Platypus' Beginners Guide to Running

Well It's monday, 2 weeks of not running to rest my ankle and I have to say I'm not entirely sure it feels any better.
I thought it did this morning, but I couldn't tell if it was just me hoping and having got used to it.
All I can do Rest more...... I'm going to be so unprepared come marathon day :/
A friend I'm running with keeps telling me it'll be fine and just hang back with him, who's only goal is to make the finish, but I really did want a reasonable time :(
 
Did my first marathon at Manchester yesterday! I was flying round until mile 21 then the wheels fell off and had to run / walk the rest of it. Still finished in 4:14:38, quite pleased with that!
 
HaZe71 said:
Did my first marathon at Manchester yesterday! I was flying round until mile 21 then the wheels fell off and had to run / walk the rest of it. Still finished in 4:14:38, quite pleased with that!
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Glad you finished:D

What you experienced is quite common, you need to pace yourself to avoid hitting the wall. The first half should feel fairly awkward and slow its so easy, then the miles slowly get harder. Ideally you need to do a 10k or half a month before your marathon to get an idea of your goal pace.

It's all easier said than done, I'm sure I'll make the same mistake soon enough! Leaving the start line takes a lot of constraint, ever second too fast is supposedly 2 seconds lost at the end. Really hard when people fly by you, the excitement, fresh legs etc. And sometimes you have to make mistakes to learn the hardway.
 
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GiraffePencils said:
Well It's monday, 2 weeks of not running to rest my ankle and I have to say I'm not entirely sure it feels any better.
I thought it did this morning, but I couldn't tell if it was just me hoping and having got used to it.
All I can do Rest more...... I'm going to be so unprepared come marathon day :/
A friend I'm running with keeps telling me it'll be fine and just hang back with him, who's only goal is to make the finish, but I really did want a reasonable time :(
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Sorry about that, really sucks. :(

Despite getting better I'm still in big doubts about my marathon, and if I do run it what kind of pace. My 3:12 goal is a fantasy now, might be able to get 3:22 for a 5min PR but also might just be a good idea to hold back for a sub 4Hr and just try and enjoy it.the risk going faster is not only do I increase chance of re-injury, but with adrenaline I don't even notice. And it's impossible to know how much fitness and potential I lost.
 
D.P. said:
Glad you finished:D

What you experienced is quite common, you need to pace yourself to avoid hitting the wall. The first half should feel fairly awkward and slow its so easy, then the miles slowly get harder. Ideally you need to do a 10k or half a month before your marathon to get an idea of your goal pace.

It's all easier said than done, I'm sure I'll make the same mistake soon enough! Leaving the start line takes a lot of constraint, ever second too fast is supposedly 2 seconds lost at the end. Really hard when people fly by you, the excitement, fresh legs etc. And sometimes you have to make mistakes to learn the hardway.
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Yeah, lesson learned! Its not put me off though. Looking to book another at the end of the year. :D Half's and 10ks in the meantime.
 
HaZe71 said:
Yeah, lesson learned! Its not put me off though. Looking to book another at the end of the year. :D Half's and 10ks in the meantime.
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good stuff, now you know what it feels like to go too fast too early you will hopefully keep that in mind next marathon and will be one of those people that races to the finish line passing a gazillion people.
 
Absolutely! Manchester Marathon was awesome though, the crowds were amazing! Really friendly and supportive. If i don't get in to London next year i'll definately be doing Manchester again.
 
Yesterday did a casual 8m and got another good morning run in:
11.20 mi, 1:36:10, 8:35 min/mi, 434 ft

Went to physio later and have some stretches to work and practices to improve my gait.
 
Well I got everything sorted for this half on Sunday, and the weather looks decent. I'm not on the best form and my leg's been giving me some trouble, but then I wasn't great for my last timed half either so I'm still hoping for a PB. 1:45-1:50 is probably doable. Trying to decide if I should run with headphones and a pacing plan or just guage it by feel/other runners. Which I have more experience with...
 
Check the rules, most races I've been to around here don't allow headphones.
I would ignore the other runners, especially at the start of the race. Everyone will fly out the start gate for the first few miles before realizing they can't keep that pace for the rest of the race, it only ever costs time that strategy. If you are not to sure of a pace or if you are really going to race it hard then I would aim to run it progressively faster and get a good hard finish racing past everyone. You'll feel great sprinting across the finish and should give a good time but always with the option of slowing back down if things dont feel right.

That is pretty much my marathon plan, start at about 8:15 a mile and slowly progress to an 7:30 mile. It wont give me my desired goal time but is much safer, if my mil 10 and doing sub 8s and I feel pants then I can ease back and now I haven't lost too much energy at the start. This should give me a small PR.


of course, making plans and sticking to them are not the same. Be aware of the initial excitement and the weird perceptual effect of everything in your vision moving forwards so you fele like you are going low even although you are 1 minute ahead of pace.




Good luck!
 
I've found all races I've been to say they are not allowed yet there's lots of people with them (I find the guys with the massive Beats headsets funny).

Recovering ok from my man flu, I went out Sunday for an exploratory 3.5 miles and at 8:17/mi and 155bpm my chest was on fire, not great. Tuesday went out for 5.5, 8:03/mi still 155bpm and no chest pains but nasty coughing fit mid way made me want to hurl.

Today was feeling pretty good so figured I'd do a hard session to test the waters. 6.2 @ 7:08/mi and 178bpm. First 3 were quick getting 20:18 for the 5k but had a stitch and banging headache come on which slowed me down considerably. Picked back up to finish on a 6:59 though so think I'm almost over it now.
 
^^ glad your getting over it, those are some fast miles!


Got my official race results form last weekend: 42:52. 87/1206 Age Group, 467 /23127. Pretty happy since I started off at an 8:00 mile easy run LOL.

went swimming this morning and will head out on a short 5 mile fun run later. Tomorrow will be my big test, want to do around 18m and feel perfect at the end of it (and the next day). If I pass that test then i will enter my marathon but with a very easy goal.
 
HaZe71 said:
Did my first marathon at Manchester yesterday! I was flying round until mile 21 then the wheels fell off and had to run / walk the rest of it. Still finished in 4:14:38, quite pleased with that!
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Well done. :)

Not sure if you remember much of mile 21 but I was with the group who had the massive flags at the end of the long road before you turned right towards Urmston and Stretford.

Weather was brilliant on Sunday and pretty much all of my friends came away with a PB other than one who ended up with a DNF sadly.
 
Felt really sick 3 miles into my long run so headed home. Wife was throwing up all last weekend and I have had stomach cramps and nausea on and off all week.


Will try again tomorrow.
 
Thanks Itchy, I made up for it today though, feeling much better. Weather was perfect, and being a weekend I could stoke up on carbs and then wait 90 minute before heading out.

19.0mi, 2:35:40, 8:12min/mile, and about 700ft vertical.

From mile 13 I kicked in the pace to get some goal pace miles and see how they felt, 7:30 pace felt as easy as 8:30 really, pushed at 7-7:10 mile and then slowed down for a few miles cool down on the way home.


Hip held up great, very slight ache but really nothing I wouldn't get after such a long run anyway. Will see how i feel tomorrow but It is looking promising for my marathon in 2 weeks. This was way too close tot he marathon for such a hard work out but mentally I had to do it to know I am still capable and that I wont explode mile 15 in the race.
 
Sounds like you've managed to pick yourself back up and get your confidence DP, good to hear.

13.5 today, had intended on at least 15 but had gone out a little quick and took a turn for a bridleway which was way muddier than I expected so was sliding/walking for about 1.5 miles which just sapped my energy. Almost lost a shoe a couple of times!
 
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