Shades Marathon Training

Good reports everyone & some great running going on.Would love to have been in Brighton this weekend in this weather. Did buy some new shoes though & had a Gait Analysis done.

Slowkoala - Great time & you make running at that pace sound very easy

Khani - Not an ideal start to the day!, but a very good run with your recent injurys, hope you have no problems from now on.

Clag - Nice PB, sub 1:45 will be mine this year & I'd need to take nearly 5 mins off my PB to do it.

Heading out tonight for an easy 3 to 4 miler after a week off. Will decide what to do for the rest of the week after tonight. But hopefully do a 5 or 6 on Wed or Thur & then 10-14 on Saturday ?? Do 3 runs a week for 2 weeks then add in a 4th.  All easy with no speed stuff. A bit confused now!, much easier not being injured and just following the plan.

Slowkoala wrote (see)

Hope everyone else enjoyed Brighton today. Couldn't have asked for better weather, Brighton looked beautiful in full sunshine (with little wind). Completed in 1:35 and 22s, v pleased!

Well done!! You really need to change your name

A big Well done to Bootsie, Khani and everyone else who ran yesterday.

I ran the London 50km and will be online later to provide more details.. but the highlight of my day? Meeting Mowser for the first time!  She met me at the finish as well and it was so nice to see a friendly face.

right race report from yesterday..

well woke up on time and all went smoothly in the morning, unlike Khanivores!! Couldn't have coffee because of being off it for lent so that didn't help mood but hey ho.. heavy cold and sore throat but who cares, its race day.. left home about 10 mins late and then realised needed petrol so another 5 mins meant racing down the A23..

When we arrived at the race course, park and ride, we realised we really were too late for the last bus so dumped the car and set off at a brisk walk.. got to the start with 15 mins to spare and proceeded to dump bag and queue for the loo.. after 10 mins of queuing in a huge queue I walked up closer to my pen and realised there was no queue there!! Got across the line after 5 mins so not too bad all in all!

The first 2 miles was tough going with the congestion.. couldn't get over 9 min miling which messed up my timing a bit.. run out the rottingdean was lovely if not a bit hillier than I remembered! The sun was fantastic though and mood was great! Got into a good stride and started to really enjoy myself.  No knee pain was all good!

Hit congestion again at mile 5 and 7 but outside of that it ran pretty smooth.  For some reason my body wasn't playing ball so couldn't get better than about 8:15 min miling and was run walking to help the knee injury.. had a lovely sprint in one of my run sections around the 9 mile mark (who knew i needed a 9 mile warm up ) and then turned for home.. the head wind was stronger than I thought coming back from mile 10 but was good to cool down in that heat! Once I hit mile 12 I was delighted with the downhill to home.. and the huge bellowing cheer from my sister, fiance and two friends!!!

Crossed the finish line feeling in 1 hr 57.. legs felt fantastic.. chest and head felt a big foggy so I think thats what was slowing me up but all in all a great race.. headed off to find Khanivore for a quick well done hug and a howd you do conversation.. great to meet him.. and then headed for food and home! Crashed out completely after and have a stonking cold today but totally worth it!!

All any tips for tired aching muscles after a long run, I was in so much pain yesterday after 15 miles... does a cold shower really help?

massage helps me plus cold bath used to work well for the longer runs.. also doing a recovery run

A quick Portsmouth Half Marathon report :

As I've only just taken up runnning, this was my 4th Half Marathon over the last 5 months, all with an aim to run the VLM. My previous times had been 2.10, 2.00, 1.50 and I was hoping to get a 1.45 to match an approx 8min/mile pace as I felt the Shades plan training was going well.

A couple of inury niggles, but nothing too major. My previous PB of 1.50 was in Gosport known for being PB teritory, but I felt a 1.45 was possible. Myself, my wife Karen and our 2 sons, Harry and Charlie had stayed down overnight and spent Saturday enjoying the sights of Portsmouth (Bowling, shopping and Italian restaurant !!! ) - I didn't feel great on Saturday a bit of an upset stomach - must have been all that fresh air , but got over that quickly, so no excuses there.

But I felt good on Sunday morning, hydration and nutrition plan all good, I'd planned to run with Lucozade Sport and have one gel at 8-9 miles - (practicing for VLM.)

It was a 10.30 race start, so had a resonable lay in, breakfast a 8am - nice!!

Weather was good too, so all was set fair.

As I posted above, the organsiation was not great, but was adequate, I planned to start at 8-8.10 minmiles and see how I felt after approx halfway. My mile times were:

8:12, 8:10, 7:52, 8:02, 8:23, 8:17, 8:21, 8:48, 8:24, 8:20, 8:15, 8:20, 8:32

There was a mixture of road/paths, some muddy sand parts (for miles 4-8) and a muddy field, looking at the above times, it was the coastal / sand / patr mud that stopped me getting to my target time I think. -  but it was OK. I'd hoped the really crack on for the last 2-3 miles and get as close to 1.45 as I could (I used my Garmin so realised that 1.45 was unlikely after halfway, but wanted to get as low as poss) - I ran as hard as I could, but the tired legs and headwind along the coast made it tougher than I thought. 

Overall I'm pleased with this, wanted closer to 1.45, but it means I've got to keep pushing on.

I wouldn't do this HM again, as I prefer better organised events, but the sun shone!! And I don't ache much.

Tim

good work, Rattler. i enjoy following you as you're in the same position as me and it's nice to see how someone else is getting on. so what was your final time (i can't be arsed to add all your split times up. lol)?

i managed a 1.45:53 on my 1/2 in november, but looking back now, i'm at a complete loss to explain how! i did 18 miles at 9:50 pace on sunday and whilst i felt ok at 13 miles, i did think "would i have been able to run this distance at 8:00 pace?" and the answer was no bloody way. although in a race, who knows.

'twas 1:48 - my mistake .....your 1.45 is decent for sure.

You can get dragged along at a faster pace in races, but for me the offroad parts seem to really sap my energy - it's what they're designed to do though

Despite the fact that my last few miles were slower than I'd hoped, my pacing was better than some as I was able to reel a few in and overtaking people always keeps me motivated. The promenade was really busy with non-runners too, so there was a lot of weaving going on - kept my attention

i find that focusing on someone a few metres down the road doing the same pace and reeling them in before doing the same again, tends to get me round quicker than i would have expected.

i have a lovely lady with a very pleasant rear aspect to thank for my (almost) 1.45 time . she came past me at about mile 10 and carried me from a 8:10 pace up to a 7:40.

are you doing silverstone?

Not doing the HM at Silverstone, but last time I was there I was racing (ish) a Ducati alongside the British Superbike Champs - but that's another story - my only other HM before VLM is the Reading HM on March 17th, not sure if I'm best to race this or just use for training - I'd best ask Shades 

ooh, a fellow two-wheeler? what duc is it? and what's the story there?

i'm planning on using the silverstone as a practice for the first half of the VLM, or "doing a Mo" as it maybe should be henceforth known. although i'll be interested to see what advice you get from Shades.

Brilliant reports everyone.. loving reading how you all got on!

Slowkoala - you rock!! what a blinding time! Are you going to change your goal pace for the marathon now?

Khani - fab fab report, I think you did really well when you consider all the problems you have had with your leg AND you were thinking about jacking it all in at one point! (Your wake up call really made me laugh too )

Bootsie - well done.. you did it in spite of your knee problems and a cold... sounds like you had a good support team as well!.

Clag - A fab PB and the course sounds good too (always wanted to go to Scotland)

Rattler - Well done on your time.. I would have thought that without the mud / sand /coastal wind and pushchair weaving you could shave quite a bit off that time as none of that should be a problem in London

My first trail run went ok, started right at the back and got frustrated when subsequently blocked behind people on narrow paths.. not sure of etiquette on overtaking people - found myself scrambling up sandy banks and leaping awkwardly in front of people while trying to give apologetic smile at same time. This did mean however that I had loads of energy for the last few kilometres and absolutely steamed back overtaking loads of people which was brilliant! Finished the 18k in 1hr41. Best thing learnt from this was the importance of holding back at the start as really enjoyed finishing with loads left in the tank

Other news is... drumroll... I have a Garmin!!!!! yesssss!!! (Thank you Grandpa)  It is on condition of my winning the Nantes marathon but this is obviously just a formality...Shades - can you give me some pacing advice and times please? Shall I pm you as I don't want to clog up your thread with my witterings??

Well I've had a marathon session jsut reading back all the great reports of the weekend's racing, some great performances.

Big G - glad you slowed down for your long run, the more work you do at your slower paces the 'easier' your marathon will feel.

Sofaboy - how are the legs/feet now?   Was it the cold perhaps, or shoes not as comfy as they should be?

Slowkoala - fabulous time, brilliant running.  And you are so right, a poor night's sleep the night before your race will not affect your race performance.   As long as you've had some decent sleep in the week leading up to your race.

Rattler - well done on the PB, a trail event is not ideal for trying to PB as the nature of the course will always make it slower than road or tartan track.

Bootsie - well done and good news on the knee.

Khanivore - a lovely race report and photos.  Considering your recent training troubles you did a great performance.   How are the legs now?    And next time put the alarm clock just out of arms' reach!

Clag - I knew you were running well, a great PB.

Lucy - a nice warm bath after your long run, dress warmly and keep moving around with a little stretching and you'll be fine

mamafox - that is great running for an off road event with tough terrain.   And well done on the Garmin.

Yes, of course I will help with the pacing, you can post on here if you wish, if not mail me.   Don't use your race time as a base figure for me doing your paces, an off road event of that nature is not ideal.   When your legs are fresh again, maybe run a 5 mile/10k time trial

Well I had a superb weekend in Ireland, marathons 280 and 281 completed, just 18 to go now before 11th August to reach my target.

I can highly recommend this event http://www.clonakiltyback2backmarathons.com/html/gallery.html,  beautiful course, superb organisation and although I did say that after this year I don't want to do any doubles I think I will find it hard to stay away next year.   I did hear a rumour that they might do 3 in 3 days

Slowkoala - a short gentle recovery run will help. be kind to yourself though.

I have recalculated your paces but won't tell you (unless you want to know).   I think you're wise to focus on enjoying your marathon and I think your goal should be a GFA time which is great achievement for your first marathon.   

As long as you're feeling fit and well I think you should set out to run the first half of London at 8 min/miles, for the 2nd half run as you feel, you can't do any damage then should you even decide to speed up.