Marathon Training 2023 - Who's in?

Morning all,

Achey here after 20 miles yesterday. 3:28 which I’m happy enough about, I also tend to stick to a pace and was a bit slow out the funnel so maintained that. At least it didn’t hurt as much as the 18 miles I did on Monday.

I’m wondering whether to try to do one more 20 mile (or 19) next weekend before the taper? I’m doing London… we are going away for Easter hols so my runs will def be more leisurely in the last couple of weeks!

Welldone @GrannieD - great news that you got your 20 done ok. And sorry you are deferring @Fizbosshoes - sounds very sensible.

I was outraged that my marathon was 26.46 miles! It was a small event so no weaving around crowds just the inability to run in a straight line towards the end.

The extra distance you run in the marathon is often forgotten when pacing too. If you have a time in mind, you need to run faster than you think 🙁. It drives me crazy when websites say things like you need to run a 5:41km/min for a 4:00 marathon when in reality you will need more like a 5:35 pace or even faster .

The one advantage of running a smaller marathon is you run closer to the actual distance though .

I got in this year on the ballot on my 15th attempt so I suppose perseverence can pay off.

19 miles today slightly faster than planned - I think my problem is that I'm quite consistent so once I've settled into a pace I stick to it even if it is more than intended and my first mile in particular was faster than intended. Having said that I got round with a bit left in the tank. DC suggested that we had dinner rather than lunch so I had a big steak to look forward to as I ran round.

I'm sure it used to be possible to get a place if you had had 5 rejections in the ballot but they don't do that any more. Some people in my running club have had about 12 rejections

I've had around 10 ballot rejections for London now - not sure of the exact number. Finally got in on GFA.

I have done London the last 2 years and around Canary Wharf my watch went bonkers each time. For 2 miles it told me that I did my miles in 5 and 6 minutes so by the time I crossed the lines, I allegedly had ran 27 miles.
It really impacted me . The first year in my exhaustion, I sort of forgot about it and was still relying on my watch so the end seemed to never come. Last year I was ready for it but there is nothing worse than your watch saying you had done 22 miles and you had just passed the 21 mile mark.

Joining late. I have my first marathon on 16/4 Boston, Lincs! 3rd one I've entered and hopefully I'll actually make the start line this time - touch 🪵

Sorry my reply sounded a bit superior which I didn't intend!! Thank you, my best times were about 7 years ago but I'm still hoping I might get a gfa time again if everything goes right!
I'm sure it used to be possible to get a place if you had had 5 rejections in the ballot but they don't do that any more. Some people in my running club have had about 12 rejections, but the charity places need such high sponsorship

@Fizbosshoes well done on being brave enough to recognise you need to defer. I hope your knee starts to feel better.
I did my first 20miler today, the run was better than my 18 last week. Still not sleeping but I felt in a good mental and physical place so can’t ask for much more really.

Ive never had a ballot place despite a few tries. The first year I got a place (2008) from my running club, and the others were all good for age times.

So your watch might say 25 miles when you're not far past the 24 sign. That's never a good feeling, particularly if time is very tight.

One London marathon, my watch didn't pick up a signal and so I could only really rely on the clock at the mile markers without knowing exactly what time I started. I knew roughly, but as I had no watch there was no discrepancy . I had a text from one of my friends on the train home, saying well done, was it a pb? and I didn't know and asked her what the finish time actually was. It was my best time at London out of 5 attempts 😊(last time was 2018 when it was boiling so wasn't expecting a great time then)

What a difference a day makes !!! Yesterday I was breathless after one mile but today I did another 20 mile, same as before but in reverse and knocked off 19 minutes !!! Elevation was 941 feet so would have been even better on the flat. Next long run will be in the canaries next Sunday. Currently recovering in the pub ….dragged out for Mother’s Day lol

*I think mentally, for me, miles 15-20 are the worst, because you've run a really long way....but there's still a long way to go. By mile 20 you're counting down but physically starts to feel harder."

I would agree with this. Mentally, I've always hated the 16 mile mark; because that's when you're starting to struggle but there's still 10 miles to go. I like it when I can start counting down in single figures, and doing the maths in my head - so 9 miles means there's no more than 72 minutes of running left, 8 miles means there's no more than 64, 7 miles means less than an hour, etc.

But the physical stuff for me, every time, is mile 22/23. Maybe I've never cracked fuelling properly or maybe it's because I'm usually at all-out race pace, but that's when I start getting dizzy; gels don't take effect like they did before; I can't speak properly to people around me; and I have to just try and hang on in there until the 25 mile mark, when I can start the push for home.

What's also annoying at that stage of the race is that your watch and the mile markers will start getting noticeably out of sync (ie you've run further than the distance because of the weaving). So your watch might say 25 miles when you're not far past the 24 sign. That's never a good feeling, particularly if time is very tight.

@EveryLittleWish I agree (although I struggle with km!) I think mentally, for me, miles 15-20 are the worst, because you've run a really long way....but there's still a long way to go.

By mile 20 you're counting down but physically starts to feel harder.
I've done 9 marathons and I've never done one without stopping. After 20 miles I allow myself to stop at the drinks stations and walk for a few paces, and I've never managed a negative split!

@xsquared I’m going to go against everyone and say I don’t find the last 10kms the hardest bit. For me the hardest part is 21km-32km because the end feels so far away. By 32kms I’m on the home stretch . Maybe I don’t race them hard enough 😂 ( although my heart rate says otherwise)!

My biggest tip is to hydrate and fuel properly . I can’t stress this enough . And don’t go out too fast . You’ll feel better doing a negative split.

Am I correct in thinking you’re going for a 3:30? Have you considered going with a pacer ? I did a 3:28 years ago ( when I was young and much faster ha) and the pacers massively helped .

That's really sensible @Fizbosshoes - hope you're not feeling too disappointed. Deferring isn't an easy choice; in fact I think it's much easier to plough on regardless, and turn up on the start line. Even though running a race you haven't trained for it's only going to leave you with a disappointing result or a DNF, and a high risk of injury.

Hope your summer races go well - and maybe an autumn marathon if you can fit it in?

I've made the decision today, to defer.
I've done up to 19 miles but ideally I would have included at least 2 x 20 milers.
I think I possibly could get round but my knee didn't feel right on a relatively short run today and I don't think there's any merit in forcing myself to do it, being disappointed with my time and potentially injuring myself further ....and then mucking up the summer season as well.

I'm disappointed because I've got fairly far into training to give it up but I'd rather try and sort out whatever the issue is and hopefully have a decent chance of being fit for some 10ks later in the year.

Just my hectic lifestyle fellrunner85. I'm not running for a time so as long as I get over the finish line in one piece I will be happy

Ok - I'm sorry if this sounds very negative @GrannieD but I think you need to start planning a strategy now as to how you're going to get round - run/walking from the start is probably the best option, to make sure you don't hit the wall and end up with a DNF.
Just getting over the finish line may sound achievable, but even that is a huge ask when you haven't done the long runs. That's why even beginners' marathon training "get you round" plans have several run/walk sessions in of 3hrs plus, just to get your body used to working for that amount of time, and to try and prevent running out of fuel and hitting the wall.

One thing I really did not appreciate before my first marathon was how a 20 mile training run is nothing like 26.2 miles on the day. Going for six miles further - so an hour at a steady pace - doesn't sound that hard. But it is.
That's why lots of people describe a marathon as a 20 mile run, before a 6.2 mile race. Again, that made no sense to me until I actually did it for the first time, and realised how you can feel fine (if tired and achy) at 20 or 21 miles but quickly collapse entirely at 22 or 23.
In those final few miles things can change very quickly, even for those who have trained well (the end of any marathon looks like the march of the White Walkers, with the number of people collapsing and throwing up). And you don't want that to be you.

I'm sorry if this does sound negative, but four weeks out from a marathon is the ideal time to take a good look at your training and figure out where you're at. Lots of my friends are now deferring their spring marathons til next year for this very reason - they know they haven't got the runs in, because life got in the way, and they also know from dire past experience that running a marathon untrained can be gruesome. You know you haven't got the runs in, and it's too late to do anything about that now - so it would be my advice to get your run/walk plan sorted (and resist temptation to go against it on the day) with the aim of going out and enjoying it. Or else defer til 2024?

Been recently told I have low iron - probably caused by too much exercise! I haven’t been feeling too bad day-to-day but have really struggled on the long runs, and recovery afterwards. Am taking my multivitamins and eating well so hopefully it’ll pick up before race day!
I’m going to have a crack at 20 miles this weekend and next then will start my taper. Just need to get round at this point!

Just my hectic lifestyle fellrunner85. I'm not running for a time so as long as I get over the finish line in one piece I will be happy.

5th 20 miler done today

That's brilliant @Teawaster - I think the feeling of getting 5 decent runs in the bag is really reassuring. I've still got one more to get through in this block.