however after my first 100m rep, my legs felt like new. The heaviness had evaporated and my legs no longer ached......obviously the taper madness is hitting me sooner than I thought!



    Had good news from our mortgage lender today, so hopefully on friday after a second viewing of the house that we like I will be able to put an offer in...how exciting (although i was very disappointed when I worked out stamp duty fees)
  • Mr PuffyMr Puffy ✭✭✭
    Good news on the house Sarah.

    I just looked up my time from last year, said it was 35:49 which is a lot faster than I remember. I'll check properly tomorrow.



    Club night again tomorrow, then I might do the parkrun on Saturday and move my long run back to Sunday.
  • Sarah- Good luck for the house. Re Stamp Duty, there are schemes (legitimate) that can allow you to offset some of the fees. We did that when we moved last May, and if you're interested I can let you know a bit more. Saved us a few grand image 

    I would love to go back to Oz, but it isn't going to happen for us. Whilst I have undergone all the assessment at the College (including spending a 5 figure sum of money in Australian dollars) and would only need 6 months of supervision, my wife would need to go and do 2 more years as a registrar and then sit the exam. Also the job situation is preety poor in the main cities, especially for international graduates. I did fly back in 2011 for an interview for a Senior Lecturer job 3 days before I ran the AMsterdam Marathon which was crazy(I was in Sydney for 34 hours only) but didn't get it for political reasons I found out later.

    Angela- Hows the knee? Rubbish that no one stopped to ask if you were ok, but the public sometimes don't suprise me. Great that you are joining us for the TR.

    Minni- sorry you cant make TR. Where in Scotland are you going?

    Mr Puffy- sounds like a good run you had!

  • hi all,

    I have a question that has probably been asked a thousand times before, so i apologise.

    Many months ago when i registered i would imagine i will have estimated my time for the marathon to be 4:30 hours ish as i'd never done such a thing before, so finishing would have been great in itself (and to an extent, it still will be).

    But now I am aiming for sub 3:30 and certainly no slower than 3:45. Meaning I'm sure i'll be one of these idiots at the back of the pack just watching my Virtual Partner on my Garmin running further and further away from me in the opening miles.

    So I was looking for advice on what the best course of action would be to make the pace I want? 

    Generally I begin a run for the first 6-8 miles at 7:30 pace and then settle into 8 min mile pace the rest of the way, obviously this is going to be the opposite of my race day by the sound sof things.

    Please HELP :-/

    Thank you

  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭

    Clive - Ardentinny, Argyll for a week of outdoor activities.  Much fun!  Reading through your posts I really don't know how someone with your job trains for a marathon.  You must have to be quite laid back about your training and go into it with the knowledge you will be constantly be changing things around?  I guess you can't really refuse to operate because you have a lactic threshold session to do?!!   It must make your actual marathon even more rewarding though.

    Sean - welcome.  Unfortunately you will be starting a bit further back than you'd like and there's nothing you can do to change this, unless you have loads of really fast race times - I've heard of people appealing at the expo and getting pens changed with evidence.   However, its really nothing to worry about.  Doing the first few miles slow will do you no harm at all.  Remember you have another 23 miles to make it up!

    I'm curious about your training paces. When you say you start off with 8 miles at 7:30 pace then drop to 8 m/m for the rest of the run, what distance of run are you talking about?  What pace are you running for long runs at, and what distance are these?  What race times have you run in the last few months?   From reading your post I'm concerned that you have the speed but not the endurance to back up 3:30 and worry you may go off too fast.

    Oh and I'd turn off Virtual Partner in the marathon. 

  • Minni - hi, thanks for your help. When I go for a long run i run at near threshold pace i guess. I'd admit am not good at pacing a run consistently for mile after mile. I also realise this isnt ideal, in training monday I ran a hilly 17.5 miles in 2:17:22 (7:51 pace), i ran a flatter 19 miler in 7:51 pace. I didnt actually realise the average paces were identical until i just looked. I completed the Silverstone Half 4 weeks ago in 1:30:49. Does that help at all? Thanks again

  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭
    Sean - how many long runs of 20m or more have you done?
  • Minni -1 at 20 miles 1 at 19 miles. Timer stopped on the 20 miler so dont know my pace for that one sorry.

    Everything 'Long' i have done up until now has been at this pace, whether the long run was 5 miles months and months ago or the 19 miles more recently. I just run at the pace I feel comfortable (ish).

  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭
    If you'd told me that you'd done the standard 5 x 20 milers I'd say you should be looking a good bit faster than 3:30 even. However, you may find it hard in the last 6 miles due to lack of endurance. I think it's really important you don't go off too fast on the day and should spend the last couple of weeks learning to slow the pace down a bit.



    I'm hoping for around 3:15 and have done 9 x 20 or more miles in the last 12 weeks and my pace for these has been around 8:30 - 8:50. Endurance is the key to a good marathon. For your next one make sure you get these in and you'll be smashing 3:15 and probably much faster than that.
Sign In or Register to comment.