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The LONG LONG road to Rotterdam
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In the latest installment of "The longest I have ever ran", I completed 18 miles in 2 hours 45 minutes 9 seconds! That was quite tough at times, especially the last 2 miles, but delighted I have got through it now!
I'll be sore for a few days I'd say, so I wont run again until next friday! I'll do one more long run before the marathon. That will be in 3 weeks time all things going well, and it will be 20 miles. After that I will taper for the last 5 weeks.
Todays run also takes me over the 200 mile barrier in marathon training. Another milestone!
So Marathon training to date:
Total Miles: 203.60 miles
Longest LSR: 18.00 miles
Now COME ON IRELAND!!!!0 -
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village runner wrote: »I cant see how you can enjoy the day in Rotterdam. Go on prove me wrong.
I shall prove you wrong
After all I did a Half Marathon in 1:49 on a hilly course from a training mileage of 65 miles, so its certainly possible that I can go sub 4 in a flat marathon after a training mileage of around 300 miles.0 -
Well this log got busy since I was last here
Please take the following as it's intended, advice to help rather than an attack on you or your training. there's been a lot said but I'll try and keep this brief..
On the "listening to your body" thing. You're right, it is one of the key skills for an athlete to develop, knowing the signs so that you know when to back off a bit or when to push on. As you know marathon training is hard; I'm only in week 3 of my latest schedule and already all the signs are there. In a good training schedule you will go through your days with heavy legs and all manner of funny aches, you'll go up and down stairs like a 70 year old and grab on for support when you bend down to tie your shoes.
This is normal.
Inexperienced runners often mistake these aches and discomforts for warning signs of incoming injury. They aren't and - in Tunneys phrase - you need to suck it up and get on with it. Psychologically as well its always easier to say I didn't run today because I was listening to my body" rather than "I didn't run today because I didn't feel like it"; even though they are the same thing one sounds more respectable. My advice? Be honest with yourself. Unless you are in pain (which is a different thing) then there is no execuse for slacking off a scheduled run through fatigue. In fact a short slow run usually helps with recovery and you'll fell a lot better after it.
Which leads on to the shin splints. Have they been diagnosed by a sports medicine professional? As VR hints above shin splints are classically an over use injury and a 24 year old doing the weekly mileage you are shouldn't be suffering from them, in the normal course of things. But I think your training patterns are causing your shin splints rather than helping them. As an analogy if someone wants to lose weight they should eat slightly fewer calories than they use over an extended period of time . What they shouldn't do is binge during the week and starve at weekends - even though the calories in and out may be the same the pattern is all wrong and the body cannot adapt; it doesn't know what's coming next.
Your running follows the yo-yo diet pattern. An 18 mile run followed by a week off followed in short order by a 20 mile run. Your legs get a huge hit, folowed by nothing followed by a huge hit. This would be an obvious cause of overuse injuries - your legs adapt to the demands of an LSR not just during the LSRs but also in the days, weeks and months of shorter runs. You are making demands of them that they may not be able to manage. No single run or session makes a marathon and doing a 16, 18 or 20 mile run without the supporting framework of other runs is worthless, IMO.
I am guessing that you aren't following a training plan which is a huge mistake for a novice as the potential for these errors would have been removed straight away.
As would the error I think you are making with your taper. You are right there are all sorts of different (and conflicting) sets of advice on teh internet, because running isn't one size fits all. What works for VR may not work for me, what works for me may not work for you. All I can do is tell you my experiences in the hope it helps you make an informed decision.
I have read a lot of books on marathon training - all the ones you'll see recommended. I have never heard anyone mention anything longer than a 3 week taper. Typically the more experienced you are and teh higher your weekly mileage the shorter a taper you will need so a 3 week taper would be normal for a novice. typically the mileage reduction would be in the region of 75/50/25% of your peak mileage in the three weeks prior to the race with your longest run the week just before that. note that even those who advise a 3 week taper warn that you will lose fitness in that phase but that the gains from the rest are worth it - the balancing act is making sure that you take the minimum rest needed to minimise the fitness loss.
I have averaged 2 marathons a year for the last 5 years and am rarely not training. In between training cycles I usually take a break to recover. In a typical 4 week rest from training I lose around a minute a mile in pace. If I lose that with a background of years of consistent training then I would imagine that a five week taper without the pattern of consistent training behind it would result in at least the same loss of fitness and possibly more. Think about it - the normal training plan is 18 weeks long and you are talking about tapering for 5 of them - that's over a third!
Finally you mention that you are confident that a 20 mile run in training means you will finish a marathon. You're right, it should. But finishing a marathon and finishing injury free and in (relative) comfort are very different. i did a 16 an 18 and a 20 prior to my first marathon and I was walking at mile 16 on the day. Race day excitement, lack of sleep, running in a crowd, different fuel or fuelling strategy - all sorts of things can make a difference and going to 20 (even in comfort) in training is no guarantee that you'll get to 20 in the same state on the day.
So my advice, for what it's worth, is to look up a good training program and start to follow it as close to the letter as your medical advice allows. Every single step you run between now and Rotterdam will make the race itself easier.0 -
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Wow, confidence has gone from an all time high Saturday afternoon to being absolutely shattered into smithereens now.
Don't lose heart, a lot of people (freaks) can run the marathon in a decent time without even following a programme and fair play to them. You, at least, have put some long miles in although the rest of your programme leaves a lot to be desired when comparing to a traditional plan.
People are not trying to dent your confidence or see you fail, all will appluad if you do finish in your targetted time and stick two fingers up to the doubters.
I was also in amadeus' mentored group last year and did a 6 week taper :eek: (not by choice). Checking my log, my last and longest run (18 miles) was around 6 weeks before the marathon proper due to injury.
I finished it but cannot see myself doing a marathon again. The sheer exhaustion around mile 19 was horrific. No interest in experiencing that again.
I suppose what I'm trying to say is if you want to run an enjoyable marathon and do another one, maybe you should revise Rotterdam - you're 24 so many years running ahead.
But if you just want to get through Rotterdam and tick the marathon box, well then go for it. Best of luck.0 -
Can I just say that not everyone who was in that mentored group had a miserable experience!
You don't need to have a crisis of confidence yet (that normally comes in the taper
)
On the plus side: you've done a respectable half marathon time, have several weeks training behind you, have an 18 miler in teh bank and 8 weeks till the race (5 - 6 weeks solid training there)
On teh negative side you've got sore shins and training to date may not have been optimal.
Objective is to maximise the next 8 weeks and get the most benefit from them. I would strongly recommend looking at this. It has the same number of runs and the same sort of intensity as you're used to but is a good program with a good taper. Relax and follow it, take it easy at the start on the day and you'll be fine.0 -
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