AMS Marathon and Tri Challenge

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AMS Marathon and Tri Challenge

Postby AMS » 18 Sep 2012 08:18

Sat on the sofa on Sunday morning watching the Great North Run, I felt a bit inspired and sent a few mates a message about taking on a marathon next year. Now I've always said I would never do a marathon but for reasons unknown I now find myself ready and willing to attempt the challenge. :D

But I'm not a runner, I'm more of a cyclist so this will be a challenge. Not sure which race yet either. Might be as simple as Brighton or might see if Paris could work. Part of the reason for doing this is that I think I can be better at cycling and running if I lose weight and I find it easier to lose weight with focus on an event and training plan so will be monitoring weight etc as well. :(

ANY ADVICE ALONG THE WAY WOULD BE GREATLY RECEIVED!

I've done a couple of half-marathons before (brighton half as training for Antwerp 70.3) and have always ended up with totally shot quads so a re-assessment of technique (bit of an overstriding plodder) is probably needed as well along with a lot more fitness and weight loss. I'm going to attempt the half-marathon challenge for October to March as well which hopefully should provide some idea of progress etc. Then there's Windsor OD on the cards next year as well and hopefully a couple of other good races.

My time in brighton half was 1:45 which I was pleased with at the time but think with proper focus, weight loss and better technique I could run quicker and hopefully with less quad pain which could set me up well for a marathon.

Two things now concern me:

1. How do I go about training for a marathon? Long slow runs with some faster work towards the race? Do i have time to make Maffetone work?
2. What should my objective be? A specific time or focus on completing the marathon?

As an objective, I would like to run 3:30 for the marathon. I have no idea if this is realistic given what has gone before or whether it might be too achievable with the correct focus on training but this is going to be my starting point. I've heard a target marathon time is 2 x a half marathon time plus 20 mins so hopefully the 3:30 is a good target!

PLEASE SOMEONE TELL ME IF THIS IS WAY WIDE OF THE MARK!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Here are my stats as of this morning:

Weight: 94kgs
BMI: 26.6
Resting HR: 58bpm (when most recently recorded a couple of weeks ago)

Done a couple of runs on the way to work for the past couple of mornings, same time (5:20am) same route, same outcome:

distance 3.9km
time: 21:00
ave HR: 170
ave pace: 5:25/km

So this is my starting point!! Here goes!
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Re: AMS Marathon and Tri Challenge

Postby AMS » 18 Sep 2012 08:42

Sat 15/9/12
Run to pool - 1.45km, 6:48, ave pace: 4:43/km, ave HR 165bpm
Swim - 400m w/u, 4x50m focus on technique, catch, body position, breathing etc, 1000m main set for endurance in 22mins, 200m w/d
Back hurts due to body position sinking in the middle, arms feel weak and lack power. More core work needed.
Run back from pool - 1.5km, 8:54, ave pace 5:55/km, ave HR 167bpm

Mon 17/9/12
Run to station before work - 3.91k, 21:00, 5:22/km, 171bpm, breathing difficult, perhaps getting slightly ill

Tues 18/9/12
Run to station before work - 3.87k, 20:58, 5:25/km, 170bpm, similar issues to yesterday.
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Re: AMS Marathon and Tri Challenge

Postby Tarka the Nutter » 18 Sep 2012 09:31

I was talking to a couple of woman individually at the Vit and they both highly recommended Paris. Apparently if you enter before the London ballot results come out it's cheaper. I'm really tempted but need to wait to find out about London. If I entered Paris I would probably end up with a place in London as well!

You have lots of time to train and build up to the distance. A lot of people won't even start mara training until December. I've found that cycling helps my running, but that could be because I am a runner rather than a cyclist.

For now I would just think about completion, but as you get nearer the event you can do some races, see how training is going and reevaluate.

People differ in their opinion on how much you need to train, what distance your longest run should be etc, but I'd try and do 20 a couple of times before race day. I can recommend the Bramley 20 in Feb and Cranleigh 21 in March, if like me, you find it easier to do these things if you have a race. Also come and do the Reading half with some of us in March :-) Re mileage, I'm the wrong person to talk to about that, as I did London off an average of about 13 miles a week for the 16 weeks beforehand. Opps!

I know a great person for run technique training if you're interested. It's not cheap, but it's really helping me and my knee problems which got me through the 50 miler in August. James is a really great guy and I can totally recommend him.

And core work will help your running too. Must get my arse in gear and do some!

Thinking about it Brighton is also popular so sells out quickly I think, especially once London ballot results are out.

Jack Hughes (Ian) and Jonathon E knows loads more about run training than me though. They're the experts. I just kind of muddle on through!
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Re: AMS Marathon and Tri Challenge

Postby AMS » 18 Sep 2012 09:46

Tarka the Nutter wrote:I know a great person for run technique training if you're interested. It's not cheap, but it's really helping me and my knee problems which got me through the 50 miler in August. James is a really great guy and I can totally recommend him.


Is that James Dunne, the Kinetic Rev guy?
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Re: AMS Marathon and Tri Challenge

Postby Bendy Ben » 18 Sep 2012 10:10

3:30!!

That's one hell of a target buddy ;)
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Re: AMS Marathon and Tri Challenge

Postby Tarka the Nutter » 18 Sep 2012 10:11

AMS wrote:
Tarka the Nutter wrote:I know a great person for run technique training if you're interested. It's not cheap, but it's really helping me and my knee problems which got me through the 50 miler in August. James is a really great guy and I can totally recommend him.


Is that James Dunne, the Kinetic Rev guy?


It is indeed :-)
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Re: AMS Marathon and Tri Challenge

Postby AMS » 18 Sep 2012 10:21

Bendy Ben wrote:3:30!!

That's one hell of a target buddy


This is brilliant and exactly what I need!!

Is it an extreme target? Achievable but bloody tough? Am I out of my mind even thinking about it?

I don't have a clue really but perhaps a little voyage of discovery is on the cards!!
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Re: AMS Marathon and Tri Challenge

Postby Tarka the Nutter » 18 Sep 2012 10:37

Well 1.45 x 20 and add twenty would be 3.50, but obviously you're aiming to improve your time and within that your half time too, so why not go for it. Maybe have that as your dream time and have 3.40 as your aim.

But you're probably better off waiting until you're nearer to the day to get a better idea.

My standalone half time is 1.45 something, although I did 1.42 for the half at the end of the Vitruvian last year (it measured short though) and my mara PB is 3.55, BUT i did that off little training.

With the right training it is possible.

Ben, you're more than capable of running that if you did the right training.
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Re: AMS Marathon and Tri Challenge

Postby AMS » 18 Sep 2012 12:47

Tarka the Nutter wrote:Ben, you're more than capable of running that if you did the right training.


That sounds like a challenge Ben?

I've got 8 months to train so going to have a real crack at it!
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Re: AMS Marathon and Tri Challenge

Postby Big_Show » 18 Sep 2012 12:57

Not much I can add to that apart from some entry stuff:

My old housemates did Paris a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it, they'd definitely recommend it. If you do opt for Brighton then make sure you're quick off the mark when entries open - I think last year it filled up within one day or so.

One thing's for sure - between now and April is loads of time to train for a marathon so I've got no doubt you can do it. And why not shoot for a 3sub-:30? As training progresses you can revise your target if necessary.
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