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Paris Marathon 2017
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Hope the injury clears quickly Hatton2009.
26th March - Cheshire 10K
9th April - Paris Marathon (no surprises there)
27th May - Rock n Roll Liverpool 5K
28th May - Rock n Roll Liverpool HM
24th September - Berlin Marathon
5th November - New York Marathon
Hatton2009 you have a good selection of races there-we all had a chat much earlier on about entering the NYC ballot which I think we hear about soon. It's a great marathon and the whole city celebrates, good luck with it
Looks like you're setting a great pace, Nells!
Katey, I've tried High5 (bit sticky) and SiS (like baby food). Haven't braved jelly babies, as I think I'd need to carry too many.
Brief meet pre MK20 sounds good, Pistol101, Pancake. I'm slow and steady, so wouldn't suggest meeting at the end. Have a MK-based runner uni friend who warned about the hill...and apparently a photographer at the top. Makes for a great finishing photo, I'm sure.
thank you!
Whilst they're good, don't rely on them entirely and always ask how they're pacing (even pacing, quicker first half etc). An example is London where they'll have a slow first 3 miles due to congestion and need to speed up the following 5 miles to make it up.
Also, the groups tend to be large and there's a fair bit of jostling but that's all good fun ;-)
Much like Emmy I'd be wary of trusting them. I've seen pacers go off way too fast, and some that have obviously started slow and them ramped up the pace late on to try and meet their target. One year at Paris I nearly had a heart attack when I sub 4:30 pacer went past me near the half way point. I ran a 3:58 that year and had started in front of him! Big changes in pace might be ok for the pacer who will most likely be running well within their ability, but for someone at their limit chasing a time that sort of thing can easily see you blow up and fall away.
If you want a time I'd suggest pacing yourself. Keep the pace as even as possible. The course has clocks at every 5km marker/timing mat, so it's easy enough to track your pace through those splits. Also never trust your watch for distance. Always use the course markers, which has both kilometre and mile markers.
I was due to be the 4h30 pacer at a marathon on 12 March but it has just been cancelled with just a few weeks to go :-( My training has all been based on making sure I am more than fit enough to pace the marathon at 4h30 and all of a sudden I have to decide what to target for Paris.
I have previously always targeted the big sub-4 for all my road races. And have achieved this in every road race bar VMLM which was a minute over (in fancy dress). Then I was injured at the back end of last year just as I was trying to concentrate on speedwork. I had almost 2 months out from running as I recuperated.
I remember I had to cancel a number of 10k races I had entered and had a big sulk. Then I gave a place in a 10k race to a friend who ran it in 90 minutes and came 2nd from last (in my name). It feels silly now but I was very cross about it at the time.
Basically I had to forget all about times and get back and build up my running. I had a gradual build up and did Portsmouth Marathon in just under 5 hours with a number of the wonderful people on here. And it was great just to be running and not worried about times. The old me would have been horrified with that time.
So Eggy and others on the bench. You have my sympathy. Wishing you a recovery in time for Paris. But forget about times if you need to and enjoy it. You will get over any tantrums you might have about your times being lower than your best.
This will be my third Paris Marathon. My previous two were sub-4 and my pride tells me I should target sub-4 again. But they both hurt (yes I know marathons always hurt) and I'm thinking maybe I should just go out and enjoy it and admire the wonderful city that is Paris and take it all in, rather than the head down hurt all over experience of before.
Anyway, I have the Essex 20 Championships race this weekend. It will be my fourth and I already know it will be my slowest time at this event. But I'm aiming to enjoy it.
It's quite nice being so relaxed about Paris for once.
Originally I was hopeful of getting in shape for a PB attempt, particularly after running a 3:49 in Portsmouth off anything but a proper training plan. Unless buggering off to Thailand for three weeks, six weeks out from a marathon and doing no running counts as elite tapering? I was very comfortable for most of that race and it was only five minutes slower than my PB! The weather that day was perfect for me though.
I just hope I can be like you and be happy with my time no matter what it is. In previous years I've not handled running poor times well at all.
Take it easy. There's still time ;-)
In the unlikely event that you need medical treatment when you're in Paris, if you can produce your card you'll be treated under the same rules as the locals. If not, you'll have to pay for treatment and fill in a lot of tedious forms to get a refund.
If you need one, or need to renew (they do expire) you can get it from this website (it's free, watch out for bogus websites that will try to charge you) http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/EHIC/Pages/about-the-ehic.aspx
Just checked my EHIC RR - expires in July 2017, so will get it renewed whilst it's still worth having in the summer!
Hope things improve soon for you Eggy. I've restarted my occasional morning yoga regime this week in an effort to avoid damaging myself. I'm stiffer from that than the 20 miler on Sunday!
I was pacing the half last year so I wasn't going full pelt, but if I was - ouch.
Lloyd - When I was pregnant I let somebody run a 10km I had entered in my name and they did it in 1 hour 20 minutes. I was just relieved they had done it slower than I had run it in the previous year so it wasn't a fake PB!
Today's quite frankly pathetic effort was a short run, and short run it was. I only have time for 5km in my lunch break and nursery called me just as I was walking out the building as my son was poorly. They talked so long I only had time for 4km but I was running against a very strong wind for half of it so it felt like hard work. Still wake up every morning wondering what the hell I'm doing attempting to run a marathon seeing as I can only just make 15 miles right now.
Are you still pacing the half? What time are you doing?
I had hoped I could use them to ensure I kept an even pace rather than a timing chart. It sounds like I had better do that chart.
One thing that worries me is letting the combo of ego, excitement, adrenaline and claustrophobia take over. I have run both my organised half marathons at a much quicker pace than I planned for. I kept going, which is great, and got better times than I ever expected but am sceptical that the marathon will be as forgiving of such poor discipline.
Eggyh-Did you decide to try the Stirling marathon,I've signed up for my next one.
What's everyone's thoughts on the long run.I usually try do 3-5 20 milers.Alot of the article I've read recently seem to suggest that slower runners stick to 16-18 miles with a 8-10 mile run the day before.The articles seem to suggest that runs over 2-2.5 hours don't improve anything except confidence.Just wondering what you folks think
I'm not doing Stirling this year. I'm doing the Luxembourg night marathon, which I think is the same weekend as Stirling. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on it.
I honestly think the long runs are an individual thing. My experience has been I run better off more of them. I normally do five LSR's of 20 miles or more. I know others who have had better results doing what that article suggests and running fewer. It's one of those things that they only way you'll find out is by trying it.
On the subject of pacers in Paris, I agree they're all over the place - often go past/ get over taken by them and think "They're miles off hitting that pace!"
Accepted LSR strategy (in terms of statistical analysis of LSRs completed and runners who slow dramatically in the final 6 miles, and the 'wisdom' of various authors of marathon books) suggests that your total distance for your 5 longest runs should add up to at least 100 miles to avoid injury/ hitting the wall. But individuals differ, we are not statistics. I need a bit more (I'm planning on a couple of 22s and a 23, total probably 109 miles).