Official Running Thread

[knocky1]

Brilliant pacing [MENTION=4417]The Complete Badger[/MENTION] I'll update your time on the table.

Except for marathons I usually pace like clockwork, as you know. But got it wrong at Worthing Parkrun on Saturday. Lack of concentration led to me going for the finish before the Halfway turn. Then I got the Pier in my sight for the finish and dropped like a stone when I got there to find the line was still 200m or more away. Luckily it was only witnessed by Big Nuts.

 

[Nathan]

Ran the London 10k yesterday in 47:07. Not a pb but was still pleased with the time, it was hot but the course was flat which helped. Loads of people watching and a great atmosphere all the way around. The only down side was the number of people, and people being in the wrong starting pen. I guess it happens with bigger races and it was such a big event that it was always going to be busy and difficult to overtake. According to my stats I overtook 4,126 runners in the first 5k, with 524 runners over taking me. Great event and very well organised.

 

[Badger]

Enjoy Edinburgh. I spent three nights there and thought it was a great city.

Edinburgh itself is incredibly hilly but the marathon isn’t, mainly because not much of it is in Edinburgh. It starts with three miles around the city centre followed by two miles through the suburbs to the coast. There are two nice downhills and only one incline in that section. At the five mile mark you reach the sea. It is then 12 miles up the coastal road into East Lothian, a turnaround point at about 17 miles and nine miles back down the coast to the finish in Musselburgh, which is a few miles outside Edinburgh. The route is largely flat and the temperature was nice and cool on Sunday. Overall I would say it’s a well organised event with nice scenery and it’s as flat as a marathon is ever likely to be. Downsides would be the fact only the first three miles are in Edinburgh itself and, as a result of the rural/coastal route that only passes through a few small villages, there are very few spectators in comparison with my marathon debut at Brighton. In fact, apart from the area at Musselburgh that you pass at nine and 26 miles, there was hardly anybody out to watch.

As for my race, as I mentioned on here last week, I didn’t feel at my very best going into it. I have run quite a lot since Brighton but haven’t really hadn’t the motivation to do marathon-specific training. I also didn’t have the drive that comes from having a target time. In hindsight, that actually turned out to be a good thing as I took the first half slowly. I reached halfway in 1:42:43, more than four and a half minutes slower than I did at Brighton. I was a bit concerned at that stage as I wasn’t running at my usual pace and I hadn’t really planned to be that slow. However, what happened next was I inadvertently learned all about the benefits of pacing. I barely fell away at all. I didn’t run a single KM over 5:08 and only a small number over 5:00, whereas at Brighton I fell off a cliff that had me down at 5:55 in the closing stages. I felt strong until the very end, in fact I felt better at some points after 20 miles than I did in the first five miles. I ran the second half in 1:46:19 to come home in 3:28:02 - almost two minutes faster than Brighton.

Considering I did two marathons so close together and couldn’t really get myself properly up for this one as a result, I’m delighted with that. It felt like I was far more comfortable with the distance this time and in control. It’s showed me the benefit of not racing out the blocks, which has always been my strategy over every distance. Compare my 1:38/1:51 splits at Brighton to 1:42/1:46 at Edinburgh and I know which one feels nicer! With that in mind and given time to dedicate myself to just one marathon next time, I’m feeling confident I can smash my time again in a few months.

That's a great time, well done. Doesn't it feel great to maintain a good pace throughout? You always need to find that balance between getting taking along with a group of fast people, and being a bit too cautious and regretting it afterwards. It sounds like you managed to nail it.

I bet there's still a little part of you thinking "I could have gone a little faster at the point and shaved a few more seconds off". I always have that feeling and seem to completely forget how hard I was pushing myself at the end!

 

[Ninja Elephant]

Has anybody done Bournemouth Marathon? It’s in October which would be ideal timing for my next attempt. I’m just trying to work out how flat it is and have read varying reports.

I'm going to be going after that one, that's my big target race for this year. Portsmouth will be marathon 3 in 2018 if I don't hit my target time in Bournemouth.

 

[Badger]

I'm going to be going after that one, that's my big target race for this year. Portsmouth will be marathon 3 in 2018 if I don't hit my target time in Bournemouth.

Not having to run a marathon in Portsmouth seems like a great incentive.

 

[Seaford by the sea]

Enjoy Edinburgh. I spent three nights there and thought it was a great city.

Edinburgh itself is incredibly hilly but the marathon isn’t, mainly because not much of it is in Edinburgh. It starts with three miles around the city centre followed by two miles through the suburbs to the coast. There are two nice downhills and only one incline in that section. At the five mile mark you reach the sea. It is then 12 miles up the coastal road into East Lothian, a turnaround point at about 17 miles and nine miles back down the coast to the finish in Musselburgh, which is a few miles outside Edinburgh. The route is largely flat and the temperature was nice and cool on Sunday. Overall I would say it’s a well organised event with nice scenery and it’s as flat as a marathon is ever likely to be. Downsides would be the fact only the first three miles are in Edinburgh itself and, as a result of the rural/coastal route that only passes through a few small villages, there are very few spectators in comparison with my marathon debut at Brighton. In fact, apart from the area at Musselburgh that you pass at nine and 26 miles, there was hardly anybody out to watch.

As for my race, as I mentioned on here last week, I didn’t feel at my very best going into it. I have run quite a lot since Brighton but haven’t really hadn’t the motivation to do marathon-specific training. I also didn’t have the drive that comes from having a target time. In hindsight, that actually turned out to be a good thing as I took the first half slowly. I reached halfway in 1:42:43, more than four and a half minutes slower than I did at Brighton. I was a bit concerned at that stage as I wasn’t running at my usual pace and I hadn’t really planned to be that slow. However, what happened next was I inadvertently learned all about the benefits of pacing. I barely fell away at all. I didn’t run a single KM over 5:08 and only a small number over 5:00, whereas at Brighton I fell off a cliff that had me down at 5:55 in the closing stages. I felt strong until the very end, in fact I felt better at some points after 20 miles than I did in the first five miles. I ran the second half in 1:46:19 to come home in 3:28:02 - almost two minutes faster than Brighton.

Considering I did two marathons so close together and couldn’t really get myself properly up for this one as a result, I’m delighted with that. It felt like I was far more comfortable with the distance this time and in control. It’s showed me the benefit of not racing out the blocks, which has always been my strategy over every distance. Compare my 1:38/1:51 splits at Brighton to 1:42/1:46 at Edinburgh and I know which one feels nicer! With that in mind and given time to dedicate myself to just one marathon next time, I’m feeling confident I can smash my time again in a few months.

Congratulations on a great run, a true lesson to us all about pacing ( hope I heed it on my next race!). Got to agree with you Edinburgh is a great city, they don't seem to do tartan running shirts though?!

Glad you didn't need to run in the heat of Monday, hopefully you had the lovely sea mist assisting, that greeted me on my morning run up the royal mile.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I’m running the Stockholm marathon this weekend. It’s a low-key warm up for Berlin. Unusually the race starts at noon on Saturday.....and it’s currently forecast to be 30 degrees C at this time. FFS.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

I’ve read some reviews that say Bournemouth is hilly. But it’s almost entirely along the seafront so can that really be true? My memories of visits to Bournemouth are that the town is hilly in parts but the seafront is flat. What’s your inside knowledge?

It isn't hilly at all - I did a map comparison with Brighton and it's far less hilly based on the map on their site. It's definitely a quick marathon depending on preparation...

 

[Mr Blobby]

Morning all. Just about recovered from my Edinburgh weekend. I came in in 4.32.01 so my fastest marathon of my 3 in 6 weeks (Brighton 4.32.54 & London 5.05.43). I really struggled on Sunday, massively hit the wall at about 18 miles and had to run walk between 18-22 and stopping to stretch as could feel cramp coming on. I was amazed to come in quicker than Brighton and my second fastest marathon. I did the first 13.1 miles in 2.06 so was well on for a PB, but in the end it was about getting to the finish line. More importantly just over £4k (incl gift aid) raised for the Martlets Hospice. It has been a great few weeks, very tough and certainly stretched me to my limits. A few weeks off long runs now, well until September and the Loch Ness marathon.

Next year I will need to change my training and hopefully lose some more weight. Other than London my last 4 marathons have been 4.28, 4.34, 4.32 & 4.32. I want to dip below 4.20 but at the moment just cant quite manage it.

Anyway see some of you in Worthing for the 10k on Sunday. I will see how I feel before deciding on how hard to push it!

 

[knocky1]

[MENTION=4417]The Complete Badger[/MENTION] goes sub 3:30 and jumps above [MENTION=13055]Ninja Elephant[/MENTION].

NAME	5K SB	5K PB	SB AG	10K	10M	HM	M
Capricorn	17:11	17:11	75.07%	36:55		1:23:20	4:41:29
Deletebeepbeep	18:05	18:05	72.9%			1:28:52	3:01:55
Artie Fufkin	18:24	18:24	74.18%	38:42		1:21:15	3:07:58
Big Nuts	18:45	18:39	71.73%	39:09	1:06:45	1:28:20	3:15:59
Ninja Elephant	18:46	18:23	68.92%	39:00	1:07:57	1:27:43	3:29:12
Blue&WhiteSea	18:53	17:05	%	36:53	1:00:09	1:22:39
Curious Orange	18:59	18:36	72.96%	38:31		1:24:23.9	3:29:23
CompleteBadger	19:37	19:37	66.10%	43:32	1:17:11	1:30:58	3:28:02
Mr Banana	19:57	19:57	65.41%
HerrTubthumper	19:59	19:59	73.23%			1:36:10	3:05:34
SeafordbySea	20:02	20:02	69.72%	46:10	1:29:21	1:37:48
St Leonard's	20:19	19.44	61.51%			1:34:35
Knocky	20:32	17:45	76.79%	39:52		1:34:00	3:50:49
P's Harmonica	20:36	20:10	71.60%	43:03		1:33:56	3:27:19
Dazzer	21:09	19.57	70.29%			1:36	3:43:
GNT	21:21	20:20	77.13%	40:31	1:19:12	1:31:18	4:19:55
Simgull	21:29	20:21	69.74%	42:45	1:11:46	1:38:14	3:44:28
Soistes	22:05	21:53	73.89%	46:33		1:43:57	3:51:33
Left Back	22:06	21:02	66.74%	45:47		1:43:27
Ben Eltons Bro	22:07	21:35	61.27%	45:38		1:45:39	3:52:07
Greg Bobkin	22:25	20:54	60.45%	42:	1:13:	1:39:00	3:57:37
RInce'sPython	22:29	22:29	57.52%
Anchorman	22:51	21:34	69.00%
Guinness Boy	23:55	22:04	59.72%	46:50	01:23:27	1:46:03	4:00:06
Mr Blobby	24:04	24:59	60.80%	49:31	1:23:34	1:48:59	4:28:36
Bob!	24:06	22:41	65.42%	45.39	1:16:42	1:44:21	3:53:35
Pembury		18.58		39.08		1:33:02	3:19:
Bad Ash		19:40	%	43:27		1:35:00	3:43:03
JoePrecious		19:44	%	46:19	1:24:08	1:38:13	4:04:30
Hooky		19:52	%
m20gull		26:15	%	57:32		02:07:07	5:46:02
Badger				39:06		1:38:48	3:06:33
Jonny Rainbow				41:43			3:24:38

 

[knocky1]

As we thankfully kiss goodbye to Marathon Season I have done a sub 3:30:00 NSC table due to minority demand. Bear in mind these are PBs although many were gained in 2018. Well done to all in the table, good luck to those aiming to get in the table and well done to those of us who will never get in the table.

Enjoy the table as it's back to 5K Saturday!

NAME	5K SB	5K PB	SB AG	10K	10M	HM	M
Deletebeepbeep	18:05	18:05	72.9%			1:28:52	3:01:55
HerrTubthumper	19:59	19:59	73.23%			1:36:10	3:05:34
Badger				39:06		1:38:48	3:06:33
Artie Fufkin	18:24	18:24	74.18%	38:42		1:21:15	3:07:58
Big Nuts	18:45	18:39	71.73%	39:09	1:06:45	1:28:20	3:15:59
Pembury		18.58		39.08		1:33:02	3:19:
P's Harmonica	20:36	20:10	71.60%	43:03		1:33:56	3:27:19
CompleteBadger	19:37	19:37	66.10%	43:32	1:17:11	1:30:58	3:28:02
Ninja Elephant	18:46	18:23	68.92%	39:00	1:07:57	1:27:43	3:29:12
Curious Orange	18:59	18:36	72.96%	38:31		1:24:23.9	3:29:23

 

[knocky1]

Morning all. Just about recovered from my Edinburgh weekend. I came in in 4.32.01 so my fastest marathon of my 3 in 6 weeks (Brighton 4.32.54 & London 5.05.43). I really struggled on Sunday, massively hit the wall at about 18 miles and had to run walk between 18-22 and stopping to stretch as could feel cramp coming on. I was amazed to come in quicker than Brighton and my second fastest marathon. I did the first 13.1 miles in 2.06 so was well on for a PB, but in the end it was about getting to the finish line. More importantly just over £4k (incl gift aid) raised for the Martlets Hospice. It has been a great few weeks, very tough and certainly stretched me to my limits. A few weeks off long runs now, well until September and the Loch Ness marathon.

Next year I will need to change my training and hopefully lose some more weight. Other than London my last 4 marathons have been 4.28, 4.34, 4.32 & 4.32. I want to dip below 4.20 but at the moment just cant quite manage it.

Anyway see some of you in Worthing for the 10k on Sunday. I will see how I feel before deciding on how hard to push it!

Excellent work. Excellent run and see you at Worthing 10K.

 

[Garry Nelson's teacher]

As we thankfully kiss goodbye to Marathon Season I have done a sub 3:30:00 NSC table due to minority demand. Bear in mind these are PBs although many were gained in 2018. Well done to all in the table, good luck to those aiming to get in the table and well done to those of us who will never get in the table.

Enjoy the table as it's back to 5K Saturday!

NAME	5K SB	5K PB	SB AG	10K	10M	HM	M
Deletebeepbeep	18:05	18:05	72.9%			1:28:52	3:01:55
HerrTubthumper	19:59	19:59	73.23%			1:36:10	3:05:34
Badger				39:06		1:38:48	3:06:33
Artie Fufkin	18:24	18:24	74.18%	38:42		1:21:15	3:07:58
Big Nuts	18:45	18:39	71.73%	39:09	1:06:45	1:28:20	3:15:59
Pembury		18.58		39.08		1:33:02	3:19:
P's Harmonica	20:36	20:10	71.60%	43:03		1:33:56	3:27:19
CompleteBadger	19:37	19:37	66.10%	43:32	1:17:11	1:30:58	3:28:02
Ninja Elephant	18:46	18:23	68.92%	39:00	1:07:57	1:27:43	3:29:12
Curious Orange	18:59	18:36	72.96%	38:31		1:24:23.9	3:29:23

Flash buggers!

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

As we thankfully kiss goodbye to Marathon Season I have done a sub 3:30:00 NSC table due to minority demand. Bear in mind these are PBs although many were gained in 2018. Well done to all in the table, good luck to those aiming to get in the table and well done to those of us who will never get in the table.

My marathon season hasn’t even started yet

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Morning all. Just about recovered from my Edinburgh weekend. I came in in 4.32.01 so my fastest marathon of my 3 in 6 weeks (Brighton 4.32.54 & London 5.05.43). I really struggled on Sunday, massively hit the wall at about 18 miles and had to run walk between 18-22 and stopping to stretch as could feel cramp coming on. I was amazed to come in quicker than Brighton and my second fastest marathon. I did the first 13.1 miles in 2.06 so was well on for a PB, but in the end it was about getting to the finish line. More importantly just over £4k (incl gift aid) raised for the Martlets Hospice. It has been a great few weeks, very tough and certainly stretched me to my limits. A few weeks off long runs now, well until September and the Loch Ness marathon.

Next year I will need to change my training and hopefully lose some more weight. Other than London my last 4 marathons have been 4.28, 4.34, 4.32 & 4.32. I want to dip below 4.20 but at the moment just cant quite manage it.

Anyway see some of you in Worthing for the 10k on Sunday. I will see how I feel before deciding on how hard to push it!

Excellent work. 3 marathons in such a short space of time is truly bonkers! I salute you!

 

[knocky1]

My marathon season hasn’t even started yet

I blame my sub editor.

 

[Badger]

As we thankfully kiss goodbye to Marathon Season I have done a sub 3:30:00 NSC table due to minority demand. Bear in mind these are PBs although many were gained in 2018. Well done to all in the table, good luck to those aiming to get in the table and well done to those of us who will never get in the table.

Enjoy the table as it's back to 5K Saturday!

NAME	5K SB	5K PB	SB AG	10K	10M	HM	M
Deletebeepbeep	18:05	18:05	72.9%			1:28:52	3:01:55
HerrTubthumper	19:59	19:59	73.23%			1:36:10	3:05:34
Badger				39:06		1:38:48	3:06:33
Artie Fufkin	18:24	18:24	74.18%	38:42		1:21:15	3:07:58
Big Nuts	18:45	18:39	71.73%	39:09	1:06:45	1:28:20	3:15:59
Pembury		18.58		39.08		1:33:02	3:19:
P's Harmonica	20:36	20:10	71.60%	43:03		1:33:56	3:27:19
CompleteBadger	19:37	19:37	66.10%	43:32	1:17:11	1:30:58	3:28:02
Ninja Elephant	18:46	18:23	68.92%	39:00	1:07:57	1:27:43	3:29:12
Curious Orange	18:59	18:36	72.96%	38:31		1:24:23.9	3:29:23

That's more like it

Now, where do I collect my bronze medal?

 

[Garry Nelson's teacher]

That's more like it

Now, where do I collect my bronze medal?

The shipping costs would be prohibitive.........................

 

[knocky1]

The shipping costs would be prohibitive.........................

.................he's coming to collect it at a Parkrun near you in June.