Brighton still in the plan, just.

[andystev]

Five miles at the weekend went well. Really well, actually, felt good. A turbo session on the bike niggled the knee a little, so I still need to be careful, but the running was okay.

Brighton's going to be a tough ask. I'm going for it, but it's just going to be hell. Lauren, the coach, has done a fantastic job of keeping me honest and cardio-fit with bike, swim, cross trainer and strength sessions. Now she's come up with a fairly aggressive plan that gets me to a 16 mile long run before we start tapering into Brighton.

There's a massive difference, I'm now finding, between cardio-fit and run-fit. 5 miles at the weekend was okay, but there's a chasm between there and 26. Even if the schedule goes to plan I'm going to be 10 miles shy of race distance and 4 short of where the long runs were originally planned to be. And I should have been running that by now. So the race plan is likely to look something like 16 miles at as comfortable a pace as possible then dig in for anther 10! Jesus. That's going to hurt.

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

Wishing you lots of luck🙂

[Sqkr Half Marathon]

Oof, it'll be a tough one! I'm sure on the day you'll cover the full distance. But *stern voice* don't overdo it, if you end up on the injury couch again we'll all be cross. And you don't want that.

[andystev in reply to Sqkr]

Understood Squeak, I hear you! We had the "should we defer it" conversation. Close eye on the knee, if it's not holding up to the increased training then we back off and Brighton doesn't happen until next year. And Andy is a very, very grumpy boy!

[roseabi Ultramarathon]

Are you planning to take walk breaks? I would suggest walking through the water stations on the day, and practice regular walks during your training runs. As you say, running after a break can feel really difficult - any sort of break, so getting used to running after a walk interval is a handy skill.

And it needn't be "hell", particularly if you take it slowly, and be honest with yourself if your knee pain gets too much on the day (or before the day of course). The atmosphere at Brighton is fabulous. Break up the race into sections and dwell on the section you're in rather than what lies ahead.

And you still have time for healing before the race, take it easy and all the best xxx

[andystev in reply to roseabi]

I'm not, no. Walking feels like failure. Each to their own, and anyone that gets round a marathon distance, however they do it, has achieved a great thing. But, for me, it needs to be running all the way.

You're right though, there is still time, and race day euphoria will count for a lot. I'm just feeling the pressure a wee bit and still worried about getting into all sorts of trouble if I push the knee too far... Sqkr is going to tell me off for a start!

And, well, this wasn't the plan! I should have been a lot closer to ready by now and it's frustrating.

Thank you, I'm more optimistic that I otherwise might be thanks to the support I find here.

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to andystev]

I plan to run all of a marathon soon, but I think that running all of a marathon on an injury is very risky. Managing your expectations is also a useful tool. I wanted a sub-4 hour marathon at Brighton two years ago, but I wondered how I would feel if it didn't happen, would it spoil my day? Would it ruin all the hard work I had put in? Would I sulk and be a horrible person to be around? I thought no - far better to celebrate my finish no matter the outcome, and move on. There's so much more to running a marathon than actually running that marathon!

Race day euphoria, though, is a big thing as you say! Last year I did Brighton again - with an injury. I had not run at all for two weeks and didn't know if I could, but the excitement at the start was just electric and carried me a long way. Just watch your speed 😊😊😊

[andystev in reply to roseabi]

Totally get that! Last year, when I first signed up with Lauren, she asked what I was aiming for at Brighton. At the time I was hoping for 4:30 ideally, but just getting round was a win! As the training ramped up towards Christmas I was starting to think something like 4 hours was possible... Now I'm trying to talk myself down from any time goal at all.

Every single race so far I've gone out too quickly, without fail. I can bring it back under control, but it takes it's toll. Almost beat me at the Leicester HM, the last 3 miles of that were all pain, and taking an extra minute over the first two miles would have made the world of difference. I really need to not do that for Brighton!

New mantra: "Back off, back off, back off [...]"

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to andystev]

😊😊😊💗