Sub 3

LS21 - thanks for the info - I think I will give them a call and see what they say...

Good track session last night, I'm gradually able to do more on the track before my calves start complaining. 2x1M in 5:02 and 5:00 off 200m jog recovery, then 5x400 (I only did 3 of these as the shorter reps are the cause of the tight calves, ran the other two tempo), then 2x1M, but I only did one of them in 4:58. Nearly 9M with a run there and back from home and warm-up.

Given I don't have any major races for a while I thought I'd try out some new shoes (they were cheap through the tri club and I thought they looked interesting), and given it was track I could bail out early. But I actually managed at least as much distance as using other shoes. They felt a bit weird at first (like wearing slippers), but felt fast on the intervals.

Padams -- interesting on the shoe front. I won a Saucony voucher in a race and ended up buying a top I never wear, but could have put it towards some of those -- as I was suffering blisters at the time and they seemed a bit hard and totally uncushioned though, I backed off.

CC2 == you do get a chip time on the Champs start. My Po10 lists both...
Mine too, but both years they were suspiciously identical despite me being a few rows back, and my own watch time was 2 sec quicker this year. This was a sore point as it was the same time to the second as the previous year! Might just be a rumour about no chip time -- but has anyone registered a different chip time to their gun time off the champs start? They might just list the same time twice in both "columns" if not?

CW - Po10 shows chip and gun time for VLM for me, but both are the same (and I was nowhere near the front), so I think they've just put gun time in both columns if you started on the Champs start.

Yes, the shoes are pretty minimal - fine for the track/smooth road, but I had to run on a short cobbled section to get there, and that wasn't very enjoyable!

lol-ing at the description on that shoe... "the Hattori is literally an extension of your foot." ummm

And the category: Home / Invisible Categories / INVISIBLE CATEGORIES-Active On Site / St. Patty's Day / Men's Hattori . woah. Invisible.

That's gotta be a disadvantage if you qualify for champs start, eh?!

Dids - ha ha, I just say I'm on the red start and hoping to beat 3:15. Some folks with a number on their back obviously qualify with a 75min 1/2 and then struggle to run a 2:45 as  I usually overtake a few and I'm running 2:5Xs. If I was good enough to qualify I'd make sure I'd done enough to run a 2:45 on the big day.

PAdams - top bombing there.

Made a nice puddle in the garage today, been putting is some good work lately.

selbs - I certainly remember, and can empathise with, the frustration. Every swimming time posted is ridiculous to me given that I can't swim at all (still intend to learn at some stage though)

Very nice track work Padams! Those shoes look quite like bike shoes!

TR - you've got your garage to make your puddles - I'll be out on my Nutcracker loop again soon to achieve the same aim

Why do shoe manufacturers have 'customer' ratings and reviews of their own products on their own sites?  I mean, does anyone think that "I will never buy a different shoe. If Saucony decides to discontinue this shoe I'll buy 50 of them so I don't have to worry about finding another shoe" isn't from a Saucony employee.

Reminds me of the old Not the 9 O'Clock News Points of View sketch: "I'd like to complain about the BBC licence fee.  It's far too low."

CD  - I thought that. I'm tempted to put a bad review on there to see what happens to it!

LS21 - the best way to beat the baggage queue at the end of the race is to get there first.  Glad to say this year I was picking up my bag without any waiting around, just 2h05 mins after the start of the race.  The fact that I had dropped out at halfway and got the tube to the finish was largely missed by the members of the public applauding me as I walked away from the finish area, bagged up and in full kit just as the first Africans were crossing the line.

15West - congrats on the sub 3 and massive PB.  Top bombing.

Dids - if you like, I can replace Marigold on my expo backdrop with a life size image of your good self, so people can come and have their own "special" photo taken with you.  Bonus being that you won't even need to be at the expo in person at all!!

Dids... surely that delightfully pompous GFA letter that the LM people send out with the phrase 'you have satisfied our scrutineers' is enough to make you puff out your chest with pride!

The whole term GFA is more-than-ever-so-slightly-patronising isn't it? Not Good in any absolute sense, but Good For Age.

Still struggling away with unfitness and excess lardage at this end, but getting back to it step by step.

And there was no queue at the FGFA baggage trucks this year, but then again, I got there an hour after everybody else! Actually most years I get to the truck and someone hands me my bag as soon as I get there.

Afternoon all, thought I would de-lurk as I am going to have a crack at my first Marathon in the spring and reckon sub 3 will be a reasonable target for me. I have been lurking for a while, I am basically a bit of a running geek and like to read about training approaches and the like and thought it was about time I joined in. Sounds like the confession of an internet stalker!!!
I know a few of you from the Middle Ground thread and a few of you in real life!!! So hello.

A bit about me. I have been running a couple of years, I am a reformed fatty who wanted to lose weight found he enjoyed running, joined a local club and the rest is history.
PBs are 5k: 17:16, 10k: 36:42 (hilly course up in the Yorkshire dales so reckon that’s well soft!) HM: 81:06

I have a half (Lancaster) and a 10k (Abbey Dash) coming up in November so hopefully sub 80 and 35:xx is on the cards.

As for Marathons plans, I missed out on a spot at London through the ballot but I might get a club spot. If I don’t get a London spot then I will run either the Manchester Marathon or the Marathon of the North the week after London.

Thanks in part to this thread I think I have a reasonable idea (on paper at least) how to go about training for a marathon but would appreciate some thoughts on my planned approach.
My current plan/idea is to concentrate on getting my half time down over the winter for a crack at my half PB at the Brass Monkey in Jan. Key runs as follows:
-Tempo session aimed at HM (threshold – HMP type stuff)
-Mid week medium long 13+ miles (sometimes progressive if I am feeling frisky)
-Long run 16+ miles (with a few at 20miles with half an eye on the Marathon coming up).
+  as many easy paced miles as I can fit in around that.

After Brass Monkey (mid Jan) I will take a week off to freshen the legs up and then have a short(ish) build up to spring Marathon (10 weeks + taper).
The weekly training structure will be much the same as above but the tempos will be longer MP ones, though I will do the odd shorter faster tempo for variety. Mid week long run will remain but will push on to 15-16 miles, long runs will be more often 20+ miles than not. I will get in a time on feet run in at some point (so I guess 24 miles ish) and will add some MP sections to the back end of long runs closer to the big day as well.

So a question to the thread, as a Marathon first timer with my target and experience in the context of what I have typed above, do you think a shorter marathon specific training build up is a good idea?

Sorry for the long winded post and thanks in advance for any responses that come my way.

DanA - excellent !

MtR - do you have a VLM entry for 2013 ?

YD - sounds like more than enough running for me. Dont burn yourself out early though. Once I learned that all the long runs were time on feet I started doing much better at VLM. Its not about how many matches you can burn in training, its about how many you have left for race day. And if you are a sub 80 runner by the marathon then dont aim 2:59. 

He's right you know, we all know I'm a bit shit in the hair department

Not sure about this M v M smackdown in the 50k, the all new improved British Marders should be kicking my arse all over the shop........ as long as he doesn't get lost. ( It's an out and back prom run which we do 8 times so he really doesn't deserve to beat me if he gets lost!)

Marigold, you should be much quicker than Marders for the downwind direction along the prom, you have had much more practice at it after all!