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Sub 3h15
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Hi gang, a very quick post from me, the overcast conditions, in true French style, didn't turn up so raced in full sun. 2:44:44 for me, so I am taking brinkmanship to ever tighter margins every race! Will post a decent report later, but am a knackered but happy chappy!
I hope the day went well for others.
Paris was a bit of a procession for Bekele. No competition there at all so it was a bit dull. The highlights were the aerial shots of the local landmarks.
Can't wait for next week though. (Although I doubt I'm as excited as many on here
)
Wow Menna. That is a FANTASTIC time. Many congratulations
Oops, on phone and posted wrong number. Silly sod. 2:54:44 - got carried away with the 4s!
correction, that's rubbish Menna - can't believe you didn't break 2:45! Slacker.
Can't wait for the rull report Menn! I must do some stalking of my own in a mo.
I woke up at 6.20am with cramp in my calf, so I really wasn't sure what to do today. It was ok when I was running though, so 12 with 6 @ MP done and now it's cotton wool time.
The Paris marathon coverage was awful. We barely saw the women at all. Paris is a beautiful city though, and I did enjoy those aerial shots!
Ha! That made me laugh Mennania, kind of takes the edge off of the sub 2.55 now!
Just kidding, brilliant effort!
Hyfrid iawn!! Fantastic effort
Haha, I was confused cos obviously I'd done my webstalking. Still magnifique though.
Great run there Menn. You also have a target for next time, get to use all those 4s.
Llongyfarchiadau, Mennania - brilliant stuff, and with it all being in French, too! Looking forward to the report.
Gerard - Frustrating that the course was short, but that's a very decent morning's work, anyway, esp considering you were on the cusp of DNSing.
AR - Not great news, but look after yourself this week and hopefully you'll be all right for VLM. Fingers crossed for you.
Well done, Mennania. Lovely sub-2.55 and really looking forward to the race report. Chapeau! Champagne! Can't think of a third Ch... word to complete the trilogy!
Glad the calf issue was just a niggle, Speedy. Cotton wool time!
18M ground out for me. Perhaps going out and drinking my bodyweight in beer last night wasn't the smartest preparation, and I'm blaming that, the muddy hills/trails and the windy conditions for the appalling pace: 8.33m/m.
Menn - Cracking marathon, very impressive & enjoy the rest of the day. I have yet to see the coverage but will still watch it. I'd say that's a very impressive time for Bekele on his debut and can't be easy running 2:05 on your own with no one to race against. I think Paris must be a slower course than London also. I reckon that he will be even quicker with a few more under his belt and I'd wager he will get close to a WR on a faster course, can't wait to see his next move. I am really looking forward to seeing next week's race now!
Listen very carefully Menn, I will say zis only once, what an absolutely brilliant effort.
AR - I see, thanks. I never listen to maratohn talk. Hope the leg gets you round next week.
Menn - very impressed, nice one. I was very very very impressed for a few minutes too.
Jools, surely your own body weight in alcohol is less than one pint?
My calf still feels very tender, but I'm eating salt, drinking tonic water and massaging it. I hate cramp, it really chuffing hurts.
......3:14:07 I now qualify for Boston! He he.
Report to follow 4 hour crampy drive home in rain.
Well done menn, magic time.
Congratulations on the GFA, Rich26. Drive carefully, baffling those who see you by beaming all the time.
Speedy: having conducted a scientific experiment last night, it turns out it's 3 pints...
Menn - C'est formidable. Brilliant marathon time.
I got my time too at Manchester - 3:12:27.
Reasonable weather, cloudy but quite windy. This didn't matter too much as the course twists and turns through the southern suburbs of Manchester, so there never seemed to be a headwind for to long.
Tried a bit of Poacher's 'what if the opposite were true', running with an analogue watch, no pace band and no gels. I was aiming for 3:12, with a B target of sub 3:15 and a C target of sub 3:20 for a VLM vet 50 GFA.
I set off nice and steady, enjoying the atmosphere, which was considerable and a rival to London. At 9 miles I had to stop for a loo break, which was also causing me some stomach discomfort. I rejoined the race and had a terrible set of miles from 10-16 as my stomach cramps continued. I missed my wife's shouts of support at 16 miles; she told me later that she was very worried about my grey complexion!
Half way came in at 1:37:07 and it was also the half way point of the stomach pain. A pouch (yes pouch! very nifty) of water at 16 miles helped and I decided to get my head down. After all, a marathon is never meant to be easy is it!
I began passing runners who had set off too fast and kept calculating my potential time. The miles ticked by and soon I could see Old Trafford Stadium - the finish!
25 miles was at 3:04, so I knew that with a final effort I could get my A time.
That final effort must have taken more out of me than I realised as after crossing the line, I had to lie down and 2 St. John's came over to ask me if I knew where I was!
So 3:12:27 with negative splits is a brilliant way to top off a great Manchester weekend.
Very nice Yhsif - glad to have been even of tiniest assistance. It's about learning to run to the rhythm in your head rather than getting geeky with GPS. It proves your training had been spot on
Nice one too Rich, you will love Boston
Look after the calf Speedy.
Good 18 miler after a small skin full Jools.
Starting to get excited about next week now!!
Great work Rich and Yhsif! Looking like a great thread day out!
My stop watch broke last week, which I took as a sign! So no gels, no band, no stop watch.
Solid runs there from rich26 and Yhsif. do you think the weather today was a help or hindrance? Sometimes, cool and wet is actually faster than hot and dry.
Just back from Manc - firstly great work by Menna, Rich, Yhsif !!
3:32:15 for me - so have secured VOGIT time for VLM by 12mins 45 secs, but under my target of 3:30. However, gave it all I could and I'm happy (in all senses). 22nd VOGIT, and just sneaked over 70% WAVA (oh what straws we grasp)!
Time for a soak now, then food and beer. Will report tomorrow . . . .
ps got back here to find my hometown half was cancelled due to water not being delivered !!!!! only 4,000 on the startline when it was announced, apparently . . . . . .
x-post - no excuses from weather, PMJ - quite windy, but big field, and mainly urban route meant shelter no prob. the feared heavy rain never materialised, so conditions pretty good.
congrats Birch.
well done folks, excellent.
Birch - great to see you complete another 26.2. Many others wouldnt have kept plugging away at it like you did. Well done.