London marathoners assemble

My running buddy is away for the weekend! How bloody dare she?! Off enjoying herself. Prrrrrft. So I'm going to have to attempt to do my long run by myself. Which I'm rubbish at because I find myself quite boring tbh. Do the rest of you do long runs with someone or by yourself? Any tips for stopping myself from giving up due to boredom?!

Just dragged myself out for a wet 5 miles doing 6 mins run/1 min walk; average pace was 10.36 per mile including walks, which is very fast for me! For comparison my six miles 10 days ago was 11.12. And I still had some reserve at the end. Aiming for a 10 mile long run this week so might try 1-2 mins walk at the start of each mile. Would love to get my long run pace to just under 11 to have a hope of getting round in under 5 hours.

psycho I've planned my long runs so that I could potentially be up to 22 miles, but more realistically 20 allowing for at least one week off in case of illness etc.

pickle not sure, but as you will be tapering by then I would of thought overdoing the excercise would be more of a risk!

Have ordered some jelly bellys and clif bloks. Anything has to be better than minging gels and sticky wrappers that have to go back all sticky into my pocket until I can find a bin.

I was think 18 miles psycho but I'm not sure. Maybe longer. I'm just scared about being able to wing the remaining 8 miles. I'm skiing the first week of the Easter holidays (with the marathon being the last weekend of the two week break) and I've no idea what to do. Will skiing be enough exercise or should I find a gym in the resort? I don't fancy running up potholed mountain roads!

Forgot to ask how far people are planning to go on longest run before taper (if tapering)?

Crashes into the thread - not doing London but have a marathon the week before (I think the Easter weekend). Not much of a training plan beyond the obvious two or three midweek runs and a long one at the weekend. I took planned walking breaks from 3 miles in last time and think will do the same again, maybe even every mile.

Doing a marathon distance is never cheating, no matter how you do it! Glad things are improving Elba.
I use Clif shot bloks as I don't like gels. They are like blocks of jelly and if I don't want to chew I can just let them dissolve. The strawberry and summer berries flavours are nice. I have used them for all my half marathons.
Pickle if you've been running a while you'll probably have a feel for what works for you and be able to figure out your own training I think. We are the ones who know our bodies best after all!
Feeling better today but not able to eat much. Have cancelled boot camp tomorrow and think I will aim for a run on Thursday. On the plus side, have lost 3 pounds, hurray!

Thanks kitty - I'm pleasantly surprised as things weren't looking too hopeful a few weeks ago!

Think this week I'm going to experiment with walk/run strategies too. More back friendly according to physio, and I seem to go faster. Just have to stop thinking of walking as somehow cheating!

pickle you sound similar to me- I also entered on a whim was a bit drunk then reassured myself that there was no way I'd get in on my first ballot! Had done some slow 10ks before that but by no means an experienced runner! I'm also sort of mixing up plans a bit too, no idea if that will prove to be a good strategy or not!

Regarding the gels, I've tried but I just can't stand the texture. I have found Jelly Belly sports beans though which I find much more palatable. Just compared the nutritional values to a gel pack and they are very similar in terms of energy and electrolytes.

Saw my physio today and we are both pleased with my progress regarding my back. Leg symptoms almost gone, so going to push forward to my half on the 26th then reassess. Kitty I asked him about speed work after what your physio said and he also agreed best avoided for the moment, so am going to replace tempo runs with a medium distance faster run and see how it goes.

emummy hope your feeling better!

I lost 3.5 stones at the end of 2015 then discovered that running would allow me to eat a certain amount of cake without putting the weight back on so I've been running since then emummy! Nowhere near as seriously or as frequent as now though. I did a half marathon last June and hated every second of it so feck knows why I signed up to twice as much! The half started at midday in June on the most humid day I can remember. My legs were like lead from the start. Hopefully won't have that problem in April!

I'll go take a look at the Martin Yelling plan kitty I've no idea whether I'm a beginner or intermediate so have been splitting the difference of most plans. All I want to do is make it round without being overtaken by anyone carrying a fridge on their back!

Someone further up thread was asking about things for carrying gels and inhalers etc. I tried a flip belt but hated it. Think it would work better on men tbh - it felt weird to have it round my waist. Felt too high. So I got a running buddy pouch thingy. One of these www.thebuddypouch.co.uk they're bloody awesome. Don't bounce or move. Although I reckon you need to have properly clingy leggings because they attach directly to them so would weigh them down if they weren't tight enough. I had the regular size but then got a Samsung s7 phone so had to get the XL to fit it comfortably. I reckon I'll take both. One with my phone and the other packed with gels. Has anyone found a gel that isn't revolting? I've been trying to get used them sooner rather than later because my stomach doesn't like running (Immodium is the only way I can do long runs without doing a Paula Radcliffe) The sis ones are okay but they taste pretty ming.

Not able to make it down for meet the experts Kitty, so take lots of notes! Have fun with the RMR gang

Welcome PicleSarnie! I know how you feel, getting in on the ballot was shock to me too! The essential thing about training I think is not necessarily to follow a prescribed plan as long as you do things gradually. Easy to get injured if you do too much too soon, so as long as you are gradually increasing your long run, get some other types of run in during the week and maybe some cross training it should be fine. Have you been running for a while?

Hi all. Can I join? I entered the ballot whilst clearly having a bit of a midlife crisis, safe in the knowledge I probably wouldn't get in. Then I only went a got in. I just wasn't going to tell anyone and not do it. But then I figured it might be years (if ever) before I got in again so might as well do it at 40 rather than 50. Or 60.

I miss alcohol. I barely see my husband because any spare time is spent running. Everyone I speak to says I'll love it on the day. I'm yet to be convinced. Although I'm finding myself getting faster and my long run on Saturday of 11 miles (whilst not being fast) was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. There might be a runner inside me somewhere after all.

I've no idea how rigidly I'm supposed to be following a training plan. I've taken bits of a few of them and picking and choosing slightly. Is that going to end in tears?

Mussels I think! Had lovely dinner at a tapas restaurant last night, then woke at 5am feeling grim. Never mind, it hasn't been too horrendous. And it's a very effective diet!

That's good news Kitty, glad you have a plan to sort things and no need to stop running. No speed work sounds good!
Curled up in bed here with food poisoning, luckily today is a rest day but I can see me missing a run or two as a result. Have told Dh am not eating out again till after London!

Hope you can get your ankle sorted Kitty, good luck tomorrow!
I think a walk/run strategy is used by a lot of people in marathons Elba and with great success. The key is I think, as you have said, to set actual targets, like walk for so long every 3 miles or whatever, so you keep up your pace. I think this is the sort of thing Jeff Galloway advocates and his website has training plans and guidance for it.
I am on a recovery week on my plan and have just had a lovely run in the forest on a sunny snowy morning. It definitely made up for the horror icy run of a few weeks ago! Feeling very happy today - see if I feel so happy after next weekend's 12 mile!
Good luck with training this week everyone.

I always end up walking far more than I need to unless I structure it or set a target...but think maybe I do need a bit of walking time or I'm not sure I will actually finish!

Thanks- think I got a little bit melodramatic but was just so bloody disappointed as it was meant to be a great run (in my head at least!!). Ended up meeting a friend for lunch and a 'quick walk' which turned into 5 miles...think I'm going to be sore tomorrow!

Kitty sorry you're struggling with your ankle. I guess tempo runs are quite high impact- I've not done any yet as advised not to by physio. Biomechanical assessment sounds a good plan though. Can you maybe do a few days low impact cardio instead of running? I used the cross trainer and the pool, and found that a few weeks off running didn't actually set me back much.

Just had a look back at the long runs I did last year- I was actually slightly quicker (only 2 secs/km) when I was doing walk/run (28:2mins) than today's attempt at non stop running. And it was a whole lot more enjoyable. Contemplating going back to that for long runs, and maybe even for the marathon.