A bit like sub-4 (but 15 minutes quicker)

Cheers drunken, I only did pacing for the Oakley 20. I shall run an even pace in the VLM. Sorry I didn't make it clear. Good luck with Sunday, I take it you are doing Paris? Enjoy the beers!

shocking lack of activity!

Went out on Saturday with old Dogfish Dave. Ran my lap of Dundee, n his garmin measured it shorter than the 13.1 that I thought gmap measured it as. Re-measured it as 12.84 miles, so I'm not as quick as I thought I was... Anyway we did it at 8.15 pace so not too shabby.

Went to the annual Brechin City FC Sportsmans Dinner on Saturday. Stood in the bar after, I saw a local businessman punch a younger lad. "Hey!" I shouted. So I got a straight right jab to the mouth ! Drunk n stunned, as all the hullabaloo continued, I realised I wasnt happy at being hit, so I went outside to confront him before he was bundled into a taxi. " Oi! Numbnuts!" I shouted at him as I went up to him. Then, just before he got bundled into the car he reached over n jabbed me in the mouth again!? We carried on n had a great night til 2am. Monday I went up to his business, but he claims not to remember a thing, so despite feeling like I should pop him one, all I could do is accept his apology n leave. Found out Monday night from my mates, who were pissing themselves at me taking 2 cracks in the puss, that he'd indiscriminately punched 3 people that night, but at 5 foot 8 n maybe late 50's, he was very lucky none of the 3 were violent men.

My 14yo daughter was stood chatting to her pals on Saturday. One of them saw his older pal driving down the road from Montrose towards them. He jumped into the road to frighten the young driver. The young driver sped up to frighten his pal. Pal A was run over by pal B and is now critical in Ninewells Hospital Dundee with a fractured skull amongst other injuries. So had the police round early Sunday to interview my daughter for a witness statement. You wonder if young drivers nowadays more than ever find it difficult to distinguish between X Box games and the glass windscreen of a moving car in the real world.

6 days off work n back tomorrow. I'll go out for a run tonight, then early to bed.

LS

Is anyone else suffering from a dose of paranoia?  I worry that i'm going to trip up over something, get knocked over, be in a car crash, get food poisioning, get a cold anything really that will stop me running on Sunday.  Has anyone else experienced this or am I alone in being a nutcase?

Drunken, I can't see anything that says how you got on and I think Hull was the Easter weekend, I hope it went ok. To continue your list

Name     Marathon               PB         Target       maras     No       race day kit      

Bec         Brighton (15/04)    n/a       3.45-3.50   0          12219      black vest and long socks, pale aqua shorts

Becs - massive best of luck for Brighton on Sunday....enjoy it and I really hope you hit that target...keep thinking positive...

Managed to cane my PB in local 5 mile race Good Friday, managed a 33m 18s which took over 3mins off previous time... also instead of a 18mile LSR Sunday I felt good, so went on and did 20 - so all in all its been a good few days for me so far...

7 weeks and counting till Edinburgh...!!!

Keep pounding the streets everyone - or indeed trails if thats what you do!

Evening all

Long time since I posted on here but would like some views please

Running London. My 5 long runs have included a double 29 in 4.28/4.42 a marathon in 3.57 pl;us 2 x 20 in sub 3. Ran a half in 1.41 last weekend. I have a long term aim of sub 3.40 to get me into Comrades pen C. Original plan was just enjoy London nut now???? Does 3.45 seem reasonable

 Thanks in advance

Quite an eventful night LS, you showed restraint there. Hope lad A pulls through, very bizarre events.

Hull marathon was a bit of a mixed bag in that the organisation and route were a bit shoddy by big marathon standards. But the course wasn't bad overall. Unfortunately my pace, mostly into the facewind was too much in the first half - it seemed too easy for 6m, started to get hard work in more undulating 7-13m, by 14m (turnaround) I couldn't sustain it. This was accompanied by my body deciding 3 gels in a 6.5m stretch was too much and I felt bloated and nauseous, so I didn't have another gel till 20m and this didn't help energy. Realising it wasn't going to be my day to hit my 3.15-3.20 target pace - I got greedy - I just plodded around the rest from 14m, slowing a lot. Even this wasn't easy after awhile and I had to walk bits, more down to demotivation than anything I reckon as I probably could have maintained more pace but lost interest and starting to thinking of saving myself for events in weeks to come (got a 37m trail race 6 days later and 50m in 20 days). I completed in 3.35. It is a PB, but nowhere near what I should be running I was behind several people from my club I can beat in most distance and am always faster than in training.

Lessons from this? Things to be careful of for others maybe?:

1. Even a few seconds per mile too fast early on is too much and adds minutes per mile later, I should have steadied off even further despute early miles seeming too easy as I shouldn't have been struggling at halfway. Should have gone at a pace that was easy beyond halfway, I got greedy and went off like I could run sub 3.15.
2. Practice more with gels, I haven't bothered with that much in training as I usually eat proper food on long trail runs due to slower pace.
3. More long runs on road may have helped. I've averaged 46 mpw this year, but the long runs have mostly been off-road and at slower pace, which maybe not ideal prep.

I should know better after having done 5 road marathons previously. But a few years of no road marathons and few long runs on concrete obviously made me a bit laxse. If I have a bad few miles in a long off-road trail event I can usually pick up again after running/walking easier for awhile. No such opportunity over 26.2m at faster pace.

Anyway, no indulging in self-defeat for me, too much to do, as I alluded before I've got the 37m Calderdale Hike trail event this Saturday, which looks like a hilly, muddy and interesting route and the Woldsman 50 at the end of the month. And after that some really tough mountain trail events, my first go at Lakeland 50 in July (I've done as part of 100 at a very slow pace and its a great route) and the super-hilly TDS (Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie) in August - which I'm super-excited about

Hi Martin, 3.45 seems feasible with those kind of long runs and with that pace of HM under your belt.

Martin. If you've done 1.41 in a HM and have completed sensible marathon training 3.45 should be well within your ability. Just set off at an even pace - no faster than 8.24/ mile. As drunken says setting off at the right pace no matter how good you are feeling is what it's all about. If you find yourself ahead of time after a few miles reign it in. I'm sure you can do it!

Hi everyone, I'm looking for a nice dose of reassurance...I did the Reading Half marathon a couple of weeks ago in 1.42. I felt good throughout - it is amazing how much quicker you can go in a race situation so I definitely think that the start of the marathon will be dangerous territory.

 I really want to do the VLM in 3.45, with that half marathon time so recent do you think that it is doable? What is the pacing we're looking for (sorry if this has already been discussed!)

Still a great run drunken, I would love a time of 3:35 at the VLM, but I suspect I shall be lucky to break 4 hours. I agree with the running too fast at the start, I think we all feel that urge to keep up with everyone around us instead of sticking to the correct pace. Agree on the gels as well, I don't train with them normally and then try them on marathon day and feel sick. 3:45 seems 'doable' Laura, but I think it depends on your long runs as well as fast half marathon times. Good luck in the VLM.

Hi Tom, I did 22 miles in 3h 14, and my quickest 20 miler was 1.53 (I ran it 4 times)...what do y ou think?

Laura sounds like 3.45 is the correct target for you. Stick to 8.35 a mile and good luck!
My HM. PB is 1.46 (feb 2011). I had a great VLM last year at 3.52. Good luck!

Thanks all

No doubt the secret is the pace. The problem I find is what I think is steady is now quicker than it used to be (A good thing) but after 15 marathons I also know that the fun starts at 20!

For those who have done London before. I told a bit of a porky on my form 3.30 so hope that gets me pen 3 but the pens are a joke off blue anyway. If anyone has found a way to get as close to the front as possible would love a hint actualy stopped after half a mile last trime!

However looking back a few pages I think its a good target for me so if its OK with you I will stick around. No one doing Mablethorpe in the Autumn by any chance?. Thats my A race and 3.40 target.

I agree with gjranit Laura, it looks like you are on for 3-45. Try and stick to the 8.35 pace, particularly over the first few miles, as Martin says the marathon doesn't start until you've done 20 miles!

Thanks guys very helpful, really want to do it in 3.45 so I can be 'good for age', and think a lot of it is all in the mind. Your reassurances have helped with that, so thanks!

3.48.22

Really pleased with that for my first marathon, espically as training wasn't as good as it should have been.  THANK YOU to everyone for your support, advice and encourgement.  I ran a pretty even race, half way in 1.54 but it hurt more than I expected.  I could hardly walk when I finished and I'm wiped out now.

 Assuming they don't change the good for age times for 2013 it looks like I'll be in London next year!

 

Well done Becs, massive achievement for your first time - you should be very proud of that - very proud indeed!!! Has it made you want to do it again?!!

Id be well chuffed if I get that for my first time in Edinburgh....

Big well done.....

So would I if I could get it in the VLM next Sun. A great time Bec, well done.

Arnie, Yes it has made me want to do it again and if I don't get in to London I'll do Brighton again next year, it was nice being local.  I got up at 6.30 to have breakfast then I watched a bit of tv, did a puzzle and had a leisurely wander down to the start.  I think London will be a very different experience and once I've done it I'll be happy to return to home turf.

hello everyone- long time no see

Bec - WELL DONE! wow! you must be well chuffed- job done. congrats

Drunken- firstly- it was still a great run. well done mate. my thoughts are......off road does not translate well on the concrete- a far different kettle of fish....much slower. I have learned the hard way, got to keep pounding the road otherwise it just goes......for what its worth I use gels and shot blocks on fell races. I tend to neck them during the climbs. I know on those super long efforts (from my club mates experiences not mine- that gels aren't enough on the likes of wasdale and for some reason friends use brioche buns with chocolate in them- one reason being you can stuff them in a bum bag easily). I've got round borrowdale and Duddon on gels/shot blocks and a mars bar 2/3 into it. enjoy your next challenges.

for me- I took poorly 8 days prior to lochaber mara and was spewing my guts up for five days- could hardly run round the block let alone a mara. was sorely disappointed but what can you do? My plan now is to enjoy the fell season but adding in a couple of 10ks in an attempt to keep up road pace. After Borrowdale I plan to have another crack at Great Langdale mara in september. I will never get 3hr 45 on that one (some massive hills) but feel the need to do a mara this year and would be well pleased to break 4hrs at Langdale. So if its alright I will still hang around here for motivation and the crack.

Stoker- the fitba' season is well over now and the best team won the SPL and that's all that counts

VLMers - enjoy the taper time put your feet up and eat pizza and chips and good luck and enjoy

Well done Becs, that is an excellent time and it sounds like you ran the race well, evenly and barely able to walk when you finished, which probably means you gave it just the right amount. Well done and enjoy the recovery.

CR - Sorry to hear about your bad luck with the sickness and your right to not try running after that. Enjoy the fell season though and Great Langdale marathon. I did Snowdonia a few years back and did like the big climbs to break up the running pace and exercise a few differet muscles.

I agree that off-road improvement doesn't neccesarily relate to on-road, but I think the longer distances have certainly helped me improve overall. Combined with a speed session every week or two its given me stamina and endurance to keep my pace longer. Which has really helped at 3m to HM distance on road the last year or so. Marathon is a different beast to half and below though.

I'm back into trails now, Calderdale Hike at the weekend was a nice 38m with plenty of on-route food (sandwiches, biscuits, bananas, sweets, hot and cold drinks), a good variety of underffot conditions and climbs. All in all I never pushed too hard, kept eating and just got around. Feel a lot less achey afterwards than post-marathon too. I'm going to stick to my practiced discipline for awhile now I think.

But ,I will be doing a few more fell races as hills on most trail won't cut it for TDS training, so maybe see you out there CR - unfortunately the lakes are too much petrol burning away for me to get to regularly though. Easy weekend coming up, but after that the weekends are booked up: Woldsman 50 (trail), Pendle Cloughs (fell), a couple of days running peak district, Bob Graham Round pacing (maybe). Will try and get over to do a lakes long or super-long some time this summer too (unfinished business at wasdale). Will be fun.

Good luck all, conditions look perfect for you in London this weekend, not much wind, cool, and maybe some rain to cool you further. So don't worry about the weather, just stick to your pacing plan and try not to get impatient if it feels too easy in opening miles (like I did). If it still feels easy at 13m then its your day