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Shades Marathon Training
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Drastic times as I've downloaded MyFitnessPal again. Needs must! I'm eating like I'm still doing marathons, but.....well, I'm not doing marathons!
Well I can't say I'm that surprised re the MyFitnessPal, after all you did mention the 5 course meal(s) and all the pastries
Got back home at around 10:30pm last night so quite a long day, but the drive itself was good. Plane landed at 6pm, and I was out and in the car by 7pm so it wasn't too bad at all.
I hope I am okay to at least get around Dorney, but the shoulder is still not right. However, I'm not sure what I should do about the pain relief as I still need some, and I expect I'll still need it for Dorney as well. I can feel that it's stiff and occasionally there's some mild pain/discomfort even with the pain killers. If I can get around Dorney that would be the goal as I'm genuinely not bothered about a finish time at all.
Cal - Great effort at Liverpool, especially with a head wind. They can be really brutal and take a lot of energy out of you if they come at a bad time. Sounds like you were happy with the time as well which is good. I do like the sound of the rock and roll events, I always get a nice buzz when doing a race that has live music as you go round, gives you a little bit of a energy kick I think.
Big G - looks like the Finns enjoy a good party. As Shades said, it always interests me that every other country seems to be able to celebrate events in an enjoyable way unlike the Brits who turn into demented Neanderthals and try and destroy most things/people in sight!
Did an easy paced 9 miles on Sunday with some strides at the end and a rest day yesterday. Weather is very temperamental here at the moment, goes from bright sunshine and t-shirt conditions to torrential downpours within the space of a couple of hours.
That's a good drive time from Gatwick.
I guess you'll just have to use your pain meds as and when you need them and you've still got a couple of weeks until Dorney. Is it uncomfortable to drive?
Webby - thanks. Yes, recovery is going well. My legs feel a lot better than they did after Plym Trail and Worcester which is odd considering the hills. I did try to be careful on the downhills but my 2nd fastest mile of the race was mile 26, it was downhill, usually I'm tired at that stage but I did feel still full of running.
Perhaps find another half to enter soon so you can get that time you deserve.
Big G - AH is a really easy going guy so for him to complain it must have been pretty bad race organisation. He's led enough races to be able to find his way with minimal signage so they really don't know what they're doing. They use Active too and runners that I know that have emailed asking for alternative method of entry didn't even get a reply. Don't think I'll ever bother with doing that race. That incident last year with the 100MC runner is enough to put me off.
The September race sounds ideal for your next attempt.
Shades, driving is now no more or less uncomfortable compared with anything else. At the start I couldn't drive at all as I couldn't lift my arm up that far to lift my hand to the wheel. But then I couldn't walk hardly anywhere either! When I look back it's far, far better than what it was, so I am pleased but it's still not right, which is frustrating. Regarding Liverpool, I wouldn't do it again and not just because I had a bad run; I've had bad runs at plenty of other races and would still go back (i.e., Yeovil). I remember last year they tried to charge AH something like £25 to allow his kid to run in the 1-mile race, as he hadn't entered in advance.
Regarding the food in Finland, the breakfast in the hotel most of us stayed at was amazing. There was fish (3 types), pastries, fresh omelettes, fresh waffles, fruit, smoothies, different breads, decent coffee, etc. Fantastic. It was a Radisson Blu we stayed at - don't think I've stayed at one of those before.
Shades no races for me in June
Steve unlucky on the PB attempt, still a great time, as you say a year ago it would have seemed impossible. We chase PBs as if its the be all and end all and missing on a PB doesn't make it a bad race.
After Sundays mile my foot wasn't too bad yesterday, calf was a bit tight. Westminster 10k was fun, however the baggage was an issue, they were only allowing the faster pens to put their bags in but had all the pens waiting and blocking the way. The race itself is relatively flat but a few twists and turns. I decided to run a progessive run, aimed for 50 mins starting at 9 min miles and finish with a 7. Got caught up in the race and started off too fast 8.23, 8.01, 7.40, 7.19, 7.10 didn't have the beans for a sprint finish 7.32 finished 48.12. Pretty decent fun and felt like I had a race with the way I ran it.
There was an issue for the slower runners, they ran out of medals and goodybags/shirts. Thankfully Elle managed to finish within a few mins before they ran out otherwise she would have kicked up a fuss! These runners are the one's who need it most, had I known about it I would have given them my medal.
Refuelled with a few mates with some beers and some food at a recently opened micro brewery in London (Little Creature's who make my favourite pale ale).
£25 for a child's entry to a fun run, that's scandalous
Radisson Blu are 4 star I think, there's plenty of them about. Maybe you'll be shunning the Air B & B and Travelodges in future
I stay in a 4 star when I go to Galway to do Connemara and they have a similar breakfast plus Irish full cooked breakfast and they also had gluten free pancakes that looked nice but I was too full to eat any more.
Aren't the Finns the biggest coffee drinkers per head?
Rob - good result at the 10km, and well done to Elle too. That's shocking that they ran out of medals/shirts, surely that was an event you had to enter in advance and I don't expect it was cheap either.
I did try and spot you in the mile event but there were so many waves that I missed that wave setting off.
Robert, sounds like you enjoyed the event but a shame about the medal issue though
Rob-Thats terrible that they run out of stuff,esp at a high profile,sponsored event.They know how many enter so no excuse for not enough medals.
Big G-Glad you had a good trip back,poor form from liverpool there,2 years sending the leaders the wrong way is unacceptable,my club mate came 3rd last year and didn't do it this year because of last years mistake.
Shades-No races for me in June.
6.5 miles easy today,not ran much lately so good to get out.
I'd be alright in Finland then, I have a lot of coffee and a lot of milk, I couldn't cope with the cold weather though.
Robert - shame on the race organisers. That's a hefty entry fee for a 10k and they should have ensured they would have enough medals and shirts etc. As you've said easy to deal with any surplus stock left over. The race I just did in Ireland offered a reduced entry fee if you didn't want a medal or a shirt, some runners don't want another medal or shirt. At the 10k in London they should have offered that option once they had reached their stock limits.
Ian - that's awful that your club mate was sent the wrong way last year at Liverpool.
So just DD for you in June then.
I don't know if you've decided on what to put out at the drink stations, but if it's anything that would be kept better by being chilled overnight I can always do that for you... just in case you do go with the pork pies
I used the precision hydration site,and got some salt tabs along with electrolyte so will be taking some tabs with me.
I am looking forward to it,I think,just wary about my lack of hills the last couple of months.
Good that you've got some salt tabs, I've found the emails from Precision very helpful, see what they say about taking any pre event too.
Are you going to bring the boiled potatoes with you? Or buy them down here.
I still haven't decided what to put out, I'm thinking I might roast some potatoes with parmesan cheese to make them tasty. If so that will be after marathon point as I won't have time to eat anything more than sweets until I get through the cut off at marathon point.
Don't worry about that you don't think you've done enough hill training, you certainly won't be the only one.
I stayed at Raddison Blu hotel in Cardiff for the half, was chuffed to be in same hotel as Elites.
Is it worth freezing drinks too keep them cool on course, think I’m over thinking things now.
I guess you could try freezing them but I suppose later in the race when you may appreciate a cool drink the most they’ll have defrosted - they’ll be in the sun and it could be 7hrs+ after you’ve left home.
I tend to take two tablets (I use SiS) the morning of a marathon, as I’m getting ready/having breakfast/driving to the event.
Out for my 4 mile recovery run this morning. Took it nice and slow (just under 11s) and enjoyed the early morning sun. My marathon recovery runs are getting longer and nearer to the marathon so I must be getting better at this stuff.
Not so happy to see I've gone over 10 and a half stone, though - too much carbing up and post-run treats. No wonder I am struggling to better my PB. I need to drop some of that, pronto.
Jelly, that chap with the fridge was responsible for one of many low moment in my first ever marathon at London 2010. I was struggling (hadn't trained properly and made a lot of mistakes) and he breezed past me. At that point, it made me question what I was doing with my life
I can chill the potatoes overnight for you on Friday.
I've just checked the forecast (again) and as usual predicted warmest for us will be when we get to Ashburton with a feels like of 20/21 but then we're through the town and up towards Buckland in the Moor which is shaded. The humidity is forecast to be low and that's far more important for us than the temperature. The year we had the hot weather it was 28 degrees and high humidity too.
Jelly - I'm sure you'll be well recovered for Giants Head.
Sounds like you've got your food etc for DD sorted out. Re taking the salt tablets, follow the instructions especially re the amount of water that you need to take with them before the event.
Be careful re use of them during the event, if you've got sports drinks, and possibly your gels, they may already have electrolytes so you don't want to take full dose of any salt tablets too. That will be too much. Salt tablets are designed for use by athletes doing events in heat up to 40 degrees so the maximum advised dosage is aimed at those athletes, for us in much cooler conditions that needs to scaled back.
The tablets I use advise one tablet every 30 to 60 minutes with a max dose of 10 a day. I usually take 2 in a marathon, 3 if it's hot, for DD I usually take 3. I don't take any other electrolytes.
That's not a bad idea to freeze your sports drinks, although I expect by the latter drink stations they'll have warmed up, certainly worth a try.
Cal - great news on your speedier than usual recovery from your marathon.
It's really hard to keep weight down when marathon running. I had hoped to drop a couple of pounds before DD but I've had a marathon a week for the last 4 weeks and it's just not been possible.
Robert - good stuff on the 10k, well done. Good you were happy with it as well. Not good they ran out of medals/goody bags! Such poor organisation for such a big event as well. A lot of times it's the people towards the back that really enjoy getting their medal and it's a nice memento for all the work they've done, can imagine it's very annoying if you don't then get one.
Shades - What date in June is DD? I've done a few weekend hikes around Dartmoor and it's a beautiful place. One year we definitely got our navigational skills tested. Woke up one morning and fog had descended on us overnight. Couldn't see more than a hundred metres or so in any direction. Had to get the compass and maps out and navigate by that as couldn't see any landmarks or paths to help us.
My potential cold over the weekend is still lingering on, resting heart rate is up a few beats so definitely not 100%. Was going to go out for a run yesterday evening but got home and promptly fell asleep at 7:30, slept right through till 6:30 this morning! Feel a bit better now so may go out for a few easy paced miles later.
I noticed the Nike website was advertising 20% off until end of May so have treated myself to a pair of Vaporfly's! £40 off so thought that was a decent deal. Will use them for Berlin later this year.
Ouch to the sore quads, good the DOMS is starting to ease up now.
Webby - DD is usually the first Saturday in June, no navigational skills required as it's road and well marshalled. Can I pencil you in for next year?
Sounds like you're definitely carrying a bit of a virus/cold