Post-marathon perspective

I thought I'd manage another blog entry as its 2 days since the marathon and maybe at this stage I can put a bit more perspective on my slightly negative sounding previous post.

Today I've been feeling tired. Surprisingly I don't really ache, but just feel generally worn out. I think I've probably looked tired today and my conversation may not always have made sense (probably nothing new there!)

I went to a pilates class just to do some stretching but I find this particular instructor hard to follow so don't think I did all that much. I feel that my body would really like a really relaxing deep massage.

I'm really glad the marathon is over now. I did enjoy my whole weekend away and liked going somewhere else to run. I do think I could do better but that's good incentive for next time. However, the marathon for me is not all about pbs, although that's a good tangible measure of success. There is such a lot of time and training invested in a marathon, and I'm pleased with the challenge and achievement. I appreciate the support of my family and friends, even though when my son's teacher asked him how I did he told her 'she was a bit slow'!

I've also enjoyed reading all the other marathon blogs and would like to read other peoples in future. Everyone has a different approach to training and different goals for the race. Would be good to see more blogs from the guys too. (I'm enjoying Gary's).

I'm not sure what my future goals are. Someone has mentioned the Beachey Head marathon - no need to worry about pbs and off-road! I would like to do some speed work too... just not till I've had a rest!

It's over!

Well, I have completed the Hamburg marathon in 04:19:23, it turned out to be a bit like my London experience last year, it was 23 degrees so I was conscious of drinking enough fluids, and I really suffered at the end with stomach cramps and ended up walking quite a bit. All in all it was a pretty unimpressive run and I just know I can do better so I'm going to have to do another marathon to prove this to myself!


What went wrong? - My list of excuses....
1. Feeling generally tired for a while before the day.
This probably has to do with not eating well enough, having ski/Easter holidays (including drinking wine every night) when I should have been training, and definitely not sleeping well the week before
2. Probably I should've done more long runs of 22/23 miles so that those last miles after 20 are not such a shock.
3. The day before the marathon I didn't really eat very well - the lunch ended up being quite stodgey and I ate dinner quite late (with a glass of wine). I don't think I drank enough water so I wasn't well hydrated.
4. The night before the marathon I slept next to a fidgety 4-year old so didn't get quality sleep, then got up at 6am UK time, as the marathon started at 9am (8am UK time)

The breakdown of my time:

Name: Marsden-Jones, Catherine (GBR)
Startnummer: F1662
Verein: North Herts Road Runners
Stadt: Hitchin
Altersklasse: W35

Split Zeit
5 km 00:28:14
10 km 00:57:23
15 km 01:25:59
20 km 01:54:34
Halb 02:04:07
25 km 02:27:16
30 km 02:57:24
35 km 03:28:31
40 km 04:04:27

Gesamt
Platz (M/W)1362
Platz (AK)252
Platz (Gesamt)9883
Zielzeit (Netto)04:19:23


Luckily after the marathon I was able to go back to the hotel and use the pool facilities to shower, and this included a plunge pool for the closest thing to a cold bath. I think this might have helped my muscles as I don't feel too stiff today, I'm sure I will tomorrow.

I remember the runner's world training schedule saying something about resting for the week after the marathon so that's what I'll be doing, and maybe some kind of report on the Hamburg marathon.....

4 days to go....

The last week and I do have the feeling that I'll struggle to make it round, my body feels quite tired and lethargic, Dr Who dreams are waking my son at night and then I can't get back to sleep... I am looking forward to the weekend away, but don't have high hopes for a good performance on marathon day!

It was in this frame of mind that I embarked on the last Sunday run, and was very appreciative of Lindsay accompanying me on her bicycle for 11miles. She talked, I just tried to keep breathing as normally as possible but the miles went quicker with company and I enjoyed the run.

This morning I did 6miles, then swam, and I will do another 3 on Friday morning and that'll be it.

The weather for Sunday is predicted to be warm (19 degrees) with cloud but no rain. I think this is ok for me, I don't like it to be too warm. I must make sure to keep hydrated.

I was planning to travel with hand luggage only on the plane but I'm not sure if my gels will be allowed through so maybe I should just book a bag into the hold... don't want my trainers to go missing though if the luggage gets lost (maybe I should wear them!)

The last lonely blogger....

I know its been a while since my last entry but didn't quite appreciate that its been a month so I'll try and catch up quickly.

Sunday 16th March: Oakley 20, 3hrs 2mins - pleased with that!
Wednesday 19th March: 5miles, off road 10min miling
Friday 21st March: 22miles with Paul and Isabel. This went well, we made it round at a fairly steady pace. I had to do another long run soon after the Oakley 20 as:
Easter Sunday 23rd - 30th March -Ski holiday, no running at all!
Monday 31st March: feeling v tired after previous days travelling and a busy holiday, I dragged myself around 8 miles.

I realise that for me its not a good idea to take a sudden break from running and then expect to just be able to carry on as before. My body definitely complained! I wasn't able to run again due to it being the school Easter holidays, (or do any other exercise) until:

Saturday 5th April: last long run. What a disaster! I aimed for 20 miles and managed 17.25! The last couple of miles involved a lot of walking, then I found I was home and there was no way I was going to be able to run another 3 miles, so that was my last long run.

Therefore, my tapering started much too early (2 weeks too early) and I've been trying to get back into it again in the last week, but at the same time, I'm not doing too much mileage. I'm generally feeling a bit lethargic and my body is a bit achy really.

Tuesday 8th April: a slow 4.5miles
Wednesday 9th April: a slow 6.5 miles
Friday 11th April 7am: 1.5miles with dog, who stopped and refused to go any further.
Friday 11th April 8.35am: 11 miles without dog, at 9.07min/mile so improved pace.
Saturday 12th April: 90 lengths swimming at Cannons

Sunday 13th April: Helped with baggage at FLM - a really good day. It helped to motivate me for the Hamburg marathon, despite the glazed looks on peoples faces as they collected their bags. I definitely needed a bit of a boost to remind me what my training is all for. I thought I might be slightly disheartened now that so many people have achieved their goal and I have to carry on, but instead it has spurred me on.

Tuesday 15th April: 6.5miles at 8.14min/mile - I had to check my watch a few times for errors! This isn't my usual pace! It certainly wasn't feeling easy, but not too bad.
Then did body balance class at gym to help stretching. I know my muscles are tight and I should go for a massage.
Wednesday 16th April: 5miles at 9.15min/mile.
I would normally swim on a Wednesday while my daughter has her swimming lesson but since she fractured her arm skiing, that won't be possible until next week.

To sum up:
I have 1.5 weeks to go.
FLM is over and I have to keep going but don't mind, watching the runners come in has motivated me.
Muscles are a bit tight.
I don't really know what my marathon pace is, partly because most of my training is offroad so I run a bit faster on road. Also, my pacing varies quite a lot from day to day depending on how I feel. I'm not really doing any speedwork or varying my pace according to any training plan.
Therefore, target time - about 4hrs15mins


Plan for any future marathon:
Have a better training plan and eat better i.e. cut out the sweet stuff which is definitely emotional eating!