Loch Ness Marathon 2013

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  • Hi guys!  Joining this thread late too I'm afraid but looking forward to the Loch Ness marathon which is my first after 10 years of shorter distances.  Last long run this Sunday then its taper time for me. Got a bit of a niggling Achilles but weekly physio seems to be keeping it at bay (and I have promised to have a good month off after the marathon!)

    Nat

  • anyone know if there are pacers at Loch Ness?

  • Nice to see some new faces, thankfully not much longer now before tapering image

  • One more "Super Sunday". (20+) I'm not sure about everyone else, but I'm sure ready to taper! 

    Fatrunningfingers: I haven't seen anything about pace makers and looking at Youtube videos of the event I can't see any. Looks like Running by feel or using GPS.

     

  • thanks Alastair - still weighing up whether to use garmin or not, especially as so hilly. Aiming for a 3.30-3.45 and will try the pace over some of my long run this sunday and see. Getting excited now!

     

  • Well apart from last long run tomorrow (20) all said and done.

    fat fingers we might find ourselves running together,  looking around about same time.

  • Can't believe this time tomorrow the last long run will be done and dusted, image

  • Just about to go out on my last long one. The sun is out. Lets hope it's relativly pain free! All the best to all the rest of you who are doing a biggun today. T-3 weeks and counting.

  • Good luck to you all, and if you see race No 460 say Hi

  • Cool, Roy. I will look out for you.

  • Well nice to get the last 20 miler out the way image  Did the Dunstable Downs 20 mile challenge and was pretty tough going from about mile 15 but all good preparation.

  • fat running fingers, was talking to somebody who did last year and they said no pacers and... no time pens so guess it might take a while for peeps to settle into their respective places? She did say everybody crossed the line in about 10 mins so nothing like the bigger Marathons.

    No last long run for me so hoping the 2 20 milers I did do will suffice image

  • go Andi, go Andi image

    When does your tapering begin or has it?

  • Andi, this is my fifth time at Loch Ness. No pacers, however, it is not too busy at the start and at no point along the way, even at the start, is it congested. The

  • hehe, txs Booktrunk and this is the first of 3 weeks 'taper' image

    Cheers Stevie, did you wander off mid sentance?

  • Doing the Cheltenham 1/2 on Sunday. Not sure whether I should give it a good effort to see what kind of shape I'm in to attack the LNM or to chill out and use it as a pacing exercise. I'm not really sure how my training is going as my LSD runs are slower than marathon pace and I haven't done a proper race pace 1/2 since March.

    Confused from Swindon

  • Thanks Andy.

    alastair - I'm planning on 13 on Sunday starting at marathon pace and pushing the last 2 or 3 miles faster.  I feel that my long runs being slower than marathon pace have left me a bit unsure about pacing For the marathon and I'm hoping Sunday will give me some confidence 

  • My training hasn't been going well. I've been cycling far too much and not doing enough running, so I'm really nervous about the LNM now. I can't believe it's so close! I've got the Great North Run this weekend at least, so I can see how I'm doing pace wise.

  • I have done this race a few times , so to answer the questions:

    There are no pacers or pens, but they put placards up by the sides of the road at the start to get folk to vaguely stand in the right area for there expected finish time- it is totally unregulated, but there is SOME sort of order to the chaos.

    Buses- there isn't much hanging around to get on them, but once on you can wait a while to get going. The journey is long enough to be uncomfortable on the bladder! There are loads of loos at the bus drop- off point, but if you are in one of the later buses to arrive there, you might struggle to get to the front of the queue in a "useful" time frame.

    Facilities - at the start there are volunteers doing tea/ coffee, and bottles of water, - again this is great if you have time.

    The start tends to be chilly- worth taking a throw away top or bin bag to wear once you've dropped off your bag in the lorries.

    Right- I was just about to go out for a run, and now it's pissing with rain. GRRrrrr

  • Thanks Tricialitt, useful info.

       I had a very gentle 3.5 miler this morning in preperation for tomorrows half and it's really starting to feel close now. Can't wait now.I did a virtual Google earth look at the course to see what it ight be like. Does anyone else do this? It's also now reached the point where I will be Checking the weather forecast every day. Sounds like OCD to me!

    No. 345

  • Hi Alastair, how did the run go today? I do the google earth thing but you don't see gradients image

    Fat running fingers, did you manage the run as planned? My 12 miler was cancelled/postponed today due to flooded roads and 50mph winds. if the weather picks up tomorrow I might do it then but worried am in week 2 of taper so don't want to overdo things.

    Nothe, weather looked terrible at GNR but coolingimage Hope you did well but with 45,000 runners unless it's your first I guess PB's are hard to get?

    Thanks for the tips triciallit, already dug out an old top and waterproof. I know I'm in taper but next week might just run into town and back a few times with the emphasis on running downhill, its about .2 of a mile but descends about 150ft.

    This might be of interest to you all? tis the long range weather for Dores - times of sun and cloud and no mention of rain yet (yeah, right).

  • hello, I will hopefully be doing loch ness with you all, it will be my first marathon. Training had been going fantastically until 2 weeks ago when I started having IT band problems.  I missed my last 2 long runs although I had already got up to 20 miles in training twice. since them I have done a 16 miler, then missed a long run completely. Managed 12 miles yesterday although the IT band was stiffening up after that, its definitely improving a bit so im desperately keeping my fingers crossed that in another 2 weeks it will be a lot better.

    I'm feeling so down about it all though, even if I can get my IT band problems sorted by the 29th then I feel like I've missed so much training now that I just don't feel I will be fit enough to run 26.2 miles. it will have been 5 weeks since my last 20 miler. I have been running shorter distances but probably not enough to maintain much fitness.

    So frustrating after all the training I've put in. image

  • I read that itband doesn't get worse so I ran through it. So yes it's painful but if you can get through the first 2 or 3 miles should hopefully be able to cope and get it fixed after ximage good luck. 

  • That's kind of what i'm hoping booktrunk. I've run through it a little bit before and it totally seized up and was pretty sore but I could have kept running, I just didn't want to make it woHse.  I don't know how much longer I could keep going before it totally gives up on me. how painful did it actually get when you were running through it?  I'm fairly sure mine will rear its ugly head at some point on the 29th I just need to keep my fingers crossed that I can get a good few miles in first. Dreading having to DNF image

  • six to eight weeks before MK Milton Keynes marathon I had it. Hurt like hell before I started and all the time on short runs you feel it but it's like toothache some days worse then others. but my body generally ached in long runs and I noticed it less.

    was terrified about a DNF in the mara, really felt it in 1st mile, by 3rd mile I got into rhythm and completely forgot about it. Then took 3 weeks off. 

    waljung downstairs was hell. Used lifts when possible for 3 months. Apart from post. Marathon just kept running 

  • Trinab85, chin up imageimageimage, some things are never as bad as they seem.

    Just adjust your expectations for the day.

  • thank you Booktrunk and a Roy silver  image Feeling a bit more optimistic now. Just wish I could get excited about it now its getting so close but my head is too full of doom and gloom thoughts about my pesky IT band!  Does anyone with more experience no how much of a reduction in my fitness levels I can expect from cutting back on my mileage for 5 weeks before a marathon?

  • Andi: My half went very well. 1:41:25. With a firm but not all out run. I also started with the 2:45 group so I had a bit of overtaking to do to get into my paced runners. That at least gives me the confidence to go sub 4 at the LNM.

    Trinab: It may be worth getting a painful (sorry) sport massage on your ITB. If you can' t do long runs make sure you keep doing some higher intensity runs.

    T-13 and counting

     

  • Thanks Andy McGill 2. The weather wasn't too bad really, very cooling as you say but nowhere near as bad as the forecast. The course  was very crowded for most of it so it was difficult to run at your own pace, but I still managed a PB image Given how bad my training has been I'm over the moon at that and hope that means good things will happen at Loch Ness!

  • Hi Andi, the 13.1 miles went well. Comfortably did it in 1.47 with a few faster miles at 7.50-8.15 pace so feeling ok.  Legs tired today though and itb niggly as well as achilles.  Lots of ice and foam rolling for me.  Thanks for asking.  Cant believe that in 2 weeks it will be finished!

    Trinab - my first marathon I was injured and did absolutely no training for 6 weeks before the day  Still finished in ok ish time for me then but the adrenaline of your first does help I think.  Was hard to recover from but at least did it. 

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