Marathon Training

Gosh that band thing is based on a very steady pace. I found I slowed down a lot in the second half last time but then again I did have a very painful knee.

Just been out for a quick half hour run which was blighted by imaginary niggles for the first ten minutes. It's like my body is living out it's fears for Sunday. Once I was warmed up it was fine.

Thank you anglaise

I can't wait now.

Oh yes sorry Summerhouse 4H25 yes! Don't be put off by those runners who overtake you at the beginning, you will overtake them at the end no problem. Marathons are strategic as well as physical and mentally you need to be prepared to get to the end...comfortably.
Merde pour ta course (good luck for your race -in French!)

anglaise I can't tell you how helpful that pacing band is. I am going to do exactly as you say and aim for 4h 25 (I think that's what you mean but you put 2h 25). I will report back. I am very grateful to you and this thread.

Summerhouse If you do a HM in 2H06 you should theoretically be capable of doing a marathon in 2H22 IF you pace yourself correctly. Aim for 2H25 and follow the pacing guidance here
www.runnersworld.co.uk/racing/runners-world-pace-band-generator/3918.html
It should enable you to go faster at the end of you have the juice.
Don't worry, enjoy it you will be fine. But pacing is so important for a marathon. Much more so than a HM or shorter races. It is a real test and not to be underestimated!

Wow anglaise don't know how you find that motivation. I am not sure I will ever do another marathon....

I am feeling a bit better today as I was feeling massively undertrained but I have the Nell Mcandrews book on running and the recommended beginners training program is much less than I have done.

I did a half in sept at 2.06 and also felt undertrained. So plan is to aim for 10.10 minute miles for a sub 4.30. Does this sound ok? Possible? Thing is I have never tracked my distance or paced myself. I just run. So apart from the half Mara I have nothing to go on! This is pre race nerves coming out in force.

Are you training for another mara Anglaise?
Not yet, I like trails too much and do mostly those in the summer (25kms +). I'm doing the Mont St Michel in duo with a guy from the club but I much prefer trails to road racing. Maybe a marathon in the autumn (the Beaujolais marathon is tempting). This evening a few guys from the club were talking about doing the Seville marathon 19 Feb next year so I'll probably go for that too as I prefer racing with friends, its much more fun.

Its in Oct too.

Oooh you might like mablethorpe! Its about 300 runners and totally flat! I thought about it but worried with so few runners that I would be last.

Ok so 1hr 50 for the first half then and will try to be more consistent.

Which marathons in the UK are really flat and not too busy? I'm not bothered about the support of the crowd so doesn't have to be a big one - DH and I are moving back to the UK in August so am thinking a UK based mara in October maybe - any recommendations?

I did the Hal Higdon Novice 1 schedule to get me through my first mara at 3:50... what schedule should I follow to get to 3:40?

Are you training for another mara Anglaise?

Boobz it doesn't work like that on a marathon. I don't think I'd be careful of a negative split but you should at least aim to be consistent. There is no way you could continue at that pace for the whole of the marathon and in the end you ran your first HM in 1H43 and took much too long for the second , over 2 hours! You wore yourself out. Next time work out a plan and yes, if you are going for 3H40 then you should aim for 1H50 in the first half of your marathon. I made the same mistake in Rome last year, I took 1H44 for the first half and then 1H57 for the second half. I was much better this year in Barcelona, 1H45 for the first half and 1H50 for the second HM.

Oh I know I paced wrongly - but I really don't think I am a good enough runner to do it differently... I think if I ran a lot slower in the first half to try and do the negative split, I would still slow down a lot more in the second half, and end up with a slower time overall...

But maybe not! Maybe I should aim for 1:50 for the first half next time and hope to then do a 3:40 mara?

I like the sound of Barcelona...

Boobz I preferred Barcelona to Rome, there was much more crowd support throughout the marathon and music from live bands all the way round.
Having said that, you paced wrongly, sorry! To do the first half in 1H43 was much too fast, no wonder you slowed down in the second half. For me to do 3H30 in Barcelona I had to do the first half in 1H45 which is what I did and then only lost 5 mins in the second half (I shouldn't have lost anything but 3H30 was probably too ambitious). It is SO important to pace yourself correctly when running long distances. Most of the marathon champions run negative splits where the first half is run at slower pace than the second half.
Don't beat yourself up, you did really well for a first marathon. I think Berlin is tour operator only for non Germans so it is more difficult to enter (as is London). I really recommend Barcelona.

Hello all - thank you for all the congrats, and well done CMOT! That sounded a bit epic so well done you for getting it done.

So a mixed bag for me. I found the organisation left a lot to be desired, but then I have a bit of a downer on Italian organisation so maybe I am prejudiced (loos, blocked exits at the end of the race, running out of water for the later finishers... my friend who came in at 5:30 crossed the line to be told they had run out of water - sorry - in 30 degree heat!)

And then my garmin ran out of battery at 40km despite being fully charged over night... I think it's just so old now that the battery life has depleted, but as I have never run for longer than 3 hours before, it had always lasted... so that is a lesson learnt! New garmin for my birthday...

And then finally, I have to say I just didn't really like running in the actual marathon! Not only did my arse cheeks really hurt from about 15m (which they have never done before) but I also just wasn't able to zone out because of all the runners, hubbub and general marathony-ness. Usually I stick on my music and go into a bit of a meditative state, thinking about work, people, life, ambition etc., - anything but actually running! But all I could think about yesterday was running - too fast/too slow/clipping people's heels, too hot/too cold etc etc. Just didn't get into a rhythm at all, and around the 21m mark, I was not having a good time - I was wishing it was over.

Which really has surprised me as I have loved all my long training runs. Maybe I am just not made for racing?

Having said all of that, I am happy with my time, didn't walk, and don't feel too sore today (and I was only 9 mins behind DH)! I'm glad I did it, but am not gagging to do another one, as it really wasn't the pinnacle I was expecting...

My friend who did it with me has done 2 others: London and Brighton, and she said they were MUCH more fun - better atmosphere, support, organisation etc., so maybe I should give another one a shot... Berlin perhaps? I think I would like the German efficiency...

I did the first 13.1m in 1:43 so was flying at the beginning but just couldn't keep that pace up... need to learn how to not get so slow from 20m onwards.

Which has been your favourite mara, everyone?

CMOT and Boobz Congratulations! So good to hear you are on 'the other side' of the marathon training!

Well done to both of you!

Summer I did park run and a 5 mile club run this weekend. Not too fast, and it was great for just enjoying being fit and ready for next weekend.

Our club tips (for the turtle runners like me) were to do only 3 or 4 mile runs midweek, to start hydrating now, and to go to bed an hour early every evening to reduce the impact of the pre-run nerves on the night before sleep. Also something about when to eat carbs which was lost on me.

CMOT you did amazingly well to finish in those circumstances. I hobbled round with a bad knee in 6 hours last year - grim. But finished the race determined to do better next time!

Congratulations on finishing both your marathons Boobz and CMOT
Boobz 3h50 is a great time to do, only 20% of women manage less than 4 hours you should be very proud. How was the start and did you have slippery cobblestones as I did last year?

CMOT that is pure grit and determination to get through a marathon having felt wrong from 13 miles. Massive congratulations.

I finished! Slowly, as I'd been feeling a bit funny from m13, and then around m17 I was massively sick. And then could only drink if I sipped it and walked for a bit and couldn't eat anything otherwise everything came back, and it was hot so I didn't want to get massively dehydrated.
But I finished in 6'10 which wasn't what I wanted in terms of time, but it was an amazing experience and the support on the course was great.

Amazing! I would faint if I got that time (will probably faint anyway!).

Any thoughts on doing a 10k the week before a marathon? I always do the Lincoln 10k and I am sure of a pb all being well. But don't want to do anything that could jepodise the marathon a week later.

Super impressed!

Long day - just got in from celebratory dinner - will update more tomorrow... but...

3:50:36.

Which is fine by me as wanted below 4 hours but would have REALLY liked 3:45 so a bit off that... not helped by my Garmin battery packing up at 40km!!

Knackered now - off to bed!

Just wondering the same myself imbroglio and looking for tips

So how did you runners get on?

Best of luck today those running. I will be out on my last long run. Please do come back and tell us how easy it was!