Manchester Marathon 2013

Hi Lee!  Ah, you will be able to indulge in plenty of pies at Wigan to carbo load the day before then!

Fair enough.....I still wouldn't do it, but then, I am the person who will refuse to even jog in a race until my foot goes over that first timing mat....so paranoid am I about taking anything out of my legs the day before.  If you are adamant to do it then I would do Wythenshawe out of the ones you mention.

Anyway, I hope you do well and you win at the footie!

Panda

Yes, a pie lunch will certainly complement the pasta dinner. I'll be good and leave the liquid refreshments to water only. Just looked and South Manchester is Platt's Field Park. Wythenshawe looks as though it may be a tad too out the way. Cheers again.

That's Fallowfield I think?

It is flat there as well, so you should be ok.  Where are you staying?

panda

LOL...It will kill you not to have a pint with that pie!!

Fallowfield, that's the one. Phew, good to hear it is flat.

Oh, it will. I'm a real ale fan so it will kill me knowing there's lots of beers around that I've never tried. I'm staying Sunday night too so I can hold off until then and feel like I've properly earnt it.

I'm staying by Salford Quays, so only a short trot to the start line on the Sunday.

What is your aim for the race? Apologies if you've already posted this in the other 35 pages!

Ah, Salford Quays is a good base for you, handy for everything.  Are you coming on your own?  Like you say, you will have to make up for your lack of beer on the Sunday night.

Is it your first mara?

No aim for me other than to get round.  I am not the fastest anyway (PB 4.09) but I just had a baby in November so I wanted to enter this so I could get a bit fitter again!  It will be my 8th so I am not too nervous......just under 5 hours will do.. I just hope the wather is better than it was last year!

Panda

As it stands, I'm coming up on my own. It's my 2nd marathon, did London last year and made some classic mistakes in training and on race day so I feel I need to put that right and get some closure. No, I didn't do a parkrun the day before!

A marathon six months after child birth, now that is impressive. Good luck with it all. I read it was a wet one last year. Surely it's more odd if it doesn't rain in Manchester?! 

LOL...actually 5 months post baby!!....Yep, hardest thing now is finding the time to get out, I suppose my priorities have had to change, but I am getting out 3 times a week and spinning/gym too.

Ah, most people make mistakes with their first marathons...wow though, what a good one to do for your first..London!  How was it?  Why Manchester over London?  I suppose it's not easy to get into London is it?

I tell yer, rain is one thing, but last year...well, it was like something out of a disaster movie!  I only spectated as someone we knew was doing it, but I was wrapped up in a big parker coat, gloves, hat and wellies and I was still freezing!  The car temperature was 2 degrees, which is unheard of at the end of April...it's been about 12 today!  Actually, today's weather would be pretty much ideal...though being a bird I would take the heat over the cold any day

What time did you get for London?

Panda

Last year there was a guy watching in full diving gear, mask, snorkel, flippers, wet suit etc. Made me chuckle!

Quite appropriate!!

I've done South Manchester parkrun- it's 2 loops round platt fields park. A nice flat run, though it goes onto uneven ground in places. Definitely worth doing!

Thanks Runningrachel, South Manchester looks to be the one.

Panda - A good excuse to hand over the baby and have me time without feeling guilty, I guess!

Ultimately, I think I found London overwhelming. I became obsessed with my target time and forgot to really enjoy for what it is, a large scale event. I ran uneven pace as I was trying to make up time lost in the congestion and then had the classic blow-up at 18 miles. The main mistakes were definitely in my training, mainly not enough LSRs. I was hitting every training run hard. Passed halfway at 1:55 and finished in 4:44, which tells the story.

I got the rejection for London this time around (have applied 6 times in total, accepted only once) but I think I only applied out of habit. I was keen to do a smaller scale marathon where I could concentrate more on the running. Brighton was sold out and Manchester ticked a lot of boxes for me. From what I read on here it seems like the organisers had taken on board the criticisms from last year. You can't do much about the weather though hey! I've also signed up for Abingdon in October.

Presume you haven't done London then? I would recommend it for the experience, unlike anything I could imagine. It's the only day of the year us Londoners smile and talk to strangers too!

Another 18 miler yesterday, tough going again which concerns me a little, the last couple of miles I felt tired and the thighs were starting to stiffen a little. Don't feel too bad today though but I've never really struggled with a training run in building up to things like half marathons before.

The thought yesterday that on race day I'd have another 8 miles or so to go was a bit of an eye opener

Not sure whether there are further tweaks I can make, I'm certainly trying to ignore times and just get the mileage in but I seem to get quite tired over the last third and start to stiffen up. Perhaps I'm going out too fast

On the up side, the weather meant 2 fewer layers, no hat or gloves and a run in the sunshine.

Tried out the High 5 gels, prefer the Iso Plus to the standard which got a bit sickly on the last one. Not sure they enhanced my performance greatly but on the other hand it was easier than snacking on jelly babies and it certainly didn't make any negative impact

Onwards and upwards

LOL Lee....so true re Londoners!  I am surprised you don't get a nose bleed coming this far north....though I am from the North East, so even Manchester is "south" for me!

Sounds like you made a few beginners errors in London, but at least you know where you went wrong and you shouldn't have that problem again.  I think you will get a good time in Manchester and it's also nice and flat so that is all in your favour.  It will probably be a lot quieter than London in terms of support etc, but you will still enjoy it.

Nope, I did apply for London but got rejected and never really tried again. TBH, I would like to do it the once but am not desperate to do it....it's a bit of a hassle really...easier in some ways to run marathons abroad!  Mind you, babies put an end to stuff like that anyway, for now!

Abingdon is meant to be a good one, I nearly did it one year but they decided to ban ipods and there is no way I can run without music ....sad but true!

RR  Well done on your run,.  You sound surprised to be tired towards the end....well, snap, I am too!  I have done loads of marathons and the long runs never get easy (not for me)...if you drive 18 miles in the car it is a fair distance and running it IS a long way, so you shouldn't be surprised.  It's defo not easy, but that's why we do marathons, for the achievement.  You will find it loads easier on the day though I promise...you will be well fed, rested and have the crowd to help you, so it won't be a problem.

5 miles for me today....struggling for time!  Going to do another 20 on Saturday...yikes!

panda

RR - I am in a similar situation to you when I get towards the end of my long runs. Yesterday, I did 20 and started struggling on the hills at about 12 miles. I recently started taking Hi 5 Isogels and, while I dont feel an immediate boost, I think they are helping me get to the end. My longest run is 20 miles so far but a couple of them have taken me 3:40 minutes to complete so the time on my feet is a positive sign (I deliberately chose a long hilly route so I could be out on the roads for that long - I wasnt worried about pace at all). Hopefully, with all this training I'm doing, plus a good 3 week taper I should be feeling as fresh as I possibly can on race day. I think we have just got to trust the training we are doing will work at Manchester

carterusm wrote (see)

RR - I am in a similar situation to you when I get towards the end of my long runs. Yesterday, I did 20 and started struggling on the hills at about 12 miles. I recently started taking Hi 5 Isogels and, while I dont feel an immediate boost, I think they are helping me get to the end. My longest run is 20 miles so far but a couple of them have taken me 3:40 minutes to complete so the time on my feet is a positive sign (I deliberately chose a long hilly route so I could be out on the roads for that long - I wasnt worried about pace at all). Hopefully, with all this training I'm doing, plus a good 3 week taper I should be feeling as fresh as I possibly can on race day. I think we have just got to trust the training we are doing will work at Manchester

Cheers Carter, are you doing your LSR during the week too?

I think you're right on several counts, I'm going to invest in some of the Isogels as they certainly seemed more palatable than the standard High 5 plus we'll see in the rest of this week's runs what the overall refuelling impact has been. Thought 3 per hour seemed excessive so went with the 1 per half hour after the first hour's running option.

I was tired but I got round and I think I'm probably running a little bit too close to normal pace although that is one that would be classed as a slow training pace by most of the better runners! Perhaps I need to really try and drop my speed next week on the LSR and see how I feel toward the end.

We'll see, another 18 miles next Tuesday and see whether my body is starting to respond a bit to the training, with regard to the longer runs

How does your taper look in terms of runs and distance compared to your training plan when it comes to the last 2-3 weeks before the race. I'm still alternating between not reducing the mileage too much but on the other hand making sure I am rested for the race. I think I'll be still doing 4 runs per week but greatly reducing what was the long run over the taper and also dropping the distance for the other 3 in the final week, plus perhaps having 2-3 days off completely before the race

Sounds like good running all round here guys. I've got my first 20miler to do on Friday so I'm looking forward to that one. I've taken the advice from this forum for my LSR's and really slowed the pace and that seems to help me. It was a wierd feeling last week because my lungs and chest felt fine after the LSR but my legs were really achy and felt like they'd had a good workout.

Everything I read about training says that during the intensive weeks we have to make sure that we rest sufficiently to help our body recover. Insufficient rest can lead to injury and fatigue. Sounds bizzare but maybe you have to rest in order to go further RR!

I'd agree with RedPanda as well about the feeling tired. 18 miles is a long way and its not going to be easy but I know some days its easier than others!

I've got a half marathon next weekend at Dorney Lake in Eaton where the rowing was for the olympics. Looking forward to it as it should let me stretch out a bit and see how my speed is coming along.

One quick question to end with ......... what kind of pshycological techniques do people use in the second half of a marathon? I always flag a bit in the second half and think a lot of it is in my mind. Any advice gratefully recieved!

Hi

I agree Cybarev...that's another classic mistake people make, trying to cram in more training at the end and not having enough taper.  Like you say, have faith in the plan and rest at the end.

Funny enough I find the second half easier in marathons!  I think it's always good to break it down into manageable chunks though.  I think once you get to that 20 miles, I always think...well, it's only 10k left.  Anyone can do a 10k (well, you know what I mean), so that seems to help.  I think in some ways, miles 13 to 20 are probably the toughest, because you have passed half way but still have a long way to go. 

Good luck with your half marathon too

Panda

cybarev wrote (see)

One quick question to end with ......... what kind of pshycological techniques do people use in the second half of a marathon? I always flag a bit in the second half and think a lot of it is in my mind. Any advice gratefully recieved!

 

That's where the Non-Marathon Runners handbook has come in useful, alot of the book relates to the mental side of the race as opposed to the physical

It's all about breaking it down as RP says and also having positive pictures in your mind as well as reassuring yourself that you're doing well and that you are a "runner" and a marathon one at that, whenever you feel like you're stuggling

It's all about keeping the faith, Wilmlsow half in a couple of weeks should give me a good idea of how I've come on since last November

On race day, I'll have a mental picture of a nice bath and then a couple of beers sat on the sofa, watching United at Arsenal to get me round

carterusm wrote (see)

 I think we have just got to trust the training we are doing will work at Manchester

That's exactly it.  I know my training schedule is written by guys that know WAY more about running, marathon training, taper and nutrition than I do.  I put my faith in their hands.  They have already delivered me a HM PB that i'm well chuffed about and that was mid training without a taper.  I believe it is all working, I can feel it working and that will be enough for me I think.

Belief will caryy you a long way in any discipline.

RR - I normally do my LSR on Saturdays but last weekend 'stuff' got in the way. So I decided to book off Tuesday from work and get it done then. I've got a 22 miler planned  for this Saturday so hope I'm not being too optimistic.

My plan for the next 7 weeks regarding my LSR is 22, HM, 22, 22, 16, 14, 10 - in the last 3 I am including some miles at MP.

For the taper I am planning on 3 weeks so during that time I will reduce the mileage over all sessions but the intensity will remain the same e.g. my tempo runs will reduce from 50 to 40, 30, 20. 

It looks like you have something similar in mind for your taper. I will also be having 2 days complete rest before race day.