Rossi1990 Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 I done London in 2017. Whole experience was unbelievable. Done it in 4:34:35 actually slower than my first marathon attempt at Edinburgh in 2014 but I done Loch Ness last year and completed it in 3:59:22. So now a sub 4 hour marathon runner. No plans for any this year but got few half’s and 10ks lined up. Run the blades in July being one of them 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 I'm running Edinburgh marathon in may, it is my first marathon and actually first actual race, I've never even done a parkrun. I started with the sole objective of just finishing but getting more confident. I did 18 miles on Saturday at an average pace of 8:39, so thinking about under 4 hours being a realistic goal. Does anyone have experience of just how tough the last 6 miles are? I keep hearing about 'hitting the wall' but hard to gauge just how destructive it is. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardinal Richelieu Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 2 hours ago, Dons_1988 said: I'm running Edinburgh marathon in may, it is my first marathon and actually first actual race, I've never even done a parkrun. I started with the sole objective of just finishing but getting more confident. I did 18 miles on Saturday at an average pace of 8:39, so thinking about under 4 hours being a realistic goal. Does anyone have experience of just how tough the last 6 miles are? I keep hearing about 'hitting the wall' but hard to gauge just how destructive it is. Well I've only done one marathon (Reykjavik 2 years ago) and my only training was a few half marathons and one 18 miler the week before. It wasn't enough. When I do half marathons, I eschew water and energy drinks / gels just to rattle through it. Thought I could do that for the marathon, but by about mile 20, I slowed down to a walk when I saw the drinks station in the distance and took my time about drinking them. It's hard to describe "the wall" ... it's definitely not your lungs or even your legs. It's more like a complete lack of energy that forces you to walk or even stop. Of course, the fact that you're more than 3/4 of the way means that adrenalin will get you the rest of the way, but it's not pretty. Based on my HM times, I was confident I could do in 3:30 but I ended up only a couple of minutes under 4:00. In other running news, although I'm not as fit as I was a couple of years ago, I'm still getting round parkruns in 24 minutes and doing HiiT classes. So it came as quite a surprise, when I had to stop at least 5 times on the Perth parkrun and came in 3 minutes slower than usual ... tried to go for a run yesterday and it's the same. WTF is wrong with me? I had a cold a few weeks ago but that's it. I'm doing the Inverness HM in a couple of weeks and I'm worried I won't be able to even finish it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 6 minutes ago, Cardinal Richelieu said: Well I've only done one marathon (Reykjavik 2 years ago) and my only training was a few half marathons and one 18 miler the week before. It wasn't enough. When I do half marathons, I eschew water and energy drinks / gels just to rattle through it. Thought I could do that for the marathon, but by about mile 20, I slowed down to a walk when I saw the drinks station in the distance and took my time about drinking them. It's hard to describe "the wall" ... it's definitely not your lungs or even your legs. It's more like a complete lack of energy that forces you to walk or even stop. Of course, the fact that you're more than 3/4 of the way means that adrenalin will get you the rest of the way, but it's not pretty. Based on my HM times, I was confident I could do in 3:30 but I ended up only a couple of minutes under 4:00. In other running news, although I'm not as fit as I was a couple of years ago, I'm still getting round parkruns in 24 minutes and doing HiiT classes. So it came as quite a surprise, when I had to stop at least 5 times on the Perth parkrun and came in 3 minutes slower than usual ... tried to go for a run yesterday and it's the same. WTF is wrong with me? I had a cold a few weeks ago but that's it. I'm doing the Inverness HM in a couple of weeks and I'm worried I won't be able to even finish it. Thanks, I should look into gels etc, I generally don't even take water with me as I can't be arsed carrying it. I've done 18 miles twice now and with 13 weeks to go I daresay I'll do further before marathon day but possibly not beyond 20 miles. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardinal Richelieu Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 15 minutes ago, Dons_1988 said: Thanks, I should look into gels etc, I generally don't even take water with me as I can't be arsed carrying it. I've done 18 miles twice now and with 13 weeks to go I daresay I'll do further before marathon day but possibly not beyond 20 miles. Aye, you definitely don't need water for the actual marathon cos of all the water stations... for training runs obviously it's up to the individual, but unless it's very hot, I generally don't need water (i usually end up tipping it down my front anyway if I try and run and drink). It amazes me the amount of people you see doing parkruns carrying water who probably don't even take a drink for the entirety of the run. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 6 minutes ago, Cardinal Richelieu said: Aye, you definitely don't need water for the actual marathon cos of all the water stations... for training runs obviously it's up to the individual, but unless it's very hot, I generally don't need water (i usually end up tipping it down my front anyway if I try and run and drink). It amazes me the amount of people you see doing parkruns carrying water who probably don't even take a drink for the entirety of the run. Paranoia I think, my wife is constantly trying to force me to take water on my runs as she seems to think I'm going to collapse in a heap in the middle of nowhere. You notice a big difference with the gels? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bernardblack Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Noticed an older post about Run4IT trainers - would you be looking at three figures for a pair? Worth it? I ask as my current trainers are fine up until I hit about 8/9 miles and then blisters start. Tried plasters/vaseline etc 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Noticed an older post about Run4IT trainers - would you be looking at three figures for a pair? Worth it? I ask as my current trainers are fine up until I hit about 8/9 miles and then blisters start. Tried plasters/vaseline etc That was possibly me, mine cost £90 from run4it but has definitely been worth it if you’re doing a lot of running. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardinal Richelieu Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 (edited) 59 minutes ago, Dons_1988 said: Paranoia I think, my wife is constantly trying to force me to take water on my runs as she seems to think I'm going to collapse in a heap in the middle of nowhere. You notice a big difference with the gels? Unless you're running the Marathon des Sables, I don't think a lack of water will normally be an issue. I'm sure I read somewhere that they treat more people at the London Marathon for over-hydration than de-hydration. Re: gels. It's hard to say, because I only took them a couple of times on the longer runs and I've no idea if f I'd have felt any different without them. Four things I do know about them: They're bogging They're a pain in the arse to open It's almost impossible to eat / drink them without spilling some down yourself. Which means you're horribly sticky until you can get access to water. Wasps like them too Edited February 25, 2019 by Cardinal Richelieu 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee Man Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Dons_1988 said: Paranoia I think, my wife is constantly trying to force me to take water on my runs as she seems to think I'm going to collapse in a heap in the middle of nowhere. You notice a big difference with the gels? Definitely use carb gels. That's the reason folk hit the wall imo as they've depleted their reserves and literally have nowhere to pull the necessary energy from to maintain the same pace. I followed a training schedule to the letter for my marathon, took gels at the recommended miles and skooshed it. I did 3hrs 55m but could have done it a lot quicker as I was pacing myself just to make sure I finished it. I also felt as if I could have kept going at the end which says a lot for the gels as you'd imagine running 26+ miles for the first time ever would be a slog. At no time did I feel I feel my energy levels sapping. Btw, if you don't mind me saying, it's been good to watch your journey from being an overweight, couch potato (if that's a fair assesment) to a fit dude with a more positive outlook. Inspirational stuff. That's all the compliments you're getting you c**t. Eta: Lack of water can increase your chances of fatigue and cramp whereas overhydration can cause problems as the Cardinal has mentioned. Best to read up on it about recommended amounts etc. Personally I think it would be far easier to drink too little than it would too much. Edited February 25, 2019 by Dee Man 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 17 minutes ago, Cardinal Richelieu said: Wasps like them too Decision made. No gels for me. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee Man Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 4 minutes ago, Dons_1988 said: Decision made. No gels for me. Surely running away from wasps would give you a great finish time? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 6 minutes ago, Dee Man said: Definitely use carb gels. That's the reason folk hit the wall imo as they've depleted their reserves and literally have nowhere to pull the necessary energy from to maintain the same pace. I followed a training schedule to the letter for my marathon, took gels at the recommended miles and skooshed it. I did 3hrs 55m but could have done it a lot quicker as I was pacing myself just to make sure I finished it. I also felt as if I could have kept going at the end which says a lot for the gels as you'd imagine running 26+ miles for the first time ever would be a slog. At no time did I feel I feel my energy levels sapping. Btw, if you don't mind me saying, it's been good to watch your journey from being an overweight, couch potato (if that's a fair assesment) to a fit dude with a more positive outlook. Inspirational stuff. That's all the compliments you're getting you c**t. Ha, cheers. Tbh it's been the most important few months of my life as I wasn't far away from giving up on things, took me a long time to get here though. Noted on the gels, although ending the marathon in unrelenting pain seems more appealing than being accosted by wasps. And if you're expecting any compliments in return, you'll be sorely disappointed, you caravan dwelling c**t 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee Man Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 4 minutes ago, Dons_1988 said: Ha, cheers. Tbh it's been the most important few months of my life as I wasn't far away from giving up on things, took me a long time to get here though. Noted on the gels, although ending the marathon in unrelenting pain seems more appealing than being accosted by wasps. And if you're expecting any compliments in return, you'll be sorely disappointed, you caravan dwelling c**t I hope you break your ankle in the first mile. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardinal Richelieu Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Re: wasps. It's a situational thing ... the 18 miler I did was along the canal in Kirkintilloch which has hunners of wasps so I got stung by one of them. But if you take the gels in a place where there are no wasps, then it's not like they'll materialise out of thin air (I hope!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 7 minutes ago, Dee Man said: I hope you break your ankle in the first mile. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 7 minutes ago, Cardinal Richelieu said: Re: wasps. It's a situational thing ... the 18 miler I did was along the canal in Kirkintilloch which has hunners of wasps so I got stung by one of them. But if you take the gels in a place where there are no wasps, then it's not like they'll materialise out of thin air (I hope!) It's more the thought of spilling on myself and becoming a wasp magnet for the remainder of the run 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossi1990 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 I use gels on any long runs. Blackcurrant SIS gels. Have never failed me. I also have only ever run 18 miles as my longest run in prep for the marathons and it seemed to work. Good luck for it it though. It’s a great achievement once completed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee Man Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 45 minutes ago, Cardinal Richelieu said: Re: wasps. It's a situational thing ... the 18 miler I did was along the canal in Kirkintilloch which has hunners of wasps so I got stung by one of them. But if you take the gels in a place where there are no wasps, then it's not like they'll materialise out of thin air (I hope!) Same place I did my pre-marathon 22miler. I started at the Auchinstarry boathouse and decided to run 11 miles westbound, seeing where it would take me without even considering it, then head back. Got a bit of a shock when I reached Clydebank and realised I had to do it all again. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiemunster Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 I did most of my long runs along the canal from Auchinstarry. It's far more than 11 miles to Clydebank, closer to 18 I would estimate. I've done Auchinstarry to Anniesland, then down to the Clyde and back to Queen Street Station for the train back to Croy and that was pushing 18 I'm sure. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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