London Marathon 2009

[ewenm]

With the feasting of Christmas and New Year now a fading memory, who else has been ambushed by the rapid approach of the London Marathon?

I'm going to dinner at my coach's house tonight to discuss training and racing plans up to the end of April. Achieving the right balance of lots of steady miles, some fast work, avoiding illness and injury, staying motivated and building confidence is going to be tricky, especially as London will be my debut marathon so a certain degree of uncharted territory.

So, what are your buildup plans? What are your targets and how will you hit them (be they a new PB, going under a benchmark, just making it round)?

I'm doing various cross country races (league, Southern Champs and National Champs) but focusing on a couple of half-marathons (Granollers 1st Feb, Bath 15th March) as key races. Might try to find a low-key 20-miler to practise marathon pace work - 5:20 per mile is somewhat scary at the moment!

Hope everyone's training is going OK and the recent cold snap hasn't killed off too much motivation.

[Slagathore]

5:20 per mile That's some decent pace you got going there!!

I need to start running again!! I've stopped for a little while and it's really noticeable. I'll be aiming for a slightly slower pace to you, though

[MaxAndRuby]

My buildup plans are as follows:

Light cardio exercise (approx 1 hour a day), largely for weight loss.

As the day approaches heavier cardio exercise, until I'm in peak condition (hopefully two weeks prior to the race).

Then wind down over a week, doing less and less work.

Four days prior to the race start, stop completely.

Sleep, A LOT!

Day before the race eat lots of pasta.

Day of the race I'll be up early and have a good breakfast, plenty of sausage sandwiches, stop eating about an hour before the race starts.

As the race progresses start taking on a lot of fluid and see how I feel.

After about an hour I get bored, so I'll probably switch the telly off and walk the dog.
























Sorry :getscoat:

[The jiffle king]

I'm in, just looking to get round in sub 3:15 at the minute. Been doing 40 miles a week and feeling ok, but got a bit of a cold. Not racing this one though, just get round in 09 and race in 10.

T-J-K

[Dirty Boy]

Any advice for a newbie?

Just found out i've got a place (someone dropping out)

Bit overweight, used to be fairly fit (play five-a-side twice a week) so not completely alien to running around for an hour.

Should I start with a 30 min jog or something?

Help!!!

[ewenm]

I'd have a read of the Runners' World information as a good start.

Edited by ewenm on Monday 12th January 09:20

[anonymous-user]

there was a good running guide in yesterdays Observer newspaper whihc is well worth hunting down.

there are loads of marathon training programmes out there, most are about 18-24 week programmes.
as an example http://www.runnersworld.ltd.uk/firsttime.htm if you dont have the time to do the full programme, start with the marathon date and work backwards to today.

I am fairly new to distance running myself but find that so long as i do one longish run (8m+) per week and then supplement that with a furhter 20m through the week I am able to increase the length of the longest run of the week quite comfortably. Also, stretching is just as important as getting the miles in and a half hour session the day after the long run will really help.

and then all the usual stuff about quality running shoes, running shorts with liners, breathable tops etc and some reflective things, popular today are those snap-wraps things you can buy which wrap around wrists and ankles, some flash for added visability.

i tend not to use any "energy products" whilst training bar lucozade sport which i mix 50/50 with water but before my last race i had a GO bar which was a noticeable boost. a structure diet is also essential, lots of complex carbs, oats, nuts and wholemeal bread/pasta etc etc.

i use to play five a side too till my knee gave up, that short energy burst type of fitness is really not much help as i found, you just need to prime the body for endurance and stamina which you can only really do by getting the miles in.

finally, as tempting as it is to do it all on a treadmill, get outside as its much more enjoyable. dont be tempted to overdress, even last week in minus 3 i was out in just my helly hansen base layers, a pair of shorts and a short sleeve top and i was warm enough.

good luck, i have the bath half in march then i think i am planning some trail running stuff and some duathalons in 09.

[Dirty Boy]

Cheers guys

Much appreciated

I think i'll stick with my footy twice a week, I can't not do that (might aid my speed slightly?)

Back on the porridge it is then

I hate losing, that's my problem, I know that if i'd started training in October, I could have done a decent time for a non-athlete, so i'm going to be killing myself now to do the best I can.

Never mind, all good experience.

[anonymous-user]

Dirty Boy said:

Cheers guys

Much appreciated

I think i'll stick with my footy twice a week, I can't not do that (might aid my speed slightly?)

Back on the porridge it is then

I hate losing, that's my problem, I know that if i'd started training in October, I could have done a decent time for a non-athlete, so i'm going to be killing myself now to do the best I can.

Never mind, all good experience.

the only problem with five a side is that it builds up muscle strength as you need to sprint and then often get a short period of recovery. to comabt the competitive streak i would recommend you try for a sub four hour run which is nine minute miles and a good pace. also do at elast one event prior to the marathon so you can just go through the motions as it were, it might help settle the nerves on the day if you are a little more familiar with procedures. how about teh half marathon at silverstone on 15/3?

[Dirty Boy]

pablo said:

Dirty Boy said:

Cheers guys

Much appreciated

I think i'll stick with my footy twice a week, I can't not do that (might aid my speed slightly?)

Back on the porridge it is then

I hate losing, that's my problem, I know that if i'd started training in October, I could have done a decent time for a non-athlete, so i'm going to be killing myself now to do the best I can.

Never mind, all good experience.

the only problem with five a side is that it builds up muscle strength as you need to sprint and then often get a short period of recovery. to comabt the competitive streak i would recommend you try for a sub four hour run which is nine minute miles and a good pace. also do at elast one event prior to the marathon so you can just go through the motions as it were, it might help settle the nerves on the day if you are a little more familiar with procedures. how about teh half marathon at silverstone on 15/3?

Okay, I understand, I think I can alter how I play to help rather than hinder. It's actually six a side, so it'a good sized pitch. I can just continually close players down, rather than getting into space and sprinting after every ball.

I'll squeeze the Bungay Black Dog half marathon in I think. Probably best. Cheers for the help.

[Gargamel]

Yep I am running this one - my first London but my second marathon - need to get back in to proper training shaprish though - seem to have put back on about half a stone I lost last year


looking for a 4:00 marathon - planty of hard work to be done

[captainzep]

You're all nutters.

I'll stick with hitting a sub 50 min 10k this summer thanks.

Maybe half-mara late Autumn.


To re-iterate, -barkin'.

But best of luck too...

Edited by captainzep on Tuesday 13th January 11:41

[Dirty Boy]

Gargamel said:

Yep I am running this one - my first London but my second marathon - need to get back in to proper training shaprish though - seem to have put back on about half a stone I lost last year


looking for a 4:00 marathon - planty of hard work to be done

Am doing 4.6 miles tonight, wife's just dropped trainers off, so i've got to run home

[dirty boy]

Right, things are progressing okay.

Got a 7 mile run in on Saturday, had a rest yesterday. Am playing footy tonight, then jogging the 2 miles back (i'm planning for Mondays to be my rest day, but i'll play footy anyway)

What i'm after though is more advice.

I'm happy that i'll train on the right days (using runners world) but what about food?

I've been keeping a diary of what I eat and making notes after runs, so I can see if what i've eaten has affected anything (possible?)

For instance, EwanM, would you mind putting up a note of what you eat over say 3 days?

Today I will consume the following

• Weetabix/Milk
• Peanut butter sarnie (brown no spread)
• Small tin of tuna 80g (don't know why, I just like it as a snack)
• Banana
• Beans on toast with chili sauce (main meal)
• Lots of water, couple of cups of tea

[The jiffle king]

Make sure you eat enough calories and usually as soon after training as possible. Hydration is key for me, but so is eating enough to have the energy

I ran 14.5 miles yesterday and ate like mad and have an easy 5 tonight... Training is on track for me

T-J-K

[ewenm]

OK, ideal daily schedule for me (sometimes disrupted by circumstances):

• 30-40mins easy pace (approx marathon pace + 1 min/mile) 4-6 miles or so.
• Breakfast - banana, weetabix, Jordan's country crisp, semi-skimmed milk; coffee, orange juice; water, perhaps with a berocca tablet if I'm feeling run down.
• Lunch - crisps; chicken, tomato and couscous salad; bread and butter with cold meats and/or cheese; some sort of sweet (cake/brownie/etc); tea.
• Afternoon/evening training - can be anything from 60mins steady to fartlek to hills or track session, usually at least 10 miles in total (inc warm up and warm down) but can be up to 14 if it's a long tempo session.
• Dinner - large bowl of pasta/rice based meal such as bolognese or curry or risotto with meat/fish and vegetables. Large means enough for 2 normal people - one standard jar of pasta sauce and 400-500g of meat/fish will generally do 2 meals for me but sometimes gets polished off in 1. High carbs, high protein. Dessert of something sweet but not particularly large. Water, occasional glass of wine.

I don't actually keep track of what I eat most of the time, just tend to avoid lots of fatty, quick energy foods and go for the slow release carbs in abundance. I'm just under 6ft and 10.5 stone, so not the skinniest distance runner but light enough.

Edit: I don't tend to carbo-load heading into races as my diet is already carbo-loaded, so the above is pretty much what I eat every day.

Edited by ewenm on Monday 19th January 17:42

[anonymous-user]

ewenm said:

OK, ideal daily schedule for me (sometimes disrupted by circumstances):

• 30-40mins easy pace (approx marathon pace + 1 min/mile) 4-6 miles or so.
• Breakfast - banana, weetabix, Jordan's country crisp, semi-skimmed milk; coffee, orange juice; water, perhaps with a berocca tablet if I'm feeling run down.
• Lunch - crisps; chicken, tomato and couscous salad; bread and butter with cold meats and/or cheese; some sort of sweet (cake/brownie/etc); tea.
• Afternoon/evening training - can be anything from 60mins steady to fartlek to hills or track session, usually at least 10 miles in total (inc warm up and warm down) but can be up to 14 if it's a long tempo session.
• Dinner - large bowl of pasta/rice based meal such as bolognese or curry or risotto with meat/fish and vegetables. Large means enough for 2 normal people - one standard jar of pasta sauce and 400-500g of meat/fish will generally do 2 meals for me but sometimes gets polished off in 1. High carbs, high protein. Dessert of something sweet but not particularly large. Water, occasional glass of wine.

I don't actually keep track of what I eat most of the time, just tend to avoid lots of fatty, quick energy foods and go for the slow release carbs in abundance. I'm just under 6ft and 10.5 stone, so not the skinniest distance runner but light enough.

Edit: I don't tend to carbo-load heading into races as my diet is already carbo-loaded, so the above is pretty much what I eat every day.

Edited by ewenm on Monday 19th January 17:42

i think you know what i am saying... swop these for mixed nuts and raisons, dried fruit or something similar.

[ewenm]

pablo said:

ewenm said:

OK, ideal daily schedule for me (sometimes disrupted by circumstances):

• 30-40mins easy pace (approx marathon pace + 1 min/mile) 4-6 miles or so.
• Breakfast - banana, weetabix, Jordan's country crisp, semi-skimmed milk; coffee, orange juice; water, perhaps with a berocca tablet if I'm feeling run down.
• Lunch - crisps; chicken, tomato and couscous salad; bread and butter with cold meats and/or cheese; some sort of sweet (cake/brownie/etc); tea.
• Afternoon/evening training - can be anything from 60mins steady to fartlek to hills or track session, usually at least 10 miles in total (inc warm up and warm down) but can be up to 14 if it's a long tempo session.
• Dinner - large bowl of pasta/rice based meal such as bolognese or curry or risotto with meat/fish and vegetables. Large means enough for 2 normal people - one standard jar of pasta sauce and 400-500g of meat/fish will generally do 2 meals for me but sometimes gets polished off in 1. High carbs, high protein. Dessert of something sweet but not particularly large. Water, occasional glass of wine.

I don't actually keep track of what I eat most of the time, just tend to avoid lots of fatty, quick energy foods and go for the slow release carbs in abundance. I'm just under 6ft and 10.5 stone, so not the skinniest distance runner but light enough.

Edit: I don't tend to carbo-load heading into races as my diet is already carbo-loaded, so the above is pretty much what I eat every day.

Edited by ewenm on Monday 19th January 17:42

i think you know what i am saying... swop these for mixed nuts and raisons, dried fruit or something similar.

I disagree, there is nothing wrong with some "bad" foods in moderation and I need something to look forward to in my meals. If I was trying to lose weight, I'd agree but I certainly don't have a problem with my weight (most people describe me as lean -> skeletal) and my race performances are not bad

I don't know any top athlete that doesn't eat sweets/snacks - one of my training partners was ranked 7th woman in the UK for the marathon in 2008; she's always suggesting coffee and cake between training sessions

[anonymous-user]

it was more a reference to this line "avoid lots of fatty, quick energy foods and go for the slow release carbs in abundance" rather than anything personal. i just know tht i personally, have noticed better results when i cut out the bad stuff. and sure, if you are ranked 7th in the country at marathon distance then you are probably training every day and at some high level of effort thus cake etc isnt going to touch the sides so to speak, i have been reading lance armstrongs blog recently and he is eating a lot of so called "bad stuff" but he must be ploughing his way through 4000 calories plus each day but for us noraml people with jobs to do during the day...

[The jiffle king]

Calories in vs Calories out principle...

I am now a 40 mile a week runner on average and don't eat like EwenM, but do eat far more than most. Those training around me enjoy the following as snacks:
Malt Loaf
Quaker oat bars (bit sugary, but nice)
couple of slices of bread
yoguht

I can't just eat meals, I need to snack, so have some of the above regularly.

I also eat crisps.. Mmmm but not sugary drinks or caffine...

Calories in vs Calories out