'Mature' runners.

Cold has gone to my chest but it's getting better. Didn't run yesterday as planned but today I did a few miles of run/walk plus a dog walk and a couple of hours gardening.

Diana
What's the Bournemouth marathon course like?

Columba
I reckon the jasmine is reacting to it not being very cold so far. It thinks Spring is just around the corner .Optimum time for pruning it is to trim it immediately after flowering.

IW
Shame about the work but someone has to keep the world economy ticking over.

Matsmum
Well done on the run. Pace increase could be 10, 15, 20 secs per mile if you wish. You choose whatever  makes the last mile quite hard without getting eyeballs out and gasping.

Grandaughter clearly has a bit of talent. The best way to keep her involved is to make sure she doesn't run flat out yet. She has to enjoy it.
JJ

Morning all,

I'm busy taking down Christmas decorations here and then I've got to go to the church to take those down too.  It always looks so bare when they come down doesn't it?!

After lunch I shall be doing 7 miles at marathon pace on a route with 2 tough hills where I won't be able to maintain it so will have to make it up on the downhill bits 

Columba, I agree with JJ about the Jasmine.  Ours is flowering too and I think it started about 2 weeks ahead of its usual time.  It's been such a mild winter so far that there are still midges around!

Diana, I still haven't chosen my autumn marathon so would be interested in course details too.

Red, there is the New Forest Marathon in September, but that is probably too far away from you? It's a lovely course, on a mixture of trails and roads. I got my marathon pb of 3.12.26 there in 1993.

B.I. -How funny! I shall google Nordic Walking and find out all about it.

Diana D - Thank you for the welcome and encouragement. 6 Marathons - that is impressive. I feel for you about the loss of your grandson. Not only did you have to bear your own heartbreak but also that of his parents. I am sure your determination and achievements will have given them strength also.

JJ - I have done 6 miles today, with the middle 4 taking me 38.8 minutes. Is that a tempo run?  I note that the longest run you suggest is 18 miles. Really? Not 20 or 22 as some people suggest? Will that be long enough?

Grandaughter K was actually too young to enter that 10k. Her father took her because he was running. She had neither number nor chip but after he started she mingled with the crowd of runners and ran unnoticed.....until she passed him a good minute before he crossed the finish line. He clocked 50 minutes so she was definitely faster than that. She has been totally focused since we started in 2009 and dreams of the next Olympics! She is begging to be properly trained so we are looking into it for her.

It looks like you are all doing an Autumn marathon. Wow. 

Crikey, that was an emotional roller-coaster!  Lots of people who I haven't seen since I did the tree stopped me whilst I was running and said how moved they were by it or that my mum would be very proud (gulp!).  As a result my run turned into a sort of long fartlek session interrupted by hugs and the odd tear or 2.

Matsmum, I disagree about the length of long runs pre marathon.  Brighton will be my 30th marathon and for the last 25 I have made sure I do at least 2 x 20 milers beforehand.  Sometimes I've done 3 but that was because I was doing marathons on consecutive weekends.  It's not about the speed you do them, it's about building endurance which is why time on feet is so very important.  I've never done more than 20 miles in training, even when I was training for my ultra marathons of 35 and 52.4 miles respectively.  All IMHO of course 

JJ & Red, I've not yet been able to find out the Bournemouth marathon route - there isn't anything on their website yet, and one of the FAQs says "all road closures and consequently the route will be signed off at the end of january and will be available to view on the event information pages from this time." Parts of Bournemouth are quite undulating, but they may have a route along the promenade for quite a bit of it, which would be flat.

Haven't taken all the decorations down here - stage approach. Those emotions still well up don't they Red, even as time passes - sometimes out of the blue, but those nice comments would certainly do it.

TE, I have done the New Forest half, but not the full marathon. Each time I've done it, it has been very warm! I don't like the fact that the road parts aren't closed to traffic, and some drivers are very inconsiderate, but as you say, it is picturesque.

I'm not sure I went as far as 20 miles when training for my first marathon, though I intended to. I didn't have very reliable measuring tools then! Thre is a useful 20 mile race in March quite locally, so that has been a useful one for the Spring marathon. Nothing much on offer over the summer for an autumn marathon preparation.

If you want to keep an eye on it, JJ & REd, the site isBournemouth Marathon festival but I'll try & remember to post if I spot an update.

Diana - I don't think I knew about that grandson you mentioned. As Matsmum said, you would be mourning not only the grandson but also feeling for your own child and child-in-law. It hardly bears thinking about.

JJ and Red - thank you for comments on the jasmine. I have noticed midges dancing in the air here, too. Is amazingly mild today, shall have to turn down the dials on the night storage heaters this evening.

I did 20 hill reps this afternoon, in sets of 5 with a short break between each set and the next. And a warm-up and cool-down.

Morning all,

No rain again, excellent.  It's so mild too and I've been back in shorts for a few weeks now.  I think the birds are confused as I've noticed the ducks are getting frisky which is a good 3 weeks earlier than usual!

Intervals for me today.

Columba, yikes at your 20 hill reps.  Very impressive.

Diana, thanks for the link.  I'll probably end up doing Beachy Head again as I love it but it would be nice to find something different that isn't too far away.

TE, I did think about the New Forest marathon one year but then I heard about traffic speeding past runners and it put me off.

Matsmum, I forgot to add that for your first marathon it will be fine to do just 1 x 20 miler.  It really is worth doing it as it's a massive confidence booster.  Please don't be tempted to enter a 20 mile race though as you would inevitably run faster and would run the risk of not having recovered fully before VLM.

Right, off to do my intervals 

Very warm here too, Jasmine flowering in inlaws garden, birds chirping I think they reckon spring has come. 11 degrees here. Up to 23 miles this week so starting the year off well. Agree with everything Redhead says she is the lady who knows!!

Lady who knows - please can you advise me on how long my long runs should be.  I take it I just continue doing that progressive run of 6 miles and the other one with the fast 4 miles in the middle?  And then the long run. Should I start at, say, 8 and progress from there each week, or is that not far enough?  Gobsmacked at your amazing record of achievement. Respect, as my son would say.

Back to work next week (sigh).

The furthest I have run in a marathon build up is 22 miles, and my highest weekly mileage 55.

Last night was very mild, and I was back into shorts again. We had a hilly circuit session, each circuit being 0.32 mile and I ran 5 circuits with 60 seconds recovery between circuits.

Red and Diana, traffic wasn't a problem during last years New Forest Half Marathon, but it could have been the torrential rain that put motorists off. The Isle of Wight Marathon is the worst I have ever run in for traffic. The roads are narrow and twisty, and traffic tends to speed, showing little regard for the runners. It may not be so bad now, as it is held in October, and when I did it several years ago, it was in the summer, when there were many holiday makers on the roads.

Furthest for me 22, dont think its worth going longer than that as the risk of injury is great as you mature too!!!

Matsmum, sorry but I've forgotten which schedule you're following.  Is it the one that came in the VLM magazine?  It should tell you the length of your LSRs each week but as a general rule you increase your mileage by no more than 10% each week.  

For example, my LSR last week was 10 miles, this week will be 12 miles then 13 the week after but then I will take what is known as a 'step-back' week where I reduce the length of my LSR back down to 10 miles.  This allows my body to recover from the increase in training and helps to prevent injury.  So then I will go back to a LSR of 13 miles, do 3 weeks of hard training where I increase my LSRs each week, then 1 week back to 13 miles.

I agree with Mark about the risk of injury as we age.  As this is your first marathon it's really important that you factor in plenty of rest to help your body adjust to the new level of training.

If you could share part of your schedule with us on here then we can have a look and see how it's devised.  Or is it on the VLM website?  If so then give us a link.

Hopefully JJ will be along soon to give more detailed advice.

It can be very confusing when you first start out as you will get so many different opinions!  Eventually though you will find a level of training that suits you best.  Listen to your body and don't push too hard, too soon. 

Thank you Red. Yes, I am confused! I am not following a schedule.... JJ suggested I did a progressive run of 6 miles, another run of 6 miles with the middle 4 at a 10k pace, and a long run. I really liked the idea because it is so straightforward and I can just go out and do it.  It will be difficult for me to run more than 3 times a week because I run my own business and get up at 5am, but to prepare not to run! ( I enjoy what I do but work does sometimes get in the way....!) When I was checking out training schedules I was beginning to lose sleep over them.  JJ's idea appeals much more.  I can run 10 miles, slowly, so shall I start with that? Sorry to bother you with all these silly questions. I just need to be clear about what I am doing.

Matsmum, it's no bother at all.  So you need your own tailor-made schedule!  How about starting at 8 or 9 miles this week and then doing gradual increases?  Try writing out a schedule working backwards from the date of VLM.  Give yourself a 3 week taper so you are well rested before the day itself and aim to do your 20 mile LSR 4 weeks beforehand.  If you see it all written down then it will help you to focus.

The important thing that is always stressed for beginner marathoners is not to ramp up the intensity (ie speedwork) and the length of your runs at the same time.  I speak from experience here as for my first marathon I followed a schedule where I ran 4 days a week and it included speedwork alongside the mileage increases.  All that happened was that I got injured!  I did complete my marathon but it was not comfortable and it took me a while to recover afterwards.  For my next one I ignored the speedwork side of it and concentrated on getting used to the higher mileage.  Only after that did I include any sort of speedwork.

I am being very naughty playing on here as I should be doing paperwork but it's boring 

It is certainly true that as we age, we are more prone to injury. I was 47 when I was doing my highest mileage, and  wouldn't contemplate it now.

Did 60 plus miles back in the summer one week but that was a one off effort dont think my legs could take that every week......I have done 25 this week so far and usually do about 25 to 35 but really struggle getting out on the LSR every weekend but just do your best Matsum and three quality runs a week can get you round no problem. Love a schedule printed out on the desk here at work, better than looking at figures and sales targets

matsmum
The tempo bit was about 9:30 miling and worth about 57 minutes for 10k. Is that quickish for you and were you quite a bit out of breath? If so, it was fine.
It's the combination of types of training not just a couple of long runs that will build the strength to get you round a marathon. Two half marathon races run very fast with 2 weeks between them is better for leg strength than a slow 20 mile run.

10 miles is a very good start point if you can do it comfortably. Do a couple on successive weekends then maybe add a mile (or a half mile) for the next 2 weeks and so on.  Make the long run slow at what's known as "conversation pace". That's the pace at which you can chat to someone while running. Add a touch of quality by increasing the pace a bit for the last 10 minutes. Keeping it simple is
fine at our level. We're not in the business of setting records other than PBs.


Diana
Thanks. I will keep an eye on the website.
JJ

Thanks Red and JJ.......hooray - I'm sorted!  I worked backwards as you suggested, Red, with a cutback every 4 weeks or so, and JJ, I will start with my first LSR of 10 miles this weekend.  Yes, my middle 4 miles averaged at exactly that pace, 9.30, and yes, I was out of breath but I managed it ok. Thank you everybody.

From your recent post, Red, I assume you have lost your mother recently. If so, I am sorry for your loss. There is nobody who cares for you quite as much as your mum, however old you are.