sub 4 hour group,if anyone wants to get together

hi ACoops, or a lady shape bottle carrier on the front maybe?  I have done a long run with a camelbak like scott said, works fine for me.  Nice half time!!!

I do get scared when I see some of the distances people are doing - on training thread and my running club, sticking to the schedule though

It was! I took three cups of tea to defrost after. Brrrrr.

I have a camel pack, but don't wear it running because I can never get it to sit flat on my back, I think it's a bit big? I bought a women's one, but I think I probably fit more in to the child category.. do they make childrens camelpacks for running? 

I live in London so drink depositing is out. The foxes would definitely drink them before I had the chance  

Wabo - I've never heard of a lady shape bottle carrier.. I will google!  

Thanks, re. the time. I was so wonderfully pleased. I'm definitely not doing the same distances as most and I'm only (I say this relatively..) running between 40 to 50km in total for the week? This is my first marathon so I'm just following a schedule the best I can and will see what happens!   

What do people think about mini recovery along with mini taper? I mean, obviously I'm not running today, but should I resume business as usual tomorrow do we think? I'm a bit nervous about going back to full on training... My left leg aches at the front and my toes on my right foot are a bit of a bloody mess (not swearing!) But apart from that I feel fine...

Runningfeet - Blackminster half is a nice event - I've done it quite a few times. Flat, although a few undulations - the ones I remember are a bit of a drag at about 5 miles and then a particularly nasty incline right at the end of the 6 mile loopy-loop which always catches me out, and you get to do it twice.  Also it's over distance - you go straight past the last marker and think you've finished but there's still 100m or so to go. The thing that always amazes me is how fast the leaders are going - the speed us mere mortals run means we're bound to be lapped usually midway through the first 6 mile loopy...you here them it coming up behind you and then they zoom past at some speed.  www.d2ride.co.uk  ZolaP - Good going at Kidderminster.  Did you see Wiggins and Froome apparently they were in the crowd.  Half way round we thought you would cave in but you looked full of beans in the home straight.  Coolio.  www.d2ride.co.uk

Cannot do with holding a water bottle while running. I have a running belt that i brought when i used to do a bit of fell running. It can carry 2 bottles (Not a good idea as it weights a ton) and pockets for carrying a bit of food. It has a lot of padding and does not move about a lot (Still rubs soom times)

Ikle - 1 or 2 days rest or easy runs wont hurt you. Better to lose a couple of runs so you can be fully fit for the rest of your training.

Khanivore - Its only a formuls. I know some people who can seem to keep on running for ever and there marathon time is nearly just double there half time.

Khanivore, I think if you put in the miles you have a good chance. And as long as you start conservatively. Worth a go, I reckon.

Khanivore, definitely worth a go, you're pretty close. Which marathon is it again?

Its only a formula, gives a range of 1:44-1:49 which is about right, higher end with more experience, others here and friends have done sub 4 off 1:52 - but lots of marathons. Many end up with big positive splits on first marathon going off too fast. Friend had done 1:40 half, 3:55 marathon for example - very painful cramping up too. Think Scott did 1:48/ 3:58 approx, Scott?

Whether you manage to bring it all together on first marathon, get the endurance right, taper properly, who knows? Legs feel different after 20-25 miles. blog for my first if any help.. A few photos of water bottles also....

see new peeps, what a lot of genuinely useful info you get here! They know their stuff they do

Quinn true - people definitely react to distance in different ways. I shocked myself at the Silverstone half marathon. My heart rate was the same throughout. I honestly can't believe it didn't spike up like it normally does. You can see it in the splits at the bottom of my race report:

http://ninjakhan.co.uk/2013/03/05/silverstone-half-marathon-2013/

Fit cat - i'm doing Reading half in two weeks and then my big one is the London marathon a few weeks later. 

Well done everyone on the good HM times and welcome Acoops and Quinn. 

I sometimes take money and buy drinks at newsagents. 

I reckon all the peeps getting within scratching distance of 1:50 should have a reasonable shout at 3:59:59 come the day. But try doing some long runs with a few miles at the end at 8:50-9:10 min/miles or thereabouts. If you can, it builds the confidence to do the sensible thing which is negative splits. 

Sounds odd but it is easier to do 20@9:15 + 6.2@8:51 than it is to do that the other way around - you haven't tired yourself out by going too hard and you only have to push for a few miles, knowing that the end and a nice sitdown is pretty close!

fido, that was my next shout, I do that re money and just pop in and buy some. good advice there fido about pacing, its exactly how I somehow managed my half well on sunday, my last mile was my fastest and I cnnot quite believe that! It was also my 16th mile