My first Marathon and first log log

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

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 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.

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

15 hours running
25 sessions
99 miles

solid month and feeling good

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

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,

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.

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 .

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 wrote: »

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.

Thanks Biketard, in retrospect I think it was a good lesson and probably one that sticking the race series in the program is designed to teach us groms.

I like the 10K distance,

The LSR week 5,

16 miles at 9.30/mi pace with HR ticking over at 144

I was looking forward to this one all week, had 16 mile planned and route in mind, high five tabs ready.

Up at 5.50am for a bowl of cereal and strawberry's, cup of coffee and half a high five in 200ml of water.

Relaxed till 7.30 and off I went,

Knew within the first mile my hip was going to give me trouble,it had been Ok ish the last few weeks with only a slight niggle but the periodic trob I felt is not a good sign and almost always means I will feel it.

I paced this run all wrong,I had planned on 9.45/mi but went out on the first mile at PMP (9.05) without even realising it. I mentioned before that the first mile is a long slow downhill and today I also had a breeze on my back.

Pulled it back in for the second at 9.40 but back out at 9.20 on the third. I can only think its the hip as for some reason the slow pace is more likely to cause pain. If I kick on the pain goes down.

So after the third I got some rythm and was able to pace 9.34-9.44 for the next 5 miles then I had a slow one at 10.00 which was fine as the terrain was a bit undulating.

The next four miles I bolloxed up with three miles almost PMP.

Finished with my hip sore but not bad and on a positive note I felt like I could have done another 2 or 3 miles.

Longest run ever, longest time ever and still had something in the tank. The plan is working guys, but I have to work on my pacing.

On a side note I had a normal wholefood breakfast but used three gels at the rate recommended by the manufacturer, every 45 minutes. I am happy now that the gels I am using are fine and will use them for the marathon but in the short term probably take the advise on the mentors thread about minimising the gels till the big day to let the body learn to use the fats instead of carbs.


Thanks for reading guys,

biketard wrote: »

Good going, marathon19.

If you don't mind my asking, what are you doing outside of the running as far as stretching/foam rolling/core work? I ask because of those niggles you've mentioned.

Hey, my schedule is pretty tight so I don't have much time for anything other than a few stretches before and after the running. I do have another outlet but its time consuming and so I've put it on the backburner till November.

My stretching is not structured and probably not good either, as I run mostly run in the morning I do some static stretches to loosen up, I've tried dynamic stretches as recommended prior to running but they always seem to impact my hip if done as soon as I wake up. I usually have a 100m walk before starting the run.
After running I'm pretty bad, a few static stretches if I did hill sprints or anything strenuous but mainly its making breakfast, showering and out the door to work.

Id would say this and pacing are my achilles heal.

Thursday I did my scheduled 5 mile easy at 9.43/mi and the HR averaging at 130

Friday is a rest day, I like the rest day

LSR

18.6 miles at 9.46/mi (3 hours and 1 minute running) and HR averaging 148

Today was a bit of drama; about 3/4 of a mile into the run I realised I hadn't prepared right, no protection for the nipples (this is a sore topic) so I turned around and had a quick pit stop to apply the vasaline. As I'm a creature of habit this changed the route in my head and spent another mile or two trying to adapt a new route to fit in the return to the house for a 17 mile.
Got back into the rythm about 3 or 4 miles in, plodding along at a leisurely pace along my usual route which includes a sandy track which is wide enough for two abreast and grass either side. I can see two other sloggers from about 500 meters so I put myself tight to the left side of the track which would normally be fine as most joggers have some cop on but low and behold the mongo on my side doesn't seem to think its appropriate to drop in behind his partner or in front as would normally happen, decides to play chicken with me. I took the grass and left him to his minor victory. What is it with some people!

Of I go trying to gather any bit of zen left in the universe

next, Ive been in Malahide Castle park a hundred times and today I got a bit lost, well ran in circles is a more apt description. Instead of one lap around the outside walking tracks of the grounds I did two inner tracks and an outside. By the time I got out I was 4.5 miles away from home with 14 miles done.

Had to stop for a pee then, Ive never had to stop during a long run, this added to the strange day. And as I was way over on milage I had drop into a spar and use my emergency €2 coin for a bottle of still water, this coinn has never been used before as I usually have enough hydration.
When I eventually got home and stretched out the run I sat down only to be confronted on RTE news with a recall warning for spar still water which supposedly has elevated levels of arsenic in it.
Then the misses tried to get me too go to IKEA, no fing way, curtains pulled lying on the couch, I'm not even going to answer the door.

See ye tomorrow

Thanks for reading,

Sunday after LSR Stiff but OK, hip a bit sore but nothing to write home about

5 miles at 9.58/mi with the HR high at 148, very warm and a black training vest didnt help.

Monday, rest day, howth cliff walk and pizza, all good

Tuesday I woke late so reduced milage
4 mile at 9.52/mi and the HR at 132

Today, 1 mile easy 6 miles PMP and 1 cool down HR averaging at 142
Mile 1 - 9.46
Mile 2 - 9.11
Mile 3 - 8.53
Mile 4 - 8.52
Mile 5 - 9.17
Mile 6 - 9.07
Mile 7 - 8.51
Mile 8 - 9.34

All over the shop

I thoroughly enjoyed this run though.

Thanks for reading

skyblue46 wrote: »

I won't harp on about the benefits of running slowly. You've read the novices thread and know the science. My total faith is based on my own experiences over the 2 marathon blocks I have done. I had a quick look back on Strava at this week in 2017 and 2018. In 2017 I did 2 easy runs this week at 10:29 and 10:00 paces. I ran 3:47 in DCM, I had a 1:57/1:50 negative split and the last 10k was my fastest 10k. In 2018 I ran 3 easy runs this week at 9:22, 9:21 and 9:15 pace. I had done a recent 40:07 10k so you can see how easy I run. I ran a 3:16 marathon, a 1:40/1:36 negative split, last 10k the fastest and mile 24 was my fastest. Trust the science, pace sensibly and there is no reason to fear the last 10k!

Edit to say this week's paces are a lot better, well done.

I just hope hope I have a similar experience when the day comes, I know the months before are when it matters.

Week 8,

Travelling a bit this week so the schedule lapsed slightly

Monday - rest day
Tuesday - squeezed in a 6mile at 8.55/mile PMP(to fast)
Wednesday - planes trains and automobiles, no miles
Thursday - 7 easy miles at 9.49/ mile in 28c, tough but nice.
Friday - rest ( spent the day in the sea)
Saturday - 18 miles at 9.55/mile and got lucky with a cooler morning, only 22c. Felt good.
Today - easy 6 mile at 9.55/mile. Scorcher. 28c.

The next week is looking like 30c days so will try to keep of the vino and hydrate but.

Will update a bit less the next 10 days as I try to drop out while away.

Love running

Second last run here, 32C Sunny and sweaty

Did a very easy 4. 2 mile at 9.49/mile

Rest tomorrow then a run Tuesday and back to Ireland Wednesday for some normal weather

Back to reality and hopefully more regular updating,



Wed -8 mile at 9.08/mi and HR ticking over at 140
Thur- 4 mile at 9.58/mile with HR ticking over at 134
Sat - 19 miles at 9.48/mile and HR averaging at 146 over the run.
Sun - 5 mile recovery this morning at 10.30/mile


Wednesday I did the first and last easy with the middle 6 miles at 9 mins per mile PMP. Felt great to run in normal temperatures but my achilles was sore during and after.

Thursday did an easy all the way,

Saturday LSR of 19 mile was a bit nervy, the first 10 miles I was mentally checking my right achilles which was sore since Wednesdays 8 mile. It didn't get any worse so that was a big big relief and getting a long run is only great once its done.
Did an easy 5 mile recovery this morning at 10.30/mile, slight pain at the back of the knee on the right leg, probably as a result of trying not to aggravate my achilles yesterday.

184 miles for the month of August over 21 runs, strava seems to be down this morning so no in dept analysis but I'm very happy with this month.

Side note, anyone who runs in and around Malahide probably knows about the water dispenser in Malahide Castle beside the start line for the parkrun. I only discovered it yesterday.
This is fantastic, seems to be perfectly designed for joggers and even for putting the head under if your warm.
Im usually at about 10 mile on my long run when I hit the park and yesterday I did three laps filling my 200ml bottle each time to re hydrate.

Its the little things, fair play to who ever put this in, makes my long run less painful to know I can get a water refill without having to go into a shop and queue

All good,