Peckham...you are in the well!

donothoponpop

Ok I've done my stint, now it's time for ole' Mr. Limbo himself, he's knockin' on heavens door, he drinks from a cup thats half full and half empty, he's the glass in your mirror, the man for who time stood still, ladies and gentleman, say hellota the master of the iota, Peckham!

In the last Dublin marathon you had been gunning for your first sub 3, coming agonizingly close in a time of three hours zero minutes zero seconds. Does this represent the line between "success" and "failure" for such an attempt, or do you consider yourself to be a member of the sub 3 club? Do you look at the guy who ran 2:59:59 with envy? Basically, I'm wondering on your frame of mind and how you feel about coming so close.

Also, (and somewhat related), you got injured straight after, so couldn't carry on training for an immediate attempt again in Spring, so how do you best deal with the dark days when you can't get out running?

*Edit* Please leave up till Monday evening! In fact this is a good general rule, Sat, Sun & Mon all count for the one person in the well.

TheRoadRunner

Good choice should probably be left until Monday evening due to low traffic over weekend !

Best race to date ?
Worst race to date ?

Peckham

No, I don't consider myself to be a member of the sub-3 club. As you put it yourself, it's a kind of limbo, but the sub-3 thing comes from being able to say that your best marathon time starts with a "2" (am sure most people here understand that).

Was devastated after the race (but soon cheered up after a few pints with Sungod, Amadeus and others!), and have since come round to it being something to build on. It actually may have been a blessing in disguise, as I think if I'd finished with 2:59 I would have taken a year off marathon running this year, now I've an opportunity to go out and aim for an even better time in Berlin.

Injury was frustrating, but I used the time to get into gym work which undoubtedly benefited me while injured, and is a good investment into the future too. Doubt I would have run a spring marathon anyway.

Peckham

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Best race to date ?
Worst race to date ?

Can't really pick one as best. Achill Half Marathon 2007 was probably the best technical race I ran - picked my pace well and was overtaking people for the final 2 miles, finishing in a decent position. My first race (Reading half marathon 2005) was probably my most enjoyable in terms of how good I felt crossing the finish line.

Worst race (maybe I should postpone answering this until after this morning's BHAA!), but have never had a DNF. Either Dublin Marathon 2006 (my first marathon) or 2008 were probably the least enjoyable. Was in a bad way in the latter stages of both races, and was feeling particularly awful towards end of 2008 race as I knew sub-3 was slipping away from me. Cried like a baby after both races!

Odysseus

What do you enjoy most about running?

What race would you really like to run? your dream race.

Krusty_Clown

Is your next marathon goal going to be to go sub-3 again, or are you going to aim to take a chunk off of three hours?
How are you going to train differently this time?

SUNGOD

even though we actually only ran the first 6/7 miles of dublin together do you feel it is advantagous to run with someone to try and acheive a common goal?

where did you really get the coat you were wearing at the start line?
the homeless guy that picked that up was prob the talk of dublin, all he would have been missing was a walking cane and a monocle:D

Peckham

Odysseus wrote: »

What do you enjoy most about running?

I love being able to say - "Just an easy 10 today" - and the looks that I get from other people!

Odysseus wrote: »

What race would you really like to run? your dream race.

Boston marathon is certainly up there for the prestige of it, but there are others such as Big Sur Marathon in California, and also to follow your footsteps at Midnight Sun!

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Is your next marathon goal going to be to go sub-3 again, or are you going to aim to take a chunk off of three hours?
How are you going to train differently this time?

I don't know. My main aim will be to get below 3 hours, as for taking "a chunk" off the time, I'll wait and see how feel closer to the time....but I have a feeling I'll be looking at somewhere in the region of 2:55.

Won't train any differently and will follow Pfitzinger (the up to 55 mile per week plan). My training was perfect going into Dublin, it was my stupidity in trying to chase Sungod after I stopped for a pee that cost me a good time!

SUNGOD wrote: »

even though we actually only ran the first 6/7 miles of dublin together do you feel it is advantagous to run with someone to try and acheive a common goal?

If by "run with someone" you mean race with someone, then yes I think it's an advantage in the marathon and I would imagine it would help considerably during the latter miles - if we had both taken our respective toilet breaks at the same time in Dublin, and been able to stick together, I'd be pretty confident we would have both broken 3 hours! Never having done it, I think training with someone probably offers bigger advantages.

SUNGOD wrote: »

where did you really get the coat you were wearing at the start line?
the homeless guy that picked that up was prob the talk of dublin, all he would have been missing was a walking cane and a monocle:D

I'm still looking for that coat back! I don't care what it looked like, I was probably the warmest person on the startline!

SUNGOD

Peckham wrote: »

I'm still looking for that coat back! I don't care what it looked like, I was probably the warmest person on the startline!

it was warm ,i'll give ya that . but it did look a bit regal
especially when strangers started to bow and call you m'lord:D

im only jealous , i had a hoodie on me made from crepe paper i was frezzin

Slogger Jogger

Whats your idea of an ideal run - training or otherwise?

What has improved you as a runner?

Where do you run and what locations bring a smile to your face when running?

Do you agree with the suggestion that if you are aiming for a time in a marathon (lets say its 3 hrs) that your longest training session should last 3 hrs of an LSR?

Peckham

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Whats your idea of an ideal run - training or otherwise?

In terms of length, it would be around the 10 mile distance. I think its both the ideal training and racing distance. Feels like a good workout, you can take it at a decent speed and recover from it quite quickly. Doing this at 11am on a bright Saturday morning with a clear head is heaven for me!

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

What has improved you as a runner?

Decent structured training including speedwork. Big fan of P&D training plans. Tempo running in particular brought about significant improvements.

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Where do you run and what locations bring a smile to your face when running?

Two come to mind. The first is Phoenix Park - really love running there, particularly long runs, although it's rare for me. During marathon training I'd often run home from work on a Friday evening, and if going particularly long would go via Phoenix Park - love the peace and rolling hills! The other is up in Donegal where my other half is from - there's a 5 mile trail near parents' house that is a mile flat, followed by a killer mile climb, followed by a mile plateau, followed by a fantastic mile downhill and a flat finish back to the house. Two circuits of this is a great workout.

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Do you agree with the suggestion that if you are aiming for a time in a marathon (lets say its 3 hrs) that your longest training session should last 3 hrs of an LSR?

I don't know. I think it's important for first-timers to go pretty close to their target marathon time over the 20 mile run just to experience the work effort required at the end. For more experienced/faster runners, I think fast finish or predator runs give a better benefit.

Slogger Jogger

Donegal is somewhat similar to Wicklow for running terrain. Running in the Wicklow hills (like this morning) gives me a great lift.

I'd be interested in your views on the training that I've been doing (following HH) as distinct from donothoponpop who is a P&D disciple. With luck and dedication they'll get us both to our goal :rolleyes:

Remind me, whats a predator run again? Taa..

TFBubendorfer

Peckham wrote: »

I'm still looking for that coat back! I don't care what it looked like, I was probably the warmest person on the startline!

And as someone who was shivering at the time I can only say that I probably would have ripped the coat off you had I known. I was f***ing freezing and couldn't wait for the start.

Peckham wrote: »

Won't train any differently and will follow Pfitzinger (the up to 55 mile per week plan). My training was perfect going into Dublin, it was my stupidity in trying to chase Sungod after I stopped for a pee that cost me a good time!

As someone who runs faster the more mile I'm doing in training I just have to ask: do you think you could improve your times if you did more miles?

Peckham

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Remind me, whats a predator run again? Taa..

Split a long run into 3 segments - run each segment faster than the one before, with the final segment at marathon pace....or faster.

Peckham

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

As someone who runs faster the more mile I'm doing in training I just have to ask: do you think you could improve your times if you did more miles?

I don't know. To be honest, 50ish miles per week is the most I'd be prepared to put into training, without a major change in work and other commitments. Maybe doing 75 miles per week would bring my marathon time down by 15 minutes, but would have to sacrifice too much to find the time for the extra 25 minutes.

--amadeus--

I'm glad I'm not the only one who enjoys glibly saying "just popping out for a quick 10 miler...!"

What do you think your potential is - where could you get to?

Which Boardsie would you most like to beat? Most admired Boardsie and athletes?

I know that wedding bells aren't far away - is your better half a runner? If she's not does she do teh roll eyes thing when you do 2 and 3 hour runs on Sundays??!

When you finish chasing marathon times what do you see yourself doing - clocking up more marathons to chase other numbers, racing in more exotic locations, stepping up to Ultras or across to Tris or down to halves and 10ks? Or something else?

Apart from here what parts of Boards do you look at / contribute to?

Best running book or quote?

Peckham

--amadeus-- wrote: »

What do you think your potential is - where could you get to?

For marathon I think I can go sub-2:55 based on current lifestyle/training. If I restructured things with some sacrifies, I think 2:40s is doable. Outside of marathon, I'd like to think I could go sub-60 for 10 mile and maybe even sub-80 for the half. I think the marathon goals are more achieveable though.

--amadeus-- wrote: »

Which Boardsie would you most like to beat? Most admired Boardsie and athletes?

Anyone who's faster than me! Maybe TheRoadRunner, but that's only because he beat me (by quite a distance) on Saturday! He'd need to be way off-form and I'd need to be hugely on-form to bridge the gap though.
(And of course, Woddle...because everyone seems to want to beat him! )

Plenty of admired Boardies, at all levels of running. Won't name names though!

Most admired athlete is probably Paula Radcliffe. Amazing woman - the way she has comeback so many times is incredible - particularly after her Olympics disasters. Although the moment that I felt sums her up, was after Bejing marathon when her only thought seemed to be to look after Liz Yelling's injury, despite her probably knowing that her final realistic shot at an Olympic medal was gone.

--amadeus-- wrote: »

I know that wedding bells aren't far away - is your better half a runner? If she's not does she do teh roll eyes thing when you do 2 and 3 hour runs on Sundays??!

She's not a full-time runner, but does dabble in it from time-to-time and has done a few 5-mile/10k events. My 2 and 3 hour runs are not always a popular decision!

--amadeus-- wrote: »

When you finish chasing marathon times what do you see yourself doing - clocking up more marathons to chase other numbers, racing in more exotic locations, stepping up to Ultras or across to Tris or down to halves and 10ks? Or something else?

If I go sub-3, my goal will be to clock up a few specific marathons and am planning London 2010, New York 2010 and Boston 2011/2012. Apart from that I'd like to get an Ultra under the belt, but am not hugely sure whether time will allow for training. Also would like to get my 10 mile time below 60mins (PB at that distance is 66, set back in 2006, the only time I've raced that distance).

--amadeus-- wrote: »

Apart from here what parts of Boards do you look at / contribute to?

Take a look through Personal Issues and Legal Discussion if I'm bored. Also find myself drawn towards Aviation. Think this is the only part of boards I contribute too though.

--amadeus-- wrote: »

Best running book or quote?

Best running book is undoubtedly "Advanced Marathoning". Outside of training manuals it would be Paula Radcliffe's biography, and there is a quote in it about marathoning that I love, but can't remember off top of my head - something about marathons being like life, there are good moments and bad moments and you have to learn to appreciate the good moments and fight through the bad ones. You don't know how to deal with the bad moments until you are faced with them and that teaches you a lot about the type of person you are.

cfitz

Which would you prefer:

3:00:01 official time, 2:54:59 chip time

OR

2:59:59 official time, 2:59:59 chip time?

Peckham

It would depend on how good the finish line photo was! Would love to have a good photo of me crossing the finish line with a sub-3 time on the clock.

However, pretty sure I'd take the 2:54:59 chip time.