Marathon Running

10km race yesterday over a hard course in 48:51 which I was pleased with. I think in tandem with other training, I'd like to get that down to 45 minutes.

You are so much faster than I am. I can do a 5K in under 30, but cannot do 10K in less than 60. I am getting slightly faster, but have a long way to go to even reach that under 60 goal.

I haven't done a 5K in race conditions before - I'll probably try to arrange one of those too.

I think tempo/interval running is the best thing you can do to improve your pace over those distances.

Speedwork. Go find a track and run some 400m repeats.

Half marathon on Saturday - first of the year and on a hilly course... I wasn't expecting much...

But 1:48:58 is a new PB, which bodes well for the year ahead if I stick at it. If I pick a flat course the next time, I'll try for 1:45:00

EDIT: Can a mod change the thread title to "Marathon Running"?

Great time, RickDeckard!
I ran my first marathon last sunday, in Rotterdam. I wasn't sure if I could make it - with my mom's illness I've barely had time to run, was only able to get in 23 runs this year, with a total of 344 km before the marathon; that's less than 2 a week, which is no marathon preparation at all. Luckily I did get in one 35km run, which gave me enough confidence to do it. But, ever since my mom ended up in the hospital in december, I've only been able to run in Maastricht, where the hospital is, which meant all those runs were hill training, whereas I usually run in super flat Rotterdam. I thought that would give me extra strength (it did) but it wa also overkill, and gave me a problem with the 'tibialis posterior'. The week before the marathon I had some dry needling done, which helped a lot, so I ran anyway, but I had decided to let go of any time or pace goals, and had decided to make it a comfortable run. Which is was, up until the lactic acid build up at 33km. After that it was painful and hard, but I still loved it. Finally finished in 4:40.
Of course, that can't be my final time on the marathon. I've signed up for the New York Marathon and I'm going there on an organised trip - PT in my hotel, group trainings, bus ride to the start - the works. Costs a fortune, but I couldn't get in any other way anyway. I am going to enjoy the hell out of that again, and I'll cut my time by at least 25 minutes

Well done. I may go to New York at some point too.

Myself, I did a half marathon yesterday after having the cold all week, which was not a good idea. It was my slowest yet at just over 2 hours and I'm feeling very drained today.

Hehe, you'll be fine Did a half for the first time again, yesterday, at 2:02. Was fine, although it still costs a weird amount of energy. Recovery takes a while, I guess. New York is a classic, so I really want to go badly, but I'm sure I'll have as much fun at a fraction of the cost in Berlin or London at some point. For now, I am just looking forward to some good running weather

Doing a race (usually a half marathon) roughly every month. Since last update I've done a 10k (50 minutes) and two halfs (2hr 15mins & 1hr 49mins)

I'm learning that you can't really compare your times on different courses directly. The slower of those races was basically cross-country across the foothills of a local mountain range, as much a hike as a run, and the time reflects that. The second was a repeat of a race I did last year, 9 minutes faster so very happy with that.

Another one on 20th August and if I get some hard training in I am hoping for a better time again.

I've signed up for that same 10K. I'm actually recovering from a stress fracture, so after a great start this year through May, I've done very little running since. Hopefully the race will get me going again.

This is why I don't run. It's great exercise and can be fun, but I know so many guys who have permanent, nagging injuries at my age or even younger related to running that it's just not worth the risk. I like being outdoors too, but I have to make do with a treadmill. I can do HIIT though and I'm loving that - 19 calories per minute average burned over one short session so it's efficient. That and 22+ years of mandatory running kind of burned me out.

You know what I want to try? Flipping over big ass tires. I see the soldiers doing it and it looks like a great workout and it's relatively safe.

That one really gets your heart rate up, and is indeed quite fun!

Tire flipping is how Batman works out!

I've really been deep squatting a lot lately with my kettlebells , so having to get low to get under the tires to flip them would be a great leg/cardio workout.

New PB for 10k today of 47:57 although it could have been quite a bit better still if I hadn't had a chest cold last week. Another half next week (tough course so just want to get a better time than last year) but the big target right now is the Belfast half in a few weeks. That's a flat course and I'll be training hard in the run-up to take a good chunk off my PB.

Still want to do another full marathon, and my mileage at the moment isn't that far off, so I reckon I just need a few weeks to tune up. Problem is that most of the races here are in the summer, and the handful that are in October/November don't suit for various reasons. I'd like to get one in before the end of the year, when it's likely that my training volume will drop for a month or so, so I'll keep looking.

1:50:22 in the half on Saturday, 5 minutes better than last year. Progress!

My wife is training for a marathon, currently, and I'm training for a 10k. Well, training as much as a 275 pound guy (who has lost 50 pounds this year) can.

50 pounds? Wow that's impressive! Obviously you must be fit for training or you wouldn't have lost that much. Have fun on the run!

Difficult to get a marathon that suits me before the end of the year.

Ideally I'd have liked to run the Dublin marathon - big, well-organised mass participation event at the end of October. But it clashes with a couple of other things so that's out.
Other than that everything else seemed to be:

• Too soon (I'll need a couple of months to get in the correct shape)
  
• On hugely difficult courses (there is one which consists of 5 laps of a course each of which includes a 150 metre ascent)
• Very far away (the other end of Ireland or abroad)

So I made contact with some running groups and heard of an East Coast Marathon club which organises their own runs very regularly. Mostly this consists of "self-sufficient" marathons with just a couple of dozen runners. That means bring your own water, no chip times, no medals etc. but they do these every week. Not ideal - I like the trappings of a proper race where you have some support and a proper memento.
But then I found out that they have a once-monthly event which is a little more like a proper race - typically with 50 runners, which isn't huge but with medals and chip times. That's on 19th November. So unless I find something else that's the one.

Time to step up the mileage. In August I will probably have done 110km, so the aim is to hit 150km during September and 200km during October. I also will have at least one half marathon race that I want to get a PB in.

"But then I found out that they have a once-monthly event which is a little more like a proper race - typically with 50 runners, which isn't huge but with medals and chip times. That's on 19th November. So unless I find something else that's the one." - that sounds like a very good compromise. Enough people to see how you are measuring against your peers, but not so often that you burn yourself out (mentally as well as physically) like you would running every week.

Actually reached 126km for August.

And I've decided to adapt my training regime somewhat for this one.
First of all, I'll be doing more of the long runs - that means building to at least 2 of the 18 mile runs and 2 of the 20 mile runs. I managed just one of each last time and feel I was lacking a little in endurance come the race.
Secondly, my long runs will be followed the next day by "recovery" runs. I'd heard about these but mostly didn't do them. Apparently they don't really help with recovery but by training when already fatigued you're giving yourself a double-dose. I had been giving myself 2-3 days off after long runs, which is too much.
Thirdly, four runs a week is my target. In addition to the above two types of run, the other two will be either a gut-busting 6km run of a local loop I have - as fast as I can, to build pace, or interval training, again for pace, or a mid-pace, middle-distance run of 10-15km.

First long (i.e. more than a half marathon) this weekend - probably 24-25km (15 miles).

Took 5 minutes off my personal best for a half marathon today, chiptime of 1:43:16
I'll find it hard to ever get it much faster than that, I think.

five minutes is pretty significant. As for not getting much faster you never know - even if you only cut a little off next time it's still forward progress.

Foolishly decided to run 28km this evening with only water (and not enough of that).
Nothing like hitting the wall to inspire a little humility. Hands shaking, feeling cold, nauseous, faint...

Currently topping the blood sugar levels up with fizzy drinks, which I never would otherwise touch.

I don't know what it's like to "hit the wall" but only because I've never ran further than 10K in my life. No wall to hit there - you might gas or get a cramp but not deplete your energy reserves. Well my hat is off to you, running long distance takes a lot of free time & effort & dedication. We are having an IRONMAN triathalon here in Augusta pretty soon - those dudes are scary fit.

I find that 3 to 4 miles is where I hit a wall not as harsh as what Rick described). That's always the spot where I have to push myself to keep going, but then things get better again.

I hadnt really done any running for over a year. Life got in the way. Tuesday night i left my car at local train station, got a lift up to the house after work then took a long route to run and get it. 3.5 miles. I was pretty fucked after it and quads sore for a few days. Felt good though.

Two days later, wanted more but still a bit stiff. Went to the local pool which had lanes in. Now when i was young i was a competitive swimmer (training 8 times per week). Havent really done any proper swimming in 18 years. Managed to swim 1km. It was proper hard going. Ate about 3 dinners when i got home.

Ive felt great all weekend aside from the muscle stiffness (now arms from the swim).

Going to hit the fitness hard this winter.

Just hit 160km for September and that may go a bit higher depending on what I do over the next couple of days. It exceeds my target of 150km but I'm aiming for 200km in October which will be a big step up.

I've been doing some reading about long distance fuelling strategies. Following last weekend I realise just how terrible I am at that and how much not bothering with it properly is going to affect my performance. On my next long run I'll be ensuring that I take on a lot of water and calories during the run, either an energy gel or an energy cube every 30 minutes, starting at 45 minutes in. I'd like to be finishing those runs feeling strong (for mental as much as physical reasons) rather than as if I'd just completed a death march.

The excess weight that I'd hoped to lose has begun to move at this stage anyway, so as I get nearer to my ideal body mass, worrying about calorie intake is less of a problem anyway.

So this weekend a did an 8 mile race (actually I measured it as 8.2 miles) on Saturday. Clocked at 1:02:00 - I didn't want to miss it because some friends were doing it and I don't often get to run with them. Otherwise I would have rested.
Then on Sunday morning I did my 30km long run, with more water and glucose top-ups this time. Went quite slowly (2:56:03) because I was starting a bit tired from the previous day but maintained a consistent pace and felt okay at the end.
Very tired now of course but pleased with how it went.