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Sub 4 Amy: #asics262
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Wow - great work Pocket Rocket Amy!
I have the Surrey Half coming up as part of my prep for Manchester but wasn't sure whether to aim for a PB or to run it at my hoped-for marathon pace: seeing everyone's PBs from the weekend though has really made me want a new one for myself!
Not sure I could cope with all of those carbs the day before though...I'd want to vom 50 metres from the start, not the end!
Great report Amy
Has Steve readjusted your expected marathon time/training times because you are WAAAAAY on track for much faster than sub 4:00 based on Sunday's performance? My first sub 4:00 (sneaked under by 14 seconds!) came off the back of a 1:46:46 HM time. There was only a minute between our times on Sunday and if I was targeting a road marathon this Spring I'd be looking for sub 3:35.
Hi Amy and all, thanks for the report above.
My upcoming races are:
Saturday, trail half marathon near Guildford. Looks very hilly and challenging. My aim is to run 10 miles at marathon pace of 9 minutes, then see what I feel like for the last 3. Whether that happens or not is anyones guess as the adrenaline starts to flow and I go for it. Any advice from any experts on here on how I should approach it?
Half website is here: http://maverick-race.com/event/the-original-surrey/
My marathon is then two weeks later on March 14th. It's on the river Thames all the way, basically from near Kingston Bridge to Putney Bridge and back in. Looks a low key event which is what I wanted for my first.
Marathon website is here:
http://www.hermesrunning.com/thames-meander-half-full-triple-crown-marathons/
On the apps point, one website I've started using is this:
http://smashrun.com/peter.foster
Well worth checking it out, loads of stats, badges etc. Syncs automatically with your Garmin. I'm really enjoying it and think I am going to cough up for the pro level service
Happy running everyone, am going out for 6 miles at lunch: 1 slow then 5 at 8:00
Looks like a nice day for it anyway
Hi Peter, I am doing that HM on 14th March. About 5 minutes from where I live. Let me know if you need any more info about the route.
Hi Sally, thanks for the offer. I live fairly close as well and ran it one way last week - was surprisingly muddy in places. Have you done the marathon there before? Really looking forward to it as my debut marathon!
Hi Peter, have never run with Hermes before. My debut marathon is in April in Manchester.
It has been very wet along the towpath. Trouble is not just the rain coming down but also the river coming up! I do the parkrun along part of the route, and we were quite deep in water coming back through Ham Lands.
Barbie
Amy is running well above the level required for a sub-4 but there is a vast difference between running well over 13.1 miles and 26.2 miles and there is some way to go and lots of long runs yet to get the endurance required to keep going past 20 miles.
At the moment sub-4 remains the target but 3:50 might be feasible if the stamina can match her excellent speed.
That sounds very useful Tim R2-T2. I haven't looked at my cadence actually, it doesn't mean too much to me. I alwys look at my splits and average overall pace. It certainly didn't feel like a flat course! It felt like the uphill although not dramatically steep at any point, went on for miles!
Glad you enjoyed Iain Hickman 2, Reikirabbit, Barbie1976, and Peter Foster 7, I aim to please!
Wow you have a tattoo of your diabetes Iain Hickman 2, thats pretty awesome, be proud as well as sensible
It does seem a shame to cull your pace earlier if you feel able until the hypo and if the hypo didn't occur then you'd be able to continue at the same pace, so taking on board more carbs before the event would be the preferable option, and then we could really see what you are made of! I can't wait to see how you do in Paris, I can see it being just incredible, and as I have said before, I hope you are taking note from Superman Tim's 3:30 thread too. I am going to text my friends by the way and see if they remember you from Yarborough haha! Did they know you as Mr Hickman??
Sure did nail the carbs Reikirabbit! I tried to go for carb dense options so the volume was smaller. You amazingly with the carbs too I might add. How did your food diary look? Did you struggle? You are only a wee thing! Oh yeah, I am sorry I was going to show you how to do the bold thing wasn't I, sorry. Are you up this end again any time soon? Will have a fab training day I am sure, although I think it looks set to be different to the last one, with a 2.5h running session rather than the track sessions like previous, is that right Steve Marathon Coach?
Craig Bowdrey!!! Hey dude!!!! How are you? Great to see you on here. I say go for it with the PB!
as long as you are feeling fit for it that is. Tom Rann wasn't aiming for a PB as he's been a bit injured, his aim was to finish, but then he felt fresh and strong on the day so went for it, and low and behold, 7mins off his PB ha! Haha vomming 50m from the start, I actually lol'd at that! 
How are you feeling for Manchester? Are you meeting any other of the #Asics262 bootcampers??
Hi Barbie1976, no adjustment to the plan that I have been informed of as yet. I'll be seeing Steve Marathon Coach on Saturday though, so guess this could be discussed then if necessary. Steve's plan for me til now has obviously been working though so I am quite happy with whatever he says, I trust you completely Steve Marathon Coach, and I really can't thank you enough for all your support and advice getting me to this point, I honestly never thought that I could achieve that time on Sunday, I thought I was on for 1:45-1:46.
You ran really well Barbie1976, do you feel capable of a 3:35 marathon? I don't think I am there yet I'm afraid, judging on my body's reaction on Sunday! It's the sub 4 I want for now so am happy with this as a focus. Perhaps if Paris goes well I could try and up m,y game for my next marathon (now theres commitment for you...my NEXT marathon! I certainly never thought I'd say that after Edinburgh!).
Peter Foster 7 your trial half near Guildford looks tough. I am not an expert by any means, but perhaps if it is hilly and tough terrain and your marathon is only two weeks following this then just making sure you focus on pace is a good thing, and as Steve Marathon Coach has taught me, remember to think about effort, i.e. if you are wanting to aim for 9m
Hi Steve Marathon Coach, just seen your post. I am glad we are think the same thing, I want that sub 4 and don't want to mess anything up by thinking too far ahead. To me it is a very different thing doing the shorter faster distances to those longer ones. I am staying positive though
Also, I wanted to say a proper hello to a lady who said hi to me at Brighton. I don't know who this lady is i am afraid. It was at the start of the half, and she asked me if I was Amy, which I obviously said yes, and she wished me good luck. This took me back a bit and I think I was a bit lost in my response, and just managed to mumble hello and good luck back. I didn't mean to come across rude or anything, just took me back a bit that someone knew who I was and I didn't know them! Anyway, I am sure this lady smashed the half because I am convinced that I saw her in the second lady position at around the five mile mark for her as I was behind and the course doubled back on itself, so if you are reading this....hello, and thank you for saying hi, you certainly didn't need my luck!
great effort Amy, with times like that your sub 4 should be "reasonably straight forward". or as reasonably as running a marathon ever can be.
Great attitude to have Amy re the sub 4:00 and you sound like you are in very capable hands with Steve
i am much better at endurance than speed so although our HM times are similar you would leave me standing at parkrun whereas I've done more ultras/marathons so the endurance side of things is easier for me, which is why if was targeting a spring marathon I'd be aiming for 3:35.
Like you said plenty of future marathons to come back for and target faster times, but am absolutely positive you'll be basking in a sub 4:00 glow in Paris!
Thanks Amy for all the sound advice and kind words, I am fully conscious that WHEN I sort the fuelling issue out that not Paris, but at a future marathon I could have a real crack at sub 3:30 (despite all the problems on Sunday my legs felt really good and I was trotting along @ 7:55/mile all the way to 17.5 miles and I didn't feel outside my comfort zone.
That said I am going to enjoy Paris and the same aim remains, sub 4hr anything better would be a true bonus and delight but the original aim remains, and so far the training has been going well and I'm sure I will sort the diabetes out before the start line, starting at Retford!
I used to wear a Medic Alert bracelet but it became annoying as the chain kept ripping my clothes amongst other things so I had one side tattooed on the top of my right wrist and the bottom of the bracelet on my wrist, it's a lot more noticeable, which should it ever be needed (hope not) it will have been worthwhile!
I am really looking forward to Paris too, I am looking forward to finding out what incredible time you will set and I hope we will both be sat afterwards with a beaming smile on our face and realising how much the long 16 weeks of training were all worthwhile.
Lastly, I was and I am still referred to at the school I currently teach at known as Mr Hickman, LOL!
Oh and I meant to ask, after the fantastic time Steve Marathon Coach set @ the Brighton Half Marathon, surely he is looking to extend his amazing streak of sub 3 hr marathons @ London on 26th April???
Isabel - well done on the 15 at the weekend.
Iain yes Sunday suggests have good chance of sub-3 but it would be better if it this was this weekend than two months away as not easy staying clear of injuries after 46 years of running in the legs.
This is my 40th consective year of marathoning (think average is still sub 2:45 but its getting higher each year) and now as am well ahead of the last time I broke three might aim to try and beat what I did in my first marathon in 1976 which is 2:54:42
The club M55 age group record (held by my namesake) is 2:56 which will be my secondary target but I won't complain if I eventually do 2:59 to extend the span.
That post above made me laugh by Steve, first sub 3 hr before I was born and he's still knocking them out !!
Running Brighton mara 12 April Amy, any heads up you can give me from your run?
hi Amy, I've just started reading your forum and it's been great to read. I think you'll have no problem getting under 4 hours at all, my pb is 3.38 and I'm doing London in April, going to try and get under that, however I've never managed to run faster than 1.40 in a half marathon! So very well done...I'm looking foward to following you over the next month or so until Paris.
Katie
With all your experience you know the key indicators - any of those times will be phenomenal of course!
It's an amazing record of sustained performance, you could write books on how Vets might best train for recovery and to dodge the physiological cliffs. I read a fascinating article in Competitor [I think] about the different types of Vets based mainly on longevity in the sport.
Gosh Amy I wonder who the woman was.
You weren't wearing an Asics 26.2 top, or something with *Amy* on it were you?
They have videos of us crossing the line!
KTKT - while everyone is different in their levels of speed and endurance - then a 1:45 is more than sufficient speed to break four and even a sub 1:50 would give you a chance if you had great endurance, experience and all the long runs went well.
the very top runners ie Paula Radcliffe (half PB 1:05, Marathon 2:15) can cope with double half time and add 5-10 minutes but if you aren't doing about 140 miles a week then a more realistic is double half time and add 15-20 for faster experienced minutes and probably more 25-30 for inexperienced runners.
Ashley - as Tom sub-3 noted all my PBs were set before he was born - my best years of racing though were actually 1979 to 1988 and have been in steady decline ever since!.
Hi Steve - I hadn't realised you could work it out like that..I'm trying to follow a training plan this year to break 3.38 which I've never done before and due to my hours at work i'm struggling a little with the mid week runs longer than 7 miles. Thank you and well done on your run at the weekend too!
Ktkt - the weekend longer run is more important but still there is a necessity to go further than 7 during the week.
Reikirabbit - the other 'me' - even the middle name's the same - doesn't race too often - less than 10 races in 30 years according to Power of Ten compared to my 1500.
we did both do a National Masters road relay championships a few years back and I did the first leg and him the second and it confused people when the results came out thinking i'd done both legs. He was faster that day and we were lying second at the end of his leg and should have been first if I'd run at my best.
Hi Amy, I'm good thanks: after spending most of last year with a few niggley injuries my body seems to be holding up surprisingly well with the increased mileage. I'm hopefully on course to get near my 1:36 half marathon PB next week at the Surrey Half, so I'm gonna go for it - for the last couple of years all of my halfs have been over 1:45, so it'll be a welcome boost in the run-up to Manchester...the thought of which is scaring me a fair bit! As Steve Marathon Coach says, what we can do in a half isn't necessarily reflected in a full: having never run more than around 15 miles so far, the main aim will be just to finish!
Not sure who else from the bootcamp will be at Manchester: have barely made a plan to get myself there yet but would be good to catch up with everyone.
Enjoy your training day on Saturday!
Morning Amy. Well done again on your PB last weekend. You have absolutely nailed the training so far and have deserved the great performances and support which have come your way. Enthusiastic, infectious little speedsters are great to have around. Cant wait to catch up Saturday although you might need to slow down for me to do that.
Safe journey down, are you staying with your new family or sis?
Amy
Have a good weekend and try and keep the focus on fluid intake on a day to day basis; not a huge amount but some fluid in-between meals each day.
Steve. I know I might say this each year but it mind blowing how many marathons you have done! There can't be many in Britain or beyond who could beat you in number of marathons run over so many years and average time???
I'm curious a number of you keep referring to Steve stating all sorts of nuggets of what look like really useful information/advice. However, none of it seems to appear on this thread is it elsewhere???
Evening, hope everyone's having a good week so far.
Good luck for Rushcliffe 10K on Sunday Iain, hope you grab yourself a new PB! I'm betting you will as your speed is fantastic.
Hey Craig, good to hear from you! I think with 6 weeks between your half and Manchester marathon you can go for a PB. I'd listen to the advice of Steve Marathon Coach though as he'd be best placed to advise. I know of quite a few boot campers who are doing Manchester and I'm planning on coming along to support everyone as I only live 30 miles away. Shan't be running it though as I'm doing London the following week! Good luck with the rest of your training.
Gosh Peter Foster 7, the route profile of your HM looks like a toughy! With nearly 1500ft of elevation I think you'll be hard pressed to keep an even pace, you might be better off thinking about an even effort across the distance as Amy suggests. Plus with only 2 weeks between your half and your marathon, I'd be very wary of 'racing' the half and then not recovering fully before your marathon. I guess it depends on what your 'A' race is though; I'm just assuming it's the marathon.
Sounds like you've got gold, silver and bronze targets for your marathon Steve. I had these last year for London and will be doing the same again this year. I found it really helpful to have more than one target so I wasn't fixated on just one thing.
It's interesting reading your take on converting HM potential into marathon time and the huge difference between a 1:45 and 1:50 half marathon. All the race time predictors I've looked at suggest a marathon potential for me now of 3:46-3:50 based on my HM time from Sunday. I know there are so many other contributing factors and it really relies on staying injury free over the remainder of the training weeks, especially now the LSRs are all 20+ miles so my target ( and therefore my race pace) will certainly stay at sub4. I'm really hoping though that as, like Barbie1976, my strength lies in endurance over speed, I can achieve that target.
Hey ktkt, welcome along! Nice of you to join us... How's your training going so far? I can't believe it's less than 9 weeks till VMLM now, the time seems to be flying by. What plan are you following to go sub3:38? I'm loving the plan I'm following but it's always interesting to see what other people are doing for a comparison.
Glad you're still grinning Amy after Sunday; so you should be!!! Just imagine how much you'll be smiling after you smash sub4 in Paris... I love that you're already thinking about possible targets for you next marathon, even if that's just a fleeting consideration right now! I'm definitely a great believer in knowing where you want to go 'after you reach the emerald city' so to speak. My OH and I are already planning a trip to Athens in November to run the 'original' marathon; you've gotta keep moving forwards! Have a great day on Saturday at Training Day 2 and enjoy your catch up with Tom, Tim, Tony, Andrea and all the Asics262 Pro Team...
Evening evening. Sorry for the no show yesterday, I really needed some sleep. I had a not so good run yesterday. Aim of 11miles in 90mins (8:10min/miles), managed 11.07miles in 94:03, averaging 8:30 pace in splits of 8:12, 8:27, 8:07, 8:21, 8:22, 8:11, 8:42, 8:44, 8:28, 8:56, 8:57, so |I only really had 3 miles on target pace. I got a bit angry with myself actually, mad that I knew I could do much better, proven by my performance on Sunday, so why could I not keep pace?! Then after about five mins of shouting at myself in my head I thought this is ridiculous Amy, what are you doing, you love running, its a great day, perfect for a morning 6am run, and its already getting light, that means summer is practically here right?! And then I just went with the flow and enjoyed the rest of the run. But at the end I did decide that I was likely a bit tired following Sunday so had dinner at a friends and then went home to go to bed, after watching Ed Sheeran and Take That on the Brits of course! Missed the Madonna fall though, will be Youtube'in that bad boy tonight!
My run this morning was much better. Alternate pace session of 9min/mile 8min/miles for 7miles. I ran 7.17miles in 59:53 in splits of 8:54, 7:31, 8:46, 7:43, 9:00, 7:39, 8:48, so only one exactly on target, but none below, so I was happy
And, I was quite pleased with all the 8:00min miles because, have you seen The Hunger Games, the second one, where on each hour the clock brings a new and deadly challenge? Well, my first 8min mile target brought a hill, the second had head on wind, and then the third had rain! Haha!
Well rest day tomorrow before training day with the #Asics262 team
I'll be heading to Ant McNeills again for dinner with his family and a place to rest my head for the night. What does everyone elses Fridays have lined in store??
Haha, I don't think that running a marathon could ever be that straight forward Pete Holt!
I certainly feel like I am in capable hands Barbie1976. I think if you are I were to combine our strengths we would be unstoppable
we would take over the world mwah ha ha!! Sorry, I got a little carried away there!
I think that is a good plan Iain Hickman 2, to take Paris for a sub 4 and know that you can control your blood glucose levels and then see what your potential really is with aiming sub 3 for a later marathon. I hope we will both be beaming afterwards too. Lets stay positive. I have enjoyed the training programme til now anyway, and by the end of the 16 weeks I am sure I will feel the same. And I have learnt such a lot, met so many great like-minded people, and achieved a couple of PBs already, so I think it has been very worthwhile so far. I have messaged my mates by the way and am awaiting the response....! They have a couple of kids so I'll let them off for not responding immediately!
Thanks Ashley Woolgrove! How are you doing? Haha I know, Steve Marathon Coach's first marathon is 11 years pre me and he is going stronger than ever, what a legend. Hmm, a heads up, well obviously I can only comment on half of the distance. Does the full just extend on the half do you know? The course was a basically a long straight doubling back on itself with a loop through town to make the distance up, which I thought would not be the most thrilling of routes, and running straight long routes is not one of my fave things, but it didn't feel like that at all. There was a great crowd for a lot of the route who were really supportive, I high 5'd a a whole number of kids, and there was a band playing as you went past one part, and of course there were all