I can see the sun in wintertime

pistol_75

Well done yesterday Rachel. Nice to meet you before the race. Glad to hear your race went to plan.

Krusty_Clown

Well done yesterday. I heard that it's a really tough course. I would forget about time targets altogether. Go out at sub-4 pace, enjoy the experience, and see what happens. Your finish time will be whatever it will be. Don't sweat it.

Aimman

RayCun wrote: »

What's the absolute worst that could happen? You've raced marathons before, you know it's going to get tough at some stage anyway, and you know that even if it gets really bad you'll still be able to finish. On marathon day you'll be rested, focused, you won't be treating it as half-race, half-training run.
So why not go for a real goal instead of playing it safe?

+1 on this. You're most likely at the peak of your training at the moment, just before the taper kicks in, so your body is under a lot of strain at the moment. The taper will help the body rest, repair and recover while just doing enough miles to keep the fitness up. By the morning of DCM, the body should be over all the busy weeks of training and mileage and be ready to give it full effort for sub 4.

Younganne

well done on yesterdays race, sounds like a good one.
Forget about pace etc for now, enjoy the taper, let the body recover and make you decision nearer the time, at the Expo when collecting Pacing Band!!!:D

Emer911

racheljev wrote: »

So, with the benefit of a 135km drive home to think about it all, I reckon I'm probably not really ready for sub4 in DCM. I just don't think the endurance is there. It's possible that I could go for sub4 and blow up badly. So I reckon I might try and target 4:10, which would be a 10min pb.

You were really strong at the HM finish and that's a good indication. The 18 (hard) miles at the weekend will stand to you. Don't sweat it to much for now. There's still those tapering weeks to get through, and the ensuing madness, before we have to drag each other around 26 miles of our fair city (in UNDER 4 hours:D:p:cool:)

racheljev

Thanks everybody for your comments, appreciate it. The problem is probably (definitely?) mental rather than physical. The memory of hitting 10k in Luxembourg and realising I wouldn't hit my goal, and that I still had 32k to go, is still quite fresh in my mind. I was gutted because I was sure I had sub4 in me that day. When I think about DCM and 29 October now, it's funny/strange - it reminds me a bit of when I had my first child, I know, this log just gets weirder . But honestly - when I was pregnant on The Boy, I had a book and I read it and I talked to people about giving birth and I was all sorted. But when I thought about the actual giving birth part - the last 6 miles if you will , my head would go "la la la, not thinking about it, skipping over that part, la la la". And now, when I try to think about the idea of running 9 min/miles for 26.2 miles, my head goes "la la la, not thinking about it, skipping over that part, la la la" It's as if a self-defence mechanism has kicked in to prevent my head getting melted again by my failure to hit sub4. I think "26.2 times 9 mins" and my mind skitters away, off to contemplate cloud formations and peanut butter m&ms. Taper madness is going to be such joy in this house

Anyway, enough navel gazing. Plan for today was 4 miles. Did 4.1 miles in just under 40 mins. Nothing too stressful or tiring. Legs still a bit heavy from Sunday - mainly thighs though, calves and shins ok. 7 miles planned for tomorrow.

RayCun

They do say that if women could really remember what childbirth was like, nobody would ever have a second kid. Probably the same thing with the last 10k of marathons

Emer911

racheljev wrote: »

Thanks everybody for your comments, appreciate it. The problem is probably (definitely?) mental rather than physical. The memory of hitting 10k in Luxembourg and realising I wouldn't hit my goal, and that I still had 32k to go, is still quite fresh in my mind. I was gutted because I was sure I had sub4 in me that day. When I think about DCM and 29 October now, it's funny/strange - it reminds me a bit of when I had my first child, I know, this log just gets weirder . But honestly - when I was pregnant on The Boy, I had a book and I read it and I talked to people about giving birth and I was all sorted. But when I thought about the actual giving birth part - the last 6 miles if you will , my head would go "la la la, not thinking about it, skipping over that part, la la la". And now, when I try to think about the idea of running 9 min/miles for 26.2 miles, my head goes "la la la, not thinking about it, skipping over that part, la la la" It's as if a self-defence mechanism has kicked in to prevent my head getting melted again by my failure to hit sub4. I think "26.2 times 9 mins" and my mind skitters away, off to contemplate cloud formations and peanut butter m&ms. Taper madness is going to be such joy in this house

Anyway, enough navel gazing. Plan for today was 4 miles. Did 4.1 miles in just under 40 mins. Nothing too stressful or tiring. Legs still a bit heavy from Sunday - mainly thighs though, calves and shins ok. 7 miles planned for tomorrow.

This did give me a titter.
I think maybe we all did that "la la la, not thinking about it, skipping over that part, la la la" during that first 9 months.


...and in the first marathon plan (around the tapering stage, I think?)

...and before every PB attempt

But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger (right?)
Sub 4 hours then? :cool: you know you can

racheljev

Wednesday:
Plan was for 7, ended up with 6 in 59:24. Up and out at 6:20 a.m. and legs felt very heavy and tired. Hit home at 6 miles and was tempted to go around the block again, but it might have done more harm than good. Accepted the 6 miles and left it at that.

Thursday:
Plan was 4 miles, actual was 4 miles in 37:21. Mad torrential rain for this one but it was grand - apart from when I almost ran into a telegraph pole because the rain was so heavy, I couldn't see Legs were grand.

Saturday:
Plan for today was 14-16 miles, and to try out new shorts and gels. After Athlone I was telling OH all about it - how well it was organised, all the food at the water tables, all brilliant. And then I was telling him how tired I got during it and how the jelly babies might not be enough for me. So he said, did you eat any of the food at the water tables? and I said No And then he said, how many jelly babies did you actually eat? and I said 5 And then he said, hmmmm, 5 jelly babies in 19.6 miles and you're wondering why you were tired? :rolleyes: So time to re-examine the mid run nutrition. I swore off gels a long time ago because they wrecked my already dodgy tum. But career_move had isotonic gels in Athlone and she had no problem with them. So when I saw them in Tesco this week, I grabbed a few and decided to give them a go. Headed out this morning with my new shorts (now fitting me better since my sister did a job on them with her sewing machine, thank you sis ) Took a gel at 4, 8 and 12 miles. Also decided to add in a few pmp miles - miles 3, 6, 10, 11 & 14 were faster (8:44, 8:30, 9:00, 8:27, 8:57). Made sure to add in a few uphill drags as well. Hit home at 16.2 miles in 2:31:00. All in all, a lovely lovely run. Really enjoyed it - no problem with gels or shorts, felt much better towards the end. Definitely a bit of a confidence booster. Still not completely sub4 sure, have to work on the head as much as the legs over the next 2 weeks. It's almost taper time, baby!:D

career_move

Good work there Rach. Sub 4 a piece of cake for you

Emer911

Isn't it great to know someone handy with a needle!

Great to hear the run went well. I know how you feel on the sub 4, but I'm still going to give it a lash. For the record, I do think you have it in you.



Something for us all to ponder as taper madness sets in:

"Whether you believe you can or believe you can't, you're probably right."
-Henry Ford


And (I like this one!)

"I had as many doubts as anyone else. Standing on the starting line, we're all cowards."
-Alberto Salazar, three-time winner of the NYC marathon

Dory Dory

I vote you go for the sub 4 too - it's in you, no doubt about that. And yes, there are no guarantees that sub 4 will happen in two weeks, but it certainly won't happen if you don't try. There's an added element of pressure when we proclaim our targets and desires for all to hear, not to mention the pressure we place on ourselves privately, so sometimes not reaching our goals can seem like a failure when really the only failure is in not trying. Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I've failed in front of everyone here at my two attempts at a marathon goal time...and the third attempt is on the books for April. It may never happen for me, but I can't take my eye off the ball just yet....and you shouldn't either!

I bought my own Race Ready shorts at last weekend's marathon expo and I wore them in the race. Love them!! Nerdy yes, but boy are your kids right, they do they carry a bunch of sh*t!!!! Glad your sis was able to tailor them for you.

racheljev

Again, thanks for the encouragement. Emer, I'm printing those quotes out and putting them on the wall

This morning's plan was 5-6 miles, easy. Out early in the lashing rain. And holy crap, it was lovely. Another super run, loved every minute of it. 5.4 miles in 51 mins. Took it easy for the first mile (9:56), then sped up ever so slightly (9:38, 9:37, 9:25). Last mile and a bit was mainly flat/downhill so went just under 9 min/mile pace - and I was completely soaked and freezing at this stage and just wanted a hot shower

35.7 miles for the week, fairly happy with that, probably could've been a bit more. Taper officially starts tomorrow, 2 weeks to go :eek:

Marthastew

Emer911 wrote: »

Isn't it great to know someone handy with a needle!

Great to hear the run went well. I know how you feel on the sub 4, but I'm still going to give it a lash. For the record, I do think you have it in you.



Something for us all to ponder as taper madness sets in:

"Whether you believe you can or believe you can't, you're probably right."
-Henry Ford


And (I like this one!)

"I had as many doubts as anyone else. Standing on the starting line, we're all cowards."
-Alberto Salazar, three-time winner of the NYC marathon

Since we're in the mood for inspirational quotes...

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
Mahatma Gandhi

Best of luck over the next two weeks of taper R, you most definitely have sub 4 in you

jcsmum

The last few runs sound good Rachel, really good especially the LSR. Sub 4 all the way!!!!!!

racheljev

Plan: 4 miles
Actual: 4.13 miles in 38:35

Taper started, yahoo, here comes the madness! Don't actually feel I deserve a taper because I decided to do the marathon so late and only started a program 7 weeks ago :rolleyes: Ah well, I deserve the madness anyway

A grand run, just over 4 straight forward miles. I couldn't get a signal on the garmin so I turned on the stopwatch on my phone and decided to run for around 40 minutes. I ran a route that I knew was close enough to 4 miles - mapmyrun'd it when I got home, 4.13 miles, grand. Ran up a road I normally run down to get a decent (for me) uphill drag done, just under a mile. Ran at what felt like a comfortable pace: not too fast, not too slow, just right. All in all, a bit of a meh run but hey, they all count. 13 days to go....

racheljev

Plan: 6 miles
Actual: 6.3 miles in 58:35

Nothing to report on this one. Good long uphill drag again - just over a mile. Pace fairly steady at 9:15ish after warmup mile. Small skidoo on a few wet leaves, just an over stretch though - didn't actually hit the ground. Thought thigh might be a bit sore but seems ok now - ice and stick later. More miles done, the big day gets ever closer....

In other news I've finally womaned up and put my name in the DCM thread for a 3:59:59. Crap, have to go for it now :rolleyes:

jcsmum

racheljev wrote: »

Plan: 6 miles
Actual: 6.3 miles in 58:35

Nothing to report on this one. Good long uphill drag again - just over a mile. Pace fairly steady at 9:15ish after warmup mile. More miles done, the big day gets ever closer....

In other news I've finally HTFU'd and put my name in the DCM thread for a 3:59:59. Crap, have to go for it now :rolleyes:

There is nothing as annoying as pressure from other boardsies! :rolleyes::)

Emer911

racheljev wrote: »

Plan: 6 miles
Actual: 6.3 miles in 58:35

Nothing to report on this one. Good long uphill drag again - just over a mile. Pace fairly steady at 9:15ish after warmup mile. Small skidoo on a few wet leaves, just an over stretch though - didn't actually hit the ground. Thought thigh might be a bit sore but seems ok now - ice and stick later. More miles done, the big day gets ever closer....

In other news I've finally womaned up and put my name in the DCM thread for a 3:59:59. Crap, have to go for it now :rolleyes:

Ooooh! The pressure!

racheljev

18 September:
Plan: 4 miles
Actual: 4 miles
That is all.

20 September
Plan: 10-12 miles
Actual: 10 miles in 1:33:23
Yeurgh that was rough. Up quite a bit last night with Middle Child as she was throwing up from 11 till 2 a.m. - fun. Got up to do my miles and felt slightly knackered. Decided that 12 wouldn't be a good idea and aimed for 10. Started off grand, first couple of miles ok. Wanted to try a couple of slightly faster but not-quite-pmp miles so 4,5 & 6 were 9:09, 9:09 & 9:04 - pmp should be 9:00ish. Mile 7 was uphill and was ok but just around end of mile 8/start of mile 9 I got a really bad stitch. I slowed down, dug the fingers in and tried to breath but it was very sore. Pace slowed right down and stayed down. Stitch was very sore and meant the last 2 miles home were an absolute plod. Was just so glad to get in the door. Stupid running :mad:

Feeling proper crap now: tired, worn out, a bit weepy - oh yes, taper madness is alive and well and living at number 44.... REALLY hope I don't get what she's got. But let's face it - if one has it, the odds are at least one of the others will get it. Which means more puke clean up. Which means it'll probably hit me... oh, maybe next Friday/Saturday? Maybe I should check into a hotel for the week...

Emer911

racheljev wrote: »

18 September:
Plan: 4 miles
Actual: 4 miles
That is all.

20 September
Plan: 10-12 miles
Actual: 10 miles in 1:33:23

Umm, Hate to point this out to you in your delicate state, but it's October! If it was September 20th I'd have to do a 20ish mile LSR and I'm pretty sure it's only 10 or so this weekend...


Hope the bug doesn't hit. Get some of that antibac hand gel and keep it in your phóca for the week

racheljev

Emer911 wrote: »

Umm, Hate to point this out to you in your delicate state, but it's October! If it was September 20th I'd have to do a 20ish mile LSR and I'm pretty sure it's only 10 or so this weekend...

I've been looking at your post for the last 2 minutes, saying to myself WHAT is the point she's making?:o Took me ages to realise ah, it's October.... Honestly, my head is seriously melted...

Emer911

racheljev wrote: »

I've been looking at your post for the last 2 minutes, saying to myself WHAT is the point she's making?:o Took me ages to realise ah, it's October.... Honestly, my head is seriously melted...

LOL! Seriously melted is right. :D

Now go to bed, get some rest and get the melting under control

racheljev

Plan: 4-5 miles
Actual: 5.1 miles in 48:30

Much better run than yesterday. Took it very handy for the first two miles and only barely increased the pace for the rest. Yesterday's stitch made a brief reappearance around mile 3 so I slowed down and breathed deeply until it passed. Felt much happier when I hit home so that's positive.

Had to drive OH over to work for an hour this afternoon and spotted some DCM course signs - felt a bit aquiver at the thought of it. 8 days and counting...

racheljev

Tuesday:
Had to get up early because middle child still sick. 3 miles in 29 mins, nothing too report.

Wednesday:
Went out without the garmin for this, just wanted to run to get rid of some of my temper :mad: baaaad morning in the Jev house. Anyway, set the stop watch on my phone and ran for 30 mins (30:20 to be precise). Mapmyrun'd it when I got home and it was a tip over 3.5 miles so avg pace of 8:37 for the distance. Felt a bit better when I got home but the temper is building up again - stand well back, it's not going to be pretty :mad:

On a more sane note, massage booked for tomorrow. Calves a bit tight, have been neglecting the stick. 5 days...

Younganne

Rach, the massage will do you good...ah no its a sports massage is it? :eek::eek:, not a full body massage with calming music etc:rolleyes: (i'm such a bad bi*ch!!!):D:D

Hope the calves are good again after the rubdone...How are you feeling for Monday???

Will I get to meet you in McGrattans after???

racheljev

Younganne wrote: »

Rach, the massage will do you good...ah no its a sports massage is it? :eek::eek:, not a full body massage with calming music etc:rolleyes: (i'm such a bad bi*ch!!!):D:D

Hope the calves are good again after the rubdone...How are you feeling for Monday???

Will I get to meet you in McGrattans after???

Stupid sports massage...:rolleyes:
Thanks Anne, feeling ok for Monday, still "la la la"ing when the thought of 26.2 times 9 minute miles enters my head How are you doing? And no, unfortunately I probably won't get into McGrattans afterwards. As far as I know, OH and the kids are going to be around the course in a few spots, and then they'll be at the finish as well - just wouldn't be polite to tell them to fe*k off home while I get plastered (although my tolerance is so low, 2 drinks would do it and that wouldn't take long at all )

Younganne

racheljev wrote: »

Stupid sports massage...:rolleyes:
Thanks Anne, feeling ok for Monday, still "la la la"ing when the thought of 26.2 times 9 minute miles enters my head How are you doing? And no, unfortunately I probably won't get into McGrattans afterwards. As far as I know, OH and the kids are going to be around the course in a few spots, and then they'll be at the finish as well - just wouldn't be polite to tell them to fe*k off home while I get plastered (although my tolerance is so low, 2 drinks would do it and that wouldn't take long at all )

My other half and 3 kids will be coming to the pub too, we could sit them in a corner together;) (3, 7 & 9yrs, hubby has no interest in running so is afraid thats all anyone will be talking about:rolleyes: as if!!!!)...then hopefully my sister will be taking them away home to Mams and we're staying for the night..ha ha

i'm excited, terrified, nervous, bricking it, looking forward to it to see if i can really run 26.5m @ 9min, hoping it nevers comes, wishing it was NOW...etc ...you know thoses feelings!!!!:D

rainbow kirby

Younganne wrote: »

i'm excited, terrified, nervous, bricking it, looking forward to it to see if i can really run 26.5m @ 9min, hoping it nevers comes, wishing it was NOW...etc ...you know thoses feelings!!!!:D

No problem to you and Rachel

Emer911

racheljev wrote: »

... still "la la la"ing when the thought of 26.2 times 9 minute miles enters my head...

Younganne wrote: »

i'm excited, terrified, nervous, bricking it, looking forward to it to see if i can really run 26.5m @ 9min, hoping it nevers comes, wishing it was NOW...etc ...you know thoses feelings!!!!:D

I know exactly how you both feel!
I guess all will be revealed on Monday :eek: