Marathon Running

awesome! Bet your resting heart rate is pretty low, and thus your overall health.

I mentioned earlier in the thread - it is (or was a few months ago, before a lot of this training) 40bpm. Apparently if it was any lower it might even be a cause for concern.

40 bpm is awesome. But I had no idea there can be a lower limit that can affect your health.

I just wanna finish one in time. I think I was slatted to be right around 5 hours if I hadn't gotten hurt last March.

That's why you bring cab fare with you!

I've decided to start bringing water on my long runs. It's probably a bit silly that I haven't been doing it, and dehydration has definitely been slowing me down in the second half of those.

I'm finding the beginner level interval training much too easy now, so I'm moving to the Wednesday night "intermediate" session from this week. And I just broke 30minutes for 6km for the first time so that's good too. Still haven't gone beyond the half-marathon in training yet - might try 25km this weekend.

Big week this week, by far the most miles I've done in 7 days.

Monday - 6km
Wednesday - 10km
Friday -6km
Sunday - 23km

So tired right now...

You need to gather minions who will hand you cups of water along your running route! Heck at my age I'd need that just for a 100 meter dash!

I'm impressed, 23 meters is the most I'd be willing to run.

Just before I retired from the Army I was so slow they brought a calendar instead of a stop-watch to my PT test. Snails were giving me the finger as they passed me.

24.4km/15.2 miles today in 2 hours 22 minutes.
It was the same track as my previous longest run, with one extra bit to add around 1.8km - but I was 10 seconds faster per km and felt much better. My last 3km were my fastest. (Extra water definitely helping.)
I'm happy with that, although it's still not fast enough. I'd be just outside my 4 hour target in a marathon if I could keep that pace going the full way, which is doubtful. On the other hand, there are two or three pretty serious hills on that track, that won't be there on marathon day.

Less than 3 months to go now. Marathon day is 24th May.

I watched "Desert Runners" yesterday afternoon. Pretty cool.

Sounds good! And plenty of time left. Although...... you say the marathon is the 24th? In a previous post you said the 4th, which is the Belfast one. The 24th is Newry. So which is it?

May 4th is still 9 weeks With a weekly increase within the 10% range, you'll be able to do a 30+km run in a couple of weeks already. But do take care... an injury now means it's game over.

I have had my first run in over a week, yesterday, nasty cold.. but I should be fully recovered by next weekend, when I run the City-Pier-City run in The Hague. Hoping for my second sub 2 hr half marathon, but don't know if I am completely back in shape yet. Although I did a 14km run at 5:26 last week. Still, those last 7km.. I can go the distance (did 22.5km 2 weeks ago) but yeah, it's not just simple extrapolation, as you know. Anyway, we'll see. Good luck with your training!

Yeah, it's the Newry one I'm doing. It suits my friend who has been training with me, better.

You guys are fast! I'm doing a 10 mile trail race in May. Last year, my time was 1:51, and I hope for some marginal improvement, but still, I don't see myself getting faster than 11 minute miles. Trail races are definitely slower going, but even on the street I can't sustain better than 9-10 minute miles.

Anyone else use MapMy Run? There's a friend/group feature on it that we could use.

I used to use that, but then I received a runners' watch for Christmas last year, so now I do everything with that, and the social networking component is through Nike.

The thing is when I've seen them talking about it on the morning shows and what not, the healthiest speed is 10 min/mi. I was doing that last spring, I need to get back to that level.

Ran my half marathon in The Hague today. Really awesome weather - sunny, about 12-13 celcius, and although there was some wind, it wasn't too strong. I ran 1:59:06, which unfortunately is 24 seconds above my PR for that distance. And yes, that's a bummer, of course, and a bit of miscalculation during the slower first half of the race. But then, I've only seriously started training again in january, and of course: that was on a different race. Still, very happy to run sub 2 for the second time on an official race. The race was nice; a lot of people came to watch, and although in the beginning there were so many people we had to slow down and almost stop, once, running at my own pace became easier after a while.
All in all a great day! Looking forward to selecting a next running destination

What's PR? Or do you mean PB?

Same thing. Personal record.

Just did 26km (which is 16 miles). Longest run yet. Think I hit the dreaded "wall" right at the end because I don't feel so good now. The marathon is in nine weeks so I can't have that happening.

Anyway, that brings me to nearly 160km for March, following 100km in January and 133km in February. I'll aim for close to 200km in April.

I'm starting to think about running strategies for the marathon. You need to run the first half faster than the second, so that's 21km in 1 hour 52 minutes, translating to a first 10km of just over 53 minutes.

I ran 10km on Monday evening pretty much as fast as I could, and it was 49 minutes. I was still a bit tired from the long run on Saturday but that doesn't leave a lot of leeway.

no no no, don't run the first 1/2 faster than the second! That's a sure way to hit that wall around 30 - or so I've heard and read in many places: people hit the wall because they burn out around 30km, they have used up all the available glycogen, and the body has to then resort to burning fat for fuel, which can only be done at lower HR, hence the wall - your body is forcing you too slow down. Run with a 'negative split' in which you conserve energy in the first half to be able to survive the second half. And if you feel great at 35Km, speed up a bit.That's my plan for my marathon next year. Or maybe later this year, I'll be ready soon enough. I ran 25km on Monday, was ready for a new, conservative run yesterday. As for not feeling so good: be sure to drink enough water! Weigh yourself right before and after your next long run and keep track of what you drink along the way. Did that Monday, and realised I lost 2,2 liters of water in that 2hr40 run. I only had one water flask with me, and was fighting off a dehydration headache all day Tuesday by drinking water all day. Also, make sure you replenish your electrolytes along the way with a gel or something similar; I'd take at least 3 or 4 if you drink water, less if you drink sports drinks - in which case you shouldn't use them at the same time - sugar overload means you need more water to process the sugar.
Sounds like you are on schedule, though, looks great. Did I ask if you are on Strava?

(In which case: pm me if you like!)

I'm using Map My Run, I'll check Strava out though.

I've heard conflicting info about which half should be faster. What I outlined is a strategy recommended by one of the running websites. I can't imagine trying to speed up in the second half, when I'll already be very tired - whatever speed I've done.

Anyway, I haven't done much for the last week and a half as I had an Easter break in Madrid, but next thing is to attempt 17 miles on Saturday.

I have a 10 mile trail race coming up two weeks from this Sunday. Due to the rotten winter we've had, I have not run anywhere but on a tread mill in months, though I also did a fair amount of snowshoe work on the same trails where the run will be. I'm totally screwed! Last year, I ran it in 1:52, which was a good result for me, as I tend to be slow, and trail running is much slower anyway. Friends that I run with did as well as 1:32, with each of us coming in basically in 5 minute increments after that (I was the last). My goal last year was to not come in last among all participants. I did not have under 2 hours, or not coming in last among my age group as goals, but I achieved both of those, too! I think for this year, I'm only going to set finishing the race as the goal.

Trail running.. would love to! But living in a concrete jungle makes that a bit hard for me. In any case, if finishing is the only goal, be sure to look around and enjoy where you run as well

As for the different strategies in running a marathon, my comment about trying for a 'negative' split is perhaps a bit too optimistic. All world records are run at a negative split, but we're not elite runners; still, to run at as flat a pace as possible and leaving just a little bit of extra room as the race progresses, sounds solid to me. I have read (googling 'marathon pace strategy') about having to be able to run a half marathon race in 1:52 to finish at 4hrs, or being able to run a 10K race in 53 minutes: but that doesn't mean you need to run that 10k pace on your marathon. You say that running the 10k pace, leading to 49 minutes instead of 53 doesn't leave much room, but actually, it does: 4 minutes in 10km is more than 16 minutes in a marathon, which is huge. Per km, the difference is 24 seconds, after all.
If you manage to run the first half in about 1:52, that will give you a little bit of room to slow down in the second half; if you go much slower, you won't be able to catch up the time you lost in the first half, I agree speeding up is hard; but if you go too fast at first to 'bank some time', you'll be walking the final 5km. It's all about balance, or so everyone tells me.

I'm guessing you're on your run right now, hope it goes well! Have you started experimenting with eating on your runs? You mentioned in february you'd just started drinking, so I wondered, especially regarding any efforts to avoid hitting the wall. There are a lot of different options out there, and your stomach may need to adjust to eating while running. Personally, I can't get down most of the 'energy bars'; some are so dry you'd need a beer to get them down, others are so chewy they feel like they're going to pull the teeth from your jaw. So far, I only like SiS-gels. Not to sweet, not too thick so you don't need water to get them down, and the taste is bearable. Plus, since I can't get enough oxygen just breathing through my nose, with gels I am not inhaling chunks of some dry cookie-like substance, making me cough or choke. If I die during my marathon, I want it to be from effort, not food

I'm going in an hour or two. I'll be taking some wine gums, water and an energy drink. That's the same as last time, but I've also fueled and hydrated much more thoroughly beforehand today. Well post later to say how I got on!