RW Forum Six - Sub 3:30

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  • FreemersFreemers ✭✭✭
    KFC - go do some training!! You sound like you really enjoyed yourself on Sunday image



    AA - great report...such a shame your stomach issues slowed you but well toughed out to get under the 3.30. I remember that feeling from the Town Moor, I think I was 7 seconds inside with an almighty sprint to make it.



    Simon - ah, the Masons Arms...know that very well! We've had dinner there in the evening a few times and you get great views from the upstairs restaurant as the sun goes down - stunning views across the valley. Yes, no doubt will be very busy over easter but will try and go there at some point.



    Nell - I'm actually feeling a lot more positive today. There is no point dwelling on it as I can't go back and change what happened. To be honest I was surprised that when I did stop the decision to do so was so easy - a few years ago I know I would have hobbled through it, and hated every minute of the second half. I would have felt so much worse if I'd done that. In the scheme of things I will take the positives from my training, in that I know I am capabable of a good shot at 3.15 and just need to believe that I can do it uninjured!



    I think the fact that I'm off on holiday in 2 days helps - I can just enjoy the break and then come back to get the foot fixed.
  • kfc.kfc. ✭✭✭

    Now freemers?  but my legs still really hurt!  Give me a few days...

  • old4speedold4speed ✭✭✭

    Went to the running club last night and saw a couple of others who did VLM - all said they struggled with the heat in the second half and the congestion, so not just me to my relief.  Did a walk / run into work today and the legs feel fine, just the ball of my foot is sore for a while when I get going - apparently it is bone rub, probably due to years of running badly to overcompensate for a hip out of alignment.

    Social 30 planned for next weekend plus a day or two of cycling so need to get this show back on the road...................................

    Carrot:  did you buy that pasty??  Even more important did you see the University of Sunderland London Campus when you were spectating.  As I ran past I thought I must be hallucinating................................ 

    Minni:  where are your relays?  Mine are 4 weeks away, but I do have 100 miles to do before that.  I'm doing the Midland Vet relays.

    Free:  have a great holiday and then turn thoughts to Abo once you get the foot sorted.

    Chick:  my 65 year old friend who won with 3.13 was massively disappointed as he was 10 minutes slower than last year.........................image

    2old / Chick / DD:  we pass the baton on and can now enjoy your tales without having to worry about our own races.

    I get my first post marathon alcohol tonight imageimage

  • old4speedold4speed ✭✭✭

    Free:  you said there were some marathon photos up on the site.  I can't get Marathon Photo to even admit there was a VLM 2014 - what is the link?  I want some evidence for work to get my sponsorship money!!

  • O4S - click on the results. 

    freemers - enjoy your holiday. 

    DD/chick/2old - when do you leave?

    i still can't walk downstairs image The pond opens this weekend. 14 degrees at the moment....not tempted yet!

  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭

    I'm going to spending the day reading everyone's reports and catching up but in the meantime here is my report (probably the longest one ever for a DNF!!!)

    I went into marathon training this year fitter than I’ve ever been and very confident that a nice PB at VLM would be mine.

    January was dodgy.  3 longs runs were followed immediately by vomiting, passing out and 24 hours in bed (48 hours after the first one).   At this time my hip that had been niggling on and off for months appeared to be getting more noticeable.  Blood tests showed there was nothing wrong and the sickness was put down to a virus.    I continued training and the only run I missed was one 3 mile recovery run.

    February was much better.  I felt well and training was good.  I did a couple of XC races and felt really strong and all was well with the world.

    March saw less than satisfactory month.  I seemed to be always on the edge of illness but nothing really developing.  The Locke 20 didn’t go according to plan (although not a disaster) and my hip hurt afterwards.  The Northumberland Half was a disaster with my time down by 5 minutes on last year and a lot of hip pain by the end.   I took almost a week off afterwards, apart from a couple of slow and short off road runs – well there was Jantastic to think of....

    The final month was about maintenance.  I had a good 20 miler and felt great at the end and a 13 at MP also felt really good.   However, in the last couple of weeks I seem to have got stiffer and stiffer.

    I woke up on Sunday morning and the hip was sore.   I also had a very dry and scratchy throat but couldn’t decide if this was the start of a cold (which is was) or a side effect to all the painkillers I was pumping into myself!

    Met AA at Charing Cross and shared some of her Champs start excitement on the train.    Into the Green enclosure and soon met up with Freemers, O4S and KFC, which was great.  Bumped into Marrows at the baggage bus too and I can confirm she is definitely female! 

    Into the pen with Freemers and positioned ourselves right at the front.  I didn’t feel any kind of nerves or real excitement as the clock ticked down.  I think I already knew I would be doing a Mo and only running to halfway.  

    The Green start did seem a bit more congested this year.  I don’t really understand why they put the GFA (meaning we have all run fast marathons) behind the celebs most of whom will be slow.  I’m happy to work my way through them but people further back didn’t seem think the same and there was a lot of pushing.  I guy literally pushed me to the side with his arm as he passed and I stumbled but didn’t fall.

    Lorenzo came skipping past and was off like the 3:06 runner he is.  I’d also lost Freemers in the first 200m!

    My hip was uncomfortable for the first couple miles but then wore off and I was keeping a good pace.  However, by 8 miles it had started to ache and tighten up.  I made my mind up then that I would stop when I say the family.

     Saw Malcs supporting at mile 10 and stopped to have a brief word with him and do some cheering then plodded on.  On the Highway I spotted the family at mile 23 but wanted to see the elite men come through before I pulled out.  It was great to stop and appreciate the speed they were going and soak up the atmosphere and when Mo came through it was as if a Mexican wave was following him. 

    KFC came past and I told her I was fine then made my way to the subway and joined the family to do some cheering.  (

  • old4speedold4speed ✭✭✭

    AA: I really must be technically challenged, when I click on results on the VLM site I get - results!!

  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭

    KFC came past and I told her I was fine then made my way to the subway and joined the family to do some cheering.  (I actually think completing the marathon is easier than trying to negotiate the crowds of spectators!!)

    Saw Martin come through first and he looked like he was well in control (even if you didn’t feel it at that stage Martin) Then a topless OO!  AA was next then a we spotted O4S on the far side and she came straight over to say hello – she’s a family favourite so we were all very excited!

    Back to the hotel for a quick shower, to the finish to pick up my bag then straight to the pub.  I was greeted by the very happy faces of (3:15 thread)  Lorenzo (3:06), Speedy (2:58) and Poacher (3:11 and his 50th marathon – well done that man in a skirt).  Ant was a little disappointed with his 3:15 but he won the biggest blister competition.   (3:30 thread) KFC who proved if she actually training properly for a marathon she could probably win the darned thing, Brolish and Kiwi who were spectators on the day.  (Asics 3:30 thread) Malcs and Angela who did a great pacing job just a week after running a massive PB at Manchester.

    The afternoon turned into the evening and it ended up just me and Brol downing bottles of wine until the last train home……

    A very different London Marathon experience for me but really enjoyed the whole day.  Its great to hear everyone’s stories and be part of it, whatever side of the fence you are on.

    Well done to everyone!

  • Great reports everyone. Glad you're ok, Minni, and a wise decision.

    Just to make you all sick. You know the guy I know who I said his longest run in training had been 8 miles and I thought was going to have a very painful day? He finished in 3:20. OK, he is a gym junkie and obviously a very fit guy and I've since found out he's an 18-minute 5k runner, but even so...

  • Mornin' All,

    Great reports from Sunday! 

    Having never really stalked anyone up until the last two weekends, i have to say that running the race is a lot less stressful and nerve wracking!image With that in mind, does anyone know what time the ballot opens this morning?

    Daren - I trust that you told him that no one likes a smart arse!!image

    2Old - How's the back?

    No knee swelling to report from my 4 miler on Sunday, so hopefully i can start to slowly build up to something approaching a slow crawl?

    Looking forward to my third and last weekend of stalking.

  • Right – here’s my race report. A bit self-indulgent, but hey! As KFC said, I wasn’t planning a spring marathon – I wanted to give an autumn marathon this year to avoid winter training. But once I got a club place in the lottery there was no question I was going to go for it. I have only done the London Marathon once before and I loved it. This time I loved it even more – the crowd was amazing – noticeably bigger than 3 years ago.

    Training started with what seemed like a disaster as I sprained my ankle high up in the Atlas mountains on a cycling holiday in December. But luckily diligent strapping, icing and cycling seemed to help it recover remarkably quickly and I only missed around a week of training.

    I was going to try a tri-flavoured plan for the marathon buildup – but missing the early part of training meant I chose the P&D up to 55 12 week plan and followed it pretty closely, and didn’t miss many sessions at all. I was too knackered from all the running to do much else apart from gym work, so swimming and cycling took a back seat for 3 months.

    So with training having gone well and having decided a target based on recent race results of 3:19, race week came. Disaster struck on Thursday when an bubbling under tooth infection escalated into screaming pain on Thursday.

    I had already been to the dentist for this earlier and was on the waiting list for the dental hospital to sort it out, so all I had was antibiotics and painkillers. Although it seemed to initially clear up, it came back with a vengeance on Saturday which made carb loading tricky and I could hardly sleep on Sat night. I was very close to pulling out!

    Thankfully I woke up in the morning, just took more painkillers and just decided to try and ride it out. My legs were fine, so I just needed to ignore the pain in my head and get moving. Took the club coach down to the start and got chilled out with a club mate in the red start for ages before getting into pen 2 – which was just behind the FGFA lot. Couldn’t have asked for a better place. I actually went to the back of that pen, and suffered hardly any problems with race congestion – unlike Paris last year which was a nightmare for that. 

  • My plan was quite simple 38 mins for each 5 miles – about 7:35 pace, which would bring me in around 3:19/3:20. I decided not to push it in case my teeth problems had taken too much out of me. Managed to stick to my target pace immediately – and the first 5 miles were a breeze. Although it was sunny, there was a lot of shade in the early part of the race and I didn’t feel too hot. I had five gels on me and was going to take one with water every 5 miles supplemented by Lucozade in between.

    By Cutty Sark I notice that all the early fast starters were coming back to me as I started overtaking people. But it wasn’t too busy, so didn’t need to do any dodging to speak of. By the time we hit Surrey Quays it was getting a little hotter and I thought my pace was dropping fractionally so a took another gel and pushed on. First two 5 mile splits were fractionally over 38 mins, so on target, but looking like a 3:20 run.

    Over Tower Bridge looking for one of my mates – no chance, too many people. On the other side of the bridge I saw Minni who looked like she had stopped and was talking to a marshal, but I was already gone past her. Last time I did London I remembered it started to get hard just as I entered the Isle of dogs after the tunnel. But this time it was much more controlled and I pushed on, waiting for the expected wall at around 18 miles.

    It duly arrived on South Quay, which is where my club was marshalling and doing the crossing which gave me a big boost. But I could feel the energy system switch and it was definitely feeling harder. I just said to myself that even the fastest runners suffer and counted to 100 the lovely Paula does. And my god it worked perfectly. All I needed to do was count and the miles would take care of themselves.

    The last 9 miles were done in this zone of counting and keeping an eye on the pace, which was pretty much on target the whole way. Once I hit 23 miles I knew that a PB was in the bag, and that I just needed to hold this pace to hit 3:20. I started to get slight indications of cramp in the last 6 miles in my calves but it never developed into anything serious. Saw the family at 24.5 miles and I was feeling good. Rounding the Mall and seeing that I would make 3:20 comfortably was excellent and a put in a strong push for the line.

    I passed 544 runners in the last 7.5K and only 4 passed me. Can’t complain with that at all. Tooth pain was barely noticeable on the run. I did however end up with a spectacular black toenail that I hardly felt on the run. Saw AA at the finish, but no-one else, and didn’t make it to Chandos because I was sitting in a camp chair outside the Harp in the sunshine with a beer.

    I have already signed up for Brighton next year and hope to have a crack at the 3:15 target there. I feel confident of getting there next year as long as I can bring my HM time to under 1:30. Anyway how long was that report! Too long!

    Well done everyone!

  • Oompa - Good news on your return to running.image

    Daren- Impressive, natural ability counts for  a lot, did he at least slow down towards the end?

    O4S -   great report and great result for you, but would we expect anything less.image Enjoy the alcohol, you definitely deserve it. Your friend John is my hero. To find your photos click on your name and it will give you your splits and an option to view your photos.

    AA - You have earnt the aches,  very well done for pushing through the painful miles.  Get yourself fully recovered and train well for Abo, I will be relying on you or Freemers  to drag me round to  my 3:15.image

    nell - Not sure how old you are but aim for GFA at  Edinburgh and start near the front at VLM next year, simples.image, and my swimming is shocking.image

    kfc - well done, similar race to me last year, I started walking at about 16, but the crowds do an amazing job of keeping you going for the last 10. Now get out running.image

    ant -  Reports can never be too long, a lot can happen in 26 .2 and over 3 hours.image. Very well paced/raced and congrats again on the PB.image

    My weekly blast this morning, 6 miles with the middle 4 quick, still coughing up loads of stuff so it was a struggle but splits were 6:35,6:42,6:41,6:34 so happy enough.

     

  • Great report Ant. I think those stats for the last 7.5k say it all about what a perfectly paced run that was. Must be great finishing a marathon feeling you'd got it so right.

  • old4speedold4speed ✭✭✭

    Barry: thanks, in fact I found them on Marathonfoto - having called the event the Virgin London Marathon for the last few years it has reverted to the London marathon so I was trying to find a non existent race.  I look like a mad woman image

  • 2Old2Old ✭✭✭

    O4S- great report - a fine example of how to and to some extent not to run a marathon and at the same time enjoy it have fun and achieve an outstanding result. I can see a trend of TMers hitting the wall at 16-18 miles-do you think you were adequately carb loaded ? Not sure about passing the baton to me-I well and truly dropped mine when I picked up that 20kg bag of horse feed a week ago

    AA-its never easy doing that run after a period of injury so I can well appreciate the pain grit and detemination that comes out of your report plus the emotion and you are entitled to be very emotional.Excellent race

    KFC-what can I say-another one hit at mile 16-probably not carbs the problem for you. I guess your training could be called 'marathon training lite' It must have been a ball milking all the crowds and atmosphere for all they were worth.Great way to deal with the pain

    Ant-you ran the perfect marathon-good start,(Im sure starting by the FGFA start makes a big difference) controlled pace,fuelling, mental control -an example to us all how to do it.Next one definately sub 3.15. How were you after-do you feel you had anything left to give? Very impressed.

    I have a suspicion my back problem is sciatica but as I still have 5 days of recovery left,Im remaining positive.Its strange not running at all though and I feel next Monday is going to be a bit of a lottery. Strangely enough I would not be too worried about it as I have run with an injury all year but what is concerning me is whether mentally I will be strong enough to keep going because of  a few weeks of extreme stress elsewhere. Then again its only a marathon so what will be will be

     

     

  • chickstachicksta ✭✭✭

    (((2old)))   sciatica is ok to run on - I've done so since November. On lucky days it disappears on others it keeps me awake at night but it never kept me from running image

    Hope yours goes away but be prepared for a bit of an uncomfortable plane ride. If I sit on my ass all day it usually gets worse.

    AA: very emotional report. I had a little tear in my eye when you talked about your boy ... well done again for toughing it out. It must have bloody hurt.

    KFC: top marks for grit and determination. Now get your arse in gear and do the training!!

    Min: It sure has been a rollercoaster of a ride for you this spring. Bring on the autumn training!

    Ant: like the others said - a report can never be too long. You said you hit the wall at 18 but you kept going and your pace didn't slow - sounds like a perfectly executed race plan to me. I hope I can be this good on Monday as we have similar targets.

    Oomps: great to see you making progress.

    Barry: impressive fast miles as always. Is your calf problem now sorted for good?

    old4speed wrote (see)

    Chick:  my 65 year old friend who won with 3.13 was massively disappointed as he was 10 minutes slower than last year.........................image

     

    My goodness .... I wish I can be like him aged 65 (not much hope though, is there?)

    Always Aching wrote (see)

    O4S - click on the results. 

    freemers - enjoy your holiday. 

    DD/chick/2old - when do you leave?

    i still can't walk downstairs image The pond opens this weekend. 14 degrees at the moment....not tempted yet!

    Brrrrrrr, 14 degrees image. I think 2old is leaving on Thurs, DD on Saturday (he likes a challenge) and I'm leaving on Friday.

    DarenF wrote (see)

    Great reports everyone. Glad you're ok, Minni, and a wise decision.

    Just to make you all sick. You know the guy I know who I said his longest run in training had been 8 miles and I thought was going to have a very painful day? He finished in 3:20. OK, he is a gym junkie and obviously a very fit guy and I've since found out he's an 18-minute 5k runner, but even so...

    You just gotta hate some people, dontcha image

    Just a trendy 5 for me today. We still have a right old hooley blowing and I didn't much fancy running in it. But I'm going a bit taper-mad and couldn't sleep.

    In other news I've started with the hourly weather check for Boston. Right now it ain't bad - partly cloudy and a high of 14. Bit of an Easterly wind which is not ideal but at only 10-12 kph it doesn't seem too strong.

  • chickstachicksta ✭✭✭

    By the way, I listened to the marathontalk episode with that nutrition dude (name escapes me) but it was in episode 220/221 and he said it's more often the brain running out of fuel (Glucose) at around mile 18/20 than the body and it all boils down to Tim Noakes' central governor theory.There is no reason why you have to slow down at that stage (unless you set yourself a completely unrealistic target and tear off 2 mins quicker per mile than you planned). It seems like Ant just proved it.

  • Oh and the 5K splits:

    Split       min/km

    5K           04:44

    10K         04:48

    15K         04:46

    20K         04:45

    25K         04:41

    30K         04:45

    35K         04:49

    40K         04:49

    Finish    04:46

    Through halfway in 1:40:10, so nearly evens!

     

  • old4speedold4speed ✭✭✭

    Chick:  is he implying that any marathon runner actually has a brain image

  • Great report Ant and brilliant pacing.image

    2Old/Chick - Does acupuncture help with Sciatica? image Had it once to release my overtight ITB's and it worked a treat.

    old4speed wrote (see)

     I look like a mad woman image

    O4S - You ARE a mad woman with some of the things you get up to!image

    Just entered my first race for nearly a year... Barns Green Half in September!!!image Already doubting the wisdom of this.imageimage

    Also just realised that waiting at my pc for VLM ballot to open may be a fools errand as it's next Tuesday! Whadda meestayka to mayka.image

  • 2Old2Old ✭✭✭
    Ant-metronome like pacing

    Oomp- no idea about acupuncture but will try anything apart from surgery. But early to worry about that. Oh and yes you are asking for trouble signing up for a race but trouble is your middle name isn't it?

    O4S- marathon runners must have brains otherwise why do they need to see a shrink?

    Chick- so as long as I keep using gels I should be fine even with sciatica unless I try sub3 pace?

    Barry - you keep flying
  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭

    Ant - great report!  You ran a perfect race.  We're all so pleased for you.  Definitely sub 3:15 next.

    Oompa - great to see you entering races again. 

    2Old - praying it goes well for you.  A rolling pin has helped relieve my pain a bit. 

    chick - Are you ok???  Not long to go.

    And what about DD?

    Its time for us all to look forward to Monday now and what a day it will be in Boston.  I imagine it will be quite emotional.

     

  • 2Old2Old ✭✭✭

    Minni-rolling pin? I need to hit myself on the head with one for lifting that bag of horse pellets. Glad you felt ok to give us your report of your experience of Sunday.Not sure I could have done it knowing how I felt after my DNS last year. It takes a lot to call it a day half way but thats the best thing to do when its just not right. Lurkers reading this thread who follow our ups and downs will now realise just how tough a marathon can be-its not just the training,so many things have to come together at the right time.Hope your not tempted to sneak another one in in a few weeks-Edinburgh for example-it has been known to happenimage

  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭
    No. Edinburgh is a definite no. I'm going to be on full time support duties and I actually have no desire to run a marathon right now.



    Ant - sorry I didn't see you as I would have given you a shout and glad you were passed before you realised it was me - I wouldn't have wanted to spoil your pacing. I stopped for a bit there because I wanted to see the elite men come through but didn't want to run much further on as my family were on the opposite side.
  • FreemersFreemers ✭✭✭
    Perfect pacing Ant and a great report. That must be such a great feeling to have such a well executed strategy. I've no doubt you can go much quicker next year in Brighton image



    Minni - good report from you too. I think as you say you had it in your mind that a DNF could be the outcome, but you have handled it really well, and your day will come again!
  • chickstachicksta ✭✭✭
    2Old wrote (see)

    Chick- so as long as I keep using gels I should be fine even with sciatica unless I try sub3 pace?

    Yeah, that about sums it up I think image

    I'm fully relying on the race day adrenaline to mask all those niggles and pains. Otherwise I'm fookd image

    My short run today felt truly awful. But I think that's par for the course when tapering. It will prevent you from doing anything stupid like running everything at MP between now and D-Day image

  • 2Old2Old ✭✭✭

    Chick-im going to need hell of a lot of adrenaline then. I was looking at the US RW Boston forum and saw a post from an English guy who was wondering if he should still go for sub 3 not having run for the last 6 weeks due to injury apart from an aborted HM whilst continuing to have significant symptoms.He's decided to give it a go and if isnt going right he's going to turn it into a fun run. Maybe my one week total rest taper isnt so bad. I know I can still do the short runs so they wont give me any confidence the question is how will I stand up to the full distance.

  • chickstachicksta ✭✭✭

    Blimey! I'm glued to the weather forum image  right now it looks pretty good. Hope the forcasts hold. The fun run thing is always an option. Only it won't be that much fun if you are in pain image

  • 2Old2Old ✭✭✭

    Chick- fingers crossed the weather forecast is accurate. I don't usually do the fun runs. ...too much mental energy used in all the fun and excitement etc. ..bah hum bug. 

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