Brighton Marathon 2013

morning all

15 for me today and if i get up in time may do are local park run on Saturday morning have a feeling i may end up running with Poohbear on Sunday so will leave the PB attempt for another day

Hello all

I am gutted but will probably have to pull out of Brighton. I have had terrible shin pain for the last few weeks and have not been able to run.

Thanks B&T, amazingly all went to plan to within a few seconds ... I ended up doing the last mile in 8:20 instead of 8:30, as I was basically going as fast as I could (perhaps with just a smidgen of wind behind ..). I certainly feel the benefit this morning of the tougher run, like I did with the hilly run I did earlier in the week. I think that I have realised that it is worth the short term pain caused by doing harder mid-week runs (ie. hill, tempo etc), as it really does build up the strength significantly more than doing a nice gentle run.

MadWeelshWoman sorry to hear that hop rhe shin splints get better soon

Evening all

well 15 miles done today it was nice to go out in the sun although the wind did take the temperature down some what the whole run took 2:22:51 with an Avg pace of 9:28 so  nearly down to what i need to get that sub 4hr at Brighton although they do say you LSR should be done a minute slow than you intend to run

morning all

have to say i was a little disappointed with my run yesterday as i felt i struggled somewhat but on refection perhaps it was only natural when i looked back and thought well if you take in last Fridays run it was coming of the back of a 51mile week

And then i got the biggest surprise i was comparing yesterday’s runs to previous runs i done of that length on the Garmin web site and happen to notice this

Week 8 LSR Brighton     Fri 3 Feb 2012 1:10pm time 2:35:56 distance 15:13

Brighton 2013 week 8   Fri 1Feb 2013 1:13pm time 2:22:52 distance 15:10

Turns out i was 13:04 faster over the same route as last year so hay just goes to show i don’t know a good run when I’m having one

Lizzie i always carry my own gels with me as i feel it’s best to stick to the ones i been using in training there’s no guarantee that thing said e ones they are using on the day won’t agree with you although having said that the O/H (Poohbear) wanted to try shot bloks out so we did buy the same ones that they are using at Brighton which are the Cilf brand

Toby I think thats a good run! Its only a little slower than I do my lsrs (aiming for about 3-45 mins faster than you on race day)...so keep that up for 15 miles is good going. Be wary of going that pace on the really long stuff, but I do think you are doing really well at the moment.

Madwelshwoman dont give up just yet. Take a week off and see how you are - I had shin splints in my first mara (developed into a minor stress fracture because I didnt rest), its doing too much too soon that causes it so a bit of a break wont hurt. Do some walking and see how you feel.

lizzielizard no advice about gels as I dont fuel on the run. You sound like your physio is helping your niggles so thats good. You'll need endurance to enjoy it, so keep up the long runs!

Cut back week for me, 50 miles, with a 10k race tomorrow. Conditions dont look great as its on the coast so wind will be a factor but good practice for Brighton

Toby3 - great run well done! Good improvement.

Madwelshwoman - such a shame, but as Curly45 says don't give up yet, rest, ice etc and perhaps change of shoes and/or surface can help?

lissielizard -  welcome to the thread! I think in reponse to gels just try and see what suits you. I don't use gels, but make my own flapjacks with chia seeds, oats, honey and raisins etc in them and eat that beforehand. Then I take a bit of kendal mint cake and a Nakd bar with me, for hydration I use coconut water. Might buy some Clif block things off the internet to try before the marathon as that's what they are giving out, but I'll wait and see. Jellybabies -  I do sometimes use but find them a bit hard to swallow when running....

Did 16 miles today in 2.25 which was the same time that I did 15 miles in 2 weeks earlier (amid the freezing conditions!), so pleased with that.

salisburylad - I have certainly felt the benefit of temp runs hillwork etc and feel much stronger these days than 4 months ago

Hello everyone

Not been on for a while (holidays and then ramping the mileage up) but there's been some mighty fine running going on

Just back from a VERY muddy 21 mle run on the South Downs which takes me to just over 50 miles this week (I'm training for a 50 mile ultra as well as Brighton so probably not got the most conventional training plan!)

Curly - your running is phenomenal, how long have you been running for? As you're the Queen of the High Mileage can I ask what you run on a normal week? I ask because I'm aiming to run 50+ miles every week for the ultra training which is going to look like:

2 x 10 miles

2 x either 6 mile threshold, 6 mile intervals or 3 mile hill reps

Long run (20 - 30 miles) - I alternate weekly whether these are on or off-road

Does that sound about right or any advice on what I should be doing differently?

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend of running

Toby, the mileage you're doing already & the weight loss you'll smash 4hrs easy.

7 miles this morning for me, freezing cold again & very windy, hope the wind dies down before tomorrows 15 miles.

hope everyone has a good weekend.

Hi Barbie it depends on what I am training for but usually for marathon training its about 60 a week, topping out at about 70. I need that mileage because I work (or more precisely my coach does) on percentages. That is if I want to run 2 speedwork sessions and a 20 miler a week (I do) then there has to be enough easy mileage to support that (around 60 is perfect). I'd do more but you do need to keep in mind your previous averages and keep your marathon or ultra plan not too many more above that. My coach works on about 5 miles added on the weekly avg per year as ideal, although I regularly push that, but its individual with what you can take and what you have time for.

Okay all of that aside, you're talking about 5 runs per week so you would only have enough for one speed session - ideally as Brighton is flat I would recommend a multipace tempo of about 5 miles growing to about 10 over the plan. An example might be:

3 miles warm up, strides, 2 miles @ MP, 2 miles @ steady, 1 mile @ MP, cool down

And then as you find them easier start changing the sections to make them MP / HMP or make the MP bits longer etc.

What your plan is missing and what I would do with the 5th run is a medium long of 10-12 miles (so skipping the second interval/ speed session). Do this mid week for marathon training then once you are done with that move it to the day before your long run (ultra runners often use back to back long runs to develop the stamina for the event). The medium long has two functions - it boosts weekly miles which helps with aerobic training and helps the long run not feel so long. It can be a real slog though in the week.

Also if you can add a 6th run of 3-4 miles the day after your long run. As slow as you like.

Thats only my thoughts, I've been running about 4 years, but if you really want to get the best from yourself I'd recommend joining a club and/or getting a coach. Its been brilliant for me

Wow, that's massively helpful Curly - thanks so much!

@ Curly - great advice above! This is something which I may need to do from the next week or two, and what you say does make sense. So thank you.

Update for me this week - Wednesday, did an hour on the treadmill, running 7.12 miles. Got to work after that, and been told I wasn't needed, so as I had my gym bag (I work in Marylebone, London BTW), I got my shoes and kit back out and went for a two laps around the outer cirlce of Regents Park, 6 miles.

Thursday, did a LSR around my home town of Stevenage, and ran 8.4 miles. Haven't done much outdoor stuff recently so was really glad to get this under my belt.

Friday, just 40 minutes on the treadmill. Nothing speical.

Saturday (today), I did the 5k parkrun up in Cambridge. Did a 4k warm up beforehand, and did the 5k in 00:22:05. Tomorrow and Monday are my rest days then I will step up a gear from Tuesday.

ONLY 70 DAYS TILL BRIGHTON.....BRING IT ON!

First Parkrun for a few weeks today - am really pleased as absolutely smashed my pb, knocking 127secs (2mins 7secs) off previous pb.  I even managed to run up some of the hill.

Longleat 10K tomorrow - hope to get another pb then.

Good running from everyone going on.

Well done Poohbear thats an awesome improvement! Good luck for tomorrow

I have had to pull out of my half marathon as my week away with work has been moved and now co-incides with the race, would have normally complained to the boss but jobs are unstable in my office at the moment so decided to just accept it.  Using it as a chance to take a step back and build back up slowly rather than doing too much at once and crashing out, at least I am now enjoying running again and am back to looking forward to my next run rather than dreading it.  Great running everyone else :0)

I'm doing 15 miles tomorrow.  Really not looking forward to it.  Does anybody else ever feel like that?  I do like my running, and am looking forward to Brighton, but just know tomorrow is gonna be tough/boring/cold .... sigh!  I know I'll be glad once its over.  God, I wish it was tomorrow night! 

Diogodog we all know how you feel, ive ran brighton marathon the last 3 years, this year, ive given myself the winter off training, and am not doing it, although im going to brighton to cheer you all on...

Yes i had a few runs where i just wasnt looking forward to it ,i use to get up in the morning eat my breakfast and try and find some thing to get out of it or delay it, but then i use to tell myself i would run for a mile at a time and see how i felt, by the time id got to mile 4 i was well into it and completed the run and i always use to give myself a treat for doing so usually a chocolate treat or a small glass of wine...

Its funny though, now im not training (saturday was always my long run day) i said to myself this morning it felt weird not running and i said to my daughter that im feeling a tad jealous of the shiny medal ill be missing out on and of course the tv!!