FLM 09 - 3.45ers! - Page 25 - Spring Marathon

Velociraptor

29/10/2006 at 20:25

Yes, it's just north of Walsall :o) Cavern accommodation available on Saturday night for anyone making the journey.

No running for me today. I've been fairly busy and unaccountably tired. But I promised myself that ANY running during the week after Abingdon would be a bonus, and I've done 20 miles this week without difficulty and not had a post-marathon low.

Training for a spring marathon starts tomorrow. I'm putting off drawing up a mileage-building schedule on the pretext that I want to read the Pfitzinger and Douglas books that eL Bee has ordered from Amazon to see what their advice is first. But it really IS just a pretext. The truth is that I can design beautiful, logical schedules but I'm rubbish at following them. Given my history of life getting in the way of running, I'm always tempted to do a little bit extra, bank a few miles, or do tomorrow's session today so that if something happens tomorrow it can't derail my training. And that's a good way to get injured.

I think I'll start with just this week :o)

Looking forward to RD checking in!

Little Stoker

30/10/2006 at 10:44

Mr Dap, where art thou ?

A week off with the sniffles, but despite still being a phlegm factory, I ran my hilly 8.6 mile route today in 1:07:54, which is a minute faster than last time, and I felt much stronger in the legs. The break obviously did me good. On this subject, if I have my Glen Clova Half on Saturday the 11th, what should my running ideally be next week ? Would say 6 miles on the Monday and Wednesday mornings be OK ?

I passed a fellow runner at 6.15 am, which is the first time EVER in 3 years of running. No one else in this town of 6,000, runs in the morning it seems. I would have loved to have found a new running partner, but he was going too slow and only planned on doing a mile or 2.

The wife has ordered me a bright yellow pair of Saucony's and some reflective wristbands for the dark mornings.
She has obviously remembered how much she loves me, as last year I got jet black leggings, and a matching long sleeved top, to go with my black Nike's, making me the Milk Tray man, but also very difficult to see for the sleepy headed tractor drivers and farmers at 6am on a Scottish Winters morning!

Velociraptor

30/10/2006 at 12:20

Your running plan for the week before the Glen Clova half sounds very sensible, LS :o) If everything else is OK and you're going scatty, another run on the Thursday isn't likely to do you any harm.

Aren't you worried about Mrs LS's motives for wanting to keep you alive this winter?
>Evil Reptilian Grin<

8 miles for me this afternoon. My adductors are a little sore but I don't think it's anything that will cause significant problems. It may have something to do with a mass seesawing escapade at the swing park with the kids yesterday. I'm indulging in my cure-all - extra biscuits with my morning coffee :o)

Umbongo

30/10/2006 at 12:59

Hi all - mind if I join in. Where is RD -still running?!!

My marathon times are:-

FLM 05 - 5:06
FLM 06 - 4:29
Loch Ness 06 - 4:23
Abingdon 06 - 4:08

My 10 K PB is 47 mins and my half PB is 1:50. Not happy with these times as I haven't raced these distances for some time and PBs set while using these races as training runs for marathons.

Sub 3:45 should be easy -thats what I thought last year!!

weetabix

30/10/2006 at 13:41

Quack-quack
I only run 3 times per week too. There was a marathon schedule in the RW magazine of Jan or Feb 06, based on 3 runs per week, + 2 episodes of 40 mins of cross training. The runs were a speed session, a tempo run and a LSR, the longest of which was 20 m I think, twice. I am hoping this schedule holds good.

Can anyone tell me why so many people give up alcohol once they start marathon training. Is it because the calories are 'empty' or because they don't run well after drinking too much ? Surely 2-3 glasses red wine / day would not diminish performance, assuming all other calories were full of good things ? Or is there a reason? Thanks for any light shed on this one.

Umbongo

30/10/2006 at 14:10

I only give up alcohol the week before the race as it dehydrates. Not aware of many formulites who give it up during their whole training

Quinn the Eskimo

30/10/2006 at 14:33

London 95 4:25 (Longest race before Marathon was 10k just enjoyed the atmosphere)
London 96 4:49 (Hottest ever London Marathon – At 6M I new I was in trouble at 10M had to run/walk to end. Was in great shape)
London 99 4:09 (Easy run to 18M just under 9m/m. Increased the pace and blew up at 22M. Should have been well under 4h)
Blackpool 99 4:31 (Stopped running after London and just did 6 weeks of running in the build up)
London 00 4:06:18 (Was aiming for 3:45)
Blackpool 01 4:25 (Very windy)
London 02 4:38 (Never felt right, could not get going)
Edinburgh 03 4:32 (Went of to fast, struggled second half with stomach cramps)
Loch Ness 04 4:25 (Ok for 15M and then struggled home)
Robin Hood 05 4:41 (Easy first half increased the pace then suffered in the last 10M.)
London 00 4:20 (Had a cold in the 2 weeks before London so took it easy during race)

Half marathon PB is 1:38:31 set 5 weeks after my marathon PB in 00. It was one of the easiest races I have done and at the end I felt I could have gone faster (Obviously peaked 5 weeks too late)

Missed a few days of running with a sore hamstring, easy run tonight with the wife to see how it feels.

Should be racing Sunday if legs OK then hopefully again at Snyd on the 10th December (Baby sitting permitting)

Well done Velociraptor on your sub 4h marathon.

The Ripped Dap justgiving.com/garethjjones

30/10/2006 at 15:37

Hello all!

5.23 for me yesterday :)

Walked the hills (mountains?!).

Race report in detail to follow. One of the best weekends of my life!! What a laugh! What scenery!!

You all have to do this at least once. I will be back at Snowdonia next year. Best race I have ever done. Utterly fantastic!

Velociraptor

30/10/2006 at 15:54

Welcome, UmBongo. Sub-3.45 should be easy for you, looking at your 10k and half-marathon times. But marathons are a lot less predictable than shorter distances.

I don't give up alcohol when marathon-training. I drink so little anyway that it's not worth giving up. Lots of people on here are quite heavy drinkers and I'm amazed that they can stand up, never mind run. For those who DO give up, I suspect that they fall into two groups - those who run better without a hangover and those who see marathon training as a whole big ascetic lifestyle package, with ice instead of scented bubbles in the bath, and High5 bars instead of Mars bars, and horrible synthetic clothes that don't co-ordinate, and painful pointy-elbow-in-the-hamstrings massages instead of sex, and getting up at 4am to run on winter mornings.

I'm sure that if I'm going to expect my body to churn out 60+ miles a week it's more likely to co-operate if I ask it nicely and make its life as comfortable as possible. That's my excuse, anyway ;o)

Velociraptor

30/10/2006 at 16:00

Well done, RD :o) That's a better time than all but one of my FLMs!

I'd love to do Snowdonia sometime. It's such a gorgeous corner of the world!

I've done a ploddy 8-miler this afternoon. Can't complain - I've been running far more comfortably than I deserve recently and was more than due a dose of heavy quads.

Pooh aka MF7

30/10/2006 at 16:27

My Marathon history

2001 FLM 4.27 (only 1 weeks notice of club place
2002 FLM 4.19 (coached a group of new runners and got them all round
Thanet Coastal 3.58.57
2003 FLM 4.01 (damn that was close)
2004 Beachy Head 7+ hours (just got round) Halstead DNF
2005 Rotterdam 3.54 Halstead 3.58 Davos 6.18 (with 25 minutes wait for team mates as I had the jelly babies)Beachy Head 8 hours just got round
2006 FLM 3.50 Shakespear 4.22 Thanet Coastal 4.14 Beachy head 5.03 + completed first ultra 32 miles

My half pb is 1.45.50 done in 2006 Dover 10 mile pb 78.55 Thanet coastal 10K 45.34 (set 2003 dont run them mutch now)

pidge

30/10/2006 at 20:47

Ripped Dap - fantastic - WELL DONE! Looking forward to the race report.

I'm now more or less over the cold. How galling that it coincided so precisely with Barns Green. But hey ho. Hoping to be out running with my club tomorrow evening.

Mulling over a possible 10k before the year's out, at least to give me something to aim for.

Quinn the Eskimo

31/10/2006 at 07:54

Mrs Eskimo has been to the bank this morning and my cheque has been cleared. Mrs Eskimo's cheque not cashed so looks like she will have to go for the club place.

Out last night and leg was OK so should be doing the Flying Fox 10 on Sunday.

Well done Ripped Dap. Snowdon is one marathon i want to do.

Good luck everybody hope you all get in to london

pidge

31/10/2006 at 10:31

Well, my cheque has not been cashed .... so looks like no place in the ballot for me (unsurprising given the odds). Still a faint chance of a club place.

Or I will turn my mind to other spring options ...

Blue Pool Shark

31/10/2006 at 10:54

Guess I can join in now my cheque is cashed, although I bequeathed so still a little bit of doubt if i'm in. Did 4:09 this year after a bit of a mental rather than physical breakdown at 22 miles!! I'm sure I can dip under 4 next year, maybe........

QuickQuack

31/10/2006 at 11:06

No cashed cheque here also .. I've still got a chance at a club place but also quite fancy Lochaber.... Hmmmmmm.

I'm hoping that marathons aren't addictive H.R.R as I'm not yet sure those 20+ miles LSRs are how I want to be spending saturday mornings indefinately !! After 5 years without lie-ins they are v. enjoyable.

Weetabix, thanks for that I shall look out my back copies of RW !

I've just had my entry confirmed for the 4 villages half in january so thats my next target. I think I'm intrinsically lazy and so having a goal really helps...

Oh nearly forgot Well Done R.D. and glad you enjoyed Snowdonia !

Velociraptor

31/10/2006 at 11:54

>Slips in looking for refuge from the dreaded hasmychequecleared fever.<

;o)

I am going to HAVE to pop into the bank on my travels today and find out. eL Bee says his cheque is in the process of being cashed, but he can't remember whether or not he bequeathed so we won't know for certain whether he's in until December.

I'm slightly achy today. On reflection, I think the weekend I just had was not the ideal sort of weekend to have in the aftermath of a marathon. Which is not to say that I didn't enjoy it - I just ended up totally exhausted.

Prue

31/10/2006 at 11:55

I'm In.....!!!!!!

Cheque cashed today and I'm smiling - I've had a good feeling to do London 07 for a while, so am dead chuffed :-)

Just need to get my arse into gear for all the training.

This will be my 2nd marathon - did 4.19 last time, but felt amazing wacthing myself getting fitter and running further so hopefully will feel the same this time.

eL Bee!

31/10/2006 at 11:59

Nice one Prue

:-D

V'rap - you enjoying my books...???

Oh.......

eL Bee!

31/10/2006 at 11:59

500

;o)