FLM 09 - 3.45ers!

My son had a cross country race on Wimbledon Common last week, very tough he said! Even though it wasn't too boggy up there he managed to get himself covered in mud ... a definite mud magnet :o)

Hi All and Welcome Weetabix .

Any news from Casualy V'rap ? Hope nothing serious...

I went out for a steady 8 miles this afternoon at 8.50 pace . I took my bleepy thing and so now have graphs and everything ! Also wore the Heart rate monitor and kept at a fairly steady 160b/min. Trouble is I have not done the sums yet and therefore have no idea what that means !

My knee was a bit stiff at the end but have done some stretches and now feels o.k. I feel like I might be back in the game !.

Was hoping R.D. might have posted.. hopefully he's celebrating in a Cardiff Hostelry !

Hello weetabix :o) Welcome! This thread is obviously the repository for 42-year-old GPs ;o)

Getting the long runs longer is just something that has to be done gradually and trained up to. As a rule of thumb, don't add more than 10% a week and have a drop-back week every 3-4 weeks ... but you knew that already, didn't you? And at 15+ miles, it's definitely time to think about taking on carbohydrate during the run.

I hate carrying things when I run, so for my last 19-miler I looped past my car at 12 miles and took out a bottle of sports drink, then discarded the bottle after about 4 miles. I've experimented with sweeties, but they tend to get all sticky in my pocket and I'm wary of taking hard sweets while running because I've nearly inhaled one in the past.

QQ, well done on your run and on mastering the technical gizmology.

The Buzzlet has a fractured lunate (I was close ... I thought it was his scaphoid) and is in a splint rather than a cast. He won't be climbing any walls for a month or two, though, which he'll hate because he's very sporty and adventurous.

I still haven't run. Once my three littl'uns are asleep, I shall ask their big sister to keep an ear open for them and pop out for a little jog round the block.

Weetabix - SNAP - I just did my first ever 15 miler today, having previously stopped at 13! And I really enjoyed it. Took it nice and easy at around 9.30 pace, and felt strong all the way round. It was a real hilly route too.

I know it's unlikely I'll get an FLM place this time, but am hoping I'll be inspired and so jealous of everyone who does that it will kickstart me into applying for another marathon next year instead!

Velociraptor - hope your son is on the mend. Thank goodness my two are still only at the bruises and scrapes stage!

Calling Ripped Dap and funkin ... please put us out of our misery! How did you get on today?

I've finally run! At around 9.45pm I told the kids that I was going out to get my run over with before the pubs closed. My 12-year-old son asked me why I couldn't just go to the kitchen and get a beer out of the fridge :oD

My slow 5-miler became 6 undulating miles at an average of 8.12mm pace, and I enjoyed every step of it. It's what I needed after my iffy 10-miler on Friday. And goodness knows I've carbo-loaded for it this weekend!

Been thread-hopping ...

FUNKIN! Come and tell us about the stonkingly fast CP10 you ran today before you bog off to the sub-3.30 thread ;o)

Hi Weetabix - a thread doctor could be useful! ;-)

Take the long runs slowly, certainly for now, pace doesn't matter at this stage. What Vrap says about building up mileage is right, almost tablets of stone type of thing. I'm only at 11 miles at the moment but this is my third marathon and I much prefer a long slow build up in miles rather than the 4 month Runners World schedule which I feel is too compressed and leaves no leaway for injuries and other disruptions. If I get to about 16 miles by christmas I will be happy which with my other runs will be about 30 miles total per week.

Tiger, I was expecting worse given the weather over the last few weeks. There was a little mud but faily easy to avoid, perhaps less easy if you're running in a group. It will be worse in January! I do like it there though; probably my favourite place to run.

Hullo Weetabix and Pidge.

Speaking from only a personal point of view, I much prefer when " our " thread isn't taken over by high achieving gazelles like you, as it makes my runs look ordinary, and I'll now have to run futher,and quicker, AND I'm 5 years younger than you !?

Only kiddin'. Well done both of you. I've done 2 solo 13.2 mile runs in the last week having previously not gone above 8.6. I now know that I can do this fairly hilly route fairly comfortably in 1 hour 44 ish, but am interested in how the rest of you approach the next step up to the 15 or 16 mile mark. I'm no doctor ( so am probably unique on this thread ! ) and don't really understand what's happening to my Adonis like body at these distances. I don't bother with water on the 13 mile runs, but I can recall the boost a bottle of Powerade gave me when I was struggling in my first half. Would this kind of drink hidden on the route be enough, or do I need a quarter of jelly babies too?!

Also, I've been doin' these 13 mile runs at 8 min mile pace which I find comfy, and I'm not blowin' out of my arse at any stage. I wonder about goin' much slower and whether the benefit is cancelled out coz you are on your feet so much longer. i.e...is there a speed for each of us that we shouldn't go below ? Would I feel much better after 13 miles having been on my feet for say 1 hour 57 mins than 1 hour 44 mins, and if so, could I go on and do 15 or 16 miles ?

HRR, I am lookin' for you to step up to the plate and raise the bar week on week too ! My ambitions are much the same as yours. I plan on sticking to my Mon Wed Fri routine with maybe a 6 and an 8.6 and always a 13.2 to keep my long run high, but my mileage won't go much above that this year. If I get in, I'll be happy to step up from 16 miles as my longest, without worrying I've left it too late, or without blowing a gasket through overtraining with the FLM still a long time away.
I think this is all deleted if I look back, plus my memory is awful,( transient global amnesia ?) so remind me how you got on with your 11 mile run. Trust me ( and Funkin ), it feels great to do a solo half, and you are very nearly there.

QQ, you must now feel like the Six Million Dollar Man, with all the bleepin' and spreadsheets and technology. I think I once had a limited edition Action Man who looked just like you ! Wish I had his fuzzy felt hair now !

Still no updates from Mr Dap or Funkin ?

p.s. I have previously stated my ignorance in all things bleepy and computery, so recent forumites Pidge and Weetabix, can either of you tell me ( or send me ) how to get a wee picture next to my posts ?

Anything will do !

Ta.

Velociraptor wrote... "FUNKIN! Come and tell us about the stonkingly fast CP10 you ran today before you bog off to the sub-3.30 thread ;o)"

Haha, been spying on me :)

Well, I had a target of 1:12 and my official time at the end was 1:11:47. I'm well happy with that.

It was a tough race, and after a slow start (too many people in front of me), I managed the first few miles around the 7 minute mile mark. From about 6 miles onwards the times dipped to around 7:10-7:20 minute miles.

Heart rate averaged at 175 bpm (i'll work out the percentage stuff later!).

Legs feel alright today and I'm now going to start thinking about a half marathon in the new few months. I'm still working on the sub 20 minute 5k at the Bushy Park Time Trial which I hope isn't too far away now, together with building up my long Sunday runs.

LS, in my one recent 19-miler I left a bottle of Lucozade Sport in my car, looped back and picked it up at around 13 miles, swigged from it for about 4 miles then looped past and dropped it back in the car before doing the last couple of miles. I hate carrying things when I run, but that strategy worked, or at least I didn't run out of gas and my 18th mile was the same speed as my 2nd :o)

Apparently there's orange squash and biscuits at some of the water stations at Abingdon, which, along with a couple of days of lots of carbs beforehand, will do nicely.

Impressive pace, funkin! If you're doing that sort of speed over 10 miles now, you should be able to build up to sub-3.30 at FLM without any great difficulty, and sub-3.15 doesn't look out of reach :o)

(I look forward to being able to say that my times dipped down to around 7.10-7.20-minute miles!)

An easy 5-miler for me this afternoon, with eL Bee, who has kindly offered to pace Tiger and me to 8.45mm at Abingdon since he hasn't been able to do enough training since FLM to take a swipe at sub-3hrs this time round himself.

Little stoker - you're a fine one to sling the gazelle references around with your 8mm pace over 13 miles, and that's not even in race conditions!!! If I could get close to that at Barns Green I would be ecstatic. The difference between how good I felt doing my 15 miles at 9.30 pace and how bad I felt bombing round Windsor half at around 8.20 pace was ENORMOUS! It may not have just been the speed - Windsor was also hot, plus I'd been ill the week before, but I do think going slower gives you masses more energy even though you're out there longer.

I don't bother with drinks on shorter runs, but over 10-12 miles I usually take water. And yesterday I was equipped with some lucozade courtesy of the Windsor goodie bag. I watered it down because it tasted far too strong otherwise, but it was great. Yum. Think I might need to get myself clued up about carbos for even longer runs.

As for the piccies - you need to add it in your profile. I'm flummoxed by beepers and spreadsheets too - I have a 4.99 Argos boys watch, and that's as technical as I get. Rather shameful for someone who works in IT.

Hello all,

I managed to get round in 4.51

I am absolutely over the moon, one of my best achievements ever!

What time did Funkin do?

Is everyone ok?

give us all the gory details !

Well done, RD :o) That's a splendid time, especially as you weren't entirely confident beforehand. How are your legs today?

Pidge, I felt horrible at Windsor too (though not quite as ill as I look in the photos), and put it down to the pace and the heat; two weeks later, on a much cooler day, I knocked over 5 minutes off my Windsor time without ever feeling uncomfortable.

I thought I might have nothing left in my legs today after last night's run, but managed an easy 6.5-miler without any difficulty. I'll do another 5 or so on Wednesday and that will be all for this week.

Hey R.D. Well Done You !

I bet that high lasts well into November !!
Yes , please tell us some more.....

Also well Done Funkin.. I think I have to agree with Vrap that you are becoming a bit too fast for the 3:45 ers !

Ha Ha L.S... sadly I cannot pull the skin off my forarm to see my " bionics" in fact I wouldn't know how to plug the bleepy thing in if it wasn't for MR QQ ( also works in I.T)

Pidge I'm completely with you on the slow runs... so much nicer running slowly.. I think we might have to change the mindset on that one !

Sorry QQ, your photo did you an injustice !

I can't recall if there was a Lindsay Wagner doll. I shall resist the temptation to think up a long list of sexist jokes relating to the technology required for a bionic woman.... a Marigold / kevlar skin ...ground breaking programming that allows an a.m. smile BEFORE a cup of tea... etcetera...etcetera...etcetera (said in the style of Yul Brynner in The King and I ).

Steve Austin, Champion the Wonder Horse, Robinson Crusoe, The Dashing Blade, The Hair Bear Bunch, Rhubarb and Custard, Tough of the Track, The Leopard of Lime Street, Jon Stark (Matchwinner for Hire), Why Don't You, ...... having a fringe that could reach my eyebrows......not having to pluck my nosehair....wearing a harrington to school....getting drunk on 2 pints....Santa leaving me yet another Action Man as he was all out of bikes....getting up for my milk round at 4.45 a.m...


....aaaaah the memories of a 37 year old !!

Well done Funkin....absolutely awesome.

Not sure what else I can tell you! The start at Cardiff is an absolute nightmare! The half and full go off together, carnage. It's a two lap course so the second lap was quite lonely.

Ran with my mate Stu all the way round. We were giggling and telling jokes all the way round. It was a new mara experience for me....totally relaxed. Cant waut to see the photo's as we stopped and posed for each one!

My other four marathons were serious event where I was fixated on a certain time. This was for the joy of running and also to raise sponsorship money.

My time was way off my pb (by almost an hour). When I started training for this things were going great. Then I got a chest infection, two weeks off. Then I almost lost my dad, the worry of his operation, the back and forth to the hospital, supporting my mum etc etc. Training effectively over.

The fact that I finished at all has given me huge amounts of confidence in my own ability. Roll on April, I am gonna nail sub 3.45!!!!!!

I am not sore or stiff today. I tore a calf muscle yesterday (slight tear) which has a corking bruise on it today. Physio on Wednesday then taper for Snowdonia on the 29th.

I am running for my local hospice. After the support they have given my family I would complete this marathon on my hands and knees if need be.

A very happy dap indeed today and your right QQ, I will be smiling for months after this. I did 3.58 in April and all I can remember about that was a huge sense of anti climax. Remember why we all started running, I bet it wasn't to nail pb's!

I fell in love with running again yesterday!

Thanks for a great report R.D. and a great "feelgood" post. I shall go out with my running club tonight with a spring in my step. !

How's your dad by the way ?


L.S. you're right in that I should probably have found a different picture.. but could only find boy ducks and they are more colorful!
Don't get me started on memories of the seventies... but is a Harrington some kind of Parka ? Fortunately (or not ?) I can still get drunk on 2 pints of weak shandy !