Marathon Pace????

Right then people for all you hill runners out there its the London marathon this sunday and I'm having a go!:eek:

What I'm hoping for is some advice as to what pace I should be running!

When I entered at the middle of Jan (club place) I'd set myself the target of getting under 3:15.
However recent half mara and 10 k times. 1:23.57 and 37:23 respectively indicate that I 'could' be looking at sub 3.:D
Now here's the but!

But due to niggling shin pain I haven't done much road training at all. In fact bar last week I can't remember the last time I ran on the road other than races so I'm lacking 18+ mile training runs I should have got in!:o

So do I head out at sub 7 min miles and try to hang on but risk a wall hitting hour for the last 10k?
Or got out at 7:20 ish and see if I can pick the pace (its a long way) toward the end assuming I'm feeling ok????
:confused:

Have you done any 3-hour runs off-road....?

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Originally Posted by Mud

Have you done any 3-hour runs off-road....?

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Did a 2:45 run from bolton up to darwin tower and back which was about 16 miles I think.

I've done one 16 on the road.
Plus about 2 or 3 hour to hour 30 off road runs a week!

I'll be there too on Sunday.

With those 10K and half times, a sub 3hr could well be on the cards.

I'm guessing that you haven't run London before. I've only ever run from blue start, and it can get very congested at the start until the first mile, even for the sub 3 non 'AAA' runners. So you may be starting off about 7:20-7:15 pace anyway until 2 miles. Some of the roads until 3 miles are quite narrow and create crowding at times.

Hope your shin doesn't cause too much anguish.

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Originally Posted by Calf

Right then people for all you hill runners out there its the London marathon this sunday and I'm having a go!:eek:

What I'm hoping for is some advice as to what pace I should be running!

When I entered at the middle of Jan (club place) I'd set myself the target of getting under 3:15.
However recent half mara and 10 k times. 1:23.57 and 37:23 respectively indicate that I 'could' be looking at sub 3.:D
Now here's the but!

But due to niggling shin pain I haven't done much road training at all. In fact bar last week I can't remember the last time I ran on the road other than races so I'm lacking 18+ mile training runs I should have got in!:o

So do I head out at sub 7 min miles and try to hang on but risk a wall hitting hour for the last 10k?
Or got out at 7:20 ish and see if I can pick the pace (its a long way) toward the end assuming I'm feeling ok????
:confused:

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If you can pace it well enough, try running the first half for 1.35-1.40 and see how you feel second half for a negative split. Your lack of long runs could be a bit of a problem but it all depends how you feel on the day. Good luck!

Get to 21 miles at 3hr pace, and then die on your arse.

That's what I did in my one marathon thing, and I am better for the experience. Twitch.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Calf

Right then people for all you hill runners out there its the London marathon this sunday and I'm having a go!:eek:

What I'm hoping for is some advice as to what pace I should be running!

When I entered at the middle of Jan (club place) I'd set myself the target of getting under 3:15.
However recent half mara and 10 k times. 1:23.57 and 37:23 respectively indicate that I 'could' be looking at sub 3.
Now here's the but!

But due to niggling shin pain I haven't done much road training at all. In fact bar last week I can't remember the last time I ran on the road other than races so I'm lacking 18+ mile training runs I should have got in!:o

So do I head out at sub 7 min miles and try to hang on but risk a wall hitting hour for the last 10k?
Or got out at 7:20 ish and see if I can pick the pace (its a long way) toward the end assuming I'm feeling ok????
:confused:

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you need to carbo load big style this week mate
i think your on for sub 3hr
remember you have good crowds at london that help
your half and 10 k times are very close to mine mate
i think you need to be 1.25 form the half , then get to 20miles and take it from there
but its basically down to you ;)
good luck
and think lots about after the marathon , dont injure yourself chasing sub 3 hrs and then not being able to run for months after, lots do this and never run again
yeah sub 3 hr is nice and i got a bit obsessed with it but dont bother now, i might have a go but 3.15, 3.20 are all good times, id sooner run in the hills
but have a great run mate
daz

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Originally Posted by Mud

Get to 21 miles at 3hr pace, and then die on your arse.

That's what I did in my one marathon thing, and I am better for the experience. Twitch.

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what you sat down on the course , hmm not sure thats normal behavior

my first marathon 3hrs 28, i never did a run more than 15miles and staggered in like a drunk and had to be held up by the marshals

Reading your posts over the last months i presumed you would easily be a sub 3 hour runner and i'm sure you will prove me correct.
Just eat well, rest well, train light and mentally prepare yourself for Sunday.

Don't think theres much chance of us meeting up on the day, or even trying really - I like to get away from the finish area before it fills up.

Enjoy the race if you can. And more especially enjoy the rest of the day, you will get special treatment wherever you go in London so wear the medal and carry the bag. (I got free cakes in a swanky Knightsbridge tea shop one year)

Don't risk the energy drinks on the course if you haven't tried them before - at 18 miles it's the wrong time to find out that glucomax-zap (or whatever it is) doesn't agree with you. Training partner of mine got caught out doing this - probably cost him a GB vest. Drink little and often start to drink before you need it - it's no point shovelling water down your neck when your dehydrated - your body won't absorb it quickly enough.

Don't panic in the first mile if you're caught in the crowds at the start. If you lose a few seconds off your schedule in the first mile, don't sprint the second mile to get back on track. Equally stick to your own schedule, and don't get caught up with what others are doing. Marathons more than any other race are solo time trials in my book.

Cheers guys!:D

So head out at around 7 min miles and improve on Muds effort by falling to pieces about 18 I reckon!:eek:

At least there will be plenty of cake to eat at the end!

What times are Roadrunner and Bisto hoping for?

I'm hoping slower than me if I want to win! :D :D

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Originally Posted by Calf

Right then people for all you hill runners out there its the London marathon this sunday and I'm having a go!:eek:

What I'm hoping for is some advice as to what pace I should be running!

When I entered at the middle of Jan (club place) I'd set myself the target of getting under 3:15.
However recent half mara and 10 k times. 1:23.57 and 37:23 respectively indicate that I 'could' be looking at sub 3.:D
Now here's the but!

But due to niggling shin pain I haven't done much road training at all. In fact bar last week I can't remember the last time I ran on the road other than races so I'm lacking 18+ mile training runs I should have got in!:o

So do I head out at sub 7 min miles and try to hang on but risk a wall hitting hour for the last 10k?
Or got out at 7:20 ish and see if I can pick the pace (its a long way) toward the end assuming I'm feeling ok????
:confused:

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I would say that half marathon time is pretty borderline for sub 3, and the fact that your 10K time is better in equivalent times, says that you do lack the mileage to do sub 3

In the end , breaking that barrier is about confidence when it starts to get tough - so unless you are confident you probably wont do it!

Still, you can surprise yourself, and have an exceptional day.

I reckon the strategy that will work is to run easily to 10 miles - half way deliberately without looking at your watch at all ( and trying to avoid looking at the gantries too)

You will struggle to get up to pace before cutty sark anyway.

Take a decision at half way. If you are there feeling easy in 1.35 or less, pick it up to claw back a couple of minutes by 20, and then finally decide there whether to go all out to the end.

1.40 at half way,and you can probably forget it!

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Originally Posted by alwaysinjured

1.40 at half way,and you can probably forget it!

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Unless you have paced it right and you have pleanty left in the tank. Running a negative split takes discipline but is far better than just hangining in there with 6 miles to go.

I'm going to tag onto the 7 min miles group and see how it goes!

Whats the worst that can happen!

I suffer like an arthritic dog chasing a ball and have to walk abit!:eek:

If it goes ok then I get a time I'm well pleased with!

Either way I'll be doing another in the year so not like it'd be the end of the world!

Just dug out my 1992 diary - the first time I broke 3 hours (and it was in London).

5 miles..........31.30
10 miles......1.03.45
13.1 miles...1.24.24
15 miles......1.37.02
20 miles......2.10.56
25 miles......2.48.28
26.2 miles....2.58.35

Probably doesn't help as we are all different but I do think you need to be halfway in under 1.30
and at 20 miles in under 2.15.

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Originally Posted by Calf

I'm going to tag onto the 7 min miles group and see how it goes!

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I'd be careful with that. These pacer groups aren't always that reliable and tend to set off too quickly in my experience. If you have a Garmin or Polar watch, you'd be better off pacing yourself with that.

A friend from my club gave me some marathon running advice that had been passed to her from another club runner...

run the first 20 miles as fast as you can... any fool can run 6!

Seems perfectly sensible ;)

My London Marathon splits were:

5 miles 30.57
10 miles 1.02 34
Half way 1.22.35
15 miles 1.34.43
20 miles 2.08.19
25 miles 2.44.37
26.2 miles 2.53.04

Set off too fast but fit enough to recover and hang on over the last 6 miles to get the sub-3 hour time I wanted.

PS. I was coming up 63 at the time so young whippersnappers should manage it OK with the right mind-set and adequate training.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Calf

When I entered I'd set myself the target of getting under 3:15. However recent half mara and 10 k times. 1:23.57 and 37:23 respectively indicate that I 'could' be looking at sub 3.

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Calf's splits:
10 km - 0:44:58
20 km - 1:30:15
half - 1:35:09
30 km - 2:18:28
40 km - 3:26:23
finish - 3:40:15

Oh dear Calf. I guess you didn't enjoy it after 30km :(

I didn't enjoy it after 0.5 of a mile!:eek:

right, so if i were to look at my PB's for 5k 16.40, 10k 35.12 and half 79.04 what would i be rougly looking at for a marathon????

calf bad luck but a good effort well done for fininshing. :)

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Originally Posted by Penguin

right, so if i were to look at my PB's for 5k 16.40, 10k 35.12 and half 79.04 what would i be rougly looking at for a marathon???

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Your 5K is a minute better than mine so I estimate a marathon in 2.44.
However, your 10K is only 30sec faster so let's say 2.50.
And your Half is a minute slower than mine so maybe 2.54.
However, we are all different so predicting your time from my times is probably not a good idea.
What you can say is that you are better at the shorter distances and, if it's your first marathon,
will find it hard to break 3 hours.

Try www.cumberlandac.org.uk , there's an implenetation of Peter Riegel's race prediction formula on there, which seems to be pretty accurate. It is only a prediction, but it does match very well with my results.

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Originally Posted by Penguin

right, so if i were to look at my PB's for 5k 16.40, 10k 35.12 and half 79.04 what would i be rougly looking at for a marathon????

calf bad luck but a good effort well done for fininshing. :)

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Bit of a sprinter, I feel Pengy. Decent 5K, but getting quite pedestrian by the half :D. 'Bout 5 hours for the marathon :D:D

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Originally Posted by Pudgy

Bit of a sprinter, I feel Pengy. Decent 5K, but getting quite pedestrian by the half :D. 'Bout 5 hours for the marathon :D:D

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hmm.. you prepared to put beer on that asumption??? :p

When are you going to run a marathon Pengy. 5K and you tend to fall over :p

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Originally Posted by Pudgy

When are you going to run a marathon Pengy. 5K and you tend to fall over :p

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well i was looking at october, but i won't be fit enough for it so little point in that one, proberbly next year after portugal trip but doubtful to do London..

need to keep that clear for anniversary walz