Halstead marathon

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  • Hi Jason. I thinking of doing the felstead 10k in July- are u doing it?

  • MinksMinks ✭✭✭

    And believe me, when I say a bright orange t-shirt, I mean BRIGHT orange - you cannot miss it!!

    Glad all is well, Jason - such a shame you won't be able to run but thanks so much for coming along to help out and support.  Hopefully you will get the all-clear and will be able to run Halstead next year.  There are many marathons, but only one life, so you are doing the right thing heeding the medical advice you've been given.

    Starting to feel ever so slightly apprehensive now, but nowhere near as nervous as I was pre-London.  As long as I don't go shooting off in the early miles I think I'll be OK - steady all the way is the game plan!

  • DS2DS2 ✭✭✭

    I thought I had a cold coming this morning. I think it's probably taper madness! we have no electricity this morning so can't work. Could be off for most of morning. They cut through main cable on nearby building site. I could do with keeping busy today as well. 

    As I speak the power has returned - hoorah!

  • Hi DS2, I've been lurking on your 26.2 thread and saw plans for a meetup event - I've suggested the Colchester Half Marathon on Sarah Osborne's thread!  I've just entered for next year myself, having really enjoyed th race this year - they gave me priority entry - I think the entry opens to all tomorrow...IT'll be on the 16th March next year.

    Well, apart from this wind that is threatening to be like Sandy and scupper my 3rd ever marathon plans AGAIN, I think I've had the event that I'll remember about this marathon, especially if I don't achieve what I'm setting out to.  My carbo load was going fairly well yesterday, but when I was on the train home, my sister called me to tell me that mum wasn't well and had paramedics with her- by the time I was arriving in the train station, she was on the way to the hospital, I live v close to both the train station and the hospital, so after a quick dash home to make a bagel, i went to the hospital to meet her.  I was really worried, and it stirred a lot of emotions, as the last time I was there, just over a year ago, was when my dad went in, never to come out again.

    Luckily, as soon as I saw her, I knew she was fine.  And had had what I suspected was an anxiety attack.  I've experienced such myself before, and its incredibly scary, so I can totally understand why she wanted to be seen by doctors.  Unfortunately, we did spend rather a long time there for her to have various examinations, but they did discharge her last night and she's fine.  But it does mean that between 4pm and 1030pm all I ate was half a bagel - I gave the rest to my mum as she was hungry.  I'd also been planning sleep at 10 every night this week, but deemed spending extra time awake to try and eat something although wasn't feeling hungry by this point, was worth it.  So I had a banana and a couple of rice cakes.

    Hoping the rest of my pre-race prep goes smoothly, and this one evening of failed carbo load doesn't have too much effect.  I rather suspect that the fear/adrenaline would have used up any extra glycogen store I'd managed to build up over yesterday anyway, so am going to work extra hard to eat lots of carbs today!  Luckily I'm at home, which is good, as I'm feeling super sleepy right now, so might sneek in a mid-afternoon nap.

    Glad your power is back DS2.  I guess no more running planned for anyone except a gentle jog tomorrow?  I tend to go out in the evening after dinner for about 20 minutes, so I can have a final stretch, check the kit etc.

  • DS2 & Minks i will definately be there to shout out some support. Also going to hang around after and try and catch up with every one. I am doing careful training for the time being image. Will definately be doing halstead next year.

    Angela- yes definately up for the Felstead 10k and also doing the Colchester half next year as its on the cards for one of out Club championship races image so plenty of chances to meet up and chat. Hope all is well with the mum image

  • MinksMinks ✭✭✭

    Oh, no Angela - that sounds really scary.  Try not to worry too much about carb loading; personally I never really bother to formally 'carb load' - I tend to eat a lot of carbs anyway - but just try to focus on having plenty to eat tomorrow.  Hope your mum is OK.

    Had a similar scary incident on the Thursday before VLM - my son was messing around on our bed while we were getting ready for work, fell off and landed flat on his back.  It must have winded him as he was making this awful strangling noise and when I tried to pick him up he lost consciousness briefly.  Meantime I'm screaming for my husband, who's in the shower and can't hear me - eventually he came rushing in, picked Kit up, and as he lifted him his eyes rolled back in his head and he went completely grey.  Hubby shouted at me to call an ambulance - paramedics took about 3 minutes to arrive, by which time Kit had regained consciousness and although as white as a sheet was talking.  They did a few checks but he was OK, felt a bit sleepy initially but his colour gradually returned to normal and an hour or so later he went off to school as usual!  I have no idea if this affected my performance at VLM or not; I don't think so although it did throw me completely out of kilter for the rest of that day.

    I am bracing myself for a very windy run on Sunday - just hoping that there are plenty of sheltered sections on the course!  It's looking like being the least windy day this week, but with 15mph winds forecast, that's not saying much.

    I'm doing an easy 3-miler tonight, then that'll be it for me.

  • I'm now back, married and 3kg heavier. Hmmm.... I'm still planning on 3.59 though, hoping that will feel very comfortable so I can kid myself that I could have gone 30mins quicker. Which I very much doubt.

    Angela - I ran Comrades last year in my (then) hot off the press GB kit. You then couldn't get hold off them until months later... Great choice for a foreign race and as this should be my kit test maybe I will join you. I took mine to JJB and got my name put on the dark part across the chest, which is perfectly positioned. Could I ask which club organised the Aldham run ? Thats very near me.

    Can I also ask a very general question as it sounds like there are quite a few locals on here ? I'm looking at organising a local trail half & marathon. In trying to avoid clashing with important local races like Tiptree / Stebbing, etc I'm thinking of mid November. Weather hopefully not too bad then, although there is a risk of freshly ploughed mud on some sections. Any thoughts about good/bad choices of date ?

    Good luck for Sunday everyone.

     

  • Congratulations Kevin, did you honeymoon or is South Africa the planned honeymoon?  My boss used to live in SA and the other day he convinced me that I should do 2 oceans if I want to make a nice holiday out of the trip... Why have you chosen comrades instead of 2 oceans, or have you indeed done both.

    i was planning to wear the gb kit in the NYC marathon, but didn't get to run it, I guess it will seem a bit random in Halstead but I think it's the most comfortable race suitable summer kit I have, though the top is actually from m&s, not Adidas!

    thr hash group that organised the aldham run I think are based in west mersea, but they do runs all over- I could email u the list if you want?

    as for the November run, I think anytime would be good there seem (to me who's not part ofa club) a lack of local races, then there are about 5 this sunday certainly would make sense to spread them out!

  • Minks, I missed ur post, wow, that sounds really scary about your son.  Glad he was ok quickly.  But yes, u don't need that kind of adrenaline until the mile before the finish line.

    ive been following the carb load that ruth the nutritionist suggested to the asics people- from what I can tell its more about making sure a higher percentage of your energy intake comes from carbs, rather than eating more food, so whereas I would usually have meat with a lot of meals, I'm largely vegetarian for a couple of days, and rather than snacking on say and apple with peanut butter, or a big slice of cake, it's rice cakes with bananas and honey, or a bagel with jam.  I'm more concerned with how tired im feeling today, but hopefully that will easily be solved tonight image

  • Thanks Angela - yes pls on the hash list. The answer on SA all comes down to me being cheap.... My original plan was 2 Oceans, which I heard great things about but I was trying to get to SA on airmiles and its at Easter, which had no availability. So I ran the extra distance for Comrades to save money on flights ! This time I'm doing SA solo in just two days to save money/hassle - we had a long weekend away here but the main party and honeymoon are planned for next year as we have a baby so were trying to keep this year simple.

  • DS2DS2 ✭✭✭

    Welcome back Kevin and congratulations. It seems this is the wedding thread!image

    Jason and you in a short space of time and Angela next year!

    Angela - I hope everything is ok with your mum. Very worrying, as it must have been for you Minks.

    Minks - you may not want to read this next bit:

    I woke up this morning not feeling my best and a sore throat!!! I've gone all winter with nothing more than a 3 day head cold and now two days before I feel like I could be getting something more serious! Potentially 7  months of hard training down the pan!!image

    Anyhow, I'm hoping it's a combination of taper madness and being overworked and I just need a couple of good nights sleep to get me back on the right path. I really hope so!

    Just been out for a gentle final 3 miler. Very windy so hard work uphill into the wind. I could hear my breathing was wheezy (is that a real word???) which isn't good. My legs feel pretty great though after Wednesdays massage. I did run the last mile at MP with no effort so maybe I'll be fine. I have to do it whatever because so many people have been good enough to sponsor me. I'm sure I will know what pace is possible 2 or 3 miles in and go from there.

    Feeling a bit worried and a bit downimage

  • Aww DS2, I hope it is taper madness, and ur not ill.  I did look around for marathons in the next few weeks in case something put me out of this one.  I think there is one in Norfolk somewhere next weekend so wouldn't be training down the pan.

    when are you heading toward Essex? Although I haven't actually been outside today, whilst it was very windy yesterday, there has been not more than a breeze here today.  I think Colchester is close enough to Halstead that our weather is not significantly different, so hopefully we wouldn't have the wind to face in the race.

    mum is fine now, but yes, a bit too much drama yesterday for my liking.  Even just sitting in a&e waiting for her to be seen was stressful enough as there were a few quite worrying cases being brought in.

    is it something a bit of first defence might fix?

  • MinksMinks ✭✭✭

    Oh, that doesn't sound good DS2!  Dose yourself up with some ibuprofen and paracetamol today, get a good night's rest and regroup tomorrow.  That's always my worst fear too - I was positively glaring at a woman on the Tube the other morning when she kept coughing without covering her mouth!

    We'll see how you are tomorrow and take it from there.  Try to not stress about it; I know it's hard and you don't want your race ruined after all the months of training (exactly how I felt re. London!) but equally if you're not at your best on Sunday you may need to rethink your strategy.

    It could also be a bit of taper madness - I have had all sorts of niggles and things this week which I know are psychosomatic; have felt slightly 'cold-y' a couple of times as well, but have ignored and fingers crossed I'm OK.  I had a foot injury two weeks before London; had laser treatment on it twice at £30 a pop and wore a foot support even on race day - went for a run two days after my failed London effort and not even a hint of any pain.  Even though the podiatrist detected heat and swelling in the area I do wonder whether it was mostly in my head! 

  • Evening all,

    Angela - Glad to hear everything is OK with your mum,anxiety attacks are nasty things and can be so disorientating.

    Kevin - Congratulations, you obviously felt you didn't have enough on your plate with the planning when you decided to do comrades image

    DS2 - Glad to hear it's not just me, I've had a crazy week at work, been so tired at times I can barely keep my eyes open and been convinced I've identified the first signs of a cold on at least 15 occassions since Wednesday!

    Oh and please tell me your vest is bright green so the rest of us can start referring to you and Minks as the "Tic Tac twins" image

     

     

  • Hi all,

    Well compared to you all my last week of taper has been dull and uneventful, well I am glad all seems reasonably well with everyone now, fingers crossed it stays the same.

    My overriding emotion is boredom, I just want to get on with it now.

    I am getting there fairly early on Sunday as I am entering on the day, I have had to pull out late on for my last two planned  marathons so I have not tempted fate!!! So far my preparation is spot on so maybe it's working.

    Although if there are no places that'll blow my theory out of the water image either way I will be loitering somewhere abouts the start with a book. The downside of this is an early start to the day and having to wait about once I've bagged my place but who said life was perfect?  If I don't see you before good luck everybody image

    Jason - I'll be looking out for you mate at your water station.

  • Getting exciting now.......and I'm not even running! I did pull out another toenail yesterday, strangely satisfying.

    I have jelly babies, jelly tots, wine gums and jelly snakes stashed in a safe place away from the kids. Good luck with the final preparations tomorrow.

  • Mmmmm jelly tots- yummy!

  • So whos nervous yet? image

  • DS2DS2 ✭✭✭

    Oh dear! Feeling terrible this morning. Hopefully I will make the start line but may have to adjust my target. Hope everyone else is fine!

    At least I know it's not taper madness!

  • Oh DS2 im sure you'll be fine for the start image

    Angela whats planned for 2day?

    Had such a late night last night theres now way i could manage the 26 2moro even if i wanted image.

     

  • I was photographer at our parkrun this morning- lots of fun- now lying about- meant to go and see my finances aunt and uncle visiting from Australia but generally lay about, chill and eat! 

    Ds2 how awful- are u sure theres no way it's taper madness???

  • MinksMinks ✭✭✭

    Oh, no, DS2 - what bad luck and rotten timing.  Hopefully you'll feel well enough to run tomorrow; it would be an awful blow for you to have to miss it when you've trained so hard and have sponsorship too.

    I haven't really had much time to think about it yet!  Taken son to swimming this morning, then home and had to drive back to the pool again as we'd left his goggles behind.  Trying to eat lots, now thinking about what to have for lunch.  Haven't been drinking enough I don't think - it's chilly and I can't face loads of water.  Have had a lot of tea, which I know probably isn't a good thing.  Hey ho.

    Need to get gear sorted later and work out splits for hubby so he knows when to expect me at the various mile markers.  Also need to work out how to get there and decide what time to set out.  As you can see, I've been giving this race a lot of thought ... not!

    Kevin, sorry I missed your earlier post.  Can't believe you've got married AND doing Comrades within a few weeks of each other ... are you insane?? image

  • MinksMinks ✭✭✭

    Quiet on here today!  Hope everyone's last-minute preparations are going well. image

  • Heya minks, how're u doing? Been out most of today- just went for a 20 min easy run and it was perfectly on marathon pace, so the challenge for me is to reign it in at the start. Bought a couple bottles lucozade sport to pour away and make my own drinks for the byo drink stations, now I'm stretching and making pasta dinner- except for some tightness in my left lower leg that run has helped to quiet the nerves thankfully image

    what time are u setting off in the morning?

  • Preperations DONE (almost) image

    Just got to print off the map and work out splits  for the missus, I'm suggesting she heads for Levitts corner and I'm giving her all your numbers to look out for (which should keep her busy) so if some random woman starts shouting at you can put that done to me.  She's probably going to have a little silver puppy with her so should be pretty easy to spot image

    We're aiming to leave Chelmsford around 8am so should be there no later than 9 so will keep an eye out for you all but in case I don't post again or see any of you beforehand GOOD SKILL!

     

  • p.s. Thought it might be worth posting the details again:

     

    Kandinsky (Simong)   Race No. 178   Target Time 3:40:00

    Minks (Debbie Hughes)  Race No. 523  Target Time sub-3:19

    jason wintin race no. 137 Target time: DNF 

    Angela Isherwood race no. 125 Target Time sub 4:15 (gold) sub 4:20 (silver), sub 4:25 (bronze)

    DS2 (David Sancto) No: 81 target Time Sub 3:19

  • MinksMinks ✭✭✭

    Hey Angela, you sound pretty sorted image Haven't really had a very restful day here - rushing round as usual!  Have been trying to eat lots and drink plenty of water.  Big bowl of granola for breakfast, Nature Valley crunchy cereal bar mid-morning.  Big bowl of pasta with tomato and mascarpone sauce for lunch with grated cheese on top, plus an apple and a chocolate chip cookie and some white chocolate buttons left over by my son.  Then two cinnamon bagels late afternoon, and M&S Ultimate Shepherds Pie for dinner with cabbage medley and peas, followed by a chocolate sponge pudding and chocolate sauce.  Feel a bit sick now, LOL! image

    Have got two bottles of Lucozade Sport to take with me tomorrow, not sure if I'll put them in the drinks station or just get hubby to hand to me.  Absolutely chucking it down here - weather isn't looking too amazing for tomorrow either, although at the moment any rain appears to be due later in the day.  Brisk wind again though - 15-16mph, joy.

    Just doing my weekly shop online as won't have time to do a supermarket run tomorrow, and not sure my legs will feel like it on Monday!

  • MinksMinks ✭✭✭

    Funny, no-one posts for two hours then Kandinsky and I post at exactly the same time - crossed posts!  Thanks for reposting race numbers etc. Kandinsky, I'd forgotten mine!

    I need to work out splits for hubby too, map and directions already printed last week.  Might have another quick look at the website too, just to check I haven't forgotten anything.

  • good luck all, will be at  levits corner too, so should see you all at 4.5 and 16 miles at least. will be holding a sign saying Sarah LFDT and jiggling sweeties at you all. enjoy!!

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