Official Running Thread

[smudge]

I'm quite fortunate in my job where I get to run in lots of different places. For example this month I set myself a target of a minimum of 10k a day, and I've run in Casablanca, Tangier, Las Palmas Gran Canaria, Santa Cruz Tenerife, Funchal Madeira, Malaga, Alicante, Barcelona, and Gibraltar. I included the top of the rock as part of my run in Gib', for old times sake. My God, my legs the next day! My point is that running is a great way of having a good look around wherever I happen to be. This itinerary is probably the least "glam'" that we do, but I've enjoyed the ports running wise. Better than the tread mill when the ship is rocking, which is challenging. Here's me representing the Albion at the top of the rock. Couple of our Nepalese security guards were just getting out of the cable car when they saw this old git sprinting the last yards to the summit!

 

[dazzer6666]

I'm quite fortunate in my job where I get to run in lots of different places. For example this month I set myself a target of a minimum of 10k a day, and I've run in Casablanca, Tangier, Las Palmas Gran Canaria, Santa Cruz Tenerife, Funchal Madeira, Malaga, Alicante, Barcelona, and Gibraltar. I included the top of the rock as part of my run in Gib', for old times sake. My God, my legs the next day! My point is that running is a great way of having a good look around wherever I happen to be. This itinerary is probably the least "glam'" that we do, but I've enjoyed the ports running wise. Better than the tread mill when the ship is rocking, which is challenging. Here's me representing the Albion at the top of the rock. Couple of our Nepalese security guards were just getting out of the cable car when they saw this old git sprinting the last yards to the summit!
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Used to run up there on my regular work trips to Gib.......quite atmospheric in the early morning sometimes, often seemed to be shrouded in fog. Apes just tend to sit and watch you plod past......

...meanwhile, just starting week 3 of no running. Still struggling with a niggling pain in the glute/hamstring. Physio thinks it's linked to a sciatic nerve issue. Very annoying. Race plans will very quickly be going down the bog if I'm not back on it in a couple of weeks.

 

[smudge]

Used to run up there on my regular work trips to Gib.......quite atmospheric in the early morning sometimes, often seemed to be shrouded in fog. Apes just tend to sit and watch you plod past......

...meanwhile, just starting week 3 of no running. Still struggling with a niggling pain in the glute/hamstring. Physio thinks it's linked to a sciatic nerve issue. Very annoying. Race plans will very quickly be going down the bog if I'm not back on it in a couple of weeks.

Go see Paul at Coral's Heath & Fitness Hove. Seen several physio's over the years, he is by far the best.

 

[knocky1]

I did the Gloucester 20 mile road race yesterday. It was a great event, one of the best I’ve ever done. There were only 500 runners and the route was on country lanes a few miles south of Gloucester. It helped that conditions were perfect too. I would highly recommend it if anyone is ever in the area. I was a bit unsure about how valuable it would be beforehand but covering that distance in a competitive environment has given me more confidence than any training run.

My finishing time was 2:31:28. I didn’t give it my absolute all as I didn’t want to completely ruin my legs three weeks before Brighton, but I wasn’t too far off. So with that in mind and knowing how I felt by the end (tired, starting to ache and dropping towards 5:00/km but still running relatively comfortably) I think I am aiming to go sub-3:30 at Edinburgh in May. Brighton is still a case of just finishing.

Excellent time. A whole 58" to do another 6.2 miles at Brighton for a sub 3:30..........

 

[dazzer6666]

Thanks. The problem I’ve got is that my lack of marathon experience means I don’t really know what pace to stick to. On one hand I think I can do sub-3:30 right now (and in the right circumstances I probably could), on the other I’m respectful of the fact I’ve never done a marathon and I don’t want to crash and burn. It’s really hard to find the right balance between the two without the experience of covering the distance before.

A 2.30ish 20 miler puts you comfortably in the sub 3.30 zone.....just keep fuelled and hydrated and don’t be tempted to start any quicker than you did in the 20. Sounds like you’re in great shape [emoji106]

 

[Greg Bobkin]

I did the Gloucester 20 mile road race yesterday. It was a great event, one of the best I’ve ever done. There were only 500 runners and the route was on country lanes a few miles south of Gloucester. It helped that conditions were perfect too. I would highly recommend it if anyone is ever in the area. I was a bit unsure about how valuable it would be beforehand but covering that distance in a competitive environment has given me more confidence than any training run.

My finishing time was 2:31:28. I didn’t give it my absolute all as I didn’t want to completely ruin my legs three weeks before Brighton, but I wasn’t too far off. So with that in mind and knowing how I felt by the end (tired, starting to ache and dropping towards 5:00/km but still running relatively comfortably) I think I am aiming to go sub-3:30 at Edinburgh in May. Brighton is still a case of just finishing.

What knocky1 said. You can go 3:30 at Brighton, especially if you weren't 100% yesterday. Why wait until May?

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[big nuts]

I was a bit conservative yesterday because a) I didn’t want to wear myself out and take a week to recover and b) I wanted to try and run fairly consistently to practice the ‘not burning out’ strategy. I think I’ll do the same on marathon day so I would expect to get to 20 miles in about the same time. Who knows what happens from there. I appreciate the confidence though, three experienced runners can’t ALL be wrong surely!

My second quickest marathon was 3:29:23 and I made 20 miles in 2:36:37 so I'd fully expect you go sub 3:30 and probably sub 3:25 based on yesterdays time.

Here are my splits from 2015

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/744359650

The furthest I ran in the build up was 17 miles so you have the distance as long as you pace reasonably.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

I think it will be an upset if you don't run sub 3:30, [MENTION=4417]The Complete Badger[/MENTION]. The training runs you've been putting in and the consistency of the efforts have been superb. You need to be prepared for Maranoia to set in and on the day to not feel 100%, that will happen. You've put in a lot of work, you're ready to kick on. I ran 3:29 last year and I would back you to beat that.

At the same time though, you won't believe how your leg feels at 20 miles on the day. Trust me when I say you need to put in a couple of double run days in the next week or so, running on tired legs is absolutely the key. I've always died a bit at mile 16/17 when on marathon pace so you need to be as prepared as possible to be running on low energy.

 

[dazzer6666]

What I like about this is that your splits get slower as you go, which is exactly what will happen for me, yet you still got a great time. I read so much about negative splits, it’s almost like you’re not a serious runner if you don’t do negative splits. But in a marathon surely it’s near impossible to achieve? If I can follow a similar path to that run of yours on 15/04 I’ll be ecstatic.

A negative split is like the holy grail so don’t worry too much about it. I’m a plodder myself but know a lot of speedy blokes, virtually none of them ever run a negative split. Minimising the amount of drift is key though.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

What I like about this is that your splits get slower as you go, which is exactly what will happen for me, yet you still got a great time. I read so much about negative splits, it’s almost like you’re not a serious runner if you don’t do negative splits. But in a marathon surely it’s near impossible to achieve? If I can follow a similar path to that run of yours on 15/04 I’ll be ecstatic.

I've managed negative splits but never in anything above 10 miles. I wouldn't get too hung up about it. Once you're in the zone on marathon day I'm sure it will all be fine.

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[penny's harmonica]

Thanks. The problem I’ve got is that my lack of marathon experience means I don’t really know what pace to stick to. On one hand I think I can do sub-3:30 right now (and in the right circumstances I probably could), on the other I’m respectful of the fact I’ve never done a marathon and I don’t want to crash and burn. It’s really hard to find the right balance between the two without the experience of covering the distance before.

As runners it's a rarity to find everything coming together and running in harmony. Right now you have the pace, the fitness, the stamina and seem to be free of injuries. Sundays run shows what your capable of. 58 mins to run 10k is plenty for sub 3:30, you could walk a mile of that and still make it. I'd be tempted to go for it at Brighton and put thoughts of Edinburgh aside.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

Thanks for all the replies. This is interesting reading.

One more question if I may. A sub-3:30 marathon is dead on 5:00/km. Now I’m not going to do this as I wouldn’t be brave enough in my first marathon, but what’s likely to happen if I went out and ran the first half of it at 4:30/km or faster? That would obviously buy me the leeway to average 5:30/km in the second half. I’m sure the answer is that I would burn out and end up falling behind the pace, but is there any case to be made for the speedy start? Has anyone done it in a marathon? I won’t do it (this time) but I’m just wondering as it is normally my strategy for shorter races.

For context, I ran 3:37 in my first ever marathon in 2015. I died a death from mile 16 onwards and was well ahead of pace until that point. If I had done more runs on tired legs, I would have had a better threshold to complete at the same pace. Your training has been far better than mine that year, you're well on track for 3:30.

I started off last year's marathon with 3 sub 7 minute miles in the first 4 miles and I ran a 4 minute HM PB in the first half of the race. I was fine until mile 18 when I started to drop back a little bit and lose the pace. At mile 21 the 3:15 pacer strolled past me and I had nothing but a plod to complete in 3:29. My biggest concern for you, looking in from the outside, would be that final kick and the final distance. You know my thoughts, and my biggest concern is failing due to being unable to maintain the pace in the last 10 miles or so.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Thanks for all the replies. This is interesting reading.

One more question if I may. A sub-3:30 marathon is dead on 5:00/km. Now I’m not going to do this as I wouldn’t be brave enough in my first marathon, but what’s likely to happen if I went out and ran the first half of it at 4:30/km or faster? That would obviously buy me the leeway to average 5:30/km in the second half. I’m sure the answer is that I would burn out and end up falling behind the pace, but is there any case to be made for the speedy start? Has anyone done it in a marathon? I won’t do it (this time) but I’m just wondering as it is normally my strategy for shorter races.

In 2013 Brighton Marathon I ran the first mile in about 7:30 in a bid to catch up with the 4hr pacers - I was meant to be doing 8:30s. By the time I got to the lagoon (on the way TO the power station) I was close to blowing up but limped around and managed to get a second wind with some Lucozade (and a shout from Zoe Ball) as I hit the prom. Finished in 3:57.

Awful race strategy - and not really to be recommended - but I managed to drag it back from somewhere [emoji23][emoji23]

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