My first Marathon and first log log

marathon19 · 25-06-2019 10:03pm #1

Me- born 1973, about 10kg over weight(Red wine and Chips). Have a small family, the misses and a little one. Work a lot during the week and taxi the little one around at the weekend.

I've been running on and off the last 4 years, never more than 4 or 5 months at a time with long layoffs due to laziness. I really enjoy running when I build up my fitness.The main things I get from running are a bit of peace and holding the belly back. Also good for the heart.

I wasnt into athletics when I was younger but remember doing one race 30 years ago for school (Santry stadium) and coming second last so no foundation for competition.

I ran the disaster Dublin half in Newbridge demense 2017, 1.56 finish time,walked 6km to get there cause of traffic and stood around for an hour waiting for a late start. The course was beautiful though, pity the location doesn't lend itself to 10,000 runners arriving at once.

Like most runners I kinda had the marathon in the back of my mind since I got to a decent level of running and during a mad moment purchased an entry last year when the KBC released some cheap tickets.

I would love to run a sub 4 hour but I dont think I have the foundation as I did feck all during the spring and have a little niggle last few months on my left hip, nothing bad with 1-3 out of 10 most runs, max 5 out of 10 pain after I push myself.

After getting some advice from coogy and Mr Guappa I set down some starter times for the main runs

PMP or 8.45 to 8.50(maybe a bit ambitious)
Easy at 9.20-9.30
LSR at 9.40 to 9.50

I tried having a peanut butter and toast type thing a few weeks ago to break fast 30 minutes before the run but found it disagreeable so I run empty at about 5.30-6.00am on the Tue-Thrusday runs. Will get up the same time Saturday for LSR but eat a proper breakfast and go out around 9am

Anyway I started the Boards 2019 plan this morning.

3.8 miles at 9.32m/m with HR average of 139bpm. Felt good

Wish me luck, only 90 odd runs and 550 miles to go before the big day

woop woop

Kellygirl · 25-06-2019 10:45pm

Best of luck with the training and getting to DCM! You are in good hands on the Mentored novices thread. Train slow and consistently and you’ll have a great day out.

Mr. Guappa · 26-06-2019 1:33am

Great to see another novice taking the plunge over here! Best of luck with the training. You certainly seem to have the enthusiasm for it anyway, which is great to see.

As kellygirl said train slowly (I prefer easy

) and consistently. You've dropped the pace of your easy runs by a decent chunk already, they can come down another notch, but an up-to-date race time would be very helpful on that front.

Anyway - I'll try keep the mentoring to the novices thread - best of luck with the log!

coogy · 26-06-2019 3:02pm

marathon19 wrote: »

Me- born 1973, about 10kg over weight(Red wine and Chips). Have a small family, the misses and a little one. Work a lot during the week and taxi the little one around at the weekend.

I've been running on and off the last 4 years, never more than 4 or 5 months at a time with long layoffs due to laziness. I really enjoy running when I build up my fitness.The main things I get from running are a bit of peace and holding the belly back. Also good for the heart.

I wasnt into athletics when I was younger but remember doing one race 30 years ago for school (Santry stadium) and coming second last so no foundation for competition.

I ran the disaster Dublin half in Newbridge demense 2017, 1.56 finish time,walked 6km to get there cause of traffic and stood around for an hour waiting for a late start. The course was beautiful though, pity the location doesn't lend itself to 10,000 runners arriving at once.

Like most runners I kinda had the marathon in the back of my mind since I got to a decent level of running and during a mad moment purchased an entry last year when the KBC released some cheap tickets.

I would love to run a sub 4 hour but I dont think I have the foundation as I did feck all during the spring and have a little niggle last few months on my left hip, nothing bad with 1-3 out of 10 most runs, max 5 out of 10 pain after I push myself.

After getting some advice from coogy and Mr Guappa I set down some starter times for the main runs

PMP or 8.45 to 8.50(maybe a bit ambitious)
Easy at 9.20-9.30
LSR at 9.40 to 9.50

I tried having a peanut butter and toast type thing a few weeks ago to break fast 30 minutes before the run but found it disagreeable so I run empty at about 5.30-6.00am on the Tue-Thrusday runs. Will get up the same time Saturday for LSR but eat a proper breakfast and go out around 9am

Anyway I started the Boards 2019 plan this morning.

3.8 miles at 9.32m/m with HR average of 139bpm. Felt good

Wish me luck, only 90 odd runs and 550 miles to go before the big day

woop woop

Great to see the start of another log! The more you update it the more you will get out of it. Best of luck!

biketard · 26-06-2019 4:09pm

Best of luck, marathon19!

marathon19 · 26-06-2019 7:10pm

Thanks Guys,

Had a nice easy 4m at 9.35m/m before 5 x 100m strides.

I was a bit apprehensive for the strides in case it aggravated my hip but they were fine, actually I quite enjoyed the effort after so many days easy running.

Side note, I have been wearing NB or Asics for running since I started but decided to change to Brooks Ghost 11 just for the support and so far I can't fault them, the strides today really brought out the positives of these shoes.

Roll on tomorrow

marathon19 · 27-06-2019 8:29pm

Today was nice slow 3mile at 9.25m/m

Weighed myself this morning - 91KG. Im not trying to loose weight during this training as I love my grub but will log it periodically as a metric. I reckon I'm about 10kg over weight but I've been floating between 88 and 96kg the last few years so not new.

Anyway tomorrow I'm going to take a break with my planned LSR Saturday AM.

As the weeks progress I can see myself dropping Monday or Friday rest day for a 3 or 4 mile easy. For now I will do the three midweek, LSR and recovery run to build up some fitness.

over and out

marathon19 · 29-06-2019 3:42pm

LSR today

11.2 miles
9.27 mins/m
HR averaging 146

Pace is my only regret, wanted to run 9.40-9.50 but zoned out and my watch wasn't set properly so no warning.
Had a small scare at about 40 minutes when my achilles felt a pinch, heart went into the mouth thinking it was a strain but luckily it went away as quick as it came-no idea what it was. My hip wasn't bad, bit of ache at the end of the run but only slight.

Apart from that the session was very nice, lovely hour and 45 on the road, pleasant morning with 16-18 degrees out, sun came out for about 20 minutes but mainly cloudy.
Used this run to try out a gel, I usually run long with 300ml water bottle with the high5 zero tabs in summer to negate the sweating.I planned on swallowing the gel at 6miles and drinking about 1/4 of the water with it and then add the zero after for the rest of the run. No digestive problems so looks like I have a winner.

The one thought I had while running was the use of gels over long runs. The advice online and from logs isn't consistent.
My long runs are preceded by a medium breakfast mainly carbs two hours before; which I assume should get me to 10-15 miles without gel?
In a marathon situation some people are taking gels from 5 mile and some at 15. If I have the energy from the breakfast does this mean I can delay the gel till mid race and then take regularly? or should I start at 5 mile and take one every 5? Can too many gels be an issue? using every 5 means minimum of 5 during a marathon, this seems excessive.

Lots of thoughts,

love running

skyblue46 · 29-06-2019 4:42pm

marathon19 wrote: »

LSR today

11.2 miles
9.27 mins/m
HR averaging 146

Pace is my only regret, wanted to run 9.40-9.50 but zoned out and my watch wasn't set properly so no warning.
Had a small scare at about 40 minutes when my achilles felt a pinch, heart went into the mouth thinking it was a strain but luckily it went away as quick as it came-no idea what it was. My hip wasn't bad, bit of ache at the end of the run but only slight.

Apart from that the session was very nice, lovely hour and 45 on the road, pleasant morning with 16-18 degrees out, sun came out for about 20 minutes but mainly cloudy.
Used this run to try out a gel, I usually run long with 300ml water bottle with the high5 zero tabs in summer to negate the sweating.I planned on swallowing the gel at 6miles and drinking about 1/4 of the water with it and then add the zero after for the rest of the run. No digestive problems so looks like I have a winner.

The one thought I had while running was the use of gels over long runs. The advice online and from logs isn't consistent.
My long runs are preceded by a medium breakfast mainly carbs two hours before; which I assume should get me to 10-15 miles without gel?
In a marathon situation some people are taking gels from 5 mile and some at 15. If I have the energy from the breakfast does this mean I can delay the gel till mid race and then take regularly? or should I start at 5 mile and take one every 5? Can too many gels be an issue? using every 5 means minimum of 5 during a marathon, this seems excessive.

Lots of thoughts,

love running

Well done on trying to keep the paces slower. The rewards for that will be huge if relatively unnoticed until the day itself.

Coming to your question regarding gels. I don't use any for long runs. As you rightly point out most of us have glycogen stores which can easily manage a 2 hour run without replenishment assuming diet has been decent in the lead up. Your pre-run breakfast would provide that.

For my only 2 marathons (I'm from the class of '17 Novices/Graduates) I took the gels as per manufacturers instructions which meant having 6/7 gels if I recall correctly. My reasoning was simple. They are the experts and I didn't want my day ruined by bad fuelling.

My MP was 7:30 and my easy and long runs were all in or about 9:00 mins per mile so the demands on the body are greater than on a long run and more fuel is used. That's why people begin the topping up early in the race. It is too late to begin fuelling after the 2 hour mark because the body can only process a certain level of carbs in any timeframe. If you started gels mid race you would not be able to get enough usable energy in the late stages of the marathon when you need it most.

marathon19 · 30-06-2019 11:32am

skyblue46 wrote: »

Well done on trying to keep the paces slower. The rewards for that will be huge if relatively unnoticed until the day itself.

Coming to your question regarding gels. I don't use any for long runs. As you rightly point out most of us have glycogen stores which can easily manage a 2 hour run without replenishment assuming diet has been decent in the lead up. Your pre-run breakfast would provide that.

For my only 2 marathons (I'm from the class of '17 Novices/Graduates) I took the gels as per manufacturers instructions which meant having 6/7 gels if I recall correctly. My reasoning was simple. They are the experts and I didn't want my day ruined by bad fuelling.

My MP was 7:30 and my easy and long runs were all in or about 9:00 mins per mile so the demands on the body are greater than on a long run and more fuel is used. That's why people begin the topping up early in the race. It is too late to begin fuelling after the 2 hour mark because the body can only process a certain level of carbs in any timeframe. If you started gels mid race you would not be able to get enough usable energy in the late stages of the marathon when you need it most.

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it. So I have looked at the manufacturers website and found some very good information.

https://highfive.co.uk/high5-faster-and-further/running-nutrition-guides/marathon/

RACE DAY BREAKFAST
Breakfast should be light and high in carbs. Cereals, toast and porridge are good options. Drink 500ml of Energy Drink for additional carbs and to stay well hydrated. Take an Energy Bar with you to eat on the way to your race.

NOVICE RUNNERS
If you weigh more than 55kg: 15 minutes before the start take two Energy Gel Caffeine sachets (with caffeine) and drink 200 to 300ml of water or ZERO.

If you weigh less than 55kg: 15 minutes before the start take two Energy Gel sachets (no caffeine) and drink 200 to 300ml of water or ZERO.

DURING YOUR RUN
Take one Energy Gel Caffeine sachet every 30 minutes. Wait until 30 minutes from the start of your race before taking your first sachet. If you are on-course for a long time, only use Energy Gel Caffeine (with caffeine) for the first 4 1/2 hours of running, then switch to standard Energy Gel (without caffeine) for the remainder of your run. Use a Gel Belt to carry your gels.

marathon19 · 30-06-2019 11:40am

Week one complete

5 mile recover this morning at 10.25min/mile

Did the junior parkrun with the pup and slowly slowly home for recover run,

ending the week on 27.6 very easy miles

Roll on the next 17

love running

marathon19 · 30-06-2019 11:49am

Just had a look at Strava detail for June, July tomorrow

15 hours running
25 sessions
99 miles

solid month and feeling good

marathon19 · 01-07-2019 9:31pm

Rest day today, no miles

Was thinking about how to fit in some races so went and registered for the three race series, only realising after that I am away during the 10mile but how or never.

The 10k is not far of, I was wondering whats the best approach to this, do I run like the clappers or just with a little bit of effort, whats the effect of running easy for a few weeks and then digging deep at a 10k, is the recovery long in doing this?
Done want to get injured

ReeReeG · 02-07-2019 9:33am

marathon19 wrote: »

Rest day today, no miles

Was thinking about how to fit in some races so went and registered for the three race series, only realising after that I am away during the 10mile but how or never.

The 10k is not far of, I was wondering whats the best approach to this, do I run like the clappers or just with a little bit of effort, whats the effect of running easy for a few weeks and then digging deep at a 10k, is the recovery long in doing this?
Done want to get injured

Only see this new log now, well done on starting one!
The Boards plan includes the races as races, so I would say go for it at the 10k.

marathon19 · 02-07-2019 8:28pm

ReeReeG wrote: »

Only see this new log now, well done on starting one!
The Boards plan includes the races as races, so I would say go for it at the 10k.

Thanks you,I was hoping that was the case.

marathon19 · 02-07-2019 8:38pm

Easy 3.9mile today at 9.45min/mile with the HR at 131bpm.

Seen some mention of cadence on another thread, will look it up tomorrow. I've checked my logs and its usually 160 to 170 (166 today)

Starting to get the slow mode and only have to work on pace. The first Mile from my house is slightly downhill (about 50m) for about a mile so this keeps pushing the first mile out.
On the flip side the last mile is slightly uphill which gives me the sweat after an easy couple.

Looking forward to tomorrow with the mile warm up and PMP for 3 then anoth mile warm down.

Will stick with the 9min per mile PMP plan for now, see how I progress

marathon19 · 03-07-2019 6:53pm

What a beautiful day out, kinda glad I did the run this morning, out at about 5.45am on empty as usual with the short runs.

My watch is giving me hassle so I had to run by feeling

Mile 1 - 9.31/mi W/U
Mile 2 - 8.43/mi PMP
Mile 3 - 8.54/mi PMP
Mile 4 - 9.01/mi PMP
Mile 5 - 9.35/mi C/D

HR 141
Cadence 171
Overall pace 9.09/mi

All in all I'm happy with this, warm up and cool down identical in and around my planned easy pace,
My PMP could have been slightly better paced(maybe 10 seconds slower) but overall 8.53/mi averaging across the 3 miles PMP will do for a blind run.

My thought on the way it felt:
The easy miles were as expected. The PMP miles did feel a bit labored but not too much, my head was telling me that it would be hard to do nearly 9 times the distance at that pace with current fitness but I have 16 1/2 weeks left to fill the bank.

Anyway, out for some vitamin D now

Love running

marathon19 · 04-07-2019 8:34pm

This mornings run was an easy 4 mile, my legs were a bit heavy, nothing much but noticeable after the ease of the first week.

4 mile at 9.29/mi
HR was ticking over at 133bpm
Cadence was 168 (still not sure what this is)

Weight at 90.8kg

The one comment I have about this run is that I was slightly fast compared to the 4 previous easy runs on this route. The difference is slight but I will keep an eye on it, don't want to speed up on these easy runs

04/07/2019
Morning Run
9:29/mi 38:05 133 bpm

02/07/2019
Morning Run
9:45/mi 38:21 131 bpm

26/06/2019
Morning Run
9:35/mi 38:40 137 bpm

25/06/2019
Morning Run
9:32/mi 36:41 139 bpm

So I've read all 66 pages of the sub 4 hour thread and its fantastic reading, some really interesting contributions. The other thing on my mind was related to this thread.Its not important now but later in the Boards plan there is no PMP adjustments in the LSRs. They seemed to be an important part of the pre race training mentioned in that thread.

How valuable is putting in a few PMP miles in LSRs?

For example when we reach 16/18 miles, would it be advantageous to run say 10 miles LSR pace then 4 or 5 miles at PMP and a C/D to finish the session?

I know I'm running ahead of myself, haven't even got to the hard bit yet but hey,

marathon19 · 07-07-2019 8:46pm

Week two - complete

Yesterday I did the LSR

12 miles at 9.35/mile
HR 146

Nice easy run, hard to fully enjoy as I had to go to work after. Poor me. Also a bit fast but my watch is a bit dicky, will probably pull the trigger on new one after this post.

Today I did an easy recovery
4 miles at 9.57
HR was 136

legs a bit tired and again I had to rush to work after, hopefully no more weekend work in the near future, I love to do the LSR and relax with the family in the warm after run glow

Summary of week two
5 runs
29miles
4 hours 38 minutes of running

Still loving it, from next week on I am in uncharted territories, I've done the half distance a few times in the 1 hour 50s without any structure, just running it when I feel it.

As my LSR is at fastest 9.30 (should be 9.45) if I do anything over 13 miles I think it will be my longest time running. and after that I will be running longer distances than ever, exciting

marathon19 · 10-07-2019 7:16pm

Week three

Started yesterday with an easy 4mile at 9.42/mi pace with HR ticking along at 136, bit disappointing with this as the mile on mile pace was gradual and slower. Ordered a new watch so hopefully will be able to pace better

Todays planned run was nice, the 5 mile with hill sprints,

Did the first 4.6 miles easy at an average 9.40/mi and HR averaging at 132, pace a bit better than yesterday- steady.
Then my chosen hill called, 8-10 second sprints uphill and walking down. Felt like a workout. then a little warm down to the house.

Overall this morning run including hill sprints was 5.5mile at 9.49/mi and HR 134.

marathon19 · 13-07-2019 2:23pm

bit of an update - did an easy 4mile on Thursday at 9.39/mile pace and HR averaging 133, felt OK after the hill sprints, legs a bit tight but nothing fuss over,

Yesterday was a rest day, nothing of consequence to note.

LSR

14.8 miles at 9.40/mi with HR averaging 147

Negatives - still a bit faster than I would like but I think that's pacing and terrain with two of the downhill miles nearly hitting 9 min/mile territory, didn't plan the route right so did a bit more mileage than I had in mind( my new watch is on route *) as i planned 13 to 14 miles.

Positives - felt really good, had a bit in the tank when I got home. 14.8 miles is my furthest ever run and 2 hours 23 of running is the longest time I have ever ran.
Running slow is really growing on me.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the next few weeks as the miles will increase and some life gets in the way.

I have a two week holiday planned late august, normal daytime temperature will be up in the mid thirty's. If I start the planned LSR 16-18mile at 5am I might get away with 25C towards the tail end of the run. Tough.
The main problem with this is that the LSR's over 10 miles should be fueled properly and this currently involves getting up an hour or two earlier for some cereal fruit and coffee. I really dont fancy getting up at 3am on holidays even if its only for two runs so I tried breaking my fast with a gel this morning.
I got up out of bed and took a gel(23g carbs some sodium etc, high five), nothing else. 35 minutes later off I went.
Brought two more gels and a 250ml bottle with electrolytes.
That covered this mornings run as I only had what I would describe as fatigue in the last couple of miles. So this is an option for the morning LSRs while on holidays.

The other option for the LSR while away in warmer climes would be if I get access to a thread mill, I think our complex had a gym. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Would a 16 mile on the thread mill be any less useful for filling the tank than a 16 mile road run? Would it impact my training?

Side note, my HR seems to be a bit faster at the early part of the LSR than during the week even though the runs of late have been almost the same pace and route(my bad).
The 4 mile easy during the week usually doesn't see +130 until the third mile but hits +140 after about a mile on the LSR. Im thinking this is down to nerves, as I dont race I can see this happening prior, will see next week at the 10k.

Thanks for reading this rambling post, happy with today.

skyblue46 · 13-07-2019 4:57pm

16 miles on a treadmill might be mindnumbingly boring but it won't set back your training at all. It's a perfectly viable option.

As for the heart rate....I'm guessing here that maybe your long run is done in the morning and your short runs in the evening. If so, it should be remembered that HR is generally higher in the mornings. If not....maybe it's nerves, heat or a few pints the night before. :pac:

marathon19 · 14-07-2019 5:11pm

skyblue46 wrote: »

16 miles on a treadmill might be mindnumbingly boring but it won't set back your training at all. It's a perfectly viable option.

As for the heart rate....I'm guessing here that maybe your long run is done in the morning and your short runs in the evening. If so, it should be remembered that HR is generally higher in the mornings. If not....maybe it's nerves, heat or a few pints the night before. :pac:

Hey, thanks for the comment, really appreciated.

Happy with the info on the thread mill, might be a the plan savior while I am on holidays.

I'm leaning toward nerves, as I run all my runs in the morning and only have a drink of a Saturday evening and even then its not much.

Update on training,
Did the parkrun with the pup this morning, so a handy 2k, bit fast (8 mile/min)for my liking but the little one was trying hard.
Then 3.7miles at 10.12/mi and HR 141

Week three roundup

33.2 miles
5 hours 22 minutes running(two rest days)
LSR of 14.8miles

Getting exited about the 10k next weekend, only my second ever race. before this I only did the dublin half in 2017.

Obviously I haven't trained for a 10K as I am trying to follow the boards plan more or less so I'm not 100% how it will work for me.
If I feel OK I will try sub 50 but I haven't run this type of pace since last summer when all my running was 8-8.30 mile pace.

Anyone run this course? Is there anything of note to take into account? Any hills or dodgy bits? I haven't received any number yet, is this normal?

Love running

Kellygirl · 14-07-2019 9:20pm

16 miles on a treadmill sounds like torture. What about eating well the night before, something relatively light for breakfast and just go straight away, carrying gels? That’s what I would do if it was me. I couldn’t stay on a treadmill that long. You could work out your normal pace and how long it would take you to do 16 miles and just run for that length of time but slower than normal ... so you may not cover the whole 16 miles but you’ve gained the time on your feet at least?

marathon19 · 16-07-2019 6:29pm

Kellygirl wrote: »

16 miles on a treadmill sounds like torture. What about eating well the night before, something relatively light for breakfast and just go straight away, carrying gels? That’s what I would do if it was me. I couldn’t stay on a treadmill that long. You could work out your normal pace and how long it would take you to do 16 miles and just run for that length of time but slower than normal ... so you may not cover the whole 6 times but you’ve gained the time on your feet at least?

Thanks Kellygirl, I haven't found any whole foods that don't cause me some discomfort unless I leave about an hour after eating, the gel I tested at the weekend is the closest to fueling on short notice I think I can use. I eat late as well so this shouldn't be a problem to add.

The advice on the time on feet is fantastic, its really given me something to think about. I think I will use this technique if its too warm out foreign.

Kellygirl · 16-07-2019 6:46pm

marathon19 wrote: »

Thanks Kellygirl, I haven't found any whole foods that don't cause me some discomfort unless I leave about an hour after eating, the gel I tested at the weekend is the closest to fueling on short notice I think I can use. I eat late as well so this shouldn't be a problem to add.

The advice on the time on feet is fantastic, its really given me something to think about. I think I will use this technique if its too warm out foreign.

Sorry - just saw there were typos in my post that I hadn’t noticed. The gel might be a good idea so - even start without one and start taking them 45 mins in?

marathon19 · 17-07-2019 9:00pm

handy 4 mile easy yesterday
9.56 /mi and HR 134

Ah Wednesday, I like you

Today's schedule was a 6 mile trot with 4 mile PMP either side of easy running.

Mile 1. 9.42/mi HR 128 (estimate from graph)
Mile 2. 9.13/mi HR 136
Mile 3. 9.13/mi HR 137
Mile 4. 9.13/mi HR 139
Mile 5. 9.08/mi HR 144
Mile 6. 9.37/mi HR 142

Felt good, the PMP was easier than the last time, felt more natural and no great effort required.

marathon19 · 18-07-2019 8:07pm

New watch arrived, made up

So this morning I set out on the usual 4 mile easy at 9.40/mi HR 130

Went merrily on my way to work for the day and came home to a surprise, new watch arrived. Really only an upgrade on my previous amazefit so just spent a bit of time on the software update and out I went for a sneaky 2 mile.
The reason I needed a new watch apart form it being 3 years old was because a week or two before the marathon plan started my old one started reading wrong distance and pace when live, which was off putting, luckily when the run went on to strava at home it was correct so I didn't loose any data just the ability to adjust pace while running.

The two mile was specific because its a known 2 mile and the pace downhill and uphill natural is about 30 second per mile different.
Mile 1 - 9.45
Mile 2 - 10.21
HR 130

Anyway, its working fine so now I have no excuses for out of plan pace .

marathon19 · 20-07-2019 10:00am

No LSR this week, South Dublin 10k tomorrow

Easy 4 mile this morning at 9.30/mi HR137

Not sure what to expect tomorrow as its my first 10k race. Aiming for <50 but who knows, haven't run at 8 minute per mile for a while so not sure if I can keep up the pace.

Anyway good luck to everyone racing tomorrow, hopefully it goes well for the lot of you.

marathon19 · 21-07-2019 5:04pm

My first ever 10K race, the South Dublin 10km and my first race report

finish time of 49.18

Pre race

So yesterday I had an easy day with a 4mile trot in the morning, spent most of the day on a project and apart from half an apple tart and a can of coke I had some decent if not perfect fueling and hydration through the day.

Got up this morning at 7.30am and had a bowl of cornflakes and a cup of nice coffee. Gathered the fanclub and out the door at 9.20 to get to the venue at 10am.
My first impressions where positive, its a nice spot and there didnt seem to be any issues with access and parking.Lots of loo's,

I did a little 500m jog, some stretching and a bit of walking before the race. Keep my mind busy

The race

Walked up the start stretch and decided to sit at the rear of the sub 50 grouping, probably my only mistake of the day.
Off we go, I am plodding along in a compact group running to the start line thinking the pace will increase once we go under the start but the rear of the sub 50 line-out seems to be some type of twilight zone not really trying type group.
It was like running in mud, trying to look for gaps in the melee was frustrating as I had a clear plan to run 8/mi per mile and I didn't want to be on the back foot right from the start. Anyway lesson learned

First mile at 8.21

So it took me till the left turn to the park to get out of this grouping, felt good on the last bit of the stretch and loved the park, was able to move outside or in to get past people.

Second mile at 8.00

I had a decision to make here to push or just plod along and enjoy the race but I'm a stubborn **** so decided to push and get the sub 50 I aimed for.

Third mile at 7.53

This gave me an enormous amount of confidence and apart from high HR everything felt tickedy boo and I started to really enjoy the run.

Fourth mile at 7.47

Motoring along, smiling to myself. Look for people to wave at.
* one thing I did notice was the silence, everyone seemed to be in the zone.

Fifth mile at 7.59

Knew I had the sub 50 in the bag

Sixth mile at 7.52

Loved the canal stretch, fantastic. The hill before the turn home was a nice bit of a curve ball, worked quite a sweat getting it out of the way.

last .2 of a mile I legged it, 7.20/mi

Seen the fanclub and was made up to run under the finish line. Ate a banana, had some lucozade and watched some prize giving. The tee-shirts are lovely so another plus.

In the end I dont think I put in as much effort as I could have if there was a focus on 10k in recent training but it was good to hit a target.

The one thing I did notice was my HR was skyhigh, 0.2 of a mile into the race it was 164 and averaged 171 for the race. This is certainly nerves and I hope with more races I will calm down.

Really enjoyed that and reckon if I make the program to DCM and feel OK about running I will spend a couple of months on the 10k in the new year, see how it goes.

Thanks for reading, and well done to everyone else who run this race

biketard · 26-07-2019 10:14am

Fantastic, marathon19. Well done getting sub 50.

I've been the victim of being in that sort of group a few times, btw. Sometimes it actually works out quite well for me because it prevents me from starting too quickly (which I have a tendency to do with all the excitement of an organised run). That said, I do feel you inevitably waste extra energy overall trying to find a way through.

My first Marathon and first log log

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