Sub 3

You're totally getting back to it, aren't you, MtR -- great stuff.

I knew you were quicker in 2011 but didn't know you were the reigning C2C champion Njord!

mmm...mmmarmite -- I have both XTalon212s and XTalon190s (for races), which have identical soles, consisting of a fairly sparse pattern of square studs made of sticky stuff. They're really good on the ice, and are also ace for any multiterrain races (I don't even bother with my spikes for XC, which are old and significantly heavier). I also have some Roclite312GTXs which I fancy aren't quite as grippy, but are probably harder-wearing and are waterproof and cosy. If rather clompy compared to the light ones. There may be newer better things by now of course. Walsh PBs probably have a similar effect, though I've never tried them. And some people advocate adding metal screws to old pairs of trainers to make ice-shoes...

Some hugely impressive running from many of you - congratulations all.

16M for me today, averaging around 7:45 min/mile. That was self-paced (speed and distance) as well, as we were away from home and I forgot to pack the Garmin. Sometimes I think it's better that way!

Lord D - recover well and take it easy. You can be invincible again next week.  I hate that head cold feeling.  Hope you feel better soon.

Stuart - nice weekend of running!

Tim - I don't know about walking as part of training but I'm pretty sure the 90mins I walked yesterday afternoon was very good for the post long run recovery - I'm feeling much better than I expected this morning.

Nice run electric sheep! I'm always a bit nervous about running without the Garmin but you are right sometimes it is just better.

Speaking of off-road shoes, on Saturday I wore Saucony Peregrines for the entire race, and had no issues whatsoever - no blisters or sore feet (like I had in the Lakeland 50). I do have one black toenail but that one has been bad for ages. And I wore socks which were 3 pairs for about £3 I think from the supermarket!

My legs do feel OK today, much better than after a fast marathon (or the Ballbuster, which was the worst DOMS I've ever had). It's a bit like after an IM, legs are generally not too sore 24 hours later.

Padams - re DOMS - I've found the same in the past after ultras.  I thought you might suffer more given your limited running mileage, but good that you're not.  I see that the provisional results are up - just 24 seconds between 1st and 2nd!  That must be the ultra-marathon equivalent of a photo-finish!

CharlieW - my 'course best' is nowhere near any of the last four years' winning times.  My record:

2010: 5.46 for 2nd place.  Poor conditions.  Snow, ice, rain, headwind.
2011: 5.54 for 5th place.  Quite good conditions.  Mild. Slight breeze.
2012: 5.45 for 5th place.  Super-quick conditions.  No breeze, frozen ground.

The year you ran (2010) was so much harder than the other two years above.  Much as I'd like to convince Padams though, probably not 13 minutes harder than 2013

A.W. - again, stunning time from your missus.  Pass on my (and Caz's) congratulations.  Out of interest, what time does she run for a marathon?

I missed C2C this year because I sensed I was getting into good shape and want to train sensibly for VLM (43 milers aren't part of most mara training programmes). 

As it turns out, I've probably failed [to train sensibly] so far this year, but it's been an encouraging start nonetheless - Princes parkrun runner-up (17.42) on 1st Jan followed by Liverbird New Year's Day marathon an hour later (winner in a very windy 3.06), runner-up at Enigma Winter Marathon 1 on 5th Jan (2.58), winner at Enigma Winter Marathon 2 on 6th Jan (2.56), and my best Border League performance for several years yesterday at Birkenhead Park (~5.5 miles in 31.23).  Firmly believe there's another pb in the old legs yet.

Tim - some of the Marathon runners of the 1910-20s used to walk a lot as part of their training and look what sort of shit times they used to do. Would have thought it would have a marginal effect at best - will help you lose a few cals/day if nothing else.

Cold - was loads better by last night. Ran to work this morning .... nose running a lot again now, but that's just the outside temps. Yippeeeeeee! Slipped only slightly down the Strava worldwide january challenge. Think I might try a monumental week to get in the top 10. (It's my big 50th party on saturday so sunday will be a zero.). I reckon there will be a lot of people who can't sustain the mileage they have done the first 14 days.

That's a not too shabby series of races there Njord.

[that's my early entry for understatement of the year, BTW]

A.W - 6.08 for Country To Capital is a bloody good conversion from a 1.32 half.  She will have beaten a lot of sub-3 marathon runners (sub-1.25 half-marathoners) with that time.

Cheers Cheerful.  Running/racing is easy when things are going well.  Long may it continue.

Njord - had to read that twice.  3 marathons in a total of 9 hours exactly in the space of a week.  And with a 17.42 5k warm up before the first!  Extraordinary.

If a celebrity had done that, they'd be give a lifetime achievement award at BBC SPOTY.

If I can get within a mile of you at the end of the Brass Monkey I'll be delighted.

Njord - the guy that ended up in 2nd was apparently 11 mins ahead of me and the eventual winner at around halfway. The winner was following me up to the canal (I was the navigator...), and I suspected he was waiting to pick up the pace once he was on the canal. He was probably taking 30s/mile out of me while I could see him on the canal (and I was running around 7:10 pace) - he must have caught the leader in the last mile or two!

So by 6 Jan you'd run 3 marathons, 2 of which were sub 3, and the other you won, and had run a 17:42 5k immediately beforehand?! Would be interesting to see what you could do in a fast marathon with a proper taper.

Njord.  That is a mighty impressive bank of running!  If you can focus it all down on VLM then you should get a stunning PB.  Look forward to seeing what happens!

christ Njord and there was me thinking I was starting to run well, amazing stuff!!

Njord: menthol.

Njord - that must warrant a "fair effort son", same goes for Padams.

Njord/Padams - grudgingly, approaching reasonable I guess.

Walking?  You're trying to wind me up, right? I'm not biting.

Toro - suggest you ask His Lordship for some cycling advice.  Apparently he cycles over 25% faster than you. He could end up on Oprah's couch if he keeps those claims up ;o)

Did a run yesterday.  Almost reached reasonable meself.  It's been a while.  14 weeks to avoid a bout of PrettyBoy-itis.

MtR - not bad for a fat lad.  Keep at it. 

As you were.

Hmm, sore throat and slight fever this morning - maybe the increased mileage has hit my immune system. I will be carding a zero today, since it was a planned rest day anyway and it feels like I need it.

Anyone out in the snow this moring?

Not been on here in a while. Nice to seem some familiar faces, all continuing to run impressive times. I'de like to share my experiences from the Tiberius Marathon (http://www.tiberias-marathon.co.il/index.php?uri=&lang=en) run last Thursday, here in Israel.

Probably not the most rested I have ever been before a marathon, with a new baby (born 3 weeks prior) and all, plus not sure how good my nutritional strategy was, but I honestly think that even had the preparation been perfect, nothing could have prepared any of the runners for those winds from the 21K mark back down to 30K where we turned the corner, back to Tiberius!

1-5K: I ran with a friend and the Kenyan women. Ironically, I was trying to persuade him not to go out too fast! Might not have been the smartest of moves looking back on it, but did not feel too much energy being used.
5-10K: Still felt strong, but was definitely taking it easier.
10-21K: Best part of the race. Got to the half in 1.26, pretty much as expected and was feeling great.
21-30K: To be honest I didn't feel like I was losing too much speed here, in relation to the RIDICULOUS headwind and even thought I was conserving energy.
30-37K: It was only when I turned the corner that I realized how much energy I had used up on the last stretch. I felt like I was totally broken and could not go on – luckily the coach of my running club was on the sidelines at this point, and pretty much saved the day.
The power of words and company were truly comforting from the 30 – 32K mark. Even though I might have seemed unresponsive and possibly unappreciative, the calming influence really helped.
Aside from the coach's company for a couple of K, it was by far the loneliest stretch of the race mentally. I still have no idea how I managed to hold it together. The wheels were definitely wobbling…
37-42.2K …or so I thought. Something just clicked inside my head (certainly not my legs) at this point and I decided just like that, to finish this thing with some dignity.
The Finish: I was actually quite surprised to see 2:56 on the clock, even though by this stage I knew I couldn't be far off, because in the dark section of the race I thought I’d be lucky to keep it under 3hrs. So, I ended up with an almost 4min +ve split, but under those conditions I think that was just about expected.

Lessons learned:

• As much as possible have a visual plan of the marathon as a whole, so you can be better prepared at key stages.
• Rest i.e. sleep, as much as possible and make sure to have a solid nutritional plan, the week beforehand
• Do a larger percentage of long runs at a slower pace

After ‘PBing’ last year, this marathon certainly brought me back down to earth! The marathon truly is an enigma. Saying that I know that I am definitely capable of bettering my time in the future 

Cheers,

Viggy

5K splits:
1-5: 19:44
5-10: 20:31
10-15: 20:41
15-20: 20:26
20-25: 20:39
25-30: 21:47
30-35: 21:23
35-40: 21:30
40-42.2: 9:39 (4min/k average)