Shades Marathon Training

Well done on your achievements Keith and Emmy. Emmy i actually prefer the taste of soya milk. Are there pro's to drinking it? I might start buying it.

BigG sorry to hear about the stomach issues Hope you get them sorted. 

I ran my longest distance to date this morning, 18 miles in 03:01:07. The first 16 were fine, the last 2 seemed to take forever even though the pace was consistent throughout. I am sure this was all psychological though as I felt the same way going form 14 to 16 miles. I tried to run at 10:30 min/mile but my pace was very consistent throughout the run and was an average of 10:03 min/mile. According to strava my 1/2 marathon time was 02:11:34 at a pace of 10:02 min/mile. 

The question is, what I should run my first half marathon race at next weekend?

Back home finally

4:38:03 for todays.

also as i have more time (ie not on the free 30 min wifi thing) i took me until mile 36 yesterday before dropping below 10 min miling which i was pleased with.

Hurt more today and i have achy knees and feet but nevermind i'm sure they'll be fine soon enough.

Helloooo everyone... Did my first marathon this weekend at Cognac, finishing in 4:10.

Was in complete state before, received Shades' plan only 3 weeks ago so have been trying to follow the training run up to the race but found the tapering off quite difficult... Am used to getting up to run at 6am so was still waking up at this time then pacing the house wild eyed imagining horrendous scenarios such as self in heap by side of road with ventolin inhaler surrounded by pitying onlookers

Atmosphere at race brilliant. As my first marathon have nothing to compare it to but I found it well organised, plenty of animation and lots of encouragement. The course itself was fab - through vineyards, a couple of chateaux and even several distilleries where we were surrounded by barrels and the wonderful smell of cognac.

I think I got my pacing wrong, at half way point was at 1:50 (I did my first semi in sept in 1:49) was feeling fine but started slowing down and at 28k to 32k was really struggling and had to walk a bit up a couple of hills (not steep either). This really panicked me as have never walked in training and really started to doubt myself and wonder if I would finish. After this I walked through the water stations and found this helped me to run just focusing on the next stop! Things got better after 35k and I finished at a good pace. My legs were like bits of wood, fortunately arms not affected so was able to bravely lift cognac glass from position on floor

Have been following this thread for a while and have loved reading all your accounts, you have inspired me and motivated me to keep going.. thank you!

Emmy - something you said a while ago really helped - about not running against anyone else but yourself and I have really taken this on board.

Thank you again for the plan Shades. Will def enter another marathon in the spring but will have benefit of following your plan properly so hopefully can try for a 4hr finish

mamafox - well done at completing your first marathon and you did it well.   You maybe went off a little fast but recovered well to finish strongly.

Big G - sorry to hear your tum problems cutting your run short.   A very common problem, you may want to look at your diet the day before your long run, not just your breakfast.   Many runners use Imodium for their long runs and races, but better to resolve by diet if you can.

No, never run with a mobile phone.

Emmy - well done on finishing especially as you'd considered dropping out, the experience will make you stronger.   Laps are hard if you're not used to them, I know many runners that can't even do a 2 lap marathon.   That is a high heart rate so something wasn't right.

Khanivore - that's a good run for 18 miles, you're certainly taking well to this marathon training.   Re pace for your half, use the prescribed pace calculated by your last 10k, and if it's too slow for you speed up once you get to half way (not before).

slowkoala - a speedy training run.  How's your training going?   VR has a foam roller, and I've heard good reports about them.

Keith - well done, a good double from you this weekend.

mamafox - fantastic writeup! Really enjoyed it Well done on your first marathon - a massive massive achievement! Awesome time too. 

Shades - according to macmillan my 1/2 marathon pace is 8:47. This seems a little ambitious to me. I will give it a go though and see what happens As you say I can always adjust during the race.

Oh dear - both of the twins have had a terrible cough and a cold for several days. I am amazed I have not caught it. However, this morning I woke up and I think my body is finally giving in. I can feel a cold coming on. Terrible timing with my first 1/2 marathon coming up next weekend. I have been waiting so long for this so i can get a more accurate set of training paces and marathon time prediction

@Mamafox- well done on the marathon! I had a friend running Cognac and the initial reports are all positive! Did you get a bottle of cognac at the end?..... (this may persuade me for next year ).

@Shades - To be honest; i'm scared. It broke me and took me to a place i've never been before. I was crying as I was running along thinking: what the hell are you doing?  I was planning to go out this morning for a recovery jog but slept through my alarm so think I needed the sleep more!

@Khani - what bad luck I hope that your body can fight the cold.

@Keith - well done on the marathon. How are you feeling this morning?

Does anyone know how Mowser got on?

@Emmy I honestly think you will look back at your trials and tribulations and draw strength from it. You now know without any doubt that things can get really bad and you keep going. The fact that you doubted yourself and still made it speaks volumes. 

Khanivore - why not start out at 9 min/mile pace and see how it goes from there.   Hope the cold comes to nothing.

((Emmy)) - it doesn't matter how many marathons or ultras a runner has done, they can bite you at any time and give you the day from hell.   You had a bad day, but that will make you stronger and you got through it.   Don't worry about it, just move on.

Shades - 9 min/mile was my original plan to be honest. I think I will stick to that and save the faster times for Brighton half marathon in Feb.

Shades I really wanted to do a half marathon in the middle of december and/or january but I can not find any that I can get to I have one booked for mid-Feb. The VLM is mid-April, would it be ok to do a half marathon mid-March? Reading is the one I was thinking about but I don't want to sign up if you think I should be focussed on other things 1 month before the full marathon.

@Shades/Khani - you're both right. It's a learning experience and one to put in the experience bank.

Khanivore - one month before your marathon is a good time to do a half marathon as you're marathon training will be almost complete and it will give a good indicator of your marathon pace at VLM.

Emmy - when is your next race and your next marathon?

VR - great write up in the Trotter about you  thanks for the kind mention in despatches

Hi Shades, Officially - the next race is 23rd Dec and that's a 10km race. The next marathon is 5-6 January and the Enigma Winter Double but I'm on the reserve list for the Saxon Shore in Kent in December but we need to see if that's a possibility.

What about yourself?