Mmmm good luck with that Bike It. How are the various injuries? Hopefully your wife has been cracking the whip and making you do your exercises at home.
Lowrez - I am definitely a 4:50 finisher but maybe not now. I will give it a good go though. Would like to attempt a faster, better trained marathon so Manchester a maybe.
I wouldn't be able to make the mark now either SS, must put some running shoes on
Bike It, that looks like you run the marathon from right to left on the silhouetted picture starting on the rims of the cooling towers and going into free-fall onto the conveyors, up the belts and off the edge on to the top of the slag heaps and down the far side running back up into town and the pub at the finish.
The injuries are a bit better thanks Snail - lets say managable. I do find that running helps though as things seem to settle down.
The finish of Soweto marathon is in the 2010 world cup final stadium - it is amazing as the sound echoes around (if there are still people there when I finish). It really is a different world to a European marathon as I will run in a completely different environment, culture, and level of personal wealth. It has been a bucket list marathon for a while and hopefully I can complete it
Max, Abbey Park is in the last few miles, around 23.5, after you leave the canal. If you've run it before, it's park where you turn left to go over a stone bridge and then right and left past a model railway.
Hopefully see you tomorrow Becca, I'm number 3635 wearing my Comrades cap and green vest with 2 yellow hoops. I must have been 'in the zone' last year as I don't remember a stone bridge or a model railway!
Thanks for the good wishes chaps. Great to see you Becca towards the end today, needed your words of encouragement as I was flagging badly at that point as I could hardly run for the last 5 miles with really bad cramp. Ended up with a 3:35+ and a Pen C place so happy enough with that. Missed the Boston qualifier time, but plenty of time to give that another crack. Just didn't put the miles in over the last 3 months to take on a marathon at a fast pace and the legs couldn't get me all the way. I'm actually a bit surprised I held 7:50 pace for 21 miles. Onwards and Upwards! 😀
I ran a bit over 36 miles in Ashdown Forest today (Owl Amble with SVN). Lovely views before the drizzle came in. Ran the whole way on my Vibram Five Fingers (trail).
Shows you're in very good shape Max, great result despite the conditions and the cramp, clear pointer you can Boston qualify. Another Comrade aces qualification first try!
I need to try some waterproof socks Becca, which ones have you got? Have you actually run in them?
Sealskins lowrez. I made the mistake of getting ankle socks though. The water got in through the top of them once and the rest of the run was rather squelchy.
Those were the ones I was looking at, but a bit longer; it is a conundrum , as, like you say, once breached the water ain't getting out. I do want them as an option though, one of several for 100 mile plus outings. Not in a hurry at the mo though.
Well done Debra! Becca, I was chatting to one of our Comrades comrades at the start line. He got his back to back medal this year, but as a 9:40 man he says he will now go back to try for the new sub-10 medal. Well done on standing out in the rain for 5+ hours, the marshals were great yesterday as they were last year.
At Xiamen they have corrals and have just told me I'll be starting from the back unless I provide an AIMS cert detailing my best time since beginning of 2016. I am rubbish at record keeping, so have bunged them a pdf print of my 4:37 result from Manchester. That's not an AIMS cert though. What do I have to present to the 100 marathon club as acceptable evidence of a marathon completion? I suppose I should actually count up where I am. A swift trawl of the AIMS list illustrates that Milton Keynes is certified so I will have a 5h+ time I could submit from there. I don't know the corral breaks for Xiamen, that MK time might not move me down the grid. I suppose it doesn't really matter for an "athlete" (snigger) like me.
For the 100 Marathon Club, you list your results in a spreadsheet with a URL of the results and a nice man checks the results. You can include a certificate if you want, to, to make his life easier.
I ran for 2:20 on the treadmill last night which was shorter than I had wanted, but as much as I could do. I normally do my long run on Sunday morning, but heavy rain and lightening meant I turned back after a few minutes on the road. I watched the 'Heros of the Telemark' on the treadmill which was so engaging I caught myself from falling off the back multiple times. I am sore this morning as my treadmill running style is a bit different to my road style. I have night race this week to see how 'fast' I am and then I'll try to make a 30km run next weekend as my last long run prior to Soweto marathon.
I did catch myself looking at the 100 marathon club record. I probably have around 20 to date and I am unlikely to get to triple figure
Bike it, well done on keeping going for that long on the treadmill.
I've been keeping a spreadsheet of my marathons and ultras for a little while now. Planning on reaching the 100 Marathon Club before the end of next year, if I don't have to have any more prolonged periods off. Aiming to reach 75 or 76 by the end of this year, as next year I will (a) have to factor in some proper rest and recovery time after my long/hilly "A" races; (b) won't be running a 10-in-10. I'm presently on 21 marathons (11 road and 10 trail/mixed) and 37 ultras (3 road, rest trail/mixed). And (c) I want to hit the 100 parkruns club and 100 marathons club either the same weekend or subsequent weekends, and I'm on 86 at the moment, running about one a month.
All this paperwork sounds like a nightmare lowrez! Rather you than me, but it will be worth it once you are on the start line . Well done on watching a film while running on the treadmill BikeIt, my history isn't so good, once when I was a gym member I was watching a football match on the overhead TV which was fine until my team scored and I got so excited I forgot I was on a treadmill and stopped running - went shooting off the back! Good luck in Soweto. Becca it was indeed Steve (he commented on my Strava today) he won his age category and very nearly caught me too before the end . I have 4 marathons and Comrades so it might be a while before I need to start thinking about the 100 club
65km on the treadmill by Alberto Salazar probably was less than 4 hours.
I live in a very flat place and I have used the treadmill for hill running. I've gone as far as simulating various section of the route, e.g. Inchanga to Bothas Hill Village on the Down run is a favourite. My treadmill has motors for the elevation angle 0-15 degrees of ascent, which is fine for uphill. For the downhill I have an African solution and used bricks under the back of the treadmill of simulate the downhills.
Comments
Lowrez - I am definitely a 4:50 finisher but maybe not now. I will give it a good go though. Would like to attempt a faster, better trained marathon so Manchester a maybe.
I wouldn't be able to make the mark now either SS, must put some running shoes on
Bike It, that looks like you run the marathon from right to left on the silhouetted picture starting on the rims of the cooling towers and going into free-fall onto the conveyors, up the belts and off the edge on to the top of the slag heaps and down the far side running back up into town and the pub at the finish.
The finish of Soweto marathon is in the 2010 world cup final stadium - it is amazing as the sound echoes around (if there are still people there when I finish). It really is a different world to a European marathon as I will run in a completely different environment, culture, and level of personal wealth. It has been a bucket list marathon for a while and hopefully I can complete it
Have a good one tomorrow all.
Max, well done on that qualifier!
I ran a bit over 36 miles in Ashdown Forest today (Owl Amble with SVN). Lovely views before the drizzle came in. Ran the whole way on my Vibram Five Fingers (trail).
Lowrez - I don’t have wellies but waterproof socks helped. My feet only started to get cold after about 5 hours.
Well done on another ultra Debra. They seem to form a high proportion of your marathons.
Shows you're in very good shape Max, great result despite the conditions and the cramp, clear pointer you can Boston qualify. Another Comrade aces qualification first try!
I need to try some waterproof socks Becca, which ones have you got? Have you actually run in them?
Nice ultra Debra!
I did catch myself looking at the 100 marathon club record. I probably have around 20 to date and I am unlikely to get to triple figure
Happy running all
I live in a very flat place and I have used the treadmill for hill running. I've gone as far as simulating various section of the route, e.g. Inchanga to Bothas Hill Village on the Down run is a favourite. My treadmill has motors for the elevation angle 0-15 degrees of ascent, which is fine for uphill. For the downhill I have an African solution and used bricks under the back of the treadmill of simulate the downhills.