Race Report. 2h34m MBNA Chester Marathon 2010 2nd Position

Behind every great sports achiever is a lot of support from others. Thanks to my beautiful wife for all the support throughout my hard training.

A big shout out to the organisers of the race, Chris & Andy. Everything went smoothly, parking attendants, registration, start off, marshalls, lead cyclists, finish goody bags, water, toilets, showers, I was really impressed by the organisation. The lead cyclist next to me did a great job of making sure everyone kept to the right side of the cycle path (it was a there and back race).

Next onto how I felt through the race. I had prepared to do the race so well that I was enjoying putting all the hard work of the training out into the race. Every mile was bang on what I planned. Every mile was a release of energy which resulted in a deserved fantastic pace. Previously I have completed 4 marathons and I think I smiled the most in this one. I kept thinking “This Race is What I've Wanted For So Many Training Miles – Now Do It Justice”. At the end I thought what I always think “I could've done better”. I look forward to the next one. Thanks to everyone who sent me messages including birthday messages.

I also beat the World Record for the mens marathon. In 1913 on this same day, 31st May, Alexis Malkolm Ahlgren broke the World Record with a time of 2h36m!!

If your put off by numbers then stop reading now, otherwise read on.

My Previous Marathons:
London 2007: 03:01:30
Blackpool 2008: 02:35:47 (short)
Anglesey 2008: 02:47:34
London 2009: 02:37:51
Chester 2010: 02:34:59

The statistics:
Gun Time: 2:35:01
Chip Time: 2:34:59
Elevation Gain: 550ft
Avg Pace: 5:53 min/mi 10.2 mph
A Personal Best (PB) for a marathon and also a WAVA PB. WAVA = World Association of Veteran Athletes. They collate world race times and give an equitable age related percentage for comparison purposes. Age grading is a way of putting all race participants on a level playing field, regardless of age or gender. Age-graded scores let you compare your race times to those of different runners, as well as to the standard for your age and gender.

Play through my race: http://connect.garmin.com/player/35211835

Splits:
5:47 5:55 5:51 5:40 5:52 5:43 5:47 5:58 6:03 5:52 5:56 5:56 5:55 5:55 5:54 5:52 5:53 5:54 6:03 5:50 5:55 5:56 5:54 5:44 6:03 5:56 1:58
Cumulative Splits
00:05:47 1
00:11:42 2
00:17:33 3
00:23:13 4
00:29:05 5
00:34:48 6
00:40:35 7
00:46:33 8
00:52:36 9
00:58:28 10
01:04:24 11
01:10:20 12
01:16:15 Half way 1:17:15
01:22:10 14
01:28:04 15
01:33:56 16
01:39:49 17
01:45:43 18
01:51:46 19
01:57:36 20
02:03:31 21
02:09:27 22
02:15:21 23
02:21:05 24
02:27:08 25
02:33:04 26
02:34:59 26.2

4 days to Chester Marathon

"Victory belongs to the most persevering."
- Napoleon

http://chestermarathon.co.uk/

Well I have four days left until Chester Marathon. Today I went for a gentle run with my friend Adrian and also did some strides. The carbo loading has started tonight after completing four days of no carbs. The thing about eating food with no carbs is that it doesn't fill you up and it has made me feel a bit week. But now just 1/2 hour after eating pasta and breakfast cereal I feel better.

I'm hoping to set off at a 2h35 pace on Monday which is 5:55 per mile. Once I get half way I'll see how I feel and speed up / low down as necessary.

Can't wait for bed time. zzzzz

If you run 100 miles a week, you can eat anything you want Why? Because (a) you'll burn all the calories you consume, (b) you deserve it, and (c) you'll be injured soon and back on a restricted diet anyway. -Don Kardong

"We first make our habits, and
then our habits make us."
- John Dryden

Well I'm starting to taper and carbo diet (no carbs today and the next few days then load). I'm pleased with my training, I'm not injured and hopefully I'll stay that way until the marathon.

Training

As a result of reading "Daniels' Running Formula", written by a USA Coach, Jack Daniels, I've started to record my training by intensity rather than miles. This is much better, for example 10 mins of intervals is worth 10 points, this equate to about 8 miles worth of easy running. I can also log my swimming and cycling with this point system. I'll aim to do about 150 - 200 points each week. If you want to see my intensity log then there is a link at the top of the page. You'll notice how the points are worked out: by multiplying the time by the intensity factor on sheet two.

"I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition."

I have had my Garmin Forerunner 310XT this morning and I’m excited to start running with another tool – Heart Rate. This will help me assess my running intensity at different zones. I know that using HR in isolation is not a fool-proof method of assessing intensity but with that and using the pace I’m running at it’ll be more accurate than usual. I was going to purchase the 410 but this seems to have had some bad reviews on the touch bezel when it gets wet. Also the 310XT has a larger screen and it is completely waterproof.

With reading Daniels’ Running Formula recently I can see that keeping to the right intensity for the session is important. Whether it’s / Interval / Threshold / Marathon / or Easy Pace, the session can be much more effective at the right pace. E.g. with completing an interval session it is important to reach a point of VO2max and sticking at this (100% - 98% max HR.) there is no point in running at a higher intensity (leave this for repetitions). Threshold running is designed to increase the body’s system to clear lactate acid. There is no point in running this higher than Lactate Threshold intensity. This is around 90% max HR.

I need to do a hard hill session soon to calculate my max HR but for now I’m using 220 minus my age. I think I’ll leave the hill session to after Chester Marathon.

It is true that speed kills. In distance running, it kills anyone who does not have it. -Brooks Johnson

Just got home. Ran home from Chester. My legs feel really tied. I must be on the edge of an injury. I decide not to do intervals this pm and instead to run a Tempo run (30 mins at about 5:50 pace). This is because I am reading Daniels' Running Formula at the moment and it recommends these types of runs so close to a marathon. If you are looking for a good running book then I can highly recommend it.

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Daniels-Running-Formula-programs-marathon/dp/0736054928/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272996452&sr=1-1

Life is short... running makes it seem longer. -Baron Hansen

4 weeks to go to the Chester Marathon. I can start to taper a little. At last, I'm starting to be a little fatigued.

Run and Who Do I Believe - Lib Dem or Tory?

I was pleased with today's run: 1.5m warm up, Marathon Pace for 5m, 2.5m warm down.

This made me laugh. Have a look at the two election leaflets I received recently. The one on the right is from the Conservatives and the one on the left is from the Liberal Democrats. Who should I believe?

In fact both are correct but they are misleading. If you look at the small print the Tory (Right) statistics were taken from June 2009 and the Lib Dem 2008 local elections. Sneaky and cheeky.

Quote: "The greatest things ever done on Earth
have been done little by little."
- William Jennings Bryan

Today's 20 miler completed in 2hrs 11mins. That completes 101 miles for the week and they have been hard miles.
Here are the splits from today's run.
6:46 6:34 6:21 6:27 6:38 6:21 6:33 6:46 6:35 6:44 6:41 6:21 6:35 6:40 6:26 6:29 6:10 6:23 6:10 6:32