Manchester Marathon 2013

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  • Redpanda - Armstrongs chippy is the one I think you mean and it's still just as good. Might have to pay a visit soon (after the 28th obviously!)

  • SallymaxSallymax ✭✭✭

    I emailed the marathon organisers about road closures and times with regard to getting in and out of the car park but no reply I'm afraid!  Hope the organisation is going to be ok - people have asked a few questions on their facebook page which they haven't bothered to answer??

    Last long run for me tomorrow - 20 miles, with only the first 5 alone then a friend will join me for final 15 - nice to have company.

  • Have heard a few poor things about communications. I emailed them last year about doing some marshalling and they never came back to me either! Bit poor really.

    Panda
  • Andy-W-Andy-W- ✭✭✭
    Spooky - received my car parking ticket in the post this morning. N1 but no mention of the seat number from the email, good job not watching a match. The whole point of getting a car park space is so you don't have to get there too early. At Chester the traffic flows into one small (in comparison) car park at that works well and they then close surrounding roads from 8:30. Runs like clockwork. Not received my GMM number yet though, any time now! Last long run tomorrow of 21.5 miles, my fifth over 20 so far this year I think, then taper.
  • That's it! "Armstrongs....Home of the giant cod!"......I always used to run past there and the smell was tortue, it was bloody brilliant, and they did two types of curry sauce as well.

    There is another good chippie near Prestwich that make their own sausages...I can't remember the name, but they have a branch in the Printworks too.  Not as good as Armstrongs though.

    Damn it....Friday is fish day too, and now I am craving fish and chips real bad.  Not a great idea before a long run though, so like you I will try and abstain until after the mara!

    Good luck to all of us for our final long runs this weekend.  22 for me tomorrow, I feel strangely nervous about it, stupid, I know.  I must say I am getting a bit tired now,..I fell asleep on the couch earlier, which isn't like me.  In a funny way I will miss my long runs though, as I probably won't be doing anymore until next Winterimage.   I just hope I make it back to the start line next April after baby number 2!

    Panda

  • cybarevcybarev ✭✭✭
    RP ..... Two types of curry sauce, now that is spectacular!! My tummy is starting to rumble after all this talk of food!

    Did my last 20 miler today. Did it from 4pm which was weird because all my other lsr have been in the morning. Had a 3 mile walk with the family this morning followed by a pub lunch! Not great prep for an lsr!

    Bring on the taper!

    Weather looks good for the weekend. Have a great weekend one and all.
  • Was feeling quite envious of you all talking about your last long runs this weekend, mine was last weekend and I quite enjoyed them as I ran with a mate and it was a good catch up !!



    Then I remembered why I wasn't running long this weekend - because I'm relaxing in bed with a book in Spain, about to go on a short 6 miler in the sunshine, without a cloud in the sky - lovely!!



    Good luck on the 20-22 milers, get plenty of fluids and rest after....
  • Well done Cybarev....a nice pub lunch sounds ideal to me!  At least it's all done and dusted now.

    Thanks for making me jealous Julie.  I will have you know, there is not a cloud in the sky here either.....though it's not as warm as Spain!  Enjoy your break

     

    I will be going out in an hour or so, strangely looking forward to it but dreading it also....I know it's going to be really tough, but then, without these the marathon would be tougher still!

    Panda

  • Afternoon Manny mara peeps.

    Feeling very positive today.  It's a beautiful day, even warm in the sun and i've just done my last 20 miler.  It was a great run and I upped the tempo for the last mile to see what I could do on tired legs.  Managed a very comfortable 6.40 mile without trying all that hard.

    That was easily the best i've felt on an LSR and my pace was even notably improved despite keeping in my usual HR zone.  All in all, i've never felt so good on a run and would have quite happily carried on for a bit longer.  I even recovered enough to be on the driving range 75 minutes after finishing.  Busy morning!

    Now officially in taper, not that the P+D taper is all that steep.  46 miles next week so hardly taking it easy.

    Well done to Cybarev and others who have soldiered through one of the coldest winters we've seen to reach taper and good luck to those with their last big run left.  It's been.................. interesting!

     

  • SallymaxSallymax ✭✭✭

    Well done to Strangelybrown!  Sounds good.

    My last long run done this morning, 20 miles. All was fine but actually can't imagine running another 6 miles on top of that!! How??

    Regarding car parking, had a reply from organisers to say that the roads in and out of the car parking will be open all day - guess they had to be but just wanted to check!

  • Got through the 20 this morning - going to put another long one in next weekend as want to get up to 22ish. Was lovely running in the sunshine. Followed part of the route from Sale to Stretford via Flixton. Just remember that stretch is a lot longer and straighter than you think, not a problem as long as you get your head around it.image
  • Well done folks, sounds like everyone is doing great....except me!

    I set off for my 22 miler and got a terrible stitch in the first half mile.  I felt funny, and just knew it was going to be hard, and I just felt awful.  I don't know why, I had slept well and eaten well and was hydrated, but I was just knackered from the outset and it was awful.  My partner insists I take a phone on my long runs at the minute, and it's a good job I did.  I had to call him to come get me at the Swan at Bucklow Hill.  Hence, I managed 10 miles, but I couldn't face anymore and didn't want to risk it.  Gutted.  I was also baking hot!

    Oh well, I am going to try another 10 tomorrow night and carry on as normal next week but try another 20 next Saturday...I tend to recover quickly so it won't affect the marathon.  I will be more worried if I don't do it!

    So, not a great day....which was annoying as the weather was so lovely!

    Oh well,, shit happens...tomorrows another day and all that!

    Panda

  • Panda - shit does indeed happen. Put today in a box and lock it away. It's the tortoise that wins not the hare. When the going gets tough the tough get going. Mind over matter. It's just a case of left foot, right foot repeat. Remember there's always another hill! Etc etc.



    Seriously I had a shocker last week too but then a cracker this week. Just be thankful that when you had a wobble (which will always happen) it was'nt on the big day. Now it's done you can cross it off the list.
  • RedPanda , good call, if it feels wrong on a run then it probably is .You sound recovered now so just get on with rest of your plan. Work is mainly in the bag now, i'll be trying for an easy 20 next week too. 3 week taper would kill me more than a 20 two weeks out.

    Strangely Brown are you going for sub 3 ? , i am after sub 3, planning to behave and stick with pacer and not blow with a superfast 1st half
  • Thanks everyone. I suppose it knocks your confidence when.something like this happens, and I will be super paranoid on the next long run and in the marathon, incase it happens again. I know it's happened once or twice before, when not pregnant, so I think it's just one of those things, but I couldn't risk pushing on feeling the way I did.

    Positive thoughts people !!!image

    Panda
  • Well done folks, sounds like everyone is doing great....except me!

    I set off for my 22 miler and got a terrible stitch in the first half mile.  I felt funny, and just knew it was going to be hard, and I just felt awful.  I don't know why, I had slept well and eaten well and was hydrated, but I was just knackered from the outset and it was awful.  My partner insists I take a phone on my long runs at the minute, and it's a good job I did.  I had to call him to come get me at the Swan at Bucklow Hill.  Hence, I managed 10 miles, but I couldn't face anymore and didn't want to risk it.  Gutted.  I was also baking hot!

    Oh well, I am going to try another 10 tomorrow night and carry on as normal next week but try another 20 next Saturday...I tend to recover quickly so it won't affect the marathon.  I will be more worried if I don't do it!

    So, not a great day....which was annoying as the weather was so lovely!

    Oh well,, shit happens...tomorrows another day and all that!

    Panda

  • SallymaxSallymax ✭✭✭

    Oh, keep strong redpanda.  Next week will be different I'm sure.  I'm guessing being pregnant, although 'not an illness' as your doctor said, is bound to have some effect on how you're feeling.  And let's face it, even when not training for a marathon, some days we feel great and some days we feel, well...shit! Just to add another cliche to the mix - keep your chin up!!!  xxx

  • Thanks Sally

    I know you are right...I suppose I just panic a bit and sometimes wonder if it's just a general "bad day" like most of us have, or something pregnancy related.  I would never put myself at undue risk though and obviously if I kept on feeling crap I would just have to pull out of the race, I always said I would do it as long as I was feeling good....I feel ok today, just very tired.

    We had friends over for tea and I didn't end up getting to bed till 1 am, then up at 7.30,....I can feel an afternoon nap coming on in a bit!

    Hope everyone else has had good running.

    Panda

  • Something went wrong with the reply first time around.

    Sally - Well done yourself image

    RP - Bugger but you have the right attitude about it.  I don't need to tell you to forget about it, you already will have image

    Dave Lord - Nah, i'm taking it sensibly on my first marathon.  I'm sure i'll be back for more so can think about going sub 3 when I have a better idea of what I can and can't do.

  • SB - Well done on your last 20 miler - its sounds like you are going well. Remember my advice - well I reckon you should be cautiously optimistic about going close to 3 hours. I also remeber something else I read about running a marathon if things are going well and that is "don't be greedy".

    Did 22 miles yesterday. Not quite as easy as yours SB - and had to negotiate a couple of large snow drifts on the off road sections !. It took me exactly 3 hours and I tried to up the pace for the last couple of miles  - but it was barely 7.30 pace. I also have a painful right knee - it was really hurting down the last dig descent - I think it could be tedonitis. Does any one have any advice about this please ?

    RP - Tough going - but it sounds like you know what you are doing and hopefully you will soon get back on track

  • Ran my final 20 mile run today before starting taper. Felt strong throughout, ran a little faster than planned race pace, and the weather was perfect to boot.

    4 weeks after the Manchester marathon I'm running another in Calgary Canada (my home town - I'm an expat). I've never ran two so close together before.

    Any advice on training strategy for those 4 in-between weeks?

  • Andy-W-Andy-W- ✭✭✭
    I ran my last 21.5 mile run yesterday. Can't believe 2 weeks ago I ran 19 miles in deep snow in 3:18 and didn't slip once. Yesterday at mile 15 I had forced breather when I fell and bashed my right elbow and knee with scrapes to right leg and a bit of blood. Adrenaline kept me going after a short breather for remaining 7 miles and a visit to the local minor injuries unit confirmed nothing broken. Phew. Definitely time to taper! First time I've fallen running and quite a fright though no-one stopped and asked how I was. My lucozade bottles took a bit of a battering too.
  • Andy-W-Andy-W- ✭✭✭
    Meant to say I finished in 3:09 8:49 average pace and target avg race pace is 8:35 for sub 3:45 . I need some elbow and knee pads image
  • ShazmoShazmo ✭✭✭
    Well after feeling very tired and sluggish after returning from hols and almost a week off from running, I managed to get in a decent 22 miler today. I had intended to take it easy but I felt good so just ploughed on and came in at average of 10 secs per mile under goal pace and was particularly strong in the last 5 miles. It's given me back my pre-holiday confidence, as I'd been running well up until that point.

    Hope everyone else has had some decent runs this weekend. Panda, hope you're ok. And you too Andrew, after your tumble.

    PS Andrew I'm aiming for a sub 3.50, maybe 3.45 too.
  • Andy-W-Andy-W- ✭✭✭
    A great confidence boost 3 weeks to go Shazmo. My PB is 3:47:51 from London last year so happy to beat that but I guess it will now depend on how I feel on the day.
  • PureManic wrote (see)

    SB - Well done on your last 20 miler - its sounds like you are going well. Remember my advice - well I reckon you should be cautiously optimistic about going close to 3 hours. I also remeber something else I read about running a marathon if things are going well and that is "don't be greedy".

    Did 22 miles yesterday. Not quite as easy as yours SB - and had to negotiate a couple of large snow drifts on the off road sections !. It took me exactly 3 hours and I tried to up the pace for the last couple of miles  - but it was barely 7.30 pace. I also have a painful right knee - it was really hurting down the last dig descent - I think it could be tedonitis. Does any one have any advice about this please ?

     

     

    Hey PM, sorry to hear about your niggle mate, how's it feeling today?  I know that Carterusm from here is also struggling right now (different injury) and it's such a bugger after so much hard training.  Fingers crossed that you're both ok come race day.

    Re 3 hours, i'll honestly be delighted with anything between 3.10 and 3.20.  I spent some time on the sub 3 hour thread in the spring marathon section and it made me really appreciate how hard this aim is.  People with roughly my HM and 10k times were gunning for it in their 3rd/4th/5th marathons etc and still falling short, often way short.  I've accepted that I need to be looking at another 2-3 minutes off my 10k time and maybe 4-6 minutes off my half time before I should really be seriously entertaining the idea. So with all that in mind, 3.10-3.20 would be a time i'll be very happy with indeed.  Bring on a 3.21 finish thenimage

  • Hi guy's

    Andrew and Shazmo, you sound like you have it in the bag!  It's a lovely feeling when you finish a long run tired, but still feeling good and at the pace you want.  LOL Andrew, I have fallen over before too.....Only once, and I don't know how it happened, but it was on a lovely night in July, and I just went forward and took the skin off all  my hands (gravel in them and all sorts!) and cut my running tights to shreds!  It was horrible, I had to go to hospital!  And no...nobody bothered me to ask if I was hurt either!

    Well, I didn't make it out yesterday either, was feeling very very tired so just decided to wipe last week out.  Not great timing, but nothing I could do.  Felt very down on Saturday and Sunday, but I did go out and do 8 miles this morning and it felt great again...yay! 

    I am having to re jig things a bit, so I am going to do 10 tomorrow and 20 on Friday....then next week I will do the same, which will mean a final 20 miler 9 days before the marathon, but after that I will probably only do one more short run, so I should be ok.  I do recover quickly so I should be fine....am just paranoid now incase I feel crap again, but I will do my best.

    A nice sunny but chilly day here.  The partners parents are over later so we are going to take a walk round Dunham Park....makes a change to be walking in it rather than running as I take in part of it on my long runs.

    Keep going peeps......off to check for the postman now, see if my number is here!

    panda

  • Cheers SB. The knee is still a bit sore so i'm taking today off as well. I have had slight problems with it in the past especially after hilly 20 milers but in this marathon training cycle no problems at all - until now all of a sudden - with more severe pain than in the past ! Bugger ! I have read up about it and I hopefully have the milder tendonisitis above / to the side of the knee. I do plenty of cycling and did some weight training in the winter so weak or muscle imbalance should not be the cause.

    I'm looking to beat 3.15 to qualify for London in the "good for age" cat. I missed it by 48 seconds last October. You will probably be around the same time which would be brilliant for a first marathon. 

    Anyway fingers crossed and take each day as it comes. Good luck to everyone else in "Taper Madness" time..........

  • Hello all

    I've been a bit of a lurker here for the last week or so as I get towards the end of my training and I'm a bit gutted I didn't find this forum sooner!



    Sorry to just dive in but could do with some support and can see that you're a supportive bunch!



    This will be my first marathon. I've been training since jan and the first couple of months training went well and I built up to 18 miles comfortably. However I then hurt my knee and so struggled a bit but still managed quite a few runs between 11 and 15 miles depending on how my knee felt. The pain wasn't going away and so I went to see a physio. She said the pain would subside after I stopped running but understood I wanted to continue my training. She gave me exercises and advised me to stretch snd ice which is what I have been doing and I've seen a bit of an improvement.

    Last week I ran 20 miles. My knee hurt a bit but not as bad as previously. I dropped back the pace and actually really enjoyed the run.

    This week however the pain in my knee is back...



    I was planning on doing another 20 mile run before the race but having just set out for a long run my knee started to hurt quite badly and so I could only manage about four miles.



    This is my first marathon so my one aim is to finish it with a smile on my face.



    Do you think I'll get through it with my one 20 miler? Do you think I ought to just taper now to avoid further pain in my knee?



    Thanks all for listening to me moan on but I could do with some positive vibes!,
  • carterusmcarterusm ✭✭✭

    Hi Rebecca - Ideally you should be tapering for Manchester now. Doing another 20 miler before the race might take too much out of you. I would advise you not to run that far until the race itself.

    PM - pain to the side of the knee might also be the ITB ? Maybe a couple of physion/sports massage sessions before the race would help you ? And plenty of stretching and foam rollering too.

    Some good running by other people by the sound of it and obviously the excitement is starting too build now.

    I'm having ITB issues myself and following a couple of physio sessions I can still only run about 2 miles before the pain kicks in again. I've been doing plenty of stretching and strengthening exercises and have got another physio session tomorrow. My next LSR (I know I just dvised Rebecca not to be doing a long run at this stage but I may have to have a 2 week taper instead of 3 weeks due to lost weeks because of my injury) is going to be on Saturday and if I still have problems I think I will really have to consider pulling out of Manchester. It is to be my fist marathon and after the months of hard training in the rubbish weather I will be gutted if I cant race it. Such is life, there will be other races in the future

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