Marathon Running

Well, I've been taking it fairly easy since the marathon. Only 1-2 shorter runs per week.
It's kept me ticking over but I have probably lost some fitness.

That said, a friend invited me to a half marathon this Saturday and I'm going to do it. I'm not expecting a good time (not even as fast as my first half in the full marathon) but it might give me the impetus to get back into the swing of things. Over the next few months I might try to set some reasonable times in 5K, 10K and half marathon races.

You?

Sounds good man! For me, see my update in the BR. Although the real training for Rotterdam is still some months off, and I haven't been running much either. But I've got a month off from work, so I am getting back into it. Did 19km last saturday, and the fact that I still felt that on sunday wasn't a good sign, haha. Going running tomorrow, and I want to set myself a goal of running 12-15 times before I get back to work. As always, I want to stick to F-D-S: frequency, distance, speed, in that order. Your idea of running a race to get back into it sounds like a plan, actually. I'll have a look at what is being organised around here the next month.

Trail ultra.

I've never been a distance runner, if you run a lot, does your body "get used to it/adapts" quickly forcing you to run more and more to improve? Maybe that could be a factor to consider. But again, that's exercise in general maybe not distance running.

Well, yes. That's why you train...it's similar to any other form of exercise.

I guess I'm looking at it as you will eventually injure yourself because there's a weak link somewhere you might painfully discover if you have to keep upping the ante.

Which one? And as ultra is a bit undefined, what's the distance? I have a friend who ran a 100 K trail race last May. She and another friend are training for something in April that offers options between 100 K and 100 miles. And my brother-in-law is training for an eventual run in the Western States.

Anyway, for me, I think 25 K is about as far as I ever want to go, but we'll see.

Any one, it was a suggestion for Rick. An ultra is anything more than marathon distance, usually starting at 50k.

"Quickly" is relative, but yes, you get faster, to a point. You don't have to run more and more, you could run more or faster for the same perceived exertion.

Injury is not the automatic result of overreaching; if you've trained well, you can also just 'blow up' in that you exhaust yourself in a race and either have to slow down or you just won't be able to finish. You can safely reach your limits, I think. And of course, as we get older, we'll find we won't be able to run as fast or as far as we used to. But then you can switch to trying to run your best race of that year.

My half marathon time today was 1 hour 59 minutes. Not bad given my relative lack of training recently.

Another half at the weekend. Tough course, so I was pleased with 1.57

Going to do the Belfast half in a few weeks, which is flat, so if I get some decent training in I might have a shot at a PB.

Good luck!

Rick, you are becoming the running machine! I'm actually coming around to the idea of a half marathon, probably some time in 2016. The Boston Athletic Association does a good one that ends at the Marathon finish line. Unlike their more famous event, this one is easy to get in to -- first come first served. I have done one longer race (17 miles), but it was an obstacle race, and the distance wasn't the main challenge, nor was the course the sort of thing you could really run at speed. In other words, I rested to a certain extent on the sections that weren't runnable. For a half marathon, I'd want to get a decent pace going through the entire race. I'm running a 10K trail race in October, and a 10 mile trail race in November. My goal for each is essentially to finish without any walking.

Did the Belfast Half at the weekend. Very flat course, and I did my best time yet of 1.50

I'm two weeks out from a 10K trail race. I think I'm just about ready, though I don't anticipate the kind of pace Rick is getting. Certainly part of that is that trail running is by nature slower going than road running, but I'm also just not that fast. Looking forward to making my goal, which is simply to run the entire distance without any brief walking breaks. I've mostly not done any event longer than three miles that didn't involve stopping for obstacles and other non-running challenges. I did run a 10 mile race in 2014, but after the first five miles, I found myself stopping to walk every mile or so. My intention in two weeks is to set a decent, comfortable pace, and keep to it for the entire distance. I'm then registered for a 10 mile trail race in November, and hope to do the same thing for that distance.

The longest I've done is a 25 K, I did the first two-thirds or so in one span then stopped every so often to walk for a bit after that.

I should probably get in that kind of shape again. Maybe with winter approaching. I always find it a lot easier to run in the winter.

Great time, Rick, that's about 3,5 minutes faster than my fastest half I am trying to get into regular running again, after my US holiday I've barely done a thing, averaging once a week at most. But on nov. 15th (16th?) I am running a race in Nijmegen again, the Zevenheuvelenloop (7 hills run). Last year was bad, as I was slower than a year before that.. but now.. I don't know if I'll be ready in time to run a time I'll be happy with; I doubt it will be faster than my fastest one so far, which was 1 hr 20 minutes for 15km. But I am also not ready to say that will be my fastest time ever on that course.

After that, january 10th, I'll run a half marathon on a beach. That will surely require some kind of special training, sand is a lot heavier to run in, and apparently right before the finish you have to climb some sand dunes. Fun!

All that will hopefully lead to me being ready for the Rotterdam marathon in April. I would love to be able to do it under 4 hours, but I think I just have to bite the bullet and run it no matter what. Registration starts October 1st.

Good luck on that, keep us posted!

Just did my last tune-up run, 5.75 miles. Last week, my longest run was 5.25. This week, the extra half mile only added a minute to my time! And in spite of that, I felt sluggish as I ran, because I'm recovering from a respiratory infection. I feel good about next week, pretty sure I'll get a result that exceeds my earlier expectations.

Hey Gul, when is your 10K? This weekend? Good luck!!

Okay, I did it - signed up for the Rotterdam Marathon 2016. I'll be having a blast on April 10th
My training is in the gutter, unfortunately, I've been fucking around for a year and a half now with running sessions that are far too few and far between, and I've finally noticed the effect - my 12K was really slow, last thursday, and when I tried giving a bit extra on the final bridge I got muscle spasms/cramps in my right leg, so I had to slow down right away again. I've got a sore tendon in my left foot, telling me even short runs 3 times a week is too much right now, so all in all: green light for marathon practice, haha. Ah well, still have 189 days, 19 hours and 17 minutes to prepare.

The 10K is tomorrow. I think about 7 or 8 friends are also running, so should be fun meeting up after the race. Some of them are quite fast, and I will likely bring up the rear, but not too far behind one or two others. I've had a bit of a cough the past few weeks, so I'm definitely not going to push myself too hard. Just want to go the complete race without stopping, and I do think I'm ready for that. We get a cool t-shirt for the purpose of bragging rights!

I am trying to run more. I have a 10k trail race next weekend and then a 12-hour race at the end of the month.

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All right, did okay on the race. As expected, I was the slowest among all of my friends, but I only missed my target time by a minute, so I stayed on the average pace I had planned. But that proved very difficult due to some mistakes I made early on.

The race started on a very slight down hill, followed by a half mile prolonged and fairly steep climb. I had been given to understand that following the initial climb, the course would be gently rolling but without any other major up hill sections. Mistake one: I ran too fast with the initial crowd, just because I wasn't accustomed to being in a group like that and only just before the hill did my body start telling me that I wasn't following the plan.

Mistake 2: I took the hill too aggressively, partly due to momentum, and partly due to the expectation that I wouldn't face any more climbs. The upshot is that by the end of the first mile, I had expended far more energy than planned, and I also hadn't established my pace.

By the 2 mile mark, I knew that I needed to recalibrate, but it took me probably two more miles before I reached a comfortable equilibrium, especially because it actually was quite hilly.

For the final two miles, everything was pretty good. Then, near the end, I decided I wanted to beat the guy who was slightly ahead of me, so I kicked in to high gear, essentially sprinting the final hundred yards, beating him by a few steps. I actually feel a bit bad that I did that, but I'm not sure why. Also, I'm not sure why I did it, because I'm normally not that competitive.

Anyway, I have some work to do before the ten mile race, which is only a month from now.

Nice. It's fine to kick at the end, don't feel bad. If you'd run a more on-pace race, you would have beaten him anyway.

One benefit of the final sprint, is that I'm pretty sure it means I beat at least one person in my age group. The guy looked to be about the same age.

You completed the race, it was your first, I think, so that's a guaranteed Personal Best/Record, congrats!
As for how the race went, I think everyone who has ever run a race recognises it - starting to fast because, well, everyone else running so fast, misjudging the course at some point, and the final 100 yards or so, and deciding whether or not to make that sprint. So just enjoy the crowd and even slow down, I tend to try and shave off another second. No guilt there, Gul, it's a race after all Regarding the course and giving too much: that's why on longer runs, I like to at least run the course once before the race. Hell, I even take the data of that run, set up a minute by minute pace chart, and then make a custom playlist to give me an extra boost on the hard segments. Nuts, I know, but all part of the fun.
Enjoy the recovery and beginning of your next training

Bump.

So, after my last update concerning the half marathon in September, I dropped my mileage a bit, particularly around Christmas.

But I didn't want to get stuck in the rut for too long since my diet had also gone to hell, to I made a conscious effort in February. I'm now nearing my target weight again after doing just over 100km for the month. Just booked into another half marathon at the end of March. Something to focus on and I'll do another one or two before deciding on what full marathon I'll do later in the year.

Can't just leave it at one.

Welcome.