2012 Marathon thread

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  • Gobi- forget I askedimage
  • GobiGobi ✭✭✭
    I like winning Jason :¬) Seriously though I need to be back in reasonable shape for the end of January to get some numbers on the board.

    http://lockerz.com/s/166009003

    Prize for todays countryside ramble
  • Gobi- ouch! What happened? Well done on yesterday's result tooimage
  • Wondering whether I should start some tempo runs soon though, cos there's a half in mid  Feb that I would like to have a go atimage
  • GobiGobi ✭✭✭
    Slipped as I went to climb a barrier :¬0
  • Hey All.. 

    36 miles this week over 4 runs. 13.1 today in 2hr 17 mins, cut 2 minutes off last Sundays time.  Was cold and snowy under foot so fairly pleased with that.  I am similar to Loulabell, not really doing the speed work as it zaps my energy but am finding I am getting slightly quicker...   Still worried about how to increase my miles as last 2 weeks my legs are dead by around the 12 mile marker.  Will it get easier or have i bitten off more than I can chew?

    Gobi - bet that hurt!! image

  • Loula - mile reps - run a mile at around 10km pace. Have 2 minutes rest. Repeat. Start at around 3 reps and gradually build up to 6.
  • Highest mileage week ever, all of 31 miles (31.85, actually). Including 14 miles, longest single run, which felt fandabbydozie! I'm liking this training lark image

    Someone remind me of that in January when it's cold, wet and miserable and I'm hating every mile I run.

  • GobiGobi ✭✭✭
    Jennie - SLOW DOWN

    if I ran every long run at MP I would be knackered as well. Today I ran for 3hrs and 38 minutes my marathon PB is 2.39. You don't need to run fast in all long runs to run fast.

    I really did do about 50 minutes if MP at the weekend and that was my speed work.

    The reason I fear a lot of you don't do speedwork is because you are doing all your running too fast.

    Oh and yes my leg really hurt and I was only 50 or so minutes into my run and could feel the blood under my tights for quite a while. :¬) these things happen ...
  • 6.19 slow miles for me today, HR <70%.  Longest I've been in a year, so image and no post-run probs so even more image

    Interesting debate on speed work, I used to do either reps of (usually around) 10mins off 2 mins recovery or reps of 1m off 2 mins recovery.  I understand the benefit of speedwork, but could never see the point of very short intervals even though many books / programmes recommend 400m etc - but happy to put straight if I've got that wrong.

    I generally ran LSRs as LSRs, but would sometimes break them up to include some faster sessions.

    At the moment, I'm doing everything <70% until I've rebuilt the base.

  • Xmas is cancelled in Spoons's house wrote (see)
    Loula - mile reps - run a mile at around 10km pace. Have 2 minutes rest. Repeat. Start at around 3 reps and gradually build up to 6.
    gotchaimage
  • Gobi...   Slow dow?  Not sure I could run much slower...   I thought I was a bit of a tortoise, especially as everyone usually passes me...   hmmm.  another thing, being new to this...  (running since mid Sept) I dont know my MP I just run..    My pace seems to vary from 9.50-11 depending on if its hilly os flat, so I need to do my longer runs at 11 and not faster.  Would that be better?
  • MinniMinni ✭✭✭

    I don't think I'm going to be able to keep up with this thread but it sounds like everyone is getting good base miles in ready to go in January.

    50 miles for me last week with a 20 at the weekend. This will be an easier week on the running front with hard [Christmas drinking] sessions on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.  image

  • GobiGobi ✭✭✭
    Jennie - yes indeed, 11 and in control would be good
  • Teknik- xc was on Wimbledon commonimage

     When training for my first and second mara I did a lot of speedwork with the club- track sessions every Tuesday and tempo runs on Wednesday.  Looking back I think I was doing way too much and also doing hard sessions too close together and often at a wrong pace.  The majority of runners in my club are a lot  faster and trying to keep up with them especially during Wednesday tempo runs left me constantly knackered and frustrated with a lack of improvement (or not much improvement as I was hoping for...).

    I've now cut down on quality sessions and started doing my tempo runs on my own at my own pace and I'm already seeing improvements.

    So this time will be doing things differently.  Planning to stick to P&D and cut out all track sessions until they're called for in the schedule.  And I vow to recover when I'm supposed to.image

  • Gobi - I will try as you say and report back!!  Now all I need is warner weather...  I hate the cold?  Can you help with that too?

     Ok, for the newbie...  What exactly is a tempo run?

  • Jennie- there are some proper experts here who can probably explain much better but I'll try.

    Tempo is basically a type of speed session where you warm up for let's say  a couple of miles, then run at your tempo pace for 20-50min and then cool down.  Your tempo pace is something between your 10k pace and your half marathon pace.  The best way to work it out is to do a race (let's say 5k) and plug your time into a calculator like this one:

    http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/index.php/site/calculator

    It will then give you your training paces for different type of sessions like tempo or long run.

    It's meant to be a good speed session for middle and long distance runners and I found it works for me better than short interval sessions on a track.

    Hope this helpsimage

  • Sounds spot on Mon77
  • Can anyone tell me how important it is NOT to do your tempo too fast?  Do you miss out on some of the benefit by going too fast?  According to mcmillan I should be doing  4.43-4.55 min/ km (sorry, I work in km...).  On a good day I average 4.37 so a few seconds/km faster.  Should I try to slow down?  Or am I overthinking it?

  • GobiGobi ✭✭✭
    Mon - In theory you risk working too hard which is pushing the HR higher so you end up working above LT (So I believe)

    I always ask a simple question like this

    Can you do 8kms at your tempo pace and feel like you could keep going ?
  • Gobi- I do 8km at this pace and by the end I feel like I'm about to dieimage.  So I guess I should slow down a bit...

  • TeknikTeknik ✭✭✭

    Mon: Knee-deep in mud on Wimbledon Common? Must have rained like hell...

    Easy 4m this morning. Beers tonight so tomorrow's long run is going to be fun... 

  • Teknik- it was!  I also didn't realise that there are so many hills... Usually run around it avoiding the middleimage.

    Enjoy your beers tonight and good luck tomorrowimage.

  • Interesting thread...haven't decided for 2012 yet, just finished my second Marathon (Portsmouth) in a PB of 5 hrs and 5 mins, slow I know, but it's a PB and I'm sticking to it. Got a half booked in Feb to keep the fitness up and am trying to decide whether to go for a fast course - Abingdon, Amsterdam or something ludicrously hilly like Beach Head for number 3. Due to family / work commitments difficult to do more than 1 or maybe 2 marathons a year. I also think I need a better training plan - did the first half yesterday in 2 hrs 13 and then seemed to lose the ability to move at any pace from 18 miles onwards...any advice on what I should do next?
  • GobiGobi ✭✭✭
    Build your base to improve your overall aerobic fitness
  • Thankyou - I'm sure that's a major part of it - I was going out 4 times a week, but the schedule I followed only suggested one +20 mile run before two weeks tapering. I also had sporadic achilles and foot injuries (the latter caused by my 8 year old son kicking me when we played football!) which meant that I didn't do as many of the 6-8 mile tempo runs that I was planning.

  • Richard - I did my first HM of a weekly mileage of around 25, then changed to HR training, gradually increased my weekly mileage to 40 - 50 and found that I my pace really picked up.

    I've just spent this last year out due to illness, so I'm doing nothing other than rebuilding my base mileage at the moment, I'm no expert, but even I could see the benefit the higher weekly mileage was giving me.

  • Jeepers, thanks. A week off then back to building things up again. With the Portsmouth HM at the end of February if I keep my training at the 30 mile mark till then and start to build from this...all makes sense. Marathon number 3 in May then...
  • Lots of good running and good advice here- nothing new to addimage

    10.12m for me tonight at an easy 8.11avimage Really pleased with how easy it felt. In a good place at the momentimage Time to make hayimage

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