The Running Thread

SimonM

I just did my last training run for Sunday's Guernsey marathon. PB over my 10k (ish) course. Very proud of that.

Good luck! What time are you aiming for in the marathon? I did my first marathon in April and completed it in 4 hours, 50 minutes, 22 seconds. I'm just aiming to beat that time on Sunday really. I'm confident I can as I'm a bit more experienced now and I learnt a few lessons from the last marathon.

Reply 1582

iwwhty

Good luck! What time are you aiming for in the marathon? I did my first marathon in April and completed it in 4 hours, 50 minutes, 22 seconds. I'm just aiming to beat that time on Sunday really. I'm confident I can as I'm a bit more experienced now and I learnt a few lessons from the last marathon.

It's my first marathon, I'm aiming for 4:30, but I don't know how reasonable that is. Extrapolating my time for 20 miles I'd be around 4 hours, so allowing for the extra 6 miles I think I can do it.

Any tips? What lessons did you learn which I can avoid?

Reply 1583

sauce

13

I haven't bene running for over a week but have been busy doing other things(swimming, weights, walking etc.) my camping weekend will involve a lot of running in general though(for pleasure!) But I am looking forward to showing off my swifter legs :proud:

Reply 1584

SimonM

It's my first marathon, I'm aiming for 4:30, but I don't know how reasonable that is. Extrapolating my time for 20 miles I'd be around 4 hours, so allowing for the extra 6 miles I think I can do it.

Any tips? What lessons did you learn which I can avoid?

When I ran the Blackpool marathon, all I consumed was water (save for a shot of lucozade at one of the water stations) so my energy levels were pretty low. On sunday, I'm going to take an energy drink with me and some lucozade carbohydrate tablets/jelly babies for energy. That one shot of lucozade at the water station made a massive difference to my energy.

I got pretty dehydrated on the Blackpool marathon, (my mate actually collapsed on mile 24 with dehydration and was rushed to hospital), as it was the warmest day of the year at the time. I didn't even anticipate that it would be warm so I got pretty sunburnt as well. I'm going to put sun cream on Sunday regardless of the weather.

I've also bought a running belt which holds one water bottle and has pouches for energy bars. I'm going to carry one bottle in my belt and one in my hands (I normally carry 3 bottles on a training run, one in my belt and 2 in my hands). The extra weight probably slows me down but I think it's worth it for the hydration because I found it really tough the last few miles of the marathon when my water had run out and I had passed the last water station.

I carried one water bottle on the Blackpool marathon and I didn't even take any water from the first two water stations as I still had some in my bottle. For the Fleetwood marathon, I'm going to collect water from every station regardless of how much is in my bottles.

I think if the weather conditions are good, I can keep myself hydrated and my energy levels up, I'll be able to shave a considerable amount of time off my Blackpool time. Bearing in mind Blackpool was my first marathon so I had no race experience and I had only been training for approximately 3 months prior to the marathon. I think with the extra training and the better preparation, I can do much better this time. That's what I'm hoping anyway.

Reply 1585

iwwhty

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Thank you very much. It's probably a bit late for me to get a running belt, but I will drink as much as possible and take some food with me :smile:

Reply 1586

SimonM

Thank you very much. It's probably a bit late for me to get a running belt, but I will drink as much as possible and take some food with me :smile:

I bought mine from the sweat shop website, if you order it next day delivery, you should get it saturday hopefully. It might be better adapting to running with one first though rather than just trying it out for the first time on marathon day.

Another thing I'll add is that you'll probably hit the wall at some point. After about the 22nd or 23rd mile, I was really struggling and thinking to myself that I'm never going to put myself through this hell again. I even considered dropping out briefly but I soldiered on until the end. It will be difficult at times but just keep going. It's so worth it once you cross that finish line and get your medal. I was on a high for the rest of the day. Despite having little sleep and having just run a marathon, I was still wide awake with euphoria at midnight.

All I could think about at the time was getting to the next water station, I didn't give a damm about getting to the end, I just wanted water. Just take baby steps, don't focus on it as a whole, just focus on getting to the next lamp post or the next marker or runner or whatever. A lot of it is in the mind, it's just about having the mental strength to keep going. There were probably better runners than me that dropped out of Blackpool.

Reply 1587

iwwhty

Another thing I'll add is that you'll probably hit the wall at some point. After about the 22nd or 23rd mile, I was really struggling and thinking to myself that I'm never going to put myself through this hell again. I even considered dropping out briefly but I soldiered on until the end. It will be difficult at times but just keep going. It's so worth it once you cross that finish line and get your medal. I was on a high for the rest of the day. Despite having little sleep and having just run a marathon, I was still wide awake with euphoria at midnight.

All I could think about at the time was getting to the next water station, I didn't give a damm about getting to the end, I just wanted water. Just take baby steps, don't focus on it as a whole, just focus on getting to the next lamp post or the next marker or runner or whatever. A lot of it is in the mind, it's just about having the mental strength to keep going. There were probably better runners than me that dropped out of Blackpool.

I have been told this by quite a few people. I still don't think I know how bad it's going to be. I'm glad our course is nice and zig-zaggy which leaves lots of room for "next corner" thinking

Reply 1588

Motorbiker

21

Hey, i just started cycling/running again. Bought myself some running shoes at my local sports shop. The women made me try on about 20 pairs but i reckon it was worth it in the end.

My first aim for running will be something small like a 5k or a 10k, i normally cycle for around an hour at a time so my fitness isn't too bad but it's not good. Gonna be moving to Sussex uni(Nr Brighton) in just under a month and hopefully they have some events...

Reply 1589

GreatOrmondSt

The weather is putting me off running, although I did get out this morning and ran 5k which I'm pleased about. I just want to get my times up now, so it won't be too shameful in my race next week :smile:

. The other day, I got soaked on my run and it was quite difficult running in my wet clothes. Does anyone run in any special training gear for wet weather?

Amy

Reply 1590

MHorman

Gonna be moving to Sussex uni(Nr Brighton) in just under a month and hopefully they have some events...

Signing up for an event is a great motivator, it gives you something to focus on and an extra reason to train on those days where you can't be bothered. It wasn't until I signed up for my first marathon, that I actually began to train consistently.

Reply 1591

GreatOrmondSt

The weather is putting me off running, although I did get out this morning and ran 5k which I'm pleased about. I just want to get my times up now, so it won't be too shameful in my race next week :smile:

. The other day, I got soaked on my run and it was quite difficult running in my wet clothes. Does anyone run in any special training gear for wet weather?

Amy

I prefer bad weather, it's the sun and heat that I can't stand. I ran my first marathon in April and I only started running in January so a lot of my training was in the snow. It's great running in the snow, it's really soft under your feet, the landscape is beautiful and you get less dehydrated. I run in the same stuff regardless of the weather, I basically run in what I would wear on race day so the conditions are replicated. (Running shoes, shorts and a t-shirt.)

Reply 1592

iwwhty

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Very best of luck for tomorrow.

Reply 1593

SimonM

Very best of luck for tomorrow.

Thanks, good luck to you as well, it will be hard but it will be a great experience for you.

If you need a bit of last minute motivation, there's some good advice on hitting walls in these two videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVIvHKTNsqg&feature=channel

3 minutes, 5 seconds in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrlmLvPFdg8

3 minutes, 18 seconds in.

It's worth watching both videos in full though.

Reply 1594

Motorbiker

21

How far is good for a "first run"?

My "first cycle" was a couple of weeks ago and was like 5 miles and now i brush off 15 miles rides for my morning blast.

I looked at the 5 mile route but thought that would be too long but there's a smaller 2.4 miles route i can take... That sound about right? I gotta wear in my new trainers. :smile:

And, What speed should i be aiming for whilst starting to run?

Reply 1595

iwwhty

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How did you do?

I did 3:41 (ish), based on looking at the clock when I came in. My chip time will be a bit faster I assume (although it'll only be by seconds).

I don't think I actually "hit the wall" though

Reply 1596

rockrunride

19

Haven't been in four days. Oh no.

I am in France though...

Reply 1597

SimonM

How did you do?

I did 3:41 (ish), based on looking at the clock when I came in. My chip time will be a bit faster I assume (although it'll only be by seconds).

I don't think I actually "hit the wall" though

That's a really good time and you will do even better next time.

I don't know my official time yet but I started at 9:30 and came in just after 1:30 so I slaughtered my previous time which was 4 hours, 50 minutes, 22 seconds. I didn't hit the wall today either, I think it must have been the heat and dehydration which did it for me in Blackpool. The weather conditions were pretty grim today, I was getting proper whipped by the wind and sand. The sand was in my eyes and hair and everywhere. Was running sideways at one point to try and avoid it.

I would have got an even better time if it wasn't so windy but I'm happy with that, I beat my Blackpool time which is what I set out to do and I even did a sprint finish. I knew I was on course for a better time and there were a few runners slowing down towards the finish so I just went for it.

Congratulations once again and like I say, now you've got a bit of experience and with a bit more training, you'll do even better next time round.

Reply 1598

iwwhty

That's a really good time and you will do even better next time.

I don't know my official time yet but I started at 9:30 and came in just after 1:30 so I slaughtered my previous time which was 4 hours, 50 minutes, 22 seconds. I didn't hit the wall today either, I think it must have been the heat and dehydration which did it for me in Blackpool. The weather conditions were pretty grim today, I was getting proper whipped by the wind and sand. The sand was in my eyes and hair and everywhere. Was running sideways at one point to try and avoid it.

I would have got an even better time if it wasn't so windy but I'm happy with that, I beat my Blackpool time which is what I set out to do and I even did a sprint finish. I knew I was on course for a better time and there were a few runners slowing down towards the finish so I just went for it.

Congratulations once again and like I say, now you've got a bit of experience and with a bit more training, you'll do even better next time round.

Fantastic job! The weather was great in Guernsey, although when the sun came out it was a little too hot. Running along the coast was fantastic though, and finishing on the track in the stadium was brilliant. The only bit which I didn't like was the bit between 4 miles and 2 miles to go. It seemed to go on forever, and I'd run out of chocolate!

I don't know when my next marathon will be, I'm going to look into doing the boundary run at Cambridge, if it still exists.

Reply 1599