Berlin Marathon - 2018

OOnegative

Dub13 wrote: »

Yeah got mine, looking forward to it now I just hope it gets a bit cooler.

I’m based in The Hague and the weather is due to get warmer over the next few weeks & it’s promised hotter the further east you go into Germany. Humidity has evened off a bit though.

Polster

OOnegative wrote: »

Dub13 wrote: »

Yeah got mine, looking forward to it now I just hope it gets a bit cooler.

I’m based in The Hague and the weather is due to get warmer over the next few weeks & it’s promised hotter the further east you go into Germany. Humidity has evened off a bit though.

hopefully a 9:15 start will spare us somewhat, mind we were melting over here in London out on runs by 8am few weeks back.  Just need a plan B and C.....

davedanon

OOnegative wrote: »

I’m based in The Hague and the weather is due to get warmer over the next few weeks & it’s promised hotter the further east you go into Germany. Humidity has evened off a bit though.

They can't forecast accurately more than a few days ahead though, so I would take that with a pinch of salt. It's too early to panic. The week of the marathon is when it's time to panic.

Duanington

davedanon wrote: »

They can't forecast accurately more than a few days ahead though, so I would take that with a pinch of salt. It's too early to panic. The week of the marathon is when it's time to panic.

Early start + there is quite a bit of shelter from buildings over the 2nd half of the course. Fingers crossed the weather plays ball for everyone

seanin4711

mdlb wrote: »

Training for me has been a bit of a disaster for this one.. from hitting an injury that laid me up for 6 weeks mid program to life just generally getting in the way..☹️ I just haven’t managed to get the mileage in that I needed to☹️

Had great ideas of a sub 3:20/3:15 but now looking like sub 4:00 is more realistic...
Can’t all go to plan I guess!

hoping for the same!

runnerholic

Unfortunately I can't run because of injury so will not be travelling. If anyone is in need of a flight you're more than welcome to mine. I am aware that most of you will have your transport arranged but you may wish to bring someone with you. It's with Aer Lingus going out on Friday at 5.45pm and returning Monday at 10.45am. I am not looking for any money for it but Aer Lingus charge €50 each way to change the name on the ticket.

abbymc

runnerholic wrote: »

Unfortunately I can't run because of injury so will not be travelling. If anyone is in need of a flight you're more than welcome to mine. I am aware that most of you will have your transport arranged but you may wish to bring someone with you. It's with Aer Lingus going out on Friday at 5.45pm and returning Monday at 10.45am. I am not looking for any money for it but Aer Lingus charge €50 each way to change the name on the ticket.

Are you still looking for someone to take up this offer? I am seriously considering pulling out as flight prices are too high & I hadn't booked them, came on here to see is there a deferral option but would like to talk to you if yours are still available.

adrian522

Pulled out of this race now but still planning on traveling over for the weekend, so hopefully bump into some of you over there.

For anyone who can't run its worth emailing them as they will refund your extras such as T-shirt and Chip rental and also give you a €30 discount on next years race.

Duanington

adrian522 wrote: »

Pulled out of this race now but still planning on traveling over for the weekend, so hopefully bump into some of you over there.

For anyone who can't run its worth emailing them as they will refund your extras such as T-shirt and Chip rental and also give you a €30 discount on next years race.

Sorry to hear that A - hope to see you back in the mud over the winter

cityrep

Very sorry to hear of some late withdrawals. But for this of you left "in the running"(!) what's your story afterwards? Is there a place people head for a few beers or will folk lie down for a while and reappear late in the night??

adrian522

2 years ago we met up close to the finish line for a few beers before heading and back out again later. There are some picnic tables setup by the entrance to Tiergarten, with Erdginer being served in plastic glasses. Its a good spot for straight after the race.

Around here: https://www.google.com/maps/place/52%C2%B030'57.1%22N+13%C2%B022'36.0%22E/@52.5158588,13.3761208,19z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!1m7!3m6!1s0x47a84e373f035901:0x42120465b5e3b70!2sBerlin,+Germany!3b1!8m2!3d52.5200066!4d13.404954!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d52.5158581!4d13.3766678

Polster

For anyone that has done Berlin before, how did it measure, is there an obvious racing line to follow if in a bit of space?

Looking forward to some erdinger and bratwurst afterwards

chrislad

Polster wrote: »

For anyone that has done Berlin before, how did it measure, is there an obvious racing line to follow if in a bit of space?

Looking forward to some erdinger and bratwurst afterwards

I didn't see any line, but I went about 800m over the distance. That was the longest run of my life

Polster

chrislad wrote: »

Polster wrote: »

For anyone that has done Berlin before, how did it measure, is there an obvious racing line to follow if in a bit of space?

Looking forward to some erdinger and bratwurst afterwards

I didn't see any line, but I went about 800m over the distance. That was the longest run of my life

Half a mile over, not good for time

Huzzah!

Polster wrote: »

For anyone that has done Berlin before, how did it measure, is there an obvious racing line to follow if in a bit of space?

Looking forward to some erdinger and bratwurst afterwards

There was last year but it must be difficult to follow in the melee given Chris’s comments.

Heck, even the eventual second-place finisher had trouble following it

https://runningmagazine.ca/video/racing/eliud-kipchoge-guye-adola-2017-berlin-marathon-tangents/

cityrep

adrian522 wrote: »

2 years ago we met up close to the finish line for a few beers before heading and back out again later. There are some picnic tables setup by the entrance to Tiergarten, with Erdginer being served in plastic glasses. Its a good spot for straight after the race.

Around here: https://www.google.com/maps/place/52%C2%B030'57.1%22N+13%C2%B022'36.0%22E/@52.5158588,13.3761208,19z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!1m7!3m6!1s0x47a84e373f035901:0x42120465b5e3b70!2sBerlin,+Germany!3b1!8m2!3d52.5200066!4d13.404954!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d52.5158581!4d13.3766678

Nice action. Hopefully see some of you there after.

Mr Jinx

abbymc wrote: »

Are you still looking for someone to take up this offer? I am seriously considering pulling out as flight prices are too high & I hadn't booked them, came on here to see is there a deferral option but would like to talk to you if yours are still available.

If your looking for cheaper flights, try dublin to colonge and colonge to berlin on the friday and the same on the return or berlin to glasgow, glasgow to dublin. I got all 4 flights for about €120 euro.
Direct flights are really expensive for some reason

martyboy48

Polster wrote: »

For anyone that has done Berlin before, how did it measure, is there an obvious racing line to follow if in a bit of space?

Looking forward to some erdinger and bratwurst afterwards

Did it in 2017. There was an obvious line, or more accurately a broken blue line to follow. Once you see it you'll know what I mean. Probably easier to spot once ye thin out a bit. Throw the odd glance on the line and look forward to the road direction to see where you should be heading but there is no need to get hung up on it.

Regarding measurement, it's accurately measured so don't fret
My garmin measured 26.39, but you can't really go by your GPS on that course as the building cover can throw it off(along with your displayed pace). Best thing to do is practice dialing in your MP while training and on race day you should be all good....

Don't trust the pacers..... Enjoy

Downtime

The attached shows the racing line from Berlin last year. Adidas 3 stripes all along the course but was tough to see in places.

davedanon

adrian522 wrote: »

2 years ago we met up close to the finish line for a few beers before heading and back out again later. There are some picnic tables setup by the entrance to Tiergarten, with Erdginer being served in plastic glasses. Its a good spot for straight after the race.

Around here: https://www.google.com/maps/place/52%C2%B030'57.1%22N+13%C2%B022'36.0%22E/@52.5158588,13.3761208,19z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!1m7!3m6!1s0x47a84e373f035901:0x42120465b5e3b70!2sBerlin,+Germany!3b1!8m2!3d52.5200066!4d13.404954!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d52.5158581!4d13.3766678

I can't remember meeting you, Adrian, so apols if I did, but I think I was there too. Krusty and Duanington were present as well. It's a good place to hang around and listen for the Irish accents so we can co-ordinate our evening activities, if desired. I will head there after anyways, 'cause I'm on my Sweeney.

davedanon

As to training, I've been under the tutelage of the 'scone, like many others, and training has been an odd experience in many ways. It's the first time I've asked him to organise my marathon training, and there were several unusual aspects. For a start, there was no formal 'start date', as we sort of segued into it from doing 5k-specific stuff. Normally there's a note in your calendar announcing 16 WEEKS TO GO, and the next 7 days of training come marked WEEK 1.

Another change, and eventually a refreshing one, was the nature of the training itself. The long runs topped out at 18 miles. Often they were LSR-PLUS though, as I would be required to run the last 6 or 8 miles at Steady pace. It was no low mileage plan, though. 60+ mile weeks were common and a couple of times I hit 70. Another new wrinkle was Wednesday/Saturday sessions, as opposed to Tuesday/Thursday. What this meant was that my long run on a Sunday was done the day after a tough session of intervals or whatever. I was surprised at how quickly I got used to this, and the two easy days before and after the Wednesday session did a good job of helping me recover from - and setting me up for - the stacked weekend.

I'm justing starting the taper now, and the final really hard weekend, just gone, was a real doozy. 3 miles and then 4x2mins, all at faster than MP. Then an 18 mile run @7:30 pace the next day. A further complication was the fact that I was working all weekend at EP, so I decided the best option was to do the session on Thursday and the long run very early on Friday morning.

The session went well, but I was definitely feeling trepidation about the long run. I decided that some additional mental discipline would serve well on those long, long, straight Berlin boulevards, and opted to run the bulk of the miles on the DBL. That's the Dodder Big Loop, the stretch of park between Aherne's/Old Mill and the bridge over the Dodder down at the far end. Just slightly more than a mile around, and fairly flat.

It was perfect, and at a pre-dawn 5.30am, totally deserted. I ran a warmup mile, partly for the obvious reason, but also because I had a gnawing psychological need to do at least one run with a 2 as the first digit. Two and a half hours later, it was done. My paces had varied a bit, too quick at the start, slowing down somewhat later on, but the pace was bang-on. 20 miles, 18 @7.30 pace. I have to say I was elated. With two weeks of taper to come, the knowledge that I could run only 15secs per mile off MP for two-thirds of the full distance, with no raceday adrenalin boost, no competitive spur, and ON TIRED LEGS, has given me a massive confidence booster. I know that the weather may very well be similar to 2016, when I blew up in the last 7k in the heat, but having experienced that, I think I can come up with some coping strategies.

Have to say, I can't wait. See you all on the other side.

Polster

davedanon wrote: »

As to training, I've been under the tutelage of the 'scone, like many others, and training has been an odd experience in many ways. It's the first time I've asked him to organise my marathon training, and there were several unusual aspects. For a start, there was no formal 'start date', as we sort of segued into it from doing 5k-specific stuff. Normally there's a note in your calendar announcing 16 WEEKS TO GO, and the next 7 days of training come marked WEEK 1.

Another change, and eventually a refreshing one, was the nature of the training itself. The long runs topped out at 18 miles. Often they were LSR-PLUS though, as I would be required to run the last 6 or 8 miles at Steady pace. It was no low mileage plan, though. 60+ mile weeks were common and a couple of times I hit 70. Another new wrinkle was Wednesday/Saturday sessions, as opposed to Tuesday/Thursday. What this meant was that my long run on a Sunday was done the day after a tough session of intervals or whatever. I was surprised at how quickly I got used to this, and the two easy days before and after the Wednesday session did a good job of helping me recover from - and setting me up for - the stacked weekend.

I'm justing starting the taper now, and the final really hard weekend, just gone, was a real doozy. 3 miles and then 4x2mins, all at faster than MP. Then an 18 mile run @7:30 pace the next day. A further complication was the fact that I was working all weekend at EP, so I decided the best option was to do the session on Thursday and the long run very early on Friday morning.

The session went well, but I was definitely feeling trepidation about the long run. I decided that some additional mental discipline would serve well on those long, long, straight Berlin boulevards, and opted to run the bulk of the miles on the DBL. That's the Dodder Big Loop, the stretch of park between Aherne's/Old Mill and the bridge over the Dodder down at the far end. Just slightly more than a mile around, and fairly flat.

It was perfect, and at a pre-dawn 5.30am, totally deserted. I ran a warmup mile, partly for the obvious reason, but also because I had a gnawing psychological need to do at least one run with a 2 as the first digit. Two and a half hours later, it was done. My paces had varied a bit, too quick at the start, slowing down somewhat later on, but the pace was bang-on. 20 miles, 18 @7.30 pace. I have to say I was elated. With two weeks of taper to come, the knowledge that I could run only 15secs per mile off MP for two-thirds of the full distance, with no raceday adrenalin boost, no competitive spur, and ON TIRED LEGS, has given me a massive confidence booster. I know that the weather may very well be similar to 2016, when I blew up in the last 7k in the heat, but having experienced that, I think I can come up with some coping strategies.

Have to say, I can't wait. See you all on the other side.

Interesting training, good mileage without extensive long runs.  Be very interested to hear what you are aiming for and how it works out.  I try to average 60 - 70 miles during marathon training with the odd recovery week.  I do swear by the big mileage weekends though, done plenty 10 20+ mile efforts trending up to 25 with always a good recovery run on the Sunday of between 10 to 13 miles.  Outside of that the regular Tuesday/Thursday efforts, easy Monday/Wednesdays.  Also like to get in a number of half marathons to sharpen pace over a decent distance.  Did one on Sunday, so last real effort and winding right down now.  
Also very much looking forward to the weekend, huge event with a great reputation.  I also think we could be part of a WR run from Kipcoghe.

OOnegative

Must be time for an auld table with PB/Goals.......

NeedsTraining

OOnegative wrote: »

Must be time for an auld table with PB/Goals.......

Get the ball rolling

OOnegative

NeedsTraining wrote: »

Get the ball rolling

I’m not running it, i’m just a nosey fcuker!!

davedanon

Polster wrote: »

Interesting training, good mileage without extensive long runs. Be very interested to hear what you are aiming for and how it works out. I try to average 60 - 70 miles during marathon training with the odd recovery week. I do swear by the big mileage weekends though, done plenty 10 20+ mile efforts trending up to 25 with always a good recovery run on the Sunday of between 10 to 13 miles. Outside of that the regular Tuesday/Thursday efforts, easy Monday/Wednesdays. Also like to get in a number of half marathons to sharpen pace over a decent distance. Did one on Sunday, so last real effort and winding right down now.
Also very much looking forward to the weekend, huge event with a great reputation. I also think we could be part of a WR run from Kipcoghe.

Big mileage, alright. When I questioned coach about the long runs, he pointed out that I had run a lot of miles in recent years, and it's true that I have been very lucky with injuries, and had averaged at more than 2,000 miles for each of the last 7 years, with at least one marathon annually. I am a firm believer in changing things up, and varying training approaches in any case.

davedanon

Signs of hope on the weather front....early days though still

davedanon

Username | PB | Predicted Time | Actual Time
davedanon| 3:14:18 | 3:09:59 | |

spc78

Username | PB | Predicted Time | Actual Time
davedanon| 3:14:18 | 3:09:59 | |
spc78| 2:52:xx | 2:43:xx | |

NeedsTraining

Username | PB | Predicted Time | Actual Time
davedanon| 3:14:18 | 3:09:59 | |
spc78| 2:52:xx | 2:43:xx | |
NeedsTraining| 3:06:12 | 2:59:59 | |