I couldnt find a thread for this years event so forgive me if I have missed it? Just wondering how many of you are doing this event?
Its my home town marathon and after spending the past couple of decades being fat and watching other people run this event (and stopping me getting my car out of my drive I found myself looking at the website, noticed they were open and went for it
Running is completely new for me - very interested in people who have done this event as first timers. What was your starting times for 5k, 10k ect...what were your best times in training and what did that result in for your Abingdon marathon time?
Comments
Thanks for the reply, that really useful info....what was your actually marathon time for that first one? Running is completely new to me but I have been doing long distance road cycling for the past few years so im used to endurance training.
I have been hovering around 17-19 stone for most of my adult life but the last 2 years of training has seen me down to 14 st 12 so running has become bearable! I would like to see at least another stone vanish before October.
Currently i'm getting in around 20 miles per week with my long run up to 10 miles. My 5k is at 27:40 and I can do the 10 mile run at around 10min/mile. Im still roads cycling on my days off but the plan is cut back on the cycling as the running increases .... Ive got a kid due in September so running fits in better than long distance cycling!
Abingdon has a 5 hour limit so im training for a 4 hour time to give me some breathing space. I will follow a tailored 4 hour/16 week plan but until then im going with 3-4 runs a week with a long run, a tempo run and a 5 k effort involved.
I started a very casual base build in October last year which was essentially a 4 mile walk everyday combined with treadmill speed work and 3-4 core exercise sessions a week. I have been doing the ironfit runners programme which really does seem to be helping - I think 3 years of road cycling had left lots of my running muscles largely unused!
One of the most important aspects to marathon running is to stick to a planned pace o the day. Its v easy after the taper and with the buzz on the day to go racing off at the start. But then die later on!
I'm finding as I get older that adding in some cycling to replace my mid week medium run is keeping my legs in better shape as i don't need the recovery that the run would need. But as you say, cycling uses different muscles- in particular it allows the hamstrings to shorten.
You have a good mix of training there- I usually add in some hills too so one week I would do a speed session, then the next some hills. Running up and down Sandy lane in Wootton several times is quite challenging! No doubt you have discovered our parkrun at Rye meadow for your 5k effort?
If you are running 20 miles regularly now you should be in good shape come the autumn.
Don't burn yourself out over the summer though. Not sure if you're running a spring marathon but maybe focus on some shorter faster stuff for a few months before picking up training for this 3-4 months out. This should help with any cut off worries.
signed up again for abingdon. past two years transferred places due to injury.
back to road running after a few years doing track and XC. getting used to road training. so have started out on a plan to get the miles slowing building up to a decent training volume.
hope to you at the start line.
Did my first long run with some hills involved on Sunday. Went up to Boars Hills from Radley and then down into Bayworth before climbing Bitch Hill and down into Old Wootten (10 mile run) at 10 min/mile. Found out I am useless at running down hill - need to pick a less severe gradient to practice on but luckily Abingdon marathon is flat!
Had a week off running completely last week as my right hip and right knee were starting to become painful on runs. I replaced all my runs with cycling or resistance stuff. Must have just been over use as it seems fine after Sunday. Glad I gave myself a long run up at this marathon as I can see rest periods being far more useful than they are for my cycling,
Might give Abingdon parkrun a go this week - can I just turn up or do I need to register first?
I've emailed Abingdon to get on the waiting list as I forgot this sold out really quickly. Fingers crossed.
I think the London marathon has about 25% drop out rate before the race but we have a very different clientele racing at Abingdon- many won't run unless they are 100% fit. Whereas at London many runners are doing it for charity and will run even if they have a leg falling off!
RedEyedJedi- do come along to Abingdon parkrun. We are a very friendly bunch and cater for all types of runners. Quite a few of them are also running Abingdon marathon and there is a wealth of experience there too to tap into. And/ or join Abingdon AC- we had a long run group in the run up to the VLM which made the long runs much more bearable. And if you are aiming for 4hrs, you won't be the slowest marathon runner in the club by several hours!
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My target will be to run a champs time for London but it will be a short build up off the back of the triathlon season, so it might be a big ask.
How's everyone doing then? I guess most of us are into a 16 week plan of some kind now?
My progress is decent. Weekly mileage is now up to 30 miles per week with two x half marathon long runs in the bank in the last month (2h 6min and 2hour 8 minutes) and several runs of 10 miles or more. My long runs are at about 30-45 seconds slower per mile than my 4 hour marathon pace and although I am finding them hard, I am getting through them with a bit left in the tank and able to run the next day.
I am still doing most of my anaerobic work on the bike (to keep bike fit too) and also to try an avoid injury. The majority of my runs being threshold stuff at marathon pace or slower recovery runs.
I am not following any specific marathon plan but trying to take the general advice of a few different ones and fit it around my lifestyle. The majority of my runs are confined to my lunch hour which gives me around 40 minutes of running each day with a long run at the weekend. I seem to be able to comfortably handle running at threshold type efforts for that duration each day. I am hoping that by maintaining my marathon pace through the week while building fatigue it will get my body used to what is going to happen to it in the second half of a marathon.
If I keep feeling strong and fit I plan to lose some of my anerobic evening half hour bike sessions and replace them with some running intervals. I have done a few interval sessions on my feet in my lunch hour but at this stage I find the recovery needed from them negatively effects all of my training for the next week or so after. Hoping that as I lose more weight and build running fitness I might be able to add in some speed work without getting injured or needing more rest days. As I seem to be on the right side of the injury tightrope currently while keeping on track for 4 hour marathon pace im hesitant to start piling on more stress.
Be great to hear how some of you are getting on - especially if you are a first timer or looking for around the same time as me (4 hours)
Last week my calf popped and I thought I was out of the race but it somehow stopped hurting the next day.
Im lucky to be a teacher so six weeks off to focus the training just wish I could speed up!
Hope me everyone is doing ok
Old shadowfox, do you know if there are any rules regarding spectators passing drinks to athletes? Also is it still water in cups and are there any gels on offer?
Much appreciated and hope everyone's training goes as smooth as marathon training goes!!
Never been official pacers at Abingdon that I know of norfolkrunner but you may find a group to work with if you ask around.
GBRM - are you on the official transfer list?
I did run a training marathon as part of the long course weekend in Tenby, it was a hilly course and I ran a comfortable 3:13 so I was pleased to get through that without any trouble.
I only have a few weeks post IM to focus on recovery and then to do some sort of training before the race. I really want to run sub 2:45 and then do London off the champs start but I've done no fast running this year, so we'll see how that goes.