Slow doesn't mean easy!!!

[Bazza1234]

Three weeks ago I did a 32K run/walk at an average of 8mins 50 per k. This is actually the pace that I need to do to officially finish my upcoming marathon. I was wasted at the end of it!! So yesterday , I did a 35K run/walk ( the second last longrun in my programme) and thought I would slow it down to 10:30 mins per K. At that pace it should be quite easy?? Right?? Wrong!!! I was equally wasted at the end of it - maybe even more so!!! To slow the pace down, I increased my walking time quite a bit from previous and frankly found this walking to be more tiresome than the running. Not sure what to do now for my final 38K run/walk???

[GoGo_JoJo Ultramarathon]

🤔 I don't think I have you on Strava, does your data show anything?

How do you fuel and hydrate on the go? Is it worth changing your regime to try and find improvements?

Are your routes interesting enough, do you use music or podcasts to distract your mind?

Being tired I think is normal but ideally we still want to feel like we could have gone that little bit further. Although I stopped running Sat at 16 miles, warm up and the walk home made it over 17.5. I was tired but I'd made a change in my hydration product which gave me far less energy than normal.

I think everyone has a comfy pace where you can go for much further but I'm not sure there's any scientific way to find it, just trial and error. For me I think too slow would be just as bad as too fast...

You're still ahead of me by a few miles yet so you're doing pretty darn good in my book! 👍😉

[Tbae Metric Marathon]

Hi Bazza,

Just following with interest.

You are away ahead of me and what we share is we are in the 70’s category.

I am a novice and only trotting for just over a year now.I honestly had difficulty with the walking interval interruptions, not the accepted technique and results,as I had difficulties with the C25K walking intervals.

For me initially my trotting pace was not much quicker than brisk walking ,but I found just trotting so much easier.I remember initially I was just not happy stopping for any reason for fear of upsetting my 1234, and not restarting.

I am just not as weird now,and trying to find my quickest sprinting pace.

Atb Bazza, I am looking forward to see you find your tweaks and solutions.

I agree with Jo,your doing pretty darn good.

👊💥🏃‍♂️⭐️👏👏🔥

[Decker Ultramarathon]

A friend of mine mentioned to me that if you can go a little quicker in a marathon distance it means less time on your feet, and when you factor in the heat it makes a bigger difference for some people like me. I’ve never tested his theory, but it seems to make sense on some level. Ie going too slowly may actually be harder on the body over very long distances in the hot sun. There must be a sweet spot where the right pace matches the training level we are at? Either way, you are doing fantastic in my book too Baz!

[Bazza1234 Marathon in reply to Decker]

I have only ever "raced" up to HM and have basically always thought that different race distances were all about the appropriate pace ( at my current level of fitness) for whatever distance. But this marathon training has taught me that this distance is completely different . It is obviously affected by pace - but there is an elephant in this room. In training, you have to push this elephant to the finish line and the finish line gets further and further out each week of training. The pace at which you push the elephant seems to be very important in the beginning , but after that HM distance is reached the weight of the elephant seems to become the determining factor - and the elephant gets heavier and heavier with each longrun. But after each longrun you push it even further the next time - until you are asked to do so no longer.

[Decker Ultramarathon in reply to Bazza1234]

Its about meeting and then surpassing our own thresholds I suppose. I don’t have an answer but maybe I will in October after my first full is done. The weather also makes a big difference for me. Rain or cool runs are best, while hot sun soaks up my energy. Best of luck Bazza

[mrrun Ultramarathon in reply to Decker]

I agree with that. I found 32K to be easier job than half marathon and l was faster. In fairness, l got less fatigued through my new find, Tailwind, but there was far less stiffness in my thighs, actually almost none. Slow during long distances does mean more steps, and more steps mean more work. You are absolutely right, if you hit the sweet spot of the right mix between speed and number of strides, it's a winner. All we need to do is practice until we nail it.

[Clairecandothis Marathon Half Marathon]

I'm just starting to train using heartrate zones and my base training tells me to run in zone 1 and 2. This is so much harder to do than zone 3 as I am having to walk to stay within the specific heartrate at times and I am slowing my pace right down! I'm covering less distance (obviously I guess) but it does seem to make zone 3 and 4 feel easier once I'm allowed to move up! I haven't started on longer distances yet although my plan does suggest phased zones for long runs of 2 hours + which will be similar to what you are doing I guess. My feedback given from the plan is that slower/zone 2 training encourages endurance and stamina, which has to be good for the Marathon right?! I don't envisage myself running the marathon in zone 2 though. I see it as a training pace and a higher zone being my race pace. (Although race seems wrong terminology in a Marathon lol!) You are way ahead of me with the diatance and so you know you can run that far. I will begin to feel better once I start hitting past 25k and really feeling the distance at 30+!

With my halfs I did one slow and steady and the other too fast and then struggled. I've read some plans that discuss split negatives, which I guess I did more in my first half. Because the furthest I've gone so far is 22k I can't help regarding distance as such, but I'm guessing that I will need to run/jog at a pace/zone that I can continue with for at least 4to5 hours. I'm also only just starting to consider nutrition and gels within my longer runs too, so all of this is new to me. You seem to understand your needs very well and the monster of the Marathon!

When is your run?

[Bazza1234 Marathon in reply to Clairecandothis]

In 6 weeks. One thing to consider is that MOST of the info on the Internet is pertinent to faster runners (or so I believe) - talk to any "good runner" and discuss running for 6+ hours and most will back-pedal well away from you - holding up signs of the Cross!! As I referred to in my last post - I have read all about training and running zones and paces for all kinds of events - but nobody mentions the elephant of "time on your feet". But for me a marathon will involve at least 6 hours. I have also heard people say "If you hit the wall in the marathon, you can always finish by walking ." I now believe that this is easier said than done !!!

[Clairecandothis Marathon Half Marathon in reply to Bazza1234]

Yes I'm beginning to see how hard it is. My plan has 3hours as it longest run..... at the moment that won't get me much past my half marathon at the moment so I'm hoping that my interval runs along with the rest of the plan works some magic!

I guess on the day it is a mixture of the training, adrenaline, nerves, positivity and mental strength to finish in whatever way possible. 🤞🤞

[mrrun Ultramarathon]

Maybe slightly faster run followed by more relaxing walk to ease the pressure on your leg muscles? I also find slow runs a bit of a chore sometimes, especially for any business longer than HM, hence l decided to go a bit more uptempo and it works for me.

[misswobble Marathon]

You can train, prepare, best guess etc, but you can't know what will happen til you're in the thick of it. The training is a pain in the arse for sure but once you've got to 32 k in training (or whatever your cut off point is) then it's done. Getting that final long distance nailed is a relief. Mentally it's a weight off. I know you still have the event to do but you go into it with more confidence.