Howdy, Stranger!
Categories
The materials in this website are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor, qualified personal trainer, therapist, dietitian or nutritionist Runners's World, Part of the Hearst UK well-being network © Copyright 2017
Comments
This was my 1st trip to Manchester (ever!) & I really enjoyed it, need to come back again soon...
Due to unfamiliarity with the race set up I was out side the bag drop by 7am and duely had to hang around until 7:45 before we were let in, which gave me 15mins to walk, half way round the cricket ground get my race kit sorted, bag dropped and back out. then followed 45mins of hanging around trying not to get cold. thankfully when the White start was led to the start we were held near the last loos & there was an oppotunity to jog up and down a bit until we were called forward. AS SJ said the start was delayed, think they were waiting for confirmation that the course was clear & ready (the wheelchairs were lined up waiting well in time for their 8:55 start).
The gun went bang and we were off, pretty busy 1st few miles the depth of field was impressive and didn't feel far different to London. My plan was to go off a combo of feel & HR. my mara av HR is around 167, so if I'm being sensible the 1st half should be under that & then it can creep up going through part 2. 1st mile my HRM wasn't awake yet (strap probably dried out during the wait), feeling was ok to good (5:54). 2nd mile (5:52) HR kicked in proper and was in the low 160s so big tick there. Got into two with 5:53/5:55/5:52 & HR good still. The next 8-9miles were a bit of a mental battle, my HR (162-164) & pace (hovering above & below 6m/M) were on target but I was have serious mental doubts about getting to the end. I think this harked back to my slow down at Abingdon, when my legs got very stubborn after 19M (and I missed sub 2;40), so I was catastrophising that the same was going to happen again. I was helped through this section by hanging on to (or sheltering behind!) a group, the headwind going south was not strong but definitely there.
Then somewhere around 16-17M something clicked, possibly part due to the thought that we were turning around & heading back towards the finish, and I started to lock into a really solid feeling rythm. HR didn't go up (still around 165), but I was ticking off sub-6 miles metronomically. This felt like a return of my marathoning-self of 4-5 years ago. Played tag with the 3rd & 4th place ladies for a few miles coming back up to Stretford. Then around 22M things started to get serious again, by 23M it was head-down game face on time. I knew I was comfortably inside 2:40 pace at that point, but painfully aware that if something acute happened my buffer could rapidly evaporate. I dug in, HR was not a problem (around 167 in last 3M), so I was aerobically fit enough, this was the lack of conditioning from very few marathons in 4 years coming back to bite. A big spot in my right quad was tighening, but thankfully it held off doing anything dramatic. I clawed my way through the last 3M in 6:04/6:02/6:02 (still under target pace) and managed a sprint finish of sorts when I entered the finish straight & realised that i was going to come in with my watch showing 26:4x miles.
Crossed the line for 2:37:49, 79th place & a massive sigh of relief.
I took 7 gels (approx one/3M), 3 were Muarten+caffiene the others were Torq. Took a few sips of water down at each station, but mostly used it as a cooling aid, it's amazing how my heat your muscle generate even on a mild cloudy day!
Waiting to see now if I qualified for the masters champs at Chester, nowhere near the top of the rankings for V40, but it's impossible to tell who'd registered to qualify. Otherwise I think I might do Abo again.
Enjoying a beer now
Expect your legs were better having done Abo even if your mind wasn’t ready to shake it off till you were on the homeward stretch Al.
I had 26.53 this year vs 26.46 last - apparently there was a minor course change (around 34K?) which seems to have added about 140m.
Official time was 2:39:52 which is 3s better than my watch 😀
& yes I am running London 😆
SJ you managed your race impressively well, calm, considered and in control, must have been a great feeling going past so many runners in the 2nd half. Jooligan, you ran well, considering the far from ideal prep and lack of long runs. Give yourself a total week off for London (doctors orders).
Al- - Sharp, well run. Good luck with the qualification.
TR - Another good LR bagged.
TT - On the plus side you will be fresh on the start line.
Wardi - Good improvement with the PR.
Newport marathon
After a decent nights sleep, drove the hour and arrived in Newport @ 7.30, number picked-up, 3 ablutions completed and hung around in the warmer sheltered car park (baggage area) chilling until 8.45. Conditions were good, overcast, cool, slight breeze and the occasional spots of drizzle. Plan was a sub250. Concerns were the one week taper and the slight lurgy I had.
9 am, bang, we were off, and I settled into 6.15-20 mm miles and 10k came-up just over 39 minutes. Already, there were few runners around, as we were already strung out. Then the main race development occurred as I was joined by a pack of 3 runners containing the 2nd placed lady - a local runner - and for a lot of the next 20 miles also by the TV motorcyle (the race highlights are on S4C on Friday). We chatted, they were all going for 2.49 too, so I joined the gang and we took it in turns to pace with plenty of encouraging and running chat. H/W came in 1.23.30 (exactly the same as my Spanish half marathon 2 weeks ago) so all on plan. At 16 miles we caught sight of the 1st lady, some 300 metres ahead, so with the motorcycle for company we slowly closed and made the catch around 19m. We were still 1 minute ahead of schedule although all of our watches were now beeping 200 metres ahead of the mile markers. (I ran in 2021, I measured 26.3, today measured 26.45). The route is nearly entirely rural, with rare patches of support, which I liked. 20m came in 2.08 so all on plan.
Now, the aim was to keep pace (slowing to around 6.35 mm) and all get to the line with no mishaps and for Lizzie to take the win (which she did by around 4 minutes!). Soon we were running into Newport, and you could hear the cheering at the finish, we all decided to run to the line and I crossed in 2.49.24, 40th place and 1st Vet 55. Lizzie, the leading lady finished 12 seconds behind and £800 richer.
I enjoyed running in a chatty pack and the sub3 marathon run streak continues, now upto 21 dating back to Manchester in 2017. I've looked at my stats, and whilst HR was around 165 in the 1st half, it had dropped to around 155 for 2nd half, so could try harder.
Considering the Exeter marathon next in May, TR if you fancy joining me for a 2.57-2.59 sub3 run?
SJ - re running the first half too quick. Having tracked 6 very good, experienced runners yesterday, I personally think the halfway timing mat was in the wrong place - possibly 200 metres or so too early (so at 13 rather than 13.1). Every single person’s pace increased from their 10k split to halfway, but then everyone’s paced dropped by 10-15 secs a mile on the next split to 30k. So I’m pretty sure the placing of that mat was slightly wrong, which skewed some of the splits on the official results.
Not that it really matters! Just
mentioning it if you’re scrutinising your run and trying to work out where you could eek a few more seconds out. I’d do the analysis on your Garmin splits - not on the timings on the results page.
Al_P - a very well executed race. Good to see you get your reward for your mileage!
sj - likewise, a very well executed race. Chuffed for you.
Jooligan - given your last few months I'm impressed you started, never mind finished, a marathon (note impressed, but not surprised). So which parkrun are you doing next weekend pre-London?
I ran 0.67m this morning. Enough said.
Some great reports there. Well done all. and thanks for the welcome back.
Jooligan: you'd had a very far from ideal build up, with limited endurance miles, so I think that sort of fade was inevitable. You'll soon be back stronger.
SJ: those last few miles sound fun. I think you ran quick closely to a clubmate of mine to 30km (although from start times she was a bit further back in the pack) and I noticed the same issue with her halfway split as yours. Perhaps it's right the mat was a bit out of position?
Al_P: glad you got your sub 2.40.
OO: a nice sub-2.50 for you, and it sounds like you were very much in control.
Rest day here despite all the inspirational posts to read.
Al P.. enjoyed the report, impressed by the way you ignored the brief periods of doubt. Got to be happy with a Champs qualifier!
Jooligan.. you did well to grind out a sub 3.40 all things considered. Best of luck for London.
OO.. congrats on 1st senior codger!
TR.. I am going to London to support, at least I will feel part of it in a way. On the few occasions when I have supported I do tend to think I should be out there suffering with the runners!
5.5m today, light winds and nice temps out there. Physio tomorrow for a bit of hamstring pummeling.🥴
OO - fantastic given the late entry too, so not much mental investment. You'd have had a more even HR if you'd have gone off slower, but then it wouldn't have dropped later on i guess. Difficult to say how much quicker youd go with more even pacing, as you like to go out quickly......not sure re Exeter, see below......
TT - i did worry for you with those big weeks recently. Hope it heals quickly.
Wardi - great idea on the hammy pummelling.
TT - Fingers crossed.
Cheers TR, the HR points and doing the Worthing race make sense.
Retiring the VF2 from racing - they've done 8 marathons and a 10k, so a fast training shoe for a while. A few strains and aches from yesterday, especially my performing, so resting until Saturday.
TT fingers crossed for you. As OO said you’ll certainly be well rested by Sunday.
I’m running at Beckton Saturday cause it’s right by Excel.
LS21: the timing mat was bang on the 13M marker.
I was taking manual splits each mile & they measured 1.01/1.02/0.99/1.01/1.03/1.03/0.98/1.04/1.01/1.01/1.02/1.01/1.00/1.01/1.00/1.00/1.02/1.00/1.00/1.02/1.01/1.03/1.01/0.98/1.05 & 1.22 for mile 26+385yds
OO - well earned rest. Enjoy.
Jooligan - interesting with the timing mat (and good deduction LS21).
As best as I can figure, my shin problem was triggered by a cut on my big toe before the 10m - it was right on the outside and was rubbing on the edge of my trainer. Trying to compensate for that would produce exactly the problem I've had (it's one I've had before - linked back to an old football injury).
Managed 4m very easy this morning which felt a lot better. Will try another run later - I figure if I can't manage basic running for an hour at this stage I'm not making it around a marathon in one piece.
Well executed race Al_P and can concur with your feeling that 'something clicked' once heading back to the finish. Just that boost you need at that stage of the race. Hope your time is good for the masters champs.
Thanks LS21. You knew I was going to scrutinise the data! You are spot on in that the timing mat was at exactly 13 miles now others have mentioned it too. My watch data confirms I got it more or less sport on (pace wise).
Glad to read some signs of improvement TT but sympathy with the difficult decision re the weekend. Cheers for the Boston link. Bad day of EK but super impressive run from Obiri who was a late entrant herself and had to be convinced to race.
Good attitude Jock. Go well at the weekend.
The only lady runner I remember distinctly Joolska was around 34k (maybe) who was a rather diminutive but looking super strong as she cruised passed me. I don't remember seeing her again. Yes super fun last 10k until I let a few come back passed me down the final stretch. A bit annoyed about that tbh.
Fingers crossed the 'pummeling' eases things up Wardi.
Impressive taking manual splits Jooligan. I must run with my eyes glued to the road just ahead of me as I hardly ever notice the markers.
Quads improving here. Now walking fairly comfortably downstairs. I was in the office yesterday on the 3rd floor so some decent movement re-established. Going for a walk at lunchtime today. I don't feel too bad actually.
Some stats and analysis (from my watch):
1st half 1:28:01
2nd half 1:27:05
5k splits:
20:45 152 bpm avg Hr
20:35 156
20:34 158
20:39 158
20:32 157
20:34 159
20:11 164
20:10 167
11:07 164 the last 2.57km (watch measured 42.57km)
Long runs 16, 18x3, 20x3, 22 plus a 20 mile day with miles either side of Wilmslow half. Speaking of which only two build races as I missed my 20 mile race in March (back issue):
4 villages half 1:22:26
Wilmslow half 1:22:34 (handbrake on) + miles either side to add up to 20
2 XC races replaced Saturday tempo sessions
Other notable runs were the aforementioned Saturday morning tempo sessions which went from 35' to 50' by the end of January. With miles either side this made Sat my second longest run of the week, regularly >10miles, so my Sunday long run was always on tired legs.
Friday's was always taken as a rest day and but for the two minor setbacks I also took a day here and there where I felt I needed them, mainly work getting in the way.
I must say the way I ran on Sunday has me reconsidering if I truly have made peace with my ultimate performance level. Maybe there is still room for improvement (there absolutely is). More miles and less time spent at my desk working. The weekends were high volume in my relatively low volume week. I hate doing those P&D midweek medium long runs but and so didn't do any this campaign. They are an obvious thing I probably need to reconsider whilst at the same time reminding myself its supposed to be fun too. A fine balancing act.
As far as racing goes, most of the elite marathoners don't do much (Kawauchi being an exception) - they prefer to keep piling good training on top of good training (and to be fair with some of those groups a hard training session is probably like a race anyway). Obiri has got a lot of potential over the marathon.
Pleased to report a positive test. Nice to get payback for listening to my body yesterday when it said 'not quite'. If I put as much effort into general S&C as I did into this rehab (ultrasound, ice, self-massage, etc) I'd never have a problem!
8m+ on a hilly and windy course as 4m 'fast' (6:08), 1.5m easy, 1km (3:13), 1m easy, 1/4m (72s), 1m easy. Aim was to see how it felt with a sustained run (4m fast), and then poke it with some efforts. I was aware of it on the 1/4m, but I'm not intending to cover any of Sunday at a sub-5 mile pace, so I'm hopeful I'll be fine.
Fantastic splits SJ. 👏
SJ - cracking run. You are where i was after vlm 21, what if id gone quicker first half......but then I realised I'd have run slower in the 2nd half........that weekend double made you strong enough to bring it home hard, not sure if you should add an mlr as it might add up to too much, but you could alternate an mlr one week, with the Saturday tempo the next.......
TT - good news, let it settle now.
TT.. good news on the test run, that sounds like a good session to get some confidence back. How's the new dog settling in?
Jooligan.. I was chatting to a few clubmates about the lack of Parkruns in Central London, most seem scattered around the outskirts. Hope you enjoy Beckton.
I did get a pretty thorough hamstring massage this afternoon and feel better for that. My hamstring stretch range has improved by 15 degrees in 2 weeks which is promising. The tendon issue is a slow recovery but if I keep the S&C exercises around it I should be able to increase my run distances gradually.
Another 5.5m today, weather too nice to stay in!
That sounds like progress with the hamstring, Wardi.
A gentle 6 mile bimble today, but nice to finally feel strong enough to head away from the local park, over the bridge and uphill for some cracking views. The skylarks were in full voice this morning, which was an extra treat.
sj - as an alternate/addition to TR's suggestion, you could just add some miles to the tempo (either every week or every other week) to bring it up to MLR distance.
Wardi - good overall but with some significant problems. He is very food oriented so training is going extremely well, but he has major separation anxiety issues (which is problematic as we need to get him to where he's comfortable being crated 2 days a week when he's at work with my wife). Sounds like you're coming along nicely. Fingers crossed for you.
Jools - it's great to get runs like that.
4m jog this morning. Something light on track later.
Trainers wise, has anybody done a comparison between the Adidas and Nike offerings? I struggle with grip generally in Nike shoes and I noticed from reviews that Adidas apparently offer superior grip (continental rubber), but don't know how they compare overall.
Good to hear of progress Jools & Wardi.
First post-Manchester run planned for this evening. Last year I raced a 5K on the Wednesday evening twixt Manchester & Brighton - won’t be any hard efforts tonight though.
TT - never had Adidas as i have wider feet. Hope you are healing well.
10.5m today (yay!). Furthest since my injury which hopefully bodes well.
Jools.. 2 Kingfishers spotted here today to add to your Skylark choral experience.
TR - yes thanks. No swelling at all, but carrying on with general treatment after runs now. I'd not considered Adidas being narrower than Nikes.
Wardi - he'll get there. Like with your cat it just takes time until they feel secure.
Track last night. Before Manchester (and other marathons), I've done a 2km TT (probably around 3km effort +/- I guess). Watching my shin, and a little bit of effort on Tuesday meant I decided to be sensible and break it up. Ran 4 x 400s + 2 x 200s in a cruising fashion, with a 200m jog/shuffle between each. 82, 82, 78, 78, 36, 35. Done the job to shift a little sluggishness.
That's a good session & if that didn't set your shin off again then safe to say you're good to go for London.
That's true TR I do tend to do a fair few trail miles in training & as the shoes get older they get used almost exclusively for trails or the treadmill.
Did 8 yesterday. Glad it wasn't more & 7 would've been better tbh but didn't feel too bad after the first mile. I'll not run now til Saturday though.
SJ - Very well paced marathon. Can you go quicker? On the basis of your 2*1.22.30 half marathons I think you can and your at the age when you can still improve, adding another 5 miles per week to your overall mileage will probably do the trick.
Jooligan - Nice one on the post-marathon runs, I am still resting and aching.
TR - Yes, another pair of VF2 ready to go.
Joolska - Sounds a nice 6m bimble.
Wardi - Nice one on the 10.5m, must have been a massive relief.
Its not in my nature to roll the dice too much TR during marathons. I tried that at York and paid for it in the last 10k. Ironically York is my PB (2.54 high) so a balancing act as mentioned here many times.
Good news you are venturing further a field Joolska.
Nicely back into it Jooligan. Your legs must be reasonably recovered to run 8 miles. Flushed them out nicely.
Glad to hear the sluggishness has diminished TT. Are you feeling a bit more confident about sunday now?
It's always been the way OO re converting my shorter distances to the marathon. I ran 36 low for 10k last Nov and with the two 82:3x halfs you mentioned this year do point to being able to go faster. I'm on 9 marathons in total I think now so maybe I just haven't put the miles in my legs yet.
For marathon No. 10 I've opted for my first overseas race and entered Amsterdam. I was weighing up Valencia or Frankfurt as well but Amsterdam worked out better. A bit of a weekend break too.
No running here yet. I got a massage yesterday which helped with my quads and I've been walking a few km each day. My legs feel the best they ever have after a marathon which I'm attributing to the conditioning and the shoes.
Hope you go well TT
SJ - you can afford to go out a bit quicker, but its a juggle. Running strong late on is great, moose will be proud of you. Great news re Abo.
OO - I binned my flynits after ydays 3kin reps. I will use my 4% for those sessions now, I like to save them for race day, but if doing the odd session and faster long runs in the 4% protect me a bit long term, then it has to be good. I have an unused pair of VF2, if ver3 get rave reviews then I might have to upgrade.
Not been able to get on here for the past few days - it just wouldn't load and kept timing out! Ah well, here now.
SJ - good stuff re Amsterdam! I did it back in 2011. Decent course, a long out and back down the river (and then back). Nice stadium finish etc. I went over with a small group from my club. Straight after the race me (and Rich) were dispatched to get bottles of water (and a cup of tea). We accidentally came back with 12 pints of Heineken (and cup of tea) which set the tone for the afters.... Someone's birthday, a bottle of Moet appeared etc etc. That was the first time I had a Jagerbomb too. We had a belting time! That night we rolled in at 5:00am, having spent pretty much every euro we had! It was a belting trip, but the morning after was very messy!! Sitting on the edge of the bed, I leant forward to try and fasten my shoes. I fell face first into the massive TV that was in front of me! Haha! Longest day of my life that, cos we didn't fly til about 11:00pm.
Anyway, I'm setting off to London now. Will read back (and do a proper post) later on. Had a hell of a week. All the year end financial stuff to do, my VAT return, sorting everything at the shop so it's as easy as poss for the people looking after it for me etc. Pretty much 15-16 hour days every day this week, but it's all done now. Plus it's stopped me from doing my usual worrying about how much my laces weigh....
Hopefully see TT, wardi and Jock at the Red Lion afterwards
Speak soon xx