Abingdon Marathon

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  • Nice mileage AGF enjoy the drop back week. I've just had an enforced one really even tho it was planned I had to take three days off which I haven't done since post London so a bit frustrating but glad it happened this week and most of the runs I missed were recovery runs so I'm not panicking too much.

    Had to get my long run in this morning as its the only day I could fit it in with the shifts I'm working, it was throwing it down but with no wind and the cooler temp it worked quite well. The groin gave me no problems although it seems to be the day after a session it hurts. Physio booked for tomorrow and I think I know the cause so fingers crossed we can nip it in the bud, I'm not the best of patientsimage

    20 miles done in 2:20:00 ave 7:00 min/miles slight neg split by 50 odd secs. Felt quite comfortable which is an improvement on last time when I was pretty tired.

    Good to see everyone getting stuck into training now so much work goes into marathon training!!!

    Aching calves you've done the right thing backing off frustrating as it is it's the best decision long term! Hopefully you can fit it in later on in the week image
  • mee meepmee meep ✭✭✭

    Bet you feel a lot better now that 15 has been dealt with Barry!

    AGF, nice run there completing a high mileage week.

    Hope the niggle clears up quickly AC, definitely did the wise thing and rested it.

    Martin, feeling comfortable on a 20 at 7min/mile, looks a pretty good place to be in at the moment, im jealous image.

    Good run this morning in the rain 3m easy to steady, 2m @mp +10secs, 3m @mp, 2m @mp -10secs. mile cd. very easy 3 tonight.  14 easy in the morning then rest day Wednesday.

  • MG - very good 20 miler. Hope the physio sorts out the groin, as I am sure sub 2.50 is very possible if 20 miles in 2:20 is comfortable this early in your training.

    Meep -  sounds like a good progression run, which is my favourite type of run, they certainly build endurance. Hope the 14 miles this morning went well.

    Had a nice easy 40 min run in the sunshine this morning, no twinges from the calve, so fingers crossed I can gradually ease myself back into things. Although I having doubts about my 10 mile race on Sunday, where was going to do 5 steady miles beforehand, do the race at MP, with 1 mile cool down.

  • Mee meep nice progression run, I've never had a go at one of these but always fancied it I tend to just split runs in half trying to run the second half quicker. You seem to be hitting some decent mileage.

    Aching calves glad the calves are playing fair, easy does it on the ten miler. It's a funny distance to race in between the 10k and half it's hard to know how to pace it.

    Hopefully I've got to the bottom of my groin woes, I had tight hip flexors which in turn gave me tight glutes and as these are attached to the back this was dead tight too. Absolute agony for 45 minutes but hopefully worth it. I'm not sure which was causing the problems but everything has been loosened off now so fingers crossed by the morning I'll be fine. I managed two easy four milers one with my club chaperoning. Got a half planned before work with a nice lump in the middle, the forecast is torrential rain so motivation at 7:30 may well be an issue lol
  • Hi AllI'm new to the forums and have picked this one up by pure accident. I'm doing Abingdon this year and have found that there's an awful lot of useful info on here already. Big thanks to Fido especially for the detailed course description. I've made a mental note to check it out again nearer to the time. 

    Interesting to seee MG's recent posts as we have very similar targets - I ran 2:54 at Taunton in spring of 2011 and would dearly love to go under 2:50 before father time finally catches up with me. I'll be following your posts with interest MG. I'm following the RW sub-3 hr schedule which worked very well for me at Taunton. Only difference this time round is that I'm upping all the distances by 10% (which makes for some very interesting training distances - 8.8 miles tomorrow morning) and trying to run them 10 secs per mile faster. Seems to make sense, but would value the views of others.

  • Welcome DM!  Your Taunton time is what I'd love to crack at Abo this year.  Did 2:59 last year, and my fastest from the 3 maras I've done so far. When I'm into the full mara training schedule shortly, I'll be aiming at 70 mile weeks, including an lsr of 24 miles[done quite slow-circa 3:30}, and 1 & possibly 2 track speed sessions. Nearer the race I'll also fit in a few 7-10 milers @ mp.

    You mention wanting to go go under 2:50 'before father time finally catches up with me', I'm 46, how young are you?image

  • Hi LuvsaPB,  Interesting to see your plans, you certainly seem to have  the right ingredients !  I only got over a 60 mile week once before Taunton, but lots of weeks just under 60. this time round with my 10% uplift I'll be doing lots of weeks at about 63 miles max. My lsr runs gradually build up during the period and before Taunton the furthest that I ran was 22 miles a couple of times, but at a quicker pace than you're planning - about 2:40, which I think equates to about 3:15 pace.

    Sems like you still have time on your side - I turned 50 a month ago 

  • Welcome aboard DM. Even-though I am not in your class, what you suggest seems very sensible. If following the RW sub 3 schedule has worked for you in the past, then do not materially change it. Best of luck with the 2:50 target, don't worry about being 50  I have known a few runners running PBs well into their 50s.

    MG - glad everything sounds better. Hope you did not get too wet this morning. It was nice and dry here this morning for my easy 6 1/2 milesimage 

  • I'm not in any of your leagues re times but am running my first marathon at Abingdon this year. Following earlier advice on this thread I'm following the Hal Higdon 18 week intermediate training plan. Now in need of some advice please! I've been unable to run this week (week 5 of training schedule) due to sickness bug. Should I just miss out week 5 of training and go into week 6 as if I had done week 5 (week 6 drops back some miles anyway) or do week 5 in place of week 6 ( and therefore be a week out for the rest of the plan - probably not good as taper will be in wrong place). Or do I do a mix of both next week? Any advice gratefully received! Thanks.
  • SR3 - sorry to hear about your sickness bug. I am going to have the same problem this week, missing most of my key sessions due to a sore calve last Saturday.

    In my experience, although I know there are more knowledgeable people here than myself,  if you miss sessions or weeks, then they are missed, and best to resume your plan as if you had done week 5.  However as your week 6 is a drop back week, which you have effectively done this week, you could argue you could build in a few extra miles into week 6. This I would think should only be considered you were now 100%. However you will probably would have heard before, that you should never try and play catch up, and cram in the sessions that you missed earlier. I will resume my own training plan when I know I am more or less 100%, and will certainly be following the plan as if I had done the week(s) I have missed.

    Hope you are feeling better and you do not get any more enforced layoffs

  • mee meepmee meep ✭✭✭

    Glad to hear the calves are on the mend AC, be careful on that big looking session/race at the weekend!

    Sounds like you could well be on the way to 100% then Martin, was that with physio or sports massage?

    Hi DM, another good looking target time!

    SR3, i would also resume as if yoyu did week 5, this will also make sure you come back properly refreshed and ready to crack on seeing as next week is a cutback.

    Hey Luvsa, how did the midweek series of 10ks go?

  • Dart More wrote (see)

     

    Sems like you still have time on your side - I turned 50 a month ago 

    If you get a spare 5 mins, take a wander over to the Power of 10 website & have a look at some of the fastest mara times this year/last year per vet groups, ie 50-54 etc.  I've seen some PBs below 3hrs set by guys over 50, & who appear to have been running only a few years.

    If you're like me & started running after 40, we obviously don't have the advantage 20+ years of conditioning, that some of our similar aged competitors have, but we are fresher.  Haven't got 100,000 miles on the clock so to speak & won't have suffered as many injuries.  You've still got time too!

  • mee meep wrote (see)

    Glad to hear the calves are on the mend AC, be careful on that big looking session/race at the weekend!

    Sounds like you could well be on the way to 100% then Martin, was that with physio or sports massage?

    Hi DM, another good looking target time!

    SR3, i would also resume as if yoyu did week 5, this will also make sure you come back properly refreshed and ready to crack on seeing as next week is a cutback.

    Hey Luvsa, how did the midweek series of 10ks go?

    Hi Meep!  I'm afraid I've yet to run a decent time this year in any of the races I've done in 2012. Haven't run sub 39 mins for 10k since last year.  It's all a bit frustrating, but you have to carry onimage

    Glad to see you're getting stuck into your mara prep.  You begin to realise what a time commitment it is & how it affects your ability to do as many shorter races as before?  But I'm sure it'll all be worth it when you get the time you want, and then you might just get a bit addicted.

  • FrazerelliFrazerelli ✭✭✭

    Hi chaps/chappesses. Thought I'd jump back in here again having had a bit a break after Edinburgh (which I managed to balls up by letting the evil bad fairy mess with my mind and tell me I couldn't run properly in the heat !)

    Looks like there's a bit a cohort gathering momentum and a few with similar targets to me. For those that haven't done it before it really is a cracking race with just the right blend of space to run but a decent atmosphere and a lightning fast course.You'll find there's plenty of company around the sub3 mark and lots of runners to work with. Perhaps some trains from here can form as the day gets closer. I'm another who took up the running age 40 - now 44 and hoping I can squeeze some improvement in endurance out over the next few years

    I've only done Abo once before (last year) and had a very injury prone build up so hopefully can stay in one piece this time !

    Just cranking things up a bit now and starting to creep up to 60ish weekly mileage - this being week 3 of my 16 week campaign

    SR3 - I agree with AC. Just jump into week 6 and move on. Good luck !

  • Hi Dart more, welcome to the thread I'm a newbie too it'll be really interesting to see how our training progresses!! I'm following a p &d 18 week plan. However I'm two weeks ahead due to the fact I'm going on holiday first two weeks of September so the plan is to just tread water while I'm out there and get straight back onto the plan when I return. I'd be divorced if I ran every day abroad lol.

    I followed the runners world one for London, is it the MIke Gratton? I found it really good as it was the first plan I had followed and I enjoyed the discipline of it.

    What sort of profile was Taunton? I'm guessing that part of the world is quite lumpy!! My longest run will be 24 normally I oly go up to 22/23 it'll be just before my hols to a bit of recovery on the sun loungerimage

    Back to training had a surprisingly dry 12.5 this morning felt ok areas that were worked on we're fairly sore but I think/hope that was down to the physio. The groin was fine and as the day has worn on the pain has subsided. Circuits tonight went ok so hopefully light at the end of the tunnel image
  • Thanks for all of your supportive comments - feels like I'm part of a community already!

    Aching Calves - Hope the calf continues to recover from last weekend. Thanks for the comments, will persevere with the +10%/-10 sec plan for as long as it seems sensible/practical - no adverse comments from anybody on the forum so far !. Not too sure about what it does to my two longest lsr though- might be too much me thinks. 

    SR3 - absolutely agree with the previous responses to your question. Step right back in as if you'd done the missing week, especially if that means you're doing a lower mileage week as an intro back in after being unwell

    LuvsaPB - Thanks - interesting stats on Power of 10 - leading V50 time so far this year is 2:33 !!!

    Fraser  - what is your target time?  Also interested that you mention trains - a couple of earlier posts do as well. I'm not fmailiar with how they work. Are they essentially a pacing group ?

    Martin - Not sure whether the schedule is the MG one or not - it's just the standard sub 3-hrs one I think. My subscription has expired so I don't have access to check any more. Taunton is actually quite flat - 2 laps with only one fairly serious hill at about 11/24 miles. Worked like a dream for me although I find it difficult to find any flat roads to train on where I live, so didn't know how I would cope with no hills to work on. Good to hear that the injury is on the mend - best get it out of the way now rather than the week before the event !

     

     

     

  • Dart More wrote (see)

     

     

    LuvsaPB - Thanks - interesting stats on Power of 10 - leading V50 time so far this year is 2:33 !!!

     

     

     

     

     

    Can't promise you'll get that quick, but you never know!image

    5x1 mile reps down at the track tonight for club training.  Came out 5:38, 5:48, 6:12!, 6:03 & 6:02.  All off 2 min recoveries.  Trying to get the speed training more structured, rather than taking the easy option of just doing longer slow runs.

  • SR3 -  Agree with other comments, don't try and play catch up just carry on with week 6. The only time you would probably have to do a run you have  missed would be one if you'd missed one of the 20's. Stick around, don't worry about the speedsters,  The number of runners going sub 3 will only be a small percentage of the runners who finish. 

    Dart - Welcome, sounds like a middle aged thread. I'm 46 in August having taken up running "seriously" 4 years ago.

    Martin/AC -  Good news on your niggles.

    Lusva - Very impressive reps.

    5 miles for me early this morning, plan said mid tempo pace(10k pace plus 15secs), which I reckon at the moment is  around 7's.  Ended up with an avg of 6:54 so happy with that.

     

  • BB - Middle Aged Thread - great punning there! And yep, it is - I'm 50 now - took up runnig properly exactly 4 years ago. As a 50 year old (since December) I have managed a half marathon PB by about 10s, and I've equalled my 10K PB. Don't think I'll be attacking last year's marathon PB though. I'm doing a 10K at Yateley in 2 weeks, so I'll have an idea if I've got any pace whatsoever

  • Didn't mean for us all to become so age conscious !! But intriguing that many of us are of a similar age. Like chillies I've set PBs for shorter distances this year (5K, 10K, 10M and HM so far!) all done as part of building better base speed as part of the prep for Abingdon. We can all prove that there's life in old dogs yet !

    Struggling with some of my sessions over the last couple of weeks since the family was made homeless in the Devon floods - fitting them in whenever I can - 7.7 miles at 7 min mile pace at 6:00 this morning was more of a struggle than it should have been !

  • MG - glad everything is settling down.

    LuvsaPB - impressive mile reps, especially the first 2. I must admit I find like you, hard to get motivated to do reps on your own, that's where a running club comes in handy.

    DM  - I will be 45 next mouth (been running for over 10 years), and still feel PBs are possible, especially over the longer distances (Mar & HM).

    Got a nice steady 7 miles in this morning, with no twinges. I might still scale back Sunday's run, 10 miles at MP, maybe a bit too much too early.  

     

  • I'm 37 and have been running for around 6 years, my times are steadily improving especially so the last 18 months after a bit of stagnation. Losing a bit of weight and upping the mileage seems to be doing the trick. I'm sure one day they will plateau but reading the thread lots are still improving so great news. Marathon's I believe are a lot down to experience it took me my 9th before running one correctly therefore age is only a good thing IMO.

    Had 11 planned this morning and was going to try and do the middle 9 as marathon pace (6:30) however an out and back course into the wind put pay to that I struggled to hit any on the way out but improved slightly on the way in, I think the effort of going into the wind took it out of me a bit. Got soaked as well which is my fault for gloating of a dry day yesterday anyone would think it was summer. Splits were 7:37, 6:41, 6:38, 6:48, 6:42, 6:36, 6:29, 6:30, 6:33 and 6:47. Fairly flat course which like dart is hard to find around here!!

    Looking at them written down it wasn't as bad as I felt. We're sometimes too hard on ourselves lol

    Luvsapb it's much better doing speed work in a group unfortunately I have to do mine on my own on a treadmill and it's a bit of a killer!! Good reps tho!!!
  • FrazerelliFrazerelli ✭✭✭

    DM - not really sure about targets just yet. Somehwere in the 2.50 - 2.59 range depending on how training goes. "Train" just seems to be the buzz term for a pacing group essentially. I suppose they tend to naturally form on the day but it can be good to have a few folk lined up who's training times suggest a similar target to try to team up on the day. Sounds nasty about the floods - is your place temporarily wrecked ??

    9 @ MP is a tough one at this stage MG - don't think I could manage that ! I find it takes a mile or so to get in to MP in training and it does feel stupidly fast when you first start it

    I've never gone down the club route - I'm sure I cut a sad figure running round the track on my own in the pissing rain. Ah well - must be good for the mind or something

  • mee meepmee meep ✭✭✭

    Nice run Barry, always nice when the pace comes out quicker than expected for the same effort.

    Surprised your 10k hasn't come back towards where you were Luvsa, as some nice looking mile reps there. Your lucky doing your faster work with others as im sure it must help. Never had the opportunity to give it a go, never actually ran on a track image

    Good run Martin, 9 @mp nice and early in the campaign!

    Sorry to hear about your situation DM, sounds an absolute nightmare, will you be back in anytime soon?  I'm with you with the early morning running, out at 5:30ish for 2m easy, 1m mp, 6x 75m strides then 1200m @10k pace 30secs jog 600m @5k pace, 2min recovery, x4. Bit of a shock to the system, but went well. Very easy 3 tonight.

  • Chillies- I'll be at Yateley too trying to recapture some of the magic times I did last year.

    MG- Nice miles there. Reps on a treadmill!  Brings back distant memories of falling off in the gym & getting a far from sympathetic glare by the female instructor!  I was actually doing my own set on the track, as the distance was supposed to be 2000s, but there's always other people of differing abilities, so you need a bit more concentration to negotiate the chaos!

    AC- I think reps on the track with others offers a bit of a psychological boost having  an 'audience', but practically, it's usually a bit chaotic!

    FW- Most of my training is done on my own.  Being a member of a club for me just means that I probably enter more races than if I was an 'unattached'.

    Meep- It's a mystery to me too!  Last fast 10k was South Bucks. Got injured in Nov & never been same since speed wise in races.  Hoping to put that right soon! Nice mixture of paces there. I'm sure you're improving all the time! 

    DM- That's a really stressful situation to deal with.  Hope you get it sorted asap.  Being able to go out & run must be a release. 

  • I always like to get plenty of MP miles in before race day. I went up to 15 pre London but that was at 6:52 pace so these are a bit harder to maintain but the idea is I can run the pace comfortably and get to 20 in good shape. Don't forget I'm two weeks ahead of plan as well so that will come in to play.

    I'm finding myself becoming a bit detached from my club at the minute what with following a plan and the club runners seem to be hitting the mountains on club night which is fine but just not for me.

    Fraser I'm guessing there will be plenty of runners at about that pace what with the excellent course profile etc it's the reason I'm heading down. I think I read somewhere there was an unusually high percentage that managed to go under three hours.

    Mee meep I've been running early lately due to work shifts it's not something I necessarily enjoy but needs must and I seem to have got into the swing of it.
  • Luvsa - Yateley is a great route - sharing your hope for a great time - that and the Maidenhead half are going to be my pointers for Abingdon ambitions.

    I'm not in a club, so I run solo almost all the time, except for a few dawdles encouraging newbie friends (nice, but useless as personal training). Work hours don't give me time to commit to club running, though as with everything in life, if I wanted it to be a priority I would manage it.

    DM - bloody hell! "family was made homeless in the Devon floods" - that's just a headline, requiring more news than just "so I only fitted in 7.7 miles tonight" image

    Meanwhile, I plodded through 7 last night and 8 tonight and I didn't even get wet! Did  a couple at my hoped for mara pace (7:45), but my legs are tired again, not helped by nicking out for a rare lunch break and going for a 40 length swim

  • MG - maybe not as planned, but still a speedy 11 miles yesterday.

    Meep - like you I am more of an early bird runner, rather than an night owl. Although I do find reps hard to do early in the morning. I only run once a week in the evening, and that is normally a club night

    CFB - with your running, cycling and swimming, you could get confused and think you are training for an Iron Man race. Any triathlon ambitions?

    7 1/2 miles (av 7.36) this morning, with 3 of the miles turning out at, or around MP. My calf was fine, although I was favouring my (good) right leg a little, especially up hill. My plan is still to run the Harlow 10 mile race on Sunday, however still undecided on pace.

    What are people's plans this weekend?

  • FrazerelliFrazerelli ✭✭✭

    MG - I think last year there were about 90 runners sub3 - pretty hiogh percentage of the 700 or so finishers eh. Think that's one of the resons it sells out so quickly

    Nice base miles from AC and CFB

    Early morning runs always make my system fall to pieces. I'm a alunch time or evening man every time...

  • Leisurely 14 miles yesterday to flush away the lactic from Wed's track session. Got the Elmbridge 10k on Sunday over at Walton-on-Thames, so rest day today & Saturday.

    Not unwelcome as my left shin's a bit sore to the touch.  A recurring thing with me that probably would benefit from a foam roller.

    Anybody else racing this weekend or just getting in those 20+ mile runs?image

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