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Well deserved success Fulmar.

Congratulations.......
 
fantastic news Fulmar well done, and I bet your friend is made up with a 3:16 too. :d
 
Discussion starter · #46 ·
Hi guys :) thanks for the messages!

LazyJones/Runningfox - I decided to take the advice which was more consensual in the forum and went for a fast first half.
I did 1h25m42s + 1h29m03s (it has been rounded to 2h54m45s officially).

I spoke to a couple of Polish runners before the start who told me they were going for a 1h26m first half which was what I had decided to aim for.
So I had a great "lift" until 20km (one of them dropped back at 12km and the other went away at 20km).

I was then left with only one other runner with whom I stayed until 29km and then I was on my own. But I felt good and only hit the wall (which was more like a fence when compared to the two previous marathons) at 36km but never slowing down too much.
The last two miles were hard as I felt I could go faster but my legs were cramping and I actually had spasms in my quads! :confused: Still managed to keep a decent speed but not enough to get Runningfox's PB :d

I could write A LOT about the race as so many things happened but I don't want to bore you :p
So if there is anything in particular you want to know I will be more than happy to share it with you.
 
Fulmar said:
Hi guys :) It has been rounded to 2h54m45s officially. Still managed to keep a decent speed but not enough to get Runningfox's PB.
The time for my first London marathon, and the first time I broke three hours, was 2.54.18 - so you were only a few seconds outside it. It's a time to be exceedingly proud of Fulmar, probably the most important milestone in your running career. I think you'll understand what I meant now when I referred to it as 'graduation'. Anyway, what's 27 seconds between friends? Welcome to the sub-3 hour club!
Cheers!
 
Great splits Fulmar - So the target is Running Fox's PB for you next time! ;)

What do you think was the key this time? Is there anything you did differently training wise?

I'm aiming to run my debut marathon in spring, though I missed out in the London Ballot, but I'm hoping to get in via a charity I was going to run for anyway.

I'm already doing a 14-15 mile run a week with the last 4 at MP pace so hopefully I can get somewhere near the magical 3 hours by April time.
 
Discussion starter · #49 ·
Runningfox - 1m42s off next time :d ;) But I am very happy yo have joined the club :)

LazyJones - I think the most important change was patience.
First, in the time I took to prepare it. I had thought about doing the Oslo marathon on the 30th of September but, despite having started to train for a marathon in mid-June, when I got to late August I still felt unprepared. So I chose a marathon later in the year to make sure I could get the right amount (and quality) of training in.
And second, knowing when to slow down. This has probably been the most important lesson I have learnt with marathon training.
I got a slight knee injury which made me lose a week of training (did about 40 slow miles). Got a cold - same thing.
And when I felt very tired, I managed to stay calm and run slowly when my panicking emotional side was telling me that I should be running longer and faster.

One other thing was having a training plan. I have been my own coach for the last 10 years.
And I usually don't have a written plan. I have a notion of what I want to do but I run depending on how I feel on the day.
This time, I coached a friend and spent hours preparing his plan.
I started running according to it as I realised that, adapting speed and length of some runs, it could work for me too.
And definitely, it worked. Having to stick to a plan (but allowing for extra rest when needed as mentioned before) made a huge, positive difference.
 
Discussion starter · #50 ·
LazyJones said:
I'm already doing a 14-15 mile run a week with the last 4 at MP pace so hopefully I can get somewhere near the magical 3 hours by April time.
That sounds really good.
From June to September I ran 20km (about 12 miles) and 27km (17 miles) on alternate weeks. And always aiming to finish at least at my goal pace.
If possible (and I think Runningfox will agree with this) do these runs on hilly terrain. I think that made a big difference for me as for the last marathon I trained mostly on flat(ish) ground and I felt much stronger this time after running in very hilly forest tracks.
 
After the recent FLM ballot, I've decided I'll be hoping to race it in 2009 (through ballot, club or charity...) and have also decided that I'm going to try and follow some of the guys in training who are running it in 2008. My theory being that it'll not only help me to prepare better for 2009 but also make my half marathon entries in 2008 seem much easier! :d
 
Discussion starter · #54 ·
Well done with that decision Richard :)
Finishing a Marathon (and training for it) changed me as a runner. And to some extent as a person as well...

LazyJones - If you can't make London, any idea where you will run?

Granty - 5h for you, 3h for me and in a few years maybe 2h for Bekele :) And it shouldn't be any easier for any of us.
One thing that the professionals don't have to deal with and we do, is the enormous amount of time needed to finish.
I read a book on marathon training by Richard Nerurkar (it was actually this book that made me decide to run my first one when I did. It would be great if you could read it and it has good training plans too) in which he mentioned training "psychologicaly".
He would go on very long runs, slow, easy ones, just to be on the road that long and get used to it.
Aiming for a time just under 5 hours you will be a long time out there.
And even though your body may be well trained you have to make sure that your mind is prepared to endure such a long time on the run.
Especially in the last few miles when the body wants to take control and stop you from doing that silly thing - running 26.2 miles :p
My advice would be to get at least 3 or 4 long runs - over 3 hours. VERY EASY!!!! but still, being out there.
Apart from that, regular, long mileage weeks and a few fartleks where you will be running faster than your goal speed.
Let me know how you get on.
 
Fulmar, I may do the Shakespear Marathon at the end of April if I can't get my charity place at London or I may find an alternative in Europe if not. I will definitely do one April/May.

Richard, training for a marathon will have a massive positive effect on all your other race times from what I've heard from other people, I'm really looking forward to running my next half in March of the back of marathon training.
 
LazyJones said:
Granty, good luck with your prep too, I'd echo Fulmar - if you manage to get a few long-long runs under your belt before London you will storm it!
The long runs are in the plan so hopefully I'll be OK, I think 'Storm it' may be a tad strong :p but you never know. I'm also really hoping that it will improve my 1/2M time in March so fingers crossed.

I'm actually pleased to report I did buy those new trainers from the running shop yesterday and last night I actually ran without any pain from blisters.!! :d :d
 
Discussion starter · #60 ·
Bliss! :p

It makes a huge difference when you get rid of one of those nagging problems.
 
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