Marathon Training

[yetanotherdeskmove]

Have anyone else just started marathon training and wants to support each other?

Oh thank you thank you imbroglio I am well confident with 15. Its always time that restricts me. I feel much better now. You sound knowledgeable enough to me. I run 4 times a week 2 short one medium and one long and at 14 to 15 for about 6 weeks now.

Carbo gels... haven't used them thus far - but DH has bought some for the race.

Should I take one on route and use at the 15 mile point or so? Or will that ruin my race if my body doesn't like it? Was thinking I might just take some haribo which seems less severe!

If you aren't used to gels, then don't take one, they can make you vom or worse. Eating haribo all the way round, or some lumps of marzipan would be better. But its worth trying gels in the future as they can give you a real boost - as we cycle and I do tri we've been through a lot of different ones and I like the Stealth training banana gels as they are longer lasting, and SIS cola gels for an emergency caffeine fix

Agree with Cmot never ever take something, especially girls that uou haven't talent before. I find Haribo much to dry and chewy to eat while running. I took jelly b

Babies but in the end just ate bananas at the food stations. Maybe I'd have run faster with a gel but I have GI problems so prefer to keep everything natural. There Will be energy drinks and gels as well as sugar and fruit at the food stations.

I bought some chewy blackcurrent things last year which were fine - no vomming For training runs I take some ordinary sweets

Thanks for the advice all.

24 hours to go!

Have been searching for

Good luck for tomorrow!

Tapering this weekend and finding it quite weird with no long run to find time for. Will pop down to the running club tomorrow for a short run and their pre-marathon chat.

Good luck Boobz you'll be fine. Pace yourself and don't start too fast, make sure you stop at the water and food statons and stay hydrated.
Most importantly enjoy it - I'll be thinking of you I was there last year! And I hope the weather is better in Rome than here in Brittany for my HM tomorrow.

Brilliant video!

Good luck Boobz! Just about to leave for Manchester as we're staying over. I volunteered at parkrun this morning dispensing tokens at the finish, and there were a few people not running because they had a marathon tomorrow

Good Luck to those who have race day tomorrow!

Trust your training
Don't go off too fast
Fuel well
Keep your head (and sense) when it gets tough

ENJOY IT!!

Remember to come and tell us how it was!

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!

So how did you runners get on?

Just wondering the same myself imbroglio and looking for tips

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!

Super impressed!

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.

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.

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

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?

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!

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

Well done to both of you!

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?

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.