Remember the Red Lion

dermCu

Mon 28th March 6 @ 7:27 Not feeling bad at all. Opened my eyes on Monday morning and I was waiting for the soreness to kick in after the 15 at MP on Sunday but it didn't. 7:27 m/m was too fast but I really felt like I was crawling. Its just one of those oddities of marathon running I guess. Maybe it'll come back to haunt me later in the week.

Tue 29th March 10 @ 6:57 The original plan was to double up today but I hit the snooze button and woke up an hour and a half later giving me 30mins to make it to a meeting! So I settled for 10 in the evening.

Wed 30th March 16 - Don't know overall pace. One big midweek effort left, I thought it was worthy of something substantial.
3 w/u @ 7:10
4 miles @ T pace 5:51
4 mins rec
3 miles @ T pace 5:56
3 mins rec
2 miles @ T pace 5:59
2 min rec
1 mile @ T pace 5:58
1.6 c/d @ 7:23

About this time last year I did a 5,4,3,2,1 at M pace and that was hard enough, this was way worse. I shudder at the thought of 5,4,3,2,1 at T pace. I made one fundamental mistake. I should have went easier on the first rep. I underestimated that extra mile from 3 to 4 and how much it will take out of you. Its funny, when you are thinking about it beforehand you cant help but think that once you make to the 2 mile rep you'll be fine and then you'll hammer out the last single mile rep. Like hell, I was just hanging on, waiting for it to be over. Glad its done but really tired this morning.

heffsarmy wrote: »

Can I hold 6:13s for a full marathon?

That's pants your in full training and your doing 21 in 6.29pace. With a taper 6 min/mile will be your pace, you will fly on the day. Good taper makes the difference.

Thanks for the vote of confidence Heff but going out at 6 m/m pace would be a suicide mission for me. I'd die a spectacular death. Like Abhainn, I wish I had your ability. Yeah, people can run great times if they train hard for years but natural talent gives a great big headstart. You've knocked out a 2:35 marathon in 3 years, enough said.

Abhainn wrote: »

Heff I wish we had your talent:)


Derm, great session. You should take great confidence from this. All in the head man. Last year is forgotton

I'll see you in the fast starting pen. I'm 31667

Cheers Abhainn, last year is dead and buried as far as I am concerned. I'm 33158. I'll probably be wearing a black North Face fleece in the warm-up area.

asimonov

i have to laugh at the three of you all wishing you had talent!

Great stuff dermot. you're flying. On the day even if it's not 6:00 min miles it will be faster than 6:13's.

dermCu

Thur 31st March:
6 @ 7:25 My excuse for running my recovery too fast today was that I wanted to get out of the wind, no point lingering about in that. Poor excuse, I know.

Fri 1st April:
AM 10 @ 6:57 Pretty knackered. It felt like the last few hard weeks had been catching up with me.
Lunchtime 6 @ 6:51 I made a bit of a Lazarus like recovery for my lunchtime run. It felt like I had a new pair of legs. Considering the first mile was uphill @ 7:30 m/m I was moving well after that.

Sat 2nd April:
7.2 @ 7:16 Back in Ireland for the weekend. As usual its great to head out into the back roads where you might not see anyone for miles and when you do they have a great big wave whether they know you or not. You don't get that so much in London!

Sun: 3rd April:
19.2 @ 6:53 Last long run. Even If I wasn't starting into the taper I would have had a step back long run for this one. Those LFRs beat you down eventually. This long run is probably the one I like least in the whole build up. Its a nothing run; too close to the race to do anything hard, too far out to slash the miles down completely. Invariably I just end up plodding through it wishing the miles away. A nasty little wind didn't help either. In any case thats it done, time to start the taper.

asimonov wrote: »

i have to laugh at the three of you all wishing you had talent!

Great stuff dermot. you're flying. On the day even if it's not 6:00 min miles it will be faster than 6:13's.

Cheers Asimonov, I'd say I'm more or less at the same level I was before Florence. Maybe my tempo runs have been slightly better this time. Ha ha, your right about the talent talk in this thread. Just give me five more minutes worth of talent, I swear I'd stop whinging about lack of talent then!!!

dermCu

Mon 4th April: 6 @ 7:25 Bit of a plod.

Tue 5th April: 8.7 @ 6:50 Slow at the start, fast in the middle and slow at the end. Taper madness starting to make an appearance.

Wed 6th April: 8.8 @ 6:50 I had planned to do 6 x 1 mile with 2 min rec to get the legs turning over a bit faster but it didnt really work out. I only did 3 before I pulled the plug.
3.15 wu @ 7:04
5:40, 5:40, 5:50
about 1.5 trot home

Didn't feel very fresh on the first one but I thought I'd come around. Second one is no better, in fact its much worse. Heavy legs and I'm blowing a fair bit. Halfway through 3 and I'm really uncomfortable. I could get through this but it would leave me a bit shattered. That's really not the intention for this run. With about 400m to go I just sit up, relax and cruise to the end of the rep. There really is no point killing myself here, this is not a hero workout. Usually bailing out like that would really piss me off but not in this case, I don't mind at all. I'm actually looking at it with a positive spin - I've done some really good workouts over the last 4 weeks and this time around I really need the taper. Its a good sign that I've squeezed as much out of that training block as I could. Right now I need some comfortable running more than I need to sharpen up. I can always run a couple of MP miles in few days as I start to feel a bit more lively.

Abhainn

Dermot I don't follow the intention around the 6 x 1 mile rep today only 11 days before the race. Where / what plan calls that up?
I think it was good that you didn't complete it.

dermCu

Abhainn wrote: »

Dermot I don't follow the intention around the 6 x 1 mile rep today only 11 days before the race. Where / what plan calls that up?
I think it was good that you didn't complete it.

Very simple reasoning on my behalf - as the volume decreases I'll try to increase intensity (in small bursts). The 2 mins recovery is a long time and as i mentioned above the intention is never to push it. I've done that session at the same point before previous marathons and I've never had any problems recovering from it. If I don't include some type of workout semi-frequently I find that I can get very stale very quickly. I also found that if you get through these cruise intervals at the correct pace it gives you a good mental boost as it makes everything else feel slow for the next few days.

Its not from any plan, just my usual make it up as you go along strategy. But if you look at Daniels he has 3 x 2 @ T pace in the same place off 2min. I'd put that close to the 6 x 1 What seems totally out of place to me is that 5 days out he has 4 x 1200 @ T off 2mins. Whatever about 11 days out I cant see the point of that 5 days out unless you've got energy to burn.
To be honest I always thought it was common enough for some of the fast guys to race a sub optimal 10k 10 - 14 days out from a marathon? Maybe Im wrong on that.

Abhainn

dermCu wrote: »

Very simple reasoning on my behalf - as the volume decreases I'll try to increase intensity (in small bursts). The 2 mins recovery is a long time and as i mentioned above the intention is never to push it. I've done that session at the same point before previous marathons and I've never had any problems recovering from it. If I don't include some type of workout semi-frequently I find that I can get very stale very quickly. I also found that if you get through these cruise intervals at the correct pace it gives you a good mental boost as it makes everything else feel slow for the next few days.

Its not from any plan, just my usual make it up as you go along strategy. But if you look at Daniels he has 3 x 2 @ T pace in the same place off 2min. I'd put that close to the 6 x 1 What seems totally out of place to me is that 5 days out he has 4 x 1200 @ T off 2mins. Whatever about 11 days out I cant see the point of that 5 days out unless you've got energy to burn.
To be honest I always thought it was common enough for some of the fast guys to race a sub optimal 10k 10 - 14 days out from a marathon? Maybe Im wrong on that.

I must study Daniels at some point and see what I make of it.
But then there is no plan that suits everyone , we have all different approaches when it comes marathon plans and tapers.
You mentioned the 6 x 1 cruise intervals, that makes sense now and I can see the reasoning behind the 10k 14 days out especially for the guys that have ample opportunity for recovery and rest.

Good luck for the last week

dermCu

Thur 7th April: 10 @ 6:54 Started out feeling ok but got more tired as I went along so I slowed down accordingly as I went.

Fri 8th April: 4.1 @ 7:36 I gave myself the option of taking the day off or else a very easy run under 5 mile. With the nice weather it was hard to resist heading out into the sun for a bit.

Sat 9th April: 9 @ 6:47 This was the first run of the taper where I started to feel that my legs were coming back to me just a little bit. It was hot out there as it has been in London for the last 3 or 4 days.

Sun 10th April: 13.1 @ 7:03 with 1 @ 6:12 The pace felt ridiculously easy for the first few miles but when I switched to MP I had to work for it. I'm giving up judging how MP feels during a taper. There are too many variables going during a taper to read anything into it. It's just about keeping a lid on things now for the rest of the week and staying out of trouble.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

If the weather stays the same it should be fun on race day:rolleyes:

Speedy44

Best of luck in London Derm,enjoy the pints :-)

brownian

Best of luck dermot. You've got savage trainIng in.... A cracking time anticipated. /cc

theboyblunder

best of luck dermot, hope you get your just rewards for some great training

seanynova

good luck in london...

TheRoadRunner

Good luck and enjoy it

dermCu

Mon 11th April: 0 I had not taken a day off for over a month so I'll admit that there was a part of me that didn't want to give up my streak. Still, it was the right thing to do. I decided to take it early in the week because I knew I might be a bit sluggish the day after.

Tue 12th April: 6 @ 6:55 Started off very slow for the first mile or two. I was feeling pretty sluggish as anticipated but as the run went on I felt better and better and hit a 6:12 for the last mile.

Wed 13th April 8.7 @ 6:51 First 2 miles nice and easy and then 2 miles at M pace. The first one was a bit fast so I payed attention on the second and concentrated on setting a more realistic pace. Threw on the brakes once the faster miles were done.

Thanks for the good wishes guys. It all starts getting a bit real when you see them poping up. I think I'll go to the expo tomorrow after work and get that over and done with.

Krusty_Clown

Go do it Dermot! Fetch yourself a time that you can boast to the grandkids about.

heffsarmy

Good luck Dermo, yourself and Abhainn will be dancing around the Red Lion.

misty floyd

Have a brilliant run Derm. Enjoy!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Give it socks Derm, see you in the pub after.

Brianderunner

Whats your race number, what top are you running in? I'll give you a shout if i see you. Best of luck and I should see you in the pub after.

dermCu

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Go do it Dermot! Fetch yourself a time that you can boast to the grandkids about.

I'm going to have the ears worn off those poor grandkids...

Brianderunner wrote: »

Whats your race number, what top are you running in? I'll give you a shout if i see you. Best of luck and I should see you in the pub after.

Hi Brian, I'm 33158. I'll be wearing a navy singlet with white at the side. I'll probably be wearing my bright green runners. See you at the end.

pgmcpq

Good luck Sunday - enjoy the pint this time !

donothoponpop

Perfect drinking weather forecast for Sunday afternoon, good luck buying your first pint with a big smile.

dermCu

Thur 15th April 6 @ 7:09 Got this one out of the way at lunch time so that I could could head to the expo after work. Big old expo with all the usual suspects. The run went well, I was cruising, no great drama.

Fri 16th April 4 @ 7:20 Nice and easy. Threw in a few strides.

Sat 17th April 2 @ 7:46 Just a couple of easy miles to retain some sanity.

That's it more or less done. Maybe I didn't hit the speed-work or mileage I planned for this cycle but I'm happy enough that I'm in fairly good shape. A pb always has to be the target. I saw on runnersworld that there is a pacer for sub 2:45 I don't have any firm plans to run with them but its good to know that the option is there.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the good wishes. Looking forward to it now.

dermCu

2:44:12 by my watch. Delighted even though I blew up a bit in the last 1.5 miles.

dermCu

Sunday 17th April 26.26 @ 6:15 - 2:44:13 for 256th place

I still haven't run an optimal London Marathon but at last I can say I had a right good crack at it.
As usual I got a place on the bus that my local club organise. An hour on the bus and a five minute walk to the FGFA waiting area - it doesn't get easier than that. I got into the first pen early so I was right up at the front of the red start. I was only 3 or 4 rows from the line. At that point the temperature was perfect. There was a bit of cloud cover and to be honest I didn't think twice about the potential for it to get hot, I was just delighted that there was no wind. I took a gel 5 mins before the start. Jonathan Edwards hops up onto the start podium - bla bla bla bang and we are off. As usual the first two miles feel like nothing more than a jog. I really held back and let a good few people pass me. Even still I was doing 6:05s. Miles 3 and 4 were fast as I knew they would be - just under 6 m/m. I knew I was walking a tightrope with those kind of miles but screw it - I only had one thing on my mind and that was to attack.

When we merged with the other start I was stunned. There was a huge number of people on their side of the road. How could all of those people plus all the ones ahead all be well under sub 2:45 pace so early? There are a lot of people on blogs and forums saying that the red start got away 30 or 40 seconds after the blue start so I guess that's why. Around Cutty Sark was great. At mile 7 I picked up some gels from my wife and I was happy. Between 7 and Tower Bridge I really worked on moving at a comfortable pace. A couple of times I fell in behind guys who were moving at a nice steady pace. I refused to let myself pass them so I just let them work and followed along looking at their backs.

The bridge was great. There was so much noise. But it was also around the time that I started to feel it getting uncomfortably warm. I was through halfway in 1:20:23 and I knew deep down that I was in for a positive split but I honestly thought that I could keep it to a reasonable level. I never really like the Isle of Dogs so I just worked hard on getting past it as economically as I could. Some friends were out at 17 with more gels and a big cheer. That was a nice lift because it was really getting hot. I passed the point at 18 where I had to pull up last year. In my mind I gave it the two fingers - "your not going to get me this year buddy". Canary Wharf crowds were great but it was now roasting and I was beginning to think that it might be a problem.

I made it to 21 ok but then I started to slow just a bit. I was hurting and working hard but I was determined not to let it slip. With about 2.5 miles to go I was suffering and with 1 mile to go I was in a world of pain. I thought it would never end and it went out to a 7:07 mile. It felt like the longest mile I've ever ran. All thought of time went out the window. I was just focusing on moving forward. Loads of people passed me. I had been following the blue line religiously but on the last corner as I tried to follow it around I was wobbling all over the place. It must have been comedy gold. I was shattered afterwards. The worst I've ever been after a marathon. I've had some problems with my feet before so I used heavier trainers but this year I've been working on getting used to lighter ones on long runs and I was brave and wore my Sacouny Fastwich. They were fine during the race but when I took them off afterwards both feet exploded in pain and they are still sore. I think I'll even loose a nail or two!!

The purists out there might look at the positive split and the dodgy finish and shake their heads. I'm delighted, I went toe to toe with the beast and held nothing back. I got spanked a bit at the end but so what? I almost squeezed out the best time I could for my current level of fitness. Yeah I could have paced it a bit more evenly but where's the fun in that ;-) I'd do it all again if I was put back on the start line.

It was good to meet Abhainn afterwards. I was a happy man in the Red Lion.

Brian & Jackyback: Sorry to miss you guys but the battery on my phone died and Abhain had headed off by then so I couldn't contact you.

misty floyd

I love this:

The purists out there might look at the positive split and the dodgy finish and shake their heads. I'm delighted, I went toe to toe with the beast and held nothing back

Great stuff Derm. A cracking time and a cracking run. Enjoy the rest.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Great race Derm hope you enjoyed the well deserved pints.

pgmcpq

Congratulations - that's a fantastic result.

Seriously you think you didn't run an optimal race . You were planning on winning ? . Negative splits are a means to and end. You emptied the tank and got "the end" - literally. Course you can always to back next time in cooler conditions and shave that time .... but savor the beer for a while.

theboyblunder

great report and super time dermcu. You are supposed to be banjacksed at the end of the race - no point in feeling great in the pub. Congrats on a ballsy run and great time.