Sub 3.30 2011 - Page 71 - Spring Marathon

mizunomad

08/04/2011 at 19:38

Been feeling crap for Two weeks visited the doctor yesterday and got diagnosed with Tonsillitis. Hopefully I will be OK for next week ( antibiotics), however I am sure it will have an effect on my finishing time.

Carrot

08/04/2011 at 21:30

I remembered another pre-race ritual.... ice-cream the day before! Thorntons do lovely one in a chocolate topped cone, or if I can't find a thorntons or we're doing a marathon out of the country I have been known to devour half a tub of Ben and Jerry's! Very enjoyable pre-marathon ritual (well, any race to be honest) Lots of calories, lots of carbs, doesn't fill you up too much, happy days!

4 miles easy tonight, must have run past a dozen barbeques. Lovely night! It's always hot this time of year, everyone loves it, us marathon runners curse it!

10 miles planned for tomorrow, then rest Sunday, 4 Monday, rest Tuesday, 4 Wednesday, 4 Thursday, rest Friday, rest Saturday, 26.2 Sunday. Is it really that soon? This final week is my tried and tested last taper week formula. Another pre-marathon ritual probably!

old4speed

08/04/2011 at 22:07

Carrot it really is that soon - scary thought. Given you have managed to break the magic 3.30 I am going to follow the same taper as you [with some additional cycling as I have to get to work]. Did nothing today apart from an hour of walking in the evening sunshine. I do like the taper week

Spoons.

08/04/2011 at 23:20

Carrot - your 4 miles on mon/wed/thu, what pace do you do them?

Ant P

08/04/2011 at 23:25

carrot wrote (see)

I remembered another pre-race ritual.... ice-cream the day before! Thorntons do lovely one in a chocolate topped cone, or if I can't find a thorntons or we're doing a marathon out of the country I have been known to devour half a tub of Ben and Jerry's! Very enjoyable pre-marathon ritual (well, any race to be honest) Lots of calories, lots of carbs, doesn't fill you up too much, happy days!

For totally lush icecream in London you have just got to try Scoop - it is fab:

http://www.scoopgelato.com/parlours.html

Howey

09/04/2011 at 18:22

Evening everybody.I'm loving this weather but hoping it'll break up next week.

I've decided to rest for most of this week.I've had tired legs so thought it best.8 tomorrow for me and then similar to carrot next week.

I've also had a panic over the hotel booking.I booked it on line in November and deleted the e-mail confirmation.To make things worse i couldn't remember the site i booked it on or even the name of the hotel.I looked through every site trying to recognise it without any luck.I finally remembered booking it using a membership card i'd got.The trouble was when i went onto there site and put in my details it said i'd got no booking.After going through my statements and getting the dates of booking i rung the site and they've found my booking so it's all sorted.I'll not delete this e-mail.Train tickets,passport,letter to take to excel will all be kept somewhere safe now.

Freemers

10/04/2011 at 08:58

Hello folks....Back from my CUmbrian break. Feeling scared about next week now, just have to remind myself that the hard work is done.

Bungay Half later today - taking it nice and easy of course!

Mr S - I like to do at least a couple of tempo-paced short runs the week before, to keep the legs and heart rate ticking over. My plan is to run 4-5 miles on Tues, Wed and Fri, and I'll run two of then at a quick pace (sub 7.30). I'll also run a couple of miles on Saturday morning otherwise I'll just feel sick with nerves!

Expo in Wednesday....

Hillheader

10/04/2011 at 13:36

Good luck freemers. Hope the heat not too bad?

Just back from Edinburgh half. Reasonably gentle 1:38 and never really pushed hard. First road run for ages so good to get a feel for what a road pace feels like. Beautiful weather but fortunately only really got hot (20 deg) right at end. Most of route right along coast.

I'll plan on a gentle run on Tuesday and Wednesday only.

Howey after seeing your post decided to check my booking. I'd also deleted the emails and couldn't remember the hotel. I did remember booking through Expedia. Had forgotten username and password though. Now sorted but thanks for timely reminder!

Howey

10/04/2011 at 15:21

I thought it was only me HH.

9 miles this morning following the 26.2 miles around Paris i watched from my living room chair.That looked fantastic although slightly too warm.Anyway i'm all set for our big day now and can't wait.Hopefully the weather will cool a bit for us although it would be nice if it brightens up later on in the day.

Roll on the carb loading.

old4speed

10/04/2011 at 15:41

Howey and HH Can I join your club?? Luckily did my booking through my work e-mail and they can retrieve everything!! [Slightly scary if you think about it]. I had also forgotten the small detail of photo ID, although I like to think I would have re-read the instructions before leaving home and in any case would hopefully still have had my drivers license in my wallet.

12 miles yesterday, which started out as 10 miles but got extended when Mt O4S got lost and I had to go and try to round him up. My new target marathon pace is 8.10 - 8.15 [depending on heat] and 8 of the miles were sub that pace, so quite pleased given it was uncomfortably hot. Gardening and a spin on the bike today. Checked the rail tickets etc and starting to get a bit nervous......................

A couple of short and easy runs for me this week. Mr O4S will not be allowed out of my sight, firstly in case he makes another break for freedom but in 2005 he went out for a three mile jog to loosen his legson the Thursday before the London marathon. He spent the next week in hospital and 3 months in hip to toe plaster............................ He stumbled on a bit of rough ground in a local park and ruptured his quadricep tendon. Neither of us will be running on Thursday and park is out of bounds until next week.

Tempo Tom

10/04/2011 at 15:59

Well done HH, must be nice to breeze a half and bag a decent time too. How did you get on Freemers?

I'm still in this here race.. It's been the longest 3 weeks and has upset my mental preparations to be honest. I'm very much a confidence player' and getting my head in the zone is proving difficult already. The good news is i did my first run in 3 weeks today- 1mile slow, but no problems. Its good news and i hope to try another couple of miles later this week. The injury has obviously upset my preparations but I am still tempted to go for it. I don't want to settle. It's a difficult call. I think I'll see what the conditions are like but pretty sure I'll there with you

Freemers

10/04/2011 at 16:04

1.43.44 for me....very comfortable the whole way. It was warm but there was a lovely breeze and it was great to run in. Did the first 7 miles in 8.10's and then quickened over the last 6 (around 7.40's on average with a bit of a sprint in the last mile)....pace felt easy and I was never out of breath, so I may be tempted with 7.40's for the marathon....or maybe I should play it a bit safer. A dilema!

Well done HH - that's a terrific time for a gentle run

TT - fingers crossed. I really hope you make it

bassrun

10/04/2011 at 18:03

Did Brighton today in 3:34:09. Ran 8 minute miles all the way until mile 23, realised my watch was behind the mile markers, and I was going to have to run the last 3 miles at 7:30 pace, so I just decided to enjoy the end of my first marathon instead. Eased off, and am REALLY happy with my time, especially given the heat. I'll have to come back again to get sub 3:30.... I devised my training plan myself, and as several of you commented, I just didn't have enough marathon pace miles under my belt on tired legs. What an experience it ws though! Hope you all have a great race next week - see you next year!

godofgamblers

10/04/2011 at 18:41

well done, that's near enough 3h30 just round it down!

David Kerrigan 2

10/04/2011 at 18:56

Well done bassrun.

That's certainly an inspiration to me as it's my first marathon at London next week.

Getting really nervous and struggling getting off to sleep. Partly the race and partly the baby. My wife is due to be induced tomorrow so don't expect much sleep tonight either! Going to get up early to sneak in run and then go with her to the hospital.

Carrot

10/04/2011 at 19:21

Ice cream recommendation looks fab Ant! Think that's going to be the pitstop on Saturday afternoon...

Mr S I don't tend to run the last few runs at any given pace, just head out the door and run for the joy of running.

Good to hear you're sorted for the hotel Howey, nothing worse than that sinking panic that something has gone wrong!

I may be slightly OCD with booking stuff but I save any booking confirmations, each in their own folder eg 'London' 'New York' 'gig tickets' etc. Also have a big concertina A-Z file that I keep any letters etc in, so London magazine, registration letter, train tickets etc are files under 'L'

Nice half marathon HH, excellent time for not pushing it!

I may now do the three four milers on the treadmill after reading that O4S!!

Glad you're still in the game TT, avoid any parks just in case

Well done on the half today Freemers, isn't it a good feeling being able to breeze round in a time that was probably a hard earned PB a few years back.

Excellent run today bassrun, I hope you are celebrating with something alcoholic! I don't know about the weather in Brighton but it's been scorching where I am, a huge WELL DONE for completing a marathon in such a good time

Final 10 miler done yesterday, glorious sunshine, ran past a field full of adorable lambs, ran a very negative split, ran too close past a bush and now have a rather fetching large scratch across my arm, all in all a very enjoyable morning out!

Off to check my documents and tickets for next week as I'm a bit worried that something might have gone missing. Definitely OCD.

bassrun

10/04/2011 at 20:34

Thanks everyone - hope the weather cools down a bit for the VLM! Now to soothe my aching limbs with a few overdue beverages...

Carrot

10/04/2011 at 20:47

Enjoy bassrun! Any more races in the pipeline?

My train tickets and hotel stuff is exactly where it was! Funnily enough... Also have theatre tickets confirmation and my oyster card to add to the pack of things to take.

Am also a bit miffed that in the PO10 rankings for 2011 female marathoners I've slithered from a not-too-bad 29th place back in March to today's place in the mid-40s, like some kind of forgotten X-Factor Z-list celebrity Nice to see a North-East girl at the top though with an impressive 2:34:51 performance at Brighton today.

Spoons.

10/04/2011 at 20:51

Well done Bassrun

bassrun

10/04/2011 at 21:14

Carrot - my wife isn't particularly keen on any more marathons in the near future (maybe it's because I can't help with the kids if I'm out of the house for 3 and a half hours on the long runs...), but I think there's definitely unfinished business... this is the sub 3:30 forum, after all.

Doing Royal Parks half in the autumn, but in the meantime I think I'll aim for 5k and 10k PBs over the summer. Any suggestions for some good 10ks in and around London, anyone? Think I'll haul myself out of bed for a few more Saturday morning Parkruns - my local one in Crystal Palace is great for training, but isn't very PB friendly though - very hilly loop...