Marathon Improvers Thread.

Pink11

The Davestator wrote: »

Good to hear. Defo has helped me.

I was impressed with their customer service. When I ordered, I got a hand written note wishing me luck with my training for Edinburgh marathon (they ask when you order)

Few days before, I got an email wishing me well and giving me the forecast for the day!

When I tried to order straight from them I was being charged almost 50 for postage. I must have done something wrong? Anyway went with amazon - price was excellent on there.

ewc78

Pink11 wrote: »

When I tried to order straight from them I was being charged almost 50 for postage. I must have done something wrong? Anyway went with amazon - price was excellent on there.

Have you a link to the store you bought from on Amazon?

conti

I was going to go the Amazon route but after shopping around a Google search brought up an Irish company, Kayathlon.ie. They let you save on postage if you pick it up yourself. Can't remember all of the pickup locations except that one of them was Lucan. I opted to have it posted because I didn't have any spare time. The 30 serving bag was €20, delivery was €7. They have the 50 serving bags for €30 so there's a big saving there if you can collect.

ewc78

conti wrote: »

I was going to go the Amazon route but after shopping around a Google search brought up an Irish company, Kayathon.ie. They let you save on postage if you pick it up yourself. Can't remember the all of the pickup locations except that one of them was Lucan. I opted to have it posted because I didn't have any spare time. The 30 serving bag was €20, delivery was €7. They have the 50 serving bags for €30 so there's a big saving there if you can collect.

Excellent. I live in Lucan so that would be handy!

Pink11

ewc78 wrote: »

Have you a link to the store you bought from on Amazon?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01BFM76X0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01BFPSFF0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

(Have a look though the listings though as they have other flavours too).

I'm able to have it delivered to Belfast so I only paid 2.95pounds postage. Was only about 4/5 more to post to ROI though.

Ordered it yesterday morning and it's marked as shipped already and due to arrive Thursday.

I was going to go the Amazon route but after shopping around a Google search brought up an Irish company, Kayathon.ie. They let you save on postage if you pick it up yourself. Can't remember all of the pickup locations except that one of them was Lucan. I opted to have it posted because I didn't have any spare time. The 30 serving bag was €20, delivery was €7. They have the 50 serving bags for €30 so there's a big saving there if you can collect.

Found them too but unfortunately they didn't have the sticks (I don't know how else I'd be able to mix up more pwder/water once my initial batch is drank on long run/day of marathon). I plan on switching to sticks once the drink is gone.

Huzzah!

Pink11 wrote: »

When I tried to order straight from them I was being charged almost 50 for postage. I must have done something wrong? Anyway went with amazon - price was excellent on there.

Did you try the Tailwind.co.uk store? It's only GBP£5 for postage.

The Davestator

Pink11 wrote: »

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01BFM76X0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01BFPSFF0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

(Have a look though the listings though as they have other flavours too).

I'm able to have it delivered to Belfast so I only paid 2.95pounds postage. Was only about 4/5 more to post to ROI though.

Ordered it yesterday morning and it's marked as shipped already and due to arrive Thursday.



Found them too but unfortunately they didn't have the sticks (I don't know how else I'd be able to mix up more pwder/water once my initial batch is drank on long run/day of marathon). I plan on switching to sticks once the drink is gone.

What they call sticks are actually just a small sachet of powder. Wouldnt be useable in a race, but ok for a long run when you dont mind stopping to fill up a water bottle and pour powder in

Pink11

The Davestator wrote: »

What they call sticks are actually just a small sachet of powder. Wouldnt be useable in a race, but ok for a long run when you dont mind stopping to fill up a water bottle and pour powder in

Yeah I thought that would be easier to manage so I wouldn't run out. Otherwise I'll only have tailwind fueling me for the first 7-10 miles (whenever it runs out). Do you have tips on how to carry the powder from the pouch neatly? I use a flipbelt, do you fit it in there in a small sealed bag or something?

I'll have to stop to re-fill my running bottle at some stage so don't mind opening the stick and making the drink.

Will do it in training between now and DCM and hoping I'll have it down to a fine (and quick!) art.

(I had a £5 voucher for amazon. Next time I'll try ordering from tailwind.co.uk).

conti

For my last significant drink about an hour and a half from the start I had about a 500ml glass of water with a full scoop mixed in.

For the race I carried 4 small tablet bottles which held just under half of the provided scoop (so 12/13g). I could have used maybe 2 or 3 more. They're very small and unnoticeable in my Flip belt.

The water bottles at the race were 250ml which is standard for most marathons, I would drink about a third then empty one of the bottles of powder into the water and replaced the lid. I found it easy enough to do while running but might be worth trying it on a training run.

I also read somewhere online that those yellow capsules you get in Kinder surprises would do the job. I think a bag would be too messy, especially if you're sweating a lot or it's raining.

Pink11

conti wrote: »

For my last significant drink about an hour and a half from the start I had about a 500ml glass of water with a full scoop mixed in.

For the race I carried 4 small tablet bottles which held just under half of the provided scoop (so 12/13g). I could have used maybe 2 or 3 more. They're very small and unnoticeable in my Flip belt.

The water bottles at the race were 250ml which is standard for most marathons, I would drink about a third then empty one of the bottles of powder into the water and replaced the lid. I found it easy enough to do while running but might be worth trying it on a training run.

I also read somewhere online that those yellow capsules you get in Kinder surprises would do the job. I think a bag would be too messy, especially if you're sweating a lot or it's raining.

Nice one thanks for the tips. Will try it out in training and see what works best.

Unthought Known

Just thought I'd offer my thoughts as I used Tailwind for my last 2 marathons.
After testing a few options including carrying measures in small plastic bags I ended up using straws, specifically 2 straws taped together. Two wide straws (I got them from Tiger) hold about 1 scoop which is about right for a 250ml bottle. Fold over the tops and tape with electrical tape, but fold the tape over on itself so you can unwrap it easily. I carried mine in a flipbelt, 7 servings as far as I remember.



My RACE REPORT for the 3/4 marathon last year might help as it was my first dress rehearsal with tailwind.
Whatever you decide, make sure you practice, sometimes at race pace, on your runs. It's not something you want to panic about on the day.

Pink11

Unthought Known wrote: »

Just thought I'd offer my thoughts as I used Tailwind for my last 2 marathons.
After testing a few options including carrying measures in small plastic bags I ended up using straws, specifically 2 straws taped together. Two wide straws (I got them from Tiger) hold about 1 scoop which is about right for a 250ml bottle. Fold over the tops and tape with electrical tape, but fold the tape over on itself so you can unwrap it easily. I carried mine in a flipbelt, 7 servings as far as I remember.



My RACE REPORT for the 3/4 marathon last year might help as it was my first dress rehearsal with tailwind.
Whatever you decide, make sure you practice, sometimes at race pace, on your runs. It's not something you want to panic about on the day.

Sound for that! Going to try the straw thing. Did you find it slowed you down much to make it up or did you keep moving?

Your pacing at the 3/4 last year would be a dream for me. Can only imagine the looks you get when you whip out the straws! Doing the 3/4 this year myself on Oct 7th. Are you?

Did you find tailwind made an improvement to your performance overall? Are you still using it?

I've been running on empty to date (water only) and I'm struggling once I hit 13-15 miles - really dying for my order to arrive so I can start using it this weekend. Have high hopes for it!

Unthought Known

Pink11 wrote: »

Sound for that! Going to try the straw thing. Did you find it slowed you down much to make it up or did you keep moving?

Your pacing at the 3/4 last year would be a dream for me. Can only imagine the looks you get when you whip out the straws! Doing the 3/4 this year myself on Oct 7th. Are you?

Did you find tailwind made an improvement to your performance overall? Are you still using it?

I've been running on empty to date (water only) and I'm struggling once I hit 13-15 miles - really dying for my order to arrive so I can start using it this weekend. Have high hopes for it!

If I slowed down it was minimal. The 2 straws fit inside the rim of the bottle so you don't really need to watch as you pour. Just make sure you don't pack the straws tight with tailwind, leave a little room and it pours easily.
I think you'll notice a difference if you follow their recommendations. Sip little and often. On race days I sipped from each bottle for about 2 miles rather than down the whole thing.
Although I found it worked really well I'm trying gels again for DCM. DCM last year was perfect, but in Manchester I got a bit frustrated having to mix them in the last 10 miles.
I am doing the 3/4 again this year. I'll keep an eye out for anyone with straws! Good luck with it anyway and let us know how you get on.

Huzzah!

Unthought Known wrote: »

If I slowed down it was minimal. The 2 straws fit inside the rim of the bottle so you don't really need to watch as you pour. Just make sure you don't pack the straws tight with tailwind, leave a little room and it pours easily.
I think you'll notice a difference if you follow their recommendations. Sip little and often. On race days I sipped from each bottle for about 2 miles rather than down the whole thing.
Although I found it worked really well I'm trying gels again for DCM. DCM last year was perfect, but in Manchester I got a bit frustrated having to mix them in the last 10 miles.
I am doing the 3/4 again this year. I'll keep an eye out for anyone with straws! Good luck with it anyway and let us know how you get on.

Did you use caffeinated or uncaffeinated? I was thinking of using Clif shots for the first half of the marathon and then switching to a premixed tailwind for the second half. Not sure if that's just complicating things unnecessarily, though.

Even if mixing on the run wasn't an issue, I think drinking the amount of water they recommend would be a struggle for me.

boydkev

I am looking for suggestions, For my last few marathons i have placed 2 gels in my shorts pocket and carried 1 in each hand as i usually only consume 4 during the races. I am toying with the idea of wearing a gel belt to get the ones out of my hands.
I have looked at some in shops and online but cant decide, or would people suggest the flip belt classic. Looking for something simple and not intrusive.

Kellygirl

boydkev wrote: »

I am looking for suggestions, For my last few marathons i have placed 2 gels in my shorts pocket and carried 1 in each hand as i usually only consume 4 during the races. I am toying with the idea of wearing a gel belt to get the ones out of my hands.
I have looked at some in shops and online but cant decide, or would people suggest the flip belt classic. Looking for something simple and not intrusive.

I find the flipbelt the least intrusive as it doesn’t budge. Before that I had the High 5 belt and it was really simple and just carried the gels in kind of loops. I use Isogels and I found they flapped a bit which was slightly annoying.

ewc78

Flip belt is great. I also bought the curved flipbelt water bottle and it doesn't bounce around at all when running.

Unthought Known

Huzzah! wrote: »

Did you use caffeinated or uncaffeinated? I was thinking of using Clif shots for the first half of the marathon and then switching to a premixed tailwind for the second half. Not sure if that's just complicating things unnecessarily, though.

Even if mixing on the run wasn't an issue, I think drinking the amount of water they recommend would be a struggle for me.

I took 2 caffeine servings with me, but can't remember when I took them to be honest. You're right about the amount of water. In Manchester I ended up squirting about a 3rd of the bottle away and them mixing as I felt I was drinking too much.

Unthought Known

ewc78 wrote: »

Flip belt is great. I also bought the curved flipbelt water bottle and it doesn't bounce around at all when running.

Flipbelt is great, but I also have a cheap no-brand version from Amazon which cost about a fiver and does exactly the same job.

Classic21

boydkev wrote: »

I am looking for suggestions, For my last few marathons i have placed 2 gels in my shorts pocket and carried 1 in each hand as i usually only consume 4 during the races. I am toying with the idea of wearing a gel belt to get the ones out of my hands.
I have looked at some in shops and online but cant decide, or would people suggest the flip belt classic. Looking for something simple and not intrusive.

I have taped a couple of them to my wrists using kinesio tape and I have also used an iPhone holder on my arm to carry a couple more. There was also room to carry a couple of zero tables.
I hate having gels in pockets or on a belt

Slow_Runner

Unthought Known wrote: »

ewc78 wrote: »

Flip belt is great. I also bought the curved flipbelt water bottle and it doesn't bounce around at all when running.

Flipbelt is great, but I also have a cheap no-brand version from Amazon which cost about a fiver and does exactly the same job.

+1 on the flip belt, use mine all the time, carries phone, gels, keys and you don't even notice you're carrying it

Singer

Slow_Runner wrote: »

+1 on the flip belt, use mine all the time, carries phone, gels, keys and you don't even notice you're carrying it

Flipbelts are great, I ran my first marathon with one on and have done plenty of long runs with 'em. However last year I adopted the strategy of using a discardable belt during the marathon (i.e. not an expensive Flip Belt) to hold some gels and chews, and threw it away when approaching Mount Roebuck. No need to be eating much in the last 30 minutes anyway, it's not going to help, and throwing the bloody thing away felt pretty good at the time!

boydkev

Thanks for peoples opinions on the flip belts, Still considering using a belt or just continue running with 2 in the pocket and one in each hand.

Another question?, I have 2 races coming up 10 miler this saturday and a HM Charlevile, Looking at my plan for DCM they dont seem to fit in very well unless i swap this saturday and sunday with the following week. I am doing the P&D 55, 18 week plan.
How have others moved the plans around to suit fitting in local races?

adrian522

Are there not races already on that plan? so 10 Mile on Saturday, long run on Sunday is usually how it works.

I don't think there is any HM race on that plan so you will probably have to do the HM instead of a long run. If you are concerned about missing a few miles (even though you shouldn't be) you could do a 2 mile warmup and 2 mile cool down bringing you to 17 miles for the day.

boydkev

adrian522 wrote: »

Are there not races already on that plan? so 10 Mile on Saturday, long run on Sunday is usually how it works.

I don't think there is any HM race on that plan so you will probably have to do the HM instead of a long run. If you are concerned about missing a few miles (even though you shouldn't be) you could do a 2 mile warmup and 2 mile cool down bringing you to 17 miles for the day.

Yes there are races on the plan but i have a race this saturday and But the plan has the race for the week after, Just wondering how a rework the plan to suit?
Getting the miles done is not a problem, This what i did for charleville last year.

Pink11

Tailwind trial update:

So I'm trying to figure out whats best for me to do for DCM. (gels & energy drinks leave me feeling really ill and ruins my running).

Had 3 long runs using Tailwind. Overall: absolutely delighted with it, it gave me a big boost which was badly needed, especially in the heat. Thanks all for the recommendation.

Did 20 miles on Saturday which was the main test. I decided to drink 1 scoop with water before I went out of tropical buzz caffeinated.

I pre-made 2 scoops in my 500ml running bottle. And I threw a stick of raspberry caffeinated into my belt and off I went.

Felt like dynamite despite going out quite late on Saturday and running in the heat (I cannot cope in the heat!). My pre made bottle ran out at about mile 10.5 so I went to a garage to buy water & use the raspberry stick to keep me going for the last 9.5 miles. (I've nowhere to leave bottles out so can't properly rehearse for the big day). DISASTER. It was really badly designed, it was a big struggle to open (bear in mind I was stopped dead) I was lucky it didn't spill the contents everywhere. Sticks are pointless (I had been warned about this!). Trying to pour it into the bottle was a nightmare, I say I lost about 1/4 of the pack to overflow. Was very disappointed as the product works great for me. Stomach felt fine, didn't feel ill all day (usually have bad headaches and nausea for hours after a long run). So it really made my 20 miler enjoyable (!) and doable.

I just need to figure out a better way to keep myself fueled for the whole 26.2. I am considering buying this: https://www.google.ie/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiJjbnW4J7dAhXIzaQKHQVUAjkQjxx6BAgBEAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fflipbelt.com%2Fclassic-hydration-belt&psig=AOvVaw1wp6q2U8G1LcmJkvBduqs-&ust=1536061354353375


But not happy about having that carrying all that around my waist for DCM.

I tried your straw idea the week before and unfortunately I couldn't get it to work. One burst(!) and another one I couldn't get it open easily and it just wasn't feasible to do mid race. Ended up stopping dead for a few mins to sort.


Flavours:
Unflavoured/not caffeinated, taste is only ok. (bought this for 6 - 12 mile training runs). (bag).
Tropical buzz caffeinated - my favorite. LOVELY taste. (bag)
Raspberry caffeinated - bit too sweet for me but still nice. (sticks).

kilns

Long time lurker on these forums for Marathon training, Dublin came too soon for me and currently training for Valencia 
This is an interesting article, which totally make me re-assess my project time

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2018/feb/15/an-updated-formula-for-marathon-running-success

skyblue46

kilns wrote: »

Long time lurker on these forums for Marathon training, Dublin came too soon for me and currently training for Valencia 
This is an interesting article, which totally make me re-assess my project time

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2018/feb/15/an-updated-formula-for-marathon-running-success

That's a very interesting piece. I hope a few of the novice group take heed of the much better results of those who train at paces well slower than MP :pac:

Itziger

kilns wrote: »

Long time lurker on these forums for Marathon training, Dublin came too soon for me and currently training for Valencia 
This is an interesting article, which totally make me re-assess my project time

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2018/feb/15/an-updated-formula-for-marathon-running-success

Hmmm, I think that goes a little too conservative even for my liking. As I've posted in other threads, I had a few 1.22.xx Half marathons before I got the 2.59. I feel I'm just more suited to the Half but there are loads on here who've gone sub 3 without hitting 1.22 as this bloke suggests.
Don't get me wrong, he's not a million miles off.

Murph_D

skyblue46 wrote: »

That's a very interesting piece. I hope a few of the novice group take heed of the much better results of those who train at paces well slower than MP :pac:

I agree. It gave me a marathon time (3:32) 10 mins slower than I actually ran, only 5 or 6 weeks after the ‘predictor’ HM (1:34).

Might be more accurate for first timers however.