Tag Archives: Pace

London Marathon 2012 – we came, we saw, we ran

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Happy St. George’s Day for today – 23rd April.

We’ve done it.  26.2 miles around London town done!  And what an event.  37,500 runners, a huge number of supporters and blue skies for the most part.

Over £2,220 raised for Whizz-Kidz – and donations still coming in – by my friends and family and a staggering £1.5 million raised for Whizz-Kidz by all their runners.  I didn’t make the photo shot before the start but here it is – what a team!  If you still would like to make a small donation, it’s not too late – just go to www.justgiving.com/jasonnoble1.

An early start yesterday for Nobles and the train journey up to town quite something else for a Sunday morning.  So many people going to the marathon to run or support.  The trains were so busy it was like normal rush hour, but with a real buzz in the air.

Perfect weather yesterday morning over London – clear blue skies and not too hot.  It got warmer throughout the morning but the rain and wind didn’t hit until about 3pm – by which time a lot of runners had finished.

After a detour to the wrong start, we made our way back to the red start and the Noble support crew said goodbye and good luck and made their way up to Westminster just after mile 25 to join Nic’s mum and dad and wait (a good few hours) with the banner.

A few toilet stops for me before the gun and then we were off.  Note – not going to the toilet for almost 4 hours is in itself a major achievement for me (and most blokes).  I crossed the start line about 3 minutes after the gun went off, full of high spirits and enjoying the continuing buzz.

My pace started at about 8:30 per mile for the first 2 miles, just with the crowd and trying not to get off too fast.  After about 4-5 miles, pace at 8 minutes per mile, so on track.  The blue and red starts merged at about 3 miles and it’s then that you realised how many people are actually running – a lot.

A trip around the fully restored Cutty Sark at about 6 miles was another high point, with a great crowd.  South of the river the atmosphere was amazing – with bands playing, people out in the street cheering outside their front doors, in pubs with beers in hand at 10:30am and children handing our sweets and all wanting high fives from the runners.  Spotted my cousin Leanne at about mile 11 with the Lyons support crew waiting for Noel and had a huge “Jason” shout from them.  Having your name on the front of your shirt really helps and people all along the route are shouting out your name, helping push you along.

My pace was well on-track up to half-way and 3:30 looked a real possibility.  Then the dreaded Docklands happened.  My pace started gradually slowing down – 8:02 (not too bad can still get back), 8:05 (might need to rethink target time); 8:07 (this is going to be hard), 8:11 (oh crap) and so on…!   Support through the Docklands was great.  From 2009 I remembered it being a bit on the sparse side with people cheering you on, but not this time – they were there in force.

Just before the half-way point, I got to see the eventual winner come sprinting past (literally – 4:43 minutes per mile for 26.2 of them).  An awesome sight and with 6 or 7 miles to go he already had a lead of about 2 minutes.  Saw a few of the other front runners going passed and cheered them on, before almost getting knocked over by a Smurf.

 

Now coming out of the Docklands, with about 6 miles to go, and past Tower Bridge and runners just coming up to half-way and then past The Tower of London.  Getting closer but it’s hurting now.  That infamous carrot (him and his runner bean mate beat me in the 1/2 marathon in 2010) keeps catching up and over taking and then dropping back.  Will he beat me this time?  Yes!

A bride runs past, but Spiderman drops back.  A Roman Centurion overtakes me and gets the crowd up in cheers – he’s fast!  The Embankment now and nearly on the home straight.  Legs hurting but I refuse to stop – it’s a mental thing now to keep pushing!

25.5 miles and the Noble support crew come into sight.  Run up and give little Sophie a high five and nearly go flying – close call.  800m to go – that sounds a lot further that it should.  600m – we’re close.  400m – I can almost feel the finish line.  Less than 400 yards – I can see the finish.  Go go go – a push for a “sprint” finish, nothing left but overtake at least one person, and we’re done!  Finish line crossed.

A hobble now for about a mile to get the area where you meet friends and family – that’s not funny, having to walk that far now!  Medal and bag of goodies picked up and free drinks downed.

My official time was 3:46:54 – a whole 14 seconds faster than my time in 2009.  But a way off my target of 3:30.  Pace and split up to half-way were good and on track (and pretty much spot on what they were in 2009).  Official time and place is…

 

Always an emotional time now and a few hugs with the support crew when I find them.  Then off – very slowly – to the Whizz-Kidz reception and massage.  The massage was very nice but legs very sore today and stairs are my enemy.  Fingers crossed the usual DOMS doesn’t occur where it hurts most 2 days later!

 

 

An amazing experience yet again.  London at its absolute best.  2012 is going to be London’s year!  Perfect weather and a great great atmosphere.  Yes it was very very hard as before – and that’s with all the training.  To crack 3:30 – maybe one day – even more training no doubt needed.  And very emotional.  Plus a parking ticket when we got back to the car – parking on Sunday’s is free normally isn’t it???  I’m in the process of “negotiating” with the council to see if I can donate my fine to Whizz-Kidz instead.  Fingers crossed.

A very fitting quote – “If you want to win something, run 100 meters.  If you want to experience something, run a marathon.” by the great Emil Zatopek.

In the marathon news yesterday, Fauja Singh, believed to be the oldest marathon runner at 101, completed his race in seven hours and 49 minutes. The East Londoner has said this would be his last marathon so he can concentrate on shorter distances and faster times.  What an inspiration.

The day of course was sadden by the news of the death of 30 year old Claire Squires, one mile from the finish.  Very very sad.  Our thoughts go out to all her friends and family.  Claire was running for the Samaritans.  RIP.

The final countdown – 7 days to go.

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It’s the final countdown…

And a reminder of the classic Europe song from 1986…

This time next week it will be over for a few, nearly over for others and a little to still go for a lot.  The London Marathon 2012 – the year of the London Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.  What a great year to run 26.2 miles around this amazing city in the biggest charity fund raising event there is with 40k other people!

The training’s nearly done – 15, 17 or 21 weeks hard running.  Now in the final taper stages.  Stretching lots.  Sleeping nicely.  Eating well with a few extra carbs.  And all getting ready for next Sunday – 22nd April.  With a visit to the London Marathon Expo this week to pick up your number and bits.  It’s all getting exciting!

I still need to remind myself what time it starts on Sunday and then recap on plans to get up, eat and get up to London with Mrs. Noble and the kids and my mum & dad in-law as the Noble support crew.

The plan for me for the final 7 days looks like this…

  • Sunday – easy morning karate session; done without injury.
  • Monday – rest day with stretching and core exercises.
  • Tuesday – 6 miles at marathon pace (mp).
  • Wednesday – 1 mile warm-up, 2 miles at 30 seconds faster than mp , 1 mile cool down.
  • Thursday – TBC maybe a slow 4 miles.
  • Friday – rest day with stretching and core exercises.
  • Saturday – 2 very easy miles just to keep legs moving.
  • Sunday – it’s race day!

And still going for the last week of charity donations for Whizz-Kidz.  It all helps with the great work that they do for the children that they look after.  All donations still very very gratefully received – just go to my Just Giving page.

How fast can they run these marathon things?

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2 hours 3 minutes and 38 seconds is the current world record set last year in the Berlin Marathon by Patrick Makau Musyoki.  That’s an incredible time.  Average pace around 4 minutes 43 seconds per mile – for 26.2 of them.  And Roger did just one in just under 4 minutes a few years back (see last post).  That’s a long long sprint that Patrick did.  Nothing short of awesome running.  And in the morning of that world record run, he said his body wasn’t feeling good.  It’s clearly a perception thing…

Not only can he do the marathon in just over 2 hours but he can run a 1/2 marathon in 58 minutes and 52 seconds (but that’s only the 6th fastest 1/2 marathon time ever).  And about 5 miles ahead of me!

Can we (and I use “we” in the very wide human sense) ever break 2 hours?  Or is there some physiological limit built in to us?  Current consensus is that yes we can do it and we will – it might take another 20 years or so but it will be broken.  Which makes sense – we’re so close now and have come down by nearly 50 minutes in the last 100 years.  It will just require someone with the genes all right and perfect race conditions (and a little bit of hard training).

Here’s a great article on from the BBC on this – written in April 2011 before Patrick broke the record.

Time for the taper

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Last long long run done last week – 21 miles – and a grand total last week of 46 miles.  With only 18 days left until the big day, it’s all about reducing the number of miles now and letting the body recover slightly.

Aiming to cut back by about 1/3 on miles this week, and then the same over the next 2 weeks.  So far this week have done 1 x 12 miles and 1 x 10 miles, both at marathon pace and 10 miles planned today – with 4 x 1 mile intervals – so 32 in total.  Next week some speed work (and about 20 miles total) and then the final week a few easy light runs (about 10 miles total).

Nice article here from the BBC on tapering – from 2005 but all valid.

Not long now!

 

Figuring out how fast you can run

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A very cool online running calculator that I found from McMillan Running, that looks to give good estimates of times and paces for different distances…

When I say looks to work, I mean when I enter my recent distance paces – when run under race-ish conditions – it gives times (and paces) for other distances that match up with what I’m doing and aiming for for the marathon.

Entering the time from my 1/2 marathon on Friday…

And this gives “Equivalent Performance Times” of…

So bang on for what I’m aiming for for the marathon – just under 3 hours 30 minutes.  So in theory all on track, with just under 4 weeks to go.  The calculator also gives your optimal training paces – which also tie in very nicely with what I’ve been doing (particularly for the longer runs)…

A recovery weekend this last weekend (no running or karate) and the last week of long runs this week (x3), with a 20 or 22 miler on Friday, then it’s time for the taper for the last 3 weeks.

But a visit to Legoland over the weekend for their Star Wars Invasion Weekend – nothing short of awesome!  And the little Nobles enjoyed it as much as daddy.  Little Darth Vader got to meet big Darth Vader…

 

 

 

The longest run

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All sorts of theories about how long your longest run should be in your marathon training and 20 miles looks about the normal maximum.  Very very few plans suggest running the full 26.2 miles – at least the plans for the non-professional athletes out there.  I’ve never quite understood why, and surely it’s more about you knowing what your body can do and how much recovery you need.  There’s nothing magical that happens when you cross the 26 miles barrier, and it’s about training your body to cope when you hit the wall and its physiological challenges.

I did a few 20 milers back in my training in 2009 and one 22 miler.  This time round, I wanted to go a bit further – in terms of max. distance – and do less of the long long runs.  Last time round the difference between the longest training run and the actual marathon was huge – both in terms of doing the run, the physical and mental effort to finish and the recovery period.  I’m convinced it was starting off too fast, getting caught up in the buzz at the start, and then hitting the wall at about 18 miles.  Not fun.

So the plan was for 23 miles early this last Saturday morning.  Up at 7am, breakfast and even a small coffee (something I never do before running normally) and out for 8am, and at planned pace of 8:30 to 9:00 minutes per mile.  Good starting pace and managed to hold it for 10 or so miles, before slowing down slightly.  Great route as well – up past Hampton Court Bridge and up the tow path – it just goes on and on.  A bit of rain on the way and no rainproof gear on so got wet.

This is how far 23 miles is…

Good old Garmin battery warning came up just after starting and then it died completely just 0.6 miles from the finish.  Rubbish.  Very frustrating as it normally warns you several times that it’s running out.  A lesson learnt though – make sure it’s fully charged before the long long runs.

The breakfast coffee shot had an effect and I had to have a little stop on route.  But maybe a small coffee could work on marathon day – breakfast normally 2+ hours before, so plenty of time for stops before.  And took an energy drink on the run this time and had a drink every couple of miles ish from about 6 miles in.

The results?  A good finish – even managed to pick up slightly for the last mile and then a nice strong finish for the last 1/4 mile.  Pace about 10% slower than planned marathon pace – which is bang on target.  More energy drinks and some bananas when I got in, and stretching.  Managed karate training on Sunday morning and legs working fine.  Now 2 days after and all good.  The training plan looks like it’s working.

More fast runs and interval training this week with one 1/2 marathon somewhere (and looking for sub-100 minutes this time).

 

Probably the most important workout for marathons?

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Last week was a week of shorter faster runs and I decided to try something new – having read a good post from Twitter about mile long intervals.

2 miles warm-up run, just faster than planned marathon pace, then 1 mile fast (about 1.5 minutes per mile faster than marathon pace) followed by 0.5 mile recovery (about 30 seconds per mile slower than marathon pace) and then repeat the 1 mile / 0.5 mile interval 4 times and then finish with a 2 mile cool down.  10 miles in total.

That was the plan – the first one started a bit too late in the day and had to be back, so had to cut the final 2 miles off or down.  8.3 in total and great average pace – not surprising really with 4 faster miles.  Did the same again a few days later – with the full 10 miles – and a great great run.  Average pace up as well.

Nice way to train, the longer mile intervals get harder during the run – no surprises really – but it’s a good routine.

Lots of articles around about interval training and the longer mile intervals are known to be good for marathons.  Even referred to as the “single most important workout for marathon training“.  More planned for me next week.

2 seconds off

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A cracking 10 miler yesterday, complete with my bright yellow Adizero shoes.  Along my favourite 10 mile route down through Twickenham and along by the river towards Richmond and back.  And at a perfect time of the day – 12:30pm.

I wanted to crack the 1:15 barrier – which would be 8mph for more than an hour and for 10 miles.  Good starting pace, slowed a bit after 5 miles but picked it back up.  Always slow down at the turn – still need to figure that out and fix it.  Picked up the pace a fair bit with 1 mile to go – building up from the great mile interval training last week.  And managed to finished at 1:15:02 – a whole 2 seconds out.  Aaaaargh.  Sure there are roads I need to cross, and even with stopping and starting the Garmin each crossing, it still throws the flow you’ve got.  And the turn again!  And even starting off too slow will add a few seconds.  But so close.  Interestingly using rubiTrack – the Mac based software I use to track my runs – it says 1:14:56, along the same route, same distance.  Wishful thinking or a bug?

Next week – we’re breaking that barrier!

The 20 miler

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First one this year – and for this marathon training – done this morning.  And did I forget how hilly Richmond Park actually is or what?  Slightly different route to the last long runs in Richmond Park – pretty much going the other way round the park.  Which turned out to be the hillier way round (is that a real word?).

It seems such a nice park when you get in and start running round, but there are many killer hills.  Elevation changes of over 50m along route and some very quick changes, i.e. short steep hills.  And then some long not as steep ones thrown in.  All good training.

Pace was around 10% slower than planned marathon pace – which is good – but just found out it was a slower pace than back in 2009 (though the route was different and hillier as mentioned, and I did a 10 mile run yesterday, so little time to recover).  Do need to leave longer gaps before the long runs.

Early start this morning – out for 8am – but then back before 11am and the rest of the day still ahead (and you’ve done a 20 mile run already).  Great way to start the weekend.  Hunger levels have been something else today!

Fast, sad, slow and long

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Fast – 10 miles on Tuesday just over 1 hour 15 minutes, a whole minute quicker than my previous recent best.  And in the Adizero shoes again – these babies rock!  Still slowed down on the turn around to come back.  Advice from my dad this week is why not do a loop instead, so you don’t lose the rhythm?  Good point.

Sad – my mum and dad emigrated this week (yesterday) all the way to Australia.  They’re on-route now – about 3 hours away I think.  Very sad goodbye – as it will be a while before we see them next.  Sad for the little guys as well, particularly Sophie who’s old enough to grasp what it means a bit more.  She wrote a lovely but sad card for them – with a little note saying she wanted them to stay.  But very very exciting for them – off to sunnier shores, walks by the beach, chilling and enjoying life and retirement.  And being close to my “little” sister and her gang.

Slow – a second 10 mile run today, not in the Adizero shoes and trying a loop (sort of).  But my time was way off Tuesday’s – over 20 seconds per mile slower.  Very strange.  Started off ok but after about 3 miles the pace dropped off.  You’ve got to get the starting pace right or else!  Great sign though…

Long – and then tomorrow’s my first 20 mile run in this marathon training programme and for 3 years now.  Looking forward to it.  Need to pick a route still – Richmond Park looking the likely option.  Slow and long again.  Planning on doing it early so back for late morning and then chilling the rest of the day.  No karate tonight – need to rest the legs a little bit ready for tomorrow.

And a few photos of mum and dad yesterday before they set off on their next journey.  Miss you guys like mad already!