RunLiverpool Marathon 2012

Any chance of a lift Alan?

The mens WR could tumble if you could drop me at mile 25.

Was looking at the route profile this moning and it surprised me that the first half is lumpier than I thought...only steady inclines so probably won't even notice but still ~150m of up & down in the first 13 & then ~200m of up & down 2nd half. As said already steepest bits are tunnel & Parliment st, nothing bad though & only inclines rather than hills.

Don't mind getting wet, but if forced to walk late on then will get cold very quickly. Maybe an incentive to keep my arse moving! Luckily only live 10-15mins walk from the start so can leave it quite late if it's p'sing down at the start.

Getting nervous now...my top has my name on it now - it will say THEO - say hi when you pass me...

Hi Theo - in case I don't see you on the day. Enjoy!

i am hoping the drums will still be by the tunnel when the slower runners get there! my training has been interrupted by family illness and bereavement so haven't managed the training I intended, but I am going to give it a shot anyway as I am signed up....hope I don't get swept up at the end.

Hi guys, this is my first marathon and I'm not sure about the amount of carbs I should be eating this week. I know I have to stock up my energy stores but I don't want to feel bloated and lethargic ... Can anyone give me some advice?

Angela - There is the school of thought that if you eat sensibly over the week that it should be enough. If you eat carbs as part of your training diet, the reduced training during taper should see your carb stores replenish anyway.

A lot of conflicting advice our there so I guess it's a down what works for you in past experience. And like you say, too much may leave you bloated an lethargic.

Thanks Gramck24 ... Bring on the pasta!

Angela, there's some study that suggests 8-10g of carbohydrate per kilo of bodyweight. So if you're 70kg, that'd be up 560-700g. If you cut out most of the protein and fat (also helps optimal carb loading), then that's most of your daily intake with a light training load - 2240-2800 calories per day.

Remember to drink lots of water - that's needed to load the carbs into your muscles. Also, note that you will put weight on if you do this properly. Each gram of carbs will bind up to 4g of water with it, so a full carb load could add 3.5kg from a depleted state, with the above person. In reality, you're probably starting the week half-loaded, so you'll not need to do as much as suggested by this research.

Quick solution: eat to hunger. Eat often. Eat carbs. Our bodies are smarter than we realise.

Thanks chronotopian, very helpful.

I dont mind running in a little bit of rain (I'm Scottish, we're used to it!) but I will be writing a letter of complaint to David Cameron if its windy.    

My vest is yellow (Dogs Trust) with my name MAGS on it.   Say hi if you see me, I'm very friendly.   You'll also recognise me by the look of fear in my unblinking eyes ....

Good luck to all of you  xx

Talk of hills today had got me wondering how they might compare to my recent running - So I took a screen grab of the elevation maps from my Garmin tracking of my Dartford Half Marathon run in July (really hilly) and my last long run locally (22miles) and compared to the elevation for the Liverpool Marathon that's on the website. 

Having stretched the screen grabs to make sure the scales were the same I then drew little lines on all of the ascending parts, added them up and pasted them on top of each other so I can compare what's in store against what I've already done.

In summary, Dartford Half was as hard as I thought it was at the time (probably 40% more elevation gain than Liverpool, but over half the distance!) and my recent long run covered the same elevation gain but generally less steeply.  Hope that makes sence?  Either way, looks like I shouldn't lose too much sleep over the hills on Sunday!

The two main inclines really aren't anything significant.

ha ha!!!! BBC weather now suggests dry and sunny intervals!!! Wooohoooo!!

rachelhen - i will be plodding along at the back too, also hoping for the drums to still be there!

Adam, really sorry to hear about the knee. If in doubt, don't run; you may pay a heavier price long term. Trust me, I know how disappointed you will feel; I've today been to the hospital to be told that my big toe is actually broken and my marathon debut will not be in Liverpool.  I really cannot believe it as I'm not really in any degree of pain, and I'm a right babby when it comes to pain.

If you can't run, remember the five months haven't been wasted. You're in great shape fitness-wise and you've got a sound foundation for a 2013 marathon.

My best wishes to you all for a successful 26.2; my (jealous) thoughts will be with you.

bring it on........BRING IT OOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Can't wait to smash this thing to bits.

We are spartans. We are warriors. We will let our heads float above our bodies and feel no pain. We will adjust our battle plans accordingly if needed.

WE WILL NOT FLINCH. THE FIGHT IS OURS TO WIN AND WE WILL WIN IT.

Good luck Spartans