Excellent compliment Speedy. No pressure for Sunday then!!
Show us the flappy skin Slokey!!
Good news on the toe PMJ.
Nice pic SB.
Very nippy speed sessions Leslie.
4 miles done early morning with 2 at ave 6.12 pace. Then spent the rest of the day avoiding anyone with a cough or cold and trying not to touch anything anyone else had. After all these years you would have thought we would have got the hang of this taper lark!!!
Hate to say it but they look pretty good given what you had just gone through. The blisters are good, but there's no toenail action, so overall not exactly Silent Witness territory. Shows you had a really good run so congrats again.
Expo tomorrow. If anyone asks for blood I shall switch samples and give them a test tube of beetroot juice. That'll learn them.
Turn up at expo and am given my BIB - "John - 909 - FRA". Great. So now I'm bloody French. No real harm done? Hotel is 400 yards from start pen so a real nice relaxing morning on race day and bimble over with 30 mins to spare; look to the skies and it is a dreadfully unpleasant and unwelcome beautiful Parisian Morning ). Bugger. Warm up, into pen, ablutions and am a little nonplussed with all the people shaking my hand and rattling away at me in breakneck speed in a foreign tongue -"No Parlez francais - je suis gallois", which is greeted with even more rapid French - Its the bloody bib!! With a feeble shrill of a two bit whistle in rather unimposing fashion we are off - I settle into a target race pace of 6.35mm - a middle target given the inclement weather (peaked at 20 deg C over the first two hours) and bound down the champs and down the rue de rivoli ignoring with totality all of the wonderful sights Paris as to offer, instead obsessing on a set of figures on my wrist and a painted blue line on the cobbles and tarmac and trying to pick a path through the very congested streets. I might well as been running in Bradford. Again, much foreign jibber jabber aimed my way at break neck speed - I have given up and now I just say 'Oui' or "pay de galles mate" somewhat rudely to everything offered. My Achilles are not at all happy, on both legs which is as unusual as it is disconcerting, but get through the first 4miles in 26:26, which is 6.36mm pace and ok, set this as a my target ave pace for midpoint. Nothing much happens really then, legs loosen a little, finding the pace manageable and the heat less so. Find myself counting the race in gels - at mile 5 it was one down only three to go, then at 10m I was surprised at how quickly it came round and I was halfway (in gel terms) and feeling fine. Real halfway come in 1:26:45 which has now crept upto 6.37mm.I am having a slightly jaded few miles with many picking up and passing me, pace has only dropped a few secs but is noticeable so reset my target as getting to 20 in 6.37mm, which I figured gives me 60 seconds in hand for the last 6 miles (2 of which are of an upward persuasion). Unfortunately I limp through the next 5 miles nudging the 6.40 pace and get to 18 m at just around 6.39. No slack left. This continues as I struggle with the undulations of the underpasses and find myself only just sub 2.55 at the turn of 20. Oh, I have also just run past notre dame and the Eiffel tower without even a first glance. Devil on my shoulder says I could slow right down to go sub 3 ( my original target) but treat that with the contempt it warrants and carry on. Heat is a real issue but nothing a few bottles of water every station cant sort out. Do you remember when you were a kid doing running round in the summer and your head throbbed with the heat and effort? check.
The good news is that whilst I am struggling, I can maintain my effort levels. very few others can so have that empowering feeling of surging through the masses and realise this run is the same as my last 3 and find myself breaking the race into human sized chunks - you next, you next, then you... but this only delivers a 6.36 and two 6.5x due to the upward incline and for the first time am behind pace, with 4 to go. A welcome decline brings an even more welcome 6.21 to repair the damage and I just need to hit sub 6,40s, one of the runners I pass breaks to stick with me and manages for the next two miles, which is a real boost and a 6,34 and 6.44 give me the net result I need. still uphill so 6.42 forces a sub 6 sprint for the last bit to get under the clock in2.54.55 and a garmin trace of 2.54.44. Job Done. Well, at least I thought so.......
Abbers - hope the cold doesn't last long. Leslie - nice intervals - well done on the mile PB. SJ - glad to hear recovery is going well. Hmmm. Nice pics. PMJ - shame they don't fit in the hand luggage. Martin - nice 4 miler. Mennania - good report. 6 plodtastic miles d&d this morning. Looking forward to Sunday...
My mouth was watering looking at SJ's pics. I'd have given anything to burst those blisters. Talking of which, I'll bring a sterile needle to Chandos. Form an orderly queue please....
Great report Menn. Any update on your official time?
I've done no running for the last 2 weeks. Things are feeling better so intend to go for a run today and then parkrun tomorrow.
My Mother-in-law passed away last week and we've been busy with the funeral and sort out her personal things. Family problems starting with the fallout of the will. I've had a look at a smallholding which is very tempting (8.5 ha land, 4 bedroom house, 3 car garage, swimming pool for around £55k!) but probably I would end up in Joburg/Pretoria so won't be buying just yet
Best wishes for VLM to all. Hope you get what you deserve.
Nice running Mennania. That mini-taper a few weeks ago obviously did you good!
Bike it - commiserations re the MIL - Wills are dreadful things to have to negotiate, I hope things turn out OK for you.
Minni - I am not expecting anything official back as it would bugger up their published lists etc which they aren't going to do. They have only published chip times so I have asked fro my elapsed time, but the problem is over the first 5k - I have it as my fastest at 20.16 and they have it as ny slowest at 21,18. I am doing some picture stalking and am hoping for something back from them which can place me better, but hey ho, It matters not really. I have a 50% fail record on chip times in Maras - I had a dnf on my first one as my chip didn't register over the finish line - this wasn't changed even though the organiser cheered me over the line (who I knew) and I have a stream of photos of me finishing.
Am proper jealous of you all doing VLM this weekend - go give it some!!
Of the 5 original majors, London's expo has the biggest time-wasting-pain-in-the-ar*e factor. Boston & NY are not too far from the action, ditto Berlin which takes place in an historic venue (home of Berlin airlift). Chicago - efficient free buses to/from. IMHO going to Excel is the worst thing about the whole event.
The fact is that it's really the East London marathon, and the expo is there to make some money from corporate and other bodies. Admittedly, if one is desperate to stage a decent sized expo then central London venues would be few and pricey.
Nice report Menna, whatever the numbers say, you did a grand job.
Bike It, commiserations and good luck with all that. Living in Jbg/Pta? Nee dankie. (Although with all that land you could grow industrial quantities of yummy beetroot.)
Minni - Forgot to say, just leave the key in the usual place and I'll let myself in
Mennania - Great report and the main thing is that you know what time you did.
Slokey - Great presence of mind to take pics at those various stages. Not attractive, however.
Sporty B - The girls on here were telling me they hoped you'd be better-looking than that.
Bike It - Sad news - hope dealing with the will doesn't prove as difficult as it seems at first.
I had the longest lie-in I can remember this morning and have only just got up. I thought about going for a run but it really would be tempting fate and I just don't see the point. The physio seems to have done a good job and my niggle is in remission, with the whole leg a lot less tense. I have lowered my target from sub-3 to 3.05-3.10 so can go into the race more relaxed, and that means resting up as much as possible from now on.
John Fantastic report on Paris . Hopefully they will verify your time irrespective of whatever is published. Keep pressing the buggers. Perhaps there is a Menn out their who stole your time?
BI - good to hear the running is coming back to provide some relief from the stresses you are dealing with
All the best of luck to Ant, Poacher, MartinH, Dodds, PMJ, Abbers, CC2, Lorenzo, Minni and all other VLM runners this weekend! May you achieve your goals and enjoy the day. Pain is temporary but glory lasts forever!
I guess many will travel today, so now is the time for the good wishes to be sent to all VLM'ers
the usual - get the nads out in the kitchen sink as you kinavit etc etc; and remember
(to regurgitate this quote I found somewhere )
"Even when you've run many marathons, the feeling of crossing the line is extraordinary. It's public and private at the same time; unassailable proof that you've dedicated yourself to months of hard training and had the willpower to pull yourself through a race of immense highs and lows
10miles run from 11am. My wife dropped me off on the road between the farm and town. First 10k excellent in a nice bush wind. Last 6km getting a bit hot once in town and more sheltered. Leg still not good, but an enjoyable run.
Comments
Excellent compliment Speedy. No pressure for Sunday then!!
Show us the flappy skin Slokey!!
Good news on the toe PMJ.
Nice pic SB.
Very nippy speed sessions Leslie.
4 miles done early morning with 2 at ave 6.12 pace. Then spent the rest of the day avoiding anyone with a cough or cold and trying not to touch anything anyone else had. After all these years you would have thought we would have got the hang of this taper lark!!!
I had that blood test done last year, Speedy. Apparently I have the sprinting version of the gene in question...!
Hahaha - you've asked for it!
Pictures are taken - now to faff around getting them uploaded
straight after the race
a different angle for good measure
day 2
phwoar, look at that beauty now - its a babe magnet!
luckily, my other foot is much more attractive:
happy racing boys and girls
Apologies. I feel a bit sick looking at them and they're my feet. Hope you've all already eaten.
Expo tomorrow. If anyone asks for blood I shall switch samples and give them a test tube of beetroot juice. That'll learn them.
Never had a problem with a toenail Poacher. I feel blessed
Paris 2014 - Allez les Blues
Turn up at expo and am given my BIB - "John - 909 - FRA". Great. So now I'm bloody French. No real harm done? Hotel is 400 yards from start pen so a real nice relaxing morning on race day and bimble over with 30 mins to spare; look to the skies and it is a dreadfully unpleasant and unwelcome beautiful Parisian Morning ). Bugger. Warm up, into pen, ablutions and am a little nonplussed with all the people shaking my hand and rattling away at me in breakneck speed in a foreign tongue -"No Parlez francais - je suis gallois", which is greeted with even more rapid French - Its the bloody bib!! With a feeble shrill of a two bit whistle in rather unimposing fashion we are off - I settle into a target race pace of 6.35mm - a middle target given the inclement weather (peaked at 20 deg C over the first two hours) and bound down the champs and down the rue de rivoli ignoring with totality all of the wonderful sights Paris as to offer, instead obsessing on a set of figures on my wrist and a painted blue line on the cobbles and tarmac and trying to pick a path through the very congested streets. I might well as been running in Bradford. Again, much foreign jibber jabber aimed my way at break neck speed - I have given up and now I just say 'Oui' or "pay de galles mate" somewhat rudely to everything offered. My Achilles are not at all happy, on both legs which is as unusual as it is disconcerting, but get through the first 4miles in 26:26, which is 6.36mm pace and ok, set this as a my target ave pace for midpoint. Nothing much happens really then, legs loosen a little, finding the pace manageable and the heat less so. Find myself counting the race in gels - at mile 5 it was one down only three to go, then at 10m I was surprised at how quickly it came round and I was halfway (in gel terms) and feeling fine. Real halfway come in 1:26:45 which has now crept upto 6.37mm.I am having a slightly jaded few miles with many picking up and passing me, pace has only dropped a few secs but is noticeable so reset my target as getting to 20 in 6.37mm, which I figured gives me 60 seconds in hand for the last 6 miles (2 of which are of an upward persuasion). Unfortunately I limp through the next 5 miles nudging the 6.40 pace and get to 18 m at just around 6.39. No slack left. This continues as I struggle with the undulations of the underpasses and find myself only just sub 2.55 at the turn of 20. Oh, I have also just run past notre dame and the Eiffel tower without even a first glance. Devil on my shoulder says I could slow right down to go sub 3 ( my original target) but treat that with the contempt it warrants and carry on. Heat is a real issue but nothing a few bottles of water every station cant sort out. Do you remember when you were a kid doing running round in the summer and your head throbbed with the heat and effort? check.
The good news is that whilst I am struggling, I can maintain my effort levels. very few others can so have that empowering feeling of surging through the masses and realise this run is the same as my last 3 and find myself breaking the race into human sized chunks - you next, you next, then you... but this only delivers a 6.36 and two 6.5x due to the upward incline and for the first time am behind pace, with 4 to go. A welcome decline brings an even more welcome 6.21 to repair the damage and I just need to hit sub 6,40s, one of the runners I pass breaks to stick with me and manages for the next two miles, which is a real boost and a 6,34 and 6.44 give me the net result I need. still uphill so 6.42 forces a sub 6 sprint for the last bit to get under the clock in2.54.55 and a garmin trace of 2.54.44. Job Done. Well, at least I thought so.......
Even an excellent marathon report from Menannia couldn't erase the pics of slokey's feet from my bonce...... fucking hell Slokey!!!
Great report Mennania, I feel your frustration. I'd love to run a similar pace at Abingdon this year and be rewarded with the correct time!
Nice pic SB.
And Slokey, what motivation do you get out of taking pics of your manky feet?
(I can't do a pukey green emicon from my phone)
Fantastic, Menna
ffs, Slokey . . . . . .
Abbers - hope the cold doesn't last long.
Leslie - nice intervals - well done on the mile PB.
SJ - glad to hear recovery is going well. Hmmm. Nice pics.
PMJ - shame they don't fit in the hand luggage.
Martin - nice 4 miler.
Mennania - good report.
6 plodtastic miles d&d this morning.
Looking forward to Sunday...
Great report Menn. Any update on your official time?
Morning All,
Just checking in from sunny SA.
I've done no running for the last 2 weeks. Things are feeling better so intend to go for a run today and then parkrun tomorrow.
My Mother-in-law passed away last week and we've been busy with the funeral and sort out her personal things. Family problems starting with the fallout of the will. I've had a look at a smallholding which is very tempting (8.5 ha land, 4 bedroom house, 3 car garage, swimming pool for around £55k!) but probably I would end up in Joburg/Pretoria so won't be buying just yet
Best wishes for VLM to all. Hope you get what you deserve.
Nice running Mennania. That mini-taper a few weeks ago obviously did you good!
Lovely pics SJ.
Abbers - i am sure the cold will be gone by Sunday
Leslie - nice reps with PB at the end!
SB - nice pic very jealous (of your hair)
Mennania - You and we, know your time! Great run.
Good tapers runs for the VLM's, I went for 4 miles with some strides
Thought the expo thing was just me being used to it. Not sure how they can call a bag with one biscuit and a load of flyers, a goodie bag!
Bike it - commiserations re the MIL - Wills are dreadful things to have to negotiate, I hope things turn out OK for you.
Minni - I am not expecting anything official back as it would bugger up their published lists etc which they aren't going to do. They have only published chip times so I have asked fro my elapsed time, but the problem is over the first 5k - I have it as my fastest at 20.16 and they have it as ny slowest at 21,18. I am doing some picture stalking and am hoping for something back from them which can place me better, but hey ho, It matters not really. I have a 50% fail record on chip times in Maras - I had a dnf on my first one as my chip didn't register over the finish line - this wasn't changed even though the organiser cheered me over the line (who I knew) and I have a stream of photos of me finishing.
Am proper jealous of you all doing VLM this weekend - go give it some!!
The fact is that it's really the East London marathon, and the expo is there to make some money from corporate and other bodies. Admittedly, if one is desperate to stage a decent sized expo then central London venues would be few and pricey.
Nice report Menna, whatever the numbers say, you did a grand job.
Bike It, commiserations and good luck with all that. Living in Jbg/Pta? Nee dankie. (Although with all that land you could grow industrial quantities of yummy beetroot.)
Minni - Forgot to say, just leave the key in the usual place and I'll let myself in![image](https://us.v-cdn.net/6027274/uploads/forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif)
Mennania - Great report and the main thing is that you know what time you did.
Slokey -
Great presence of mind to take pics at those various stages. Not attractive, however.
Sporty B - The girls on here were telling me they hoped you'd be better-looking than that.
Bike It - Sad news - hope dealing with the will doesn't prove as difficult as it seems at first.
I had the longest lie-in I can remember this morning and have only just got up. I thought about going for a run but it really would be tempting fate and I just don't see the point. The physio seems to have done a good job and my niggle is in remission, with the whole leg a lot less tense. I have lowered my target from sub-3 to 3.05-3.10 so can go into the race more relaxed, and that means resting up as much as possible from now on.
John
Fantastic report on Paris . Hopefully they will verify your time irrespective of whatever is published. Keep pressing the buggers. Perhaps there is a Menn out their who stole your time?
BI - good to hear the running is coming back to provide some relief from the stresses you are dealing with
All the best of luck to Ant, Poacher, MartinH, Dodds, PMJ, Abbers, CC2, Lorenzo, Minni and all other VLM runners this weekend! May you achieve your goals and enjoy the day. Pain is temporary but glory lasts forever!
I guess many will travel today, so now is the time for the good wishes to be sent to all VLM'ers
the usual - get the nads out in the kitchen sink as you kinavit etc etc; and remember
(to regurgitate this quote I found somewhere )
"Even when you've run many marathons, the feeling of crossing the line is extraordinary. It's public and private at the same time; unassailable proof that you've dedicated yourself to months of hard training and had the willpower to pull yourself through a race of immense highs and lows
or, if you prefer - don't be sh1t !!
Good luck everyone . . . . . .
Well said Mr Birch Sir!
Best of luck to you all
Sorry to read about your news BI. Best wishes to the family. Sounds like you have some big decisions to make.
Has anybody ever run the Venice course? I'm thinking about it as an option for the Autumn.
SJ - I am looking at Nice- Cannes in early November - its along the coast so will be weather dependant but looks stunning!
Absolutely best of british to you all, I am really looking forward to your accounts of the day, and have a pint for me in Chandos!!
10miles run from 11am. My wife dropped me off on the road between the farm and town. First 10k excellent in a nice bush wind. Last 6km getting a bit hot once in town and more sheltered. Leg still not good, but an enjoyable run.