VLM 2012 first timers???

hi pip, thanks for the welcome. i have been ko,d from the last 4 ballots so you are so lucky to get in 2 years in a row.

got in through a club place this year, club got 2 places and only one was filled, a friend in the club suggested i join the club and ask for the other one and they obliged!!! been wanting to do it for a while so super excited now. i'm going to raise money for breast cancer care to motivate me through the winter training.

where would everyone suggest i stay in london? closer to the start, closer to the finish or somewhere in the middle? dont know london well so any help would be appreciated.

Hi bigeater, we stayed at a hotel near the finish [ you really will not want to walk very far after....believe me  but we booked it as soon as we heard I had got in ... big mistake the hotel wasn't very nice.   So not booked anything yet.  Mr pippitypoppity and I were completely out of our comfort zone in London.... but we survived.  Kafffeeg who is on this forum was a big help [ she is from London] and told us all the dos and donts...... very funny but also true I didn't realise there was such a thing as escalator etiquette until I got huffed and puffed at by some cross person.  And don't get me started on the tube..... eek quite scary.   But as I said we survived and in a strange sort of way enjoyed the whole London experience.

big eater, which hotel have you booked in to ?  Must admit I think the same as you about the expo.  We went up this year on the saturday and went straight to the expo...I know a lot of people really enjoy that sort of thing,but I thought it was far to big and was packed .... mind we were pretty tired so quite grumpy at the time.  The talks they gave were interesting especially the one preparing us for THE BIG DAY. There must be a reason why they can't post out the numbers, you have to take proof of your id as well ????

Well decided going to see the physio next Saturday about my knee ........ watch this space

Hi all.

How's the VLM training going ? Have just really got back into it in the last couple of weeks. Had a good  slow 10.7 miles last Wednesday, and have started to hit the track. Back into it now totally refreshed after a month or so off. Very recommended after a marathon.

Pip if you are out there anywhere, or anyone else for that matter, I am after your help and may need to pick your brains !!

I am in the process of putting a book together about helping first time marathoners who have decided they want to run for charity. I am at the moment working on the psychological  side of running the marathon and taking on the training involved. The idea is to try and ( if I can) completely alleviate, or minimise any fears about the challenge, both in training and the actual marathon itself. Not easy, but there are so many things that can be said and done here to help. Can I draw on some of your fears and experiences in running your first marathon ( if indeed there were any) for some of my research into this. Or what you managed to do to dismiss any of these if that was the case.

I hope you don't think this is a cheek, but I would welcome your feedback. Having run one you may have some thoughts and ideas that I may have missed.

This really is in it's infancy at the moment, but I am drawing on ideas and peoples experiences all the time.

I always said after I run 20 marathons and become a fully qualified athletics coach I would do this.This would then hold some clout. Next years London will be my 20th , and I have already got my coaching licence, so as from next year I am putting alot of my efforts into this.

I also hope you don't think the only reason originally I came on to this site was purely for this reason. That couldn't be more from the truth. I am passionate about my marathoning and thoroughly enjoy passing on knowledge and helping any other marathoners. I also run for charity and this adds to the satisfaction of finishing 26.2 miles.   

Hope you can help.

Thanks

Kiwi

ive always beleived after physical mileage and correct eating prep etc - that a strong  physcological mind  is the key

hey Kiwi what a brilliant idea I will definately put some of my thoughts,fears down for you.  Do you want them e-mailed or posted ?

Kiwi - happy to give you my two penn'oth worth if you like?

Thanks all. That is fantastic. just put them on here if that is ok. I have nothing to hide.

I will probably be firing a load of questions over to you anyway. I have been working on it tonight anyway so thought I would ask.

Thanks again.

Catch you soon.

Kiwi

Hi all. Anyone home !!

yup I am here

That's good. Starting to think Evryone had abandoned the site !!

In the middle of doing online coching qualification modules and just about had enough for one night. Can be a bit intensive, but interesting.

How is your marathon training going Pip ?

hi mr Kiwi

Hi Kiwi going to see the physio tomorrow to get some advise about my niggling knee problem.  Hopefully training can start, downloaded the plans again, although have kept the one I used last time with all my scribbles on, also always keep a running log book so shall be looking back on that.   Slightly worried about what the physio will say though

hellooooooo micknphil where is everyone else ?????

Hi Mick n Phil. Great to hear from you again.

Hi PIp. Good luck on the physio front !! fantastic to see you have kept a log book. A good idea. You can always refer back to it when needed .

I think i have asked you this, but are you aiming for a better time? hence some more intensive training, or just to get round again. The latter option is still fine if you are not worried about performances. I think you said you had a niggle last time you ran, so if you run injury free you will probably be quicker anyway. However this is all irrelevant if you only are aiming to finish again. Keep me posted, I will certainly help. if you don't hear from me for a few days I will always get back to the thread. I am working on my coaching qualifications at the moment and have 25 endurance running modules which i have to pass to get this new qualification to add to what I already have, so this takes up a bit of time. But we will certainly analyse what you do and get you round again.

    As i have already said I could do with some feedback on how you are feeling mentally ( and physically) on your quest. I can kill 2 birds with one stone here. Pick up some feedback for my book and also help you along at the same time.

The last thing I want to do is destroy the mystique the marathon has, and it does have a mystique, but still convince you , and others, that it is totally achievable. You have proved this anyway.

If I can be as cheeky to ask you Pip, how are you feeling about your next attempt ? Do you feel in control or does it weigh up still as quite a challenge, are there any doubts ? Obviously if you would rather keep this private we can email each other.

  You don't have to do this, I am not trying to ram it down your throat, but your help here would be invaluable.

One last thing about your niggle. Take on board what you physio says and run whan pain free !!!!! You still have 4-5 months so plenty of time.

Thanks Pip.

Hi everyone else.

Hi went to physio and thankfully fairly good news, not my knee after all but hamstring injury[sartorius muscle injury] basically over extended my leg when I jumped off the gate....... silly pip  no problem with my knee movement etc....so that's a big relief. She prodded my leg owch !!! and that had the magic ultrasound on it and has given me some stretching exercises to do,  But fingers and toes crossed should be able to start running soon

Kiwi am definately hoping to do a better time at this attempt. 

You ask how do I feel about this attempt?  ... I am still nervous about it which I think is quite good in a way, but slightly more confident as well if that makes sense, I know I can do the training as I have done it before although it is still pretty daunting.  My main problem is that I have high expectations of myself and get very annoyed if I can't achieve what I believe I should be able to achieve.  After London this year I was embarassed about the fact that I hadn't done it in the time I had expected, and felt that I had let myself down.  Even though everyone was lovely and said gosh you did it, well done etc I was really disappointed and frustrated and it did actually take a while before I told myself ' You have run the London Marathon not everyone can do that, and you did it injured !!'

sorry waffling on a bit now

pip

trust me, confidence will come with races and training, the more expereinced you become the more natural everything becomes, then you'll perform to your best