Shades Marathon Training

Hi am taking part in my first Marathon in Manchester at end of April am up to about 25 miles a week trying to do more, completed half marathon a few weeks ago in around 1 hour 28 min was pretty pleases with that. need to be mentally ready for this and get my head round completing the marathon hoping not to burn myself out and over think it as want to enjoy the day.

blooming heck, 1H28 for a 1/2 marathon ain't too shabby.

Shades do you want my Blacpool place?     if not free to anybody that wants it

That is good running steven monk 1.28 from 25 mile a week well done, 

Shades - I will get round and hopefully not suffer too much. Florence is the 30th edition (I think) and I heard something about a fancy medal

SM3 - that's a fantastic HM time - see you in Manchester

Emmy - best of luck in Malta

Sofaboy - don't underestimate yourself, think positive. if Shades has told you those paces then you CAN do them

maybe that 8:17 was a typo. lol....

Sofaboy - no, it wasn't a typo but an indication of what you can do in the future.   I think if you aim for a sub 4 marathon for your first attempt that is fine and you can set off at 9 min/miles and see how it goes from there.

Steven - that's a very good half marathon time.  If you feel that the training is getting a bit tiring, drop any speedier runs for a week or so until you feel fresh again.

S3200H - no thank you, I think that's the 7th April?   VR and I are doing the ultra at Connemara that day http://www.connemarathon.com/

I appreciate the offer though

molly - we looked at going to Rome this year but the flights were really expensive.

ok, thanks Shades. i might do Silverstone next weekend at 9:00 and see how it goes in race conditions.

Hi Shades

SHADES wrote (see)

Sleaver - training paces:-

Easy 9:00 to 9:30
Long 9:00 to 10:00
Tempo 7:15 to 7:30
Marathon Pace 7:54 which equates to 3 hour 26 mins

Thanks for the paces. That marathon time sounds quite scary though considering it will be my first one and only about 10 seconds per mile slower than I did for a half. Therefore, would it be worth me going for that or maybe aiming for just sub 4 hours to respect the distance?

I've got a place in Berlin in September (not sure why I booked a second marathon without even running one yet ), so maybe because Brighton seems a bit undulating at the start, see how I go over the distance and then go faster (hopefully and I'm Brighton doesn't put me off) in Berlin?

Also, as per a previous post you made, I assume it's OK to swap a tempo for an esy run if the legs are feeling it a bit?

@Sleaver- i think you're in the same boat as me, mate.

while it would be nice to have someone say "do X:XX pace on your marathon and you'll do great", the fact that it's our first one means there are even more variables than for a seasoned runner and asking for a useful marathon pace might be like asking how long a piece of string is.

with no experience of running the distance we've no way to know what it's going to be like, so picking a starting pace is going to involve a bit of chance. personally, i think for me 9:00 is at least a posibility. whilst i'd be overjoyed to have just completed it, if i go slower, finish in 4H10 or something and think i could have gone quicker i'll be really annoyed. i'll go for a 9:00 pace and if i burn out at mile 21 and finish in 4:30, well so be it. but at least i'll have gone for it. and there's nothing wrong with a 4:30 finish at the end of the day.

That's a time I can only dream of  sm, great running.

See you in Berlin sleaver

I Have Barcelona marathon in just over 3 weeks time, doing it as a training run for London..will be hard to stay slow at the start mind but If I can run it all around 10min miles and feel ok at the end then will be a big confidence booster for London. Staying injury free is my top priority at the moment though.

Shades, no, not trained to run for a time... but am ready for the distance so will just go out and enjoy it!  I am now trying to abort a long ride (bike race) this weekend to do another marathon with Bobo, a trail running event that will be just over-distance.  Way too cold to be out on the bike.  

Sofaboy - if you don't want to race Silverstone then to run at 9 min/miles would be good pace control practice for your marathon.

Sleaver  - I think you should do the same as Sofaboy and go for a marathon pace that you feel comfortable with.

LOL at entering your 2nd marathon before completing your first!, I think you'll be around this thread for a while with the other marathon junkies.   Berlin will be a good 2nd marathon to do and although I haven't done Brighton it is a fast PB course.

Yes of course, drop the tempo run if you feel you need to be a little kinder to yourself.

KingKenny - Barcelona is supposed to be a great marathon, I looked at going but the flights were too expensive from Bristol.

S3200H - Connemara is a beautiful course and the 2 major hills are in all 3 races, the half, marathon and ultra.   The last hill is called the Hell of the West but IMHO the other major hill is much worse, at mile 1 in the half, mile 14 in the marathon and mile 27 in the ultra.

PSC - I'd hate to think what the chill factor on a bike would be in this wind.   I nearly froze walking from my car to the bank yesterday afternoon.

I've just sent a text to VR to say that it's too cold for me to run the 40 mile ultra in Wales tomorrow, off to email the RO now.   Shame , I was looking forward to doing that event.

Hi All,

It probably seems like I just come on here to ask you questions but I always read your posts and they have been so helpful to me.

My calf muscles are so tight, I can't walk properly and its feel like they are going to snap! I always rest when the fell like like this and it goes away in a few days but is there anything I go do, I always stretch after running but maybe I should do more?

Amusingly when i opted to get up about 20 mins ago the roof was erm frost free.... Not sure whats going on there but i was awake earlier but went back to sleep as i was comfortably warm in bed and the cat was sleeping on my leg anyway.

When we getting the normal weather back?

Lucy - that's what we're here for

Now as it's both legs I'm assuming you're not injured but your muscles are complaining about the extra training.  Gentle stretching at least twice a day, a little gentle massage towards the heart.  Also check what shoes you are wearing when not running, you may have to opt for something more comfortable for the time being.

When running (having previously being used to shorter distances) you may need to relax your feet more when running.   If you run on your forefoot when you increase distances this can increase the tension in your calf muscles, so make an effort to relax your lower legs.

Don't do any tempo runs or speedwork until the pain eases, gentle easy pace for the time being.   If it's too sore to run, go for a good walk, will help the muscles.

i discovered the joys and weirdness of treadmills yesterday. this current biting wind is enough to put me right off, especially as the country lanes around us are really exposed, so the wind just goes straight through you. ugh.

and as it happens, the gym where i play squash has a free weeks membership offer on. so yesterday's MWLR was done in the comfort of a nice warm gym, with some music on and no worries about regulating my pace.

all wonderful and good, if a bit dull until you get off. then it all goes really weird. brain says still moving, legs say standing still. overall effect like being pushed along on rollerskates. and thats just when you're standing still....

Well after a week off, calf felt absolutely fine & could stretch it/load it etc with no discomfort at all. Went out on Monday and did 5 easy..all good. Went out last night for an easy 5-8 depending how I felt, felt really good & then at 6.5 miles bang!..something very painful went in my calf, couldn't carry on and limped the 1/2 mile back to the car . It's right at the base of the muscle/top of Achilles.

Hurts this morning to walk, so it's complete rest now. Still half hopeful of Barcelona but It will be a walk/run type of Marathon, flights all booked so I'm going.

Will almost def defer London as I wanted to have a proper go at sub 4 & not just get round. Train is booked & staying with family so will still head down & watch which I've never done so that'll be interesting.

Can hopefully get back on track for Berlin.

I'll keep an eye on this thread and see how you're all getting on.

Good luck all

King kenny - I did Barcelona in 2010 and I thought it was a great course. Not much support as it was freezing cold (it snowed the following day) but i thoroughly enjoyed it. If you do decide to walk/run do it from the start rather than waiting until you are forced to. I did Loch Ness on 4 mins run 1 min walk right from the start. Ok, you feel a bit of a twerp walking at the beginning with people saying "already walking??!" but it's a safe way to get round. It took me 4.30 so it wasn't that bad.

Sorry to hear it's so cold for everyone, we're also expecting snow in Italy.

I've decided I'm going to do an 18 mile run on Sunday which will go a long way towards helping me for Rome marathon