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I’m running Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC in 3 weeks. So just finished peak week of 154kms with 40km long run last week. Soft taper starts this week. Will do 26-28k easy on Saturday and then the 10k at Melbourne MF on Sunday, and then the taper proper. Good luck to all running MMF, especially those doing the full.
 
Amazing run by Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago. Crazy.
mind blowing stuff. I can’t run 1k at that pace, downhill. let alone 42 of them.
not long until we see a genuine sub 2.

Assefa’s run in Berlin was even more ridiculous.
 

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Seems like we are all doing it tough at the moment.

I finished with a 36km run up and down Beach/Beaconsfield Rd on Sat in 3:40 hrs.

Yesterday I developed mild cold symptoms and have Covid with a very faint line.

It’s extremely frustrating as the symptoms are mild (mild sore throat and some congestion) at the moment and the minimum mandatory isolation ends Sat night, so I can technically run in the Melbourne Marathon if I feel good.

I haven’t pulled out yet but contemplating whether the sensible thing is to do so. I was thinking of parking the decision until Sat to see how I feel.

Does anyone have any sage advice?

I was thinking if I pull out, I will go down to Portland and do the three bays marathon down there in early November but that just adds a whole heap of cost and travel etc.
 
Seems like we are all doing it tough at the moment.

I finished with a 36km run up and down Beach/Beaconsfield Rd on Sat in 3:40 hrs.

Yesterday I developed mild cold symptoms and have Covid with a very faint line.

It’s extremely frustrating as the symptoms are mild (mild sore throat and some congestion) at the moment and the minimum mandatory isolation ends Sat night, so I can technically run in the Melbourne Marathon if I feel good.

I haven’t pulled out yet but contemplating whether the sensible thing is to do so. I was thinking of parking the decision until Sat to see how I feel.

Does anyone have any sage advice?

I was thinking if I pull out, I will go down to Portland and do the three bays marathon down there in early November but that just adds a whole heap of cost and travel etc.

I’ve run with / after covid previously and it didn’t impact me at all once the symptoms settled. So see how you feel Saturday, if it’s mild you might be quite ok for Sunday.

For me, I’ve done all my volume and am enjoying the taper week, no particular injuries which is nice, so just need to get out there on the the day and see if my legs will carry me through under 3 hours or not.
 
Seems like we are all doing it tough at the moment.

I finished with a 36km run up and down Beach/Beaconsfield Rd on Sat in 3:40 hrs.

Yesterday I developed mild cold symptoms and have Covid with a very faint line.

It’s extremely frustrating as the symptoms are mild (mild sore throat and some congestion) at the moment and the minimum mandatory isolation ends Sat night, so I can technically run in the Melbourne Marathon if I feel good.

I haven’t pulled out yet but contemplating whether the sensible thing is to do so. I was thinking of parking the decision until Sat to see how I feel.

Does anyone have any sage advice?

I was thinking if I pull out, I will go down to Portland and do the three bays marathon down there in early November but that just adds a whole heap of cost and travel etc.
Hard to say. If you feel ok by Saturday night then why not race? especially if you can get a couple of easy jogs in between now and then.

wouldn’t want to waste all that prep by racing at half rat power though, so if you’re not close to 100% then maybe 3 Bays is the way to go…although I believe it’s not exactly flat and it’s not Melbourne.

fingers crossed you’ll be fine.
 
Well I've downgraded to the Half... Or at least the race office said I can, then it's been crickets trying to get in touch or hear from them to do it... So I figure worst case I just go to the race office on Saturday and they will do it for me then since I have an email from them advising they could do it.

Still a stress I'd prefer not to have potentially up in the air.
Body wise my right knee just is not playing the game, I managed a 16k run and finished pushed reasonably hard at the end and felt great but it's been tender since, just doing as much recovery stuff as I can this week, will smack the anti inflammatorys for a few days up to Sunday and hope for the best that I can even get the half done.. And if it gets going and is pain free then I figure I may as well have a crack and hope the long runs added some strength to carry me haha..

Then a few weeks complete rest I'd say I need to actually heal and recover and hopefully get going again.

Best wishes to all others having a dip on Sunday... Hopefully a great day for it
 
Maiden mara for me, bad lead up with the training but finished with a time of 3:44.

Some people are stupidly quick!

Great time! Congrats! Yeah seeing the elites up close is always very humbling.
I’ve got a Full marathon in the States in 2 weeks so only did the 10k yesterday at MMF (after last long run of training cycle of 34k on Saturday). There was sooooo many people, that event has grown so much in the past decade.
 
I did the half yesterday, how great was the support and energy.. Immaculate vibes, unfortunately a shitty last few weeks knocked the edge off and not being 100% I still chased a fast time.... Then just blew up, came in at 1:45 dead which all things considered I'm happy with but obviously would always like to be quicker..

Reckon the MMF would be a great half for a PB, wide roads, minimum turns and basically flat.. If I don't attempt the Mara next year (which to be honest is the plan at this stage) I'd like to try a flying half in shape I reckon
 

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Ran the full for the first time on Sunday, using the VDOT calculator it said ~ 2:58 based on my half time (further research says VDOT tends to strongly overestimate marathon times...)

Bag drop was a bit of a shambles so got to the start line late, was looking for the 3:00 pace group but they were on the right side of the road with a fence between me and them, so started somewhere behind the 3:10 pacers right near Steve Monaghetti as he was ringing the starting bell.

Chased down the 3:10 group over the first 3 or so km, then ran up to the 3:00 group by the 10km aid station. Averaging 4:09 for the first 10km (a.k.a 2:55 pace). By 16km I was still sitting at 4:08 / 4:09 average and realised I'd over-run and was no chance of holding on to that pace for another 26km so pulled it right back and just concerned myself with getting through in as best shape as possible rather than hanging with that 3:00 pace group and risking a DNF. Still went through half way at ~ 1:29 something, but made sure to walk the water stations and get a good drink in so I didn't have to worry about cramping or anything as the race went on.

After merging in with the half-marathoners and seeing their 2:00 pacer I looked out for someone I knew who was aiming for around that time, spotted them along St Kilda Rd and had a bit of a chat before moving on. Also saw quite a few of the people I'd been with in the 3:00 group rapidly going backwards at 32km onwards which validated my decision to pull right back on the pace and not risk having to walk the last 10km or DNF. I saw the 3:00 pacers at around 39km and there was only maybe half a dozen runners left, they'd gone through halfway around 1:28 so I suspect they'd over-run and blown the group up.

Crossed the line in ~ 3:16, no cramping, no injuries.

Missed my time goal which in hindsight was never really on, using some other calculators that come up with ~ 3:05 I think that was a genuine possibility on the day had I gone out at the appropriate pace.

One of my friends' dads has done 20+ marathons and said before the race - "don't get greedy". I got greedy.

Next time I'll use a different calculator and go out significantly more conservatively. Meanwhile I figure with a good base and no injuries I will hopefully be able to work on running some 5 / 10 / half marathon type distances and chase some PBs.

Also that shrine section at 36k is TOUGH. Kudos to those who had paced their race well and had the strength to hold their time through that section, saw a lot of people struggling along.
 
Used to run a couple years ago. Would run a 5km in 22mins, which I thought was pretty good considering I weighed 98kg.

ACL injury, knee reconstruction, a lot of heavy drinking, partying, overseas travel, not enough knee rehab/physio. 14 months later and I can only run a few km before the soreness is too much. Completed a 5km yesterday and pulled up surprisingly well. Hopefully onward and upward from here.
 
Ran the full for the first time on Sunday, using the VDOT calculator it said ~ 2:58 based on my half time (further research says VDOT tends to strongly overestimate marathon times...)

Bag drop was a bit of a shambles so got to the start line late, was looking for the 3:00 pace group but they were on the right side of the road with a fence between me and them, so started somewhere behind the 3:10 pacers right near Steve Monaghetti as he was ringing the starting bell.

Chased down the 3:10 group over the first 3 or so km, then ran up to the 3:00 group by the 10km aid station. Averaging 4:09 for the first 10km (a.k.a 2:55 pace). By 16km I was still sitting at 4:08 / 4:09 average and realised I'd over-run and was no chance of holding on to that pace for another 26km so pulled it right back and just concerned myself with getting through in as best shape as possible rather than hanging with that 3:00 pace group and risking a DNF. Still went through half way at ~ 1:29 something, but made sure to walk the water stations and get a good drink in so I didn't have to worry about cramping or anything as the race went on.

After merging in with the half-marathoners and seeing their 2:00 pacer I looked out for someone I knew who was aiming for around that time, spotted them along St Kilda Rd and had a bit of a chat before moving on. Also saw quite a few of the people I'd been with in the 3:00 group rapidly going backwards at 32km onwards which validated my decision to pull right back on the pace and not risk having to walk the last 10km or DNF. I saw the 3:00 pacers at around 39km and there was only maybe half a dozen runners left, they'd gone through halfway around 1:28 so I suspect they'd over-run and blown the group up.

Crossed the line in ~ 3:16, no cramping, no injuries.

Missed my time goal which in hindsight was never really on, using some other calculators that come up with ~ 3:05 I think that was a genuine possibility on the day had I gone out at the appropriate pace.

One of my friends' dads has done 20+ marathons and said before the race - "don't get greedy". I got greedy.

Next time I'll use a different calculator and go out significantly more conservatively. Meanwhile I figure with a good base and no injuries I will hopefully be able to work on running some 5 / 10 / half marathon type distances and chase some PBs.

Also that shrine section at 36k is TOUGH. Kudos to those who had paced their race well and had the strength to hold their time through that section, saw a lot of people struggling along.
congrats on the race.
even if the outcome wasn’t quite ideal at least you had the good sense to pull it back and make it through unscathed.
I imagine it would be hard not to chase sub 3 if you’re even remotely close to that sort of shape (not that I’ll ever be fast enough to have to make that decision).

good luck chasing those PBs
 
Ran the full for the first time on Sunday, using the VDOT calculator it said ~ 2:58 based on my half time (further research says VDOT tends to strongly overestimate marathon times...)

Bag drop was a bit of a shambles so got to the start line late, was looking for the 3:00 pace group but they were on the right side of the road with a fence between me and them, so started somewhere behind the 3:10 pacers right near Steve Monaghetti as he was ringing the starting bell.

Chased down the 3:10 group over the first 3 or so km, then ran up to the 3:00 group by the 10km aid station. Averaging 4:09 for the first 10km (a.k.a 2:55 pace). By 16km I was still sitting at 4:08 / 4:09 average and realised I'd over-run and was no chance of holding on to that pace for another 26km so pulled it right back and just concerned myself with getting through in as best shape as possible rather than hanging with that 3:00 pace group and risking a DNF. Still went through half way at ~ 1:29 something, but made sure to walk the water stations and get a good drink in so I didn't have to worry about cramping or anything as the race went on.

After merging in with the half-marathoners and seeing their 2:00 pacer I looked out for someone I knew who was aiming for around that time, spotted them along St Kilda Rd and had a bit of a chat before moving on. Also saw quite a few of the people I'd been with in the 3:00 group rapidly going backwards at 32km onwards which validated my decision to pull right back on the pace and not risk having to walk the last 10km or DNF. I saw the 3:00 pacers at around 39km and there was only maybe half a dozen runners left, they'd gone through halfway around 1:28 so I suspect they'd over-run and blown the group up.

Crossed the line in ~ 3:16, no cramping, no injuries.

Missed my time goal which in hindsight was never really on, using some other calculators that come up with ~ 3:05 I think that was a genuine possibility on the day had I gone out at the appropriate pace.

One of my friends' dads has done 20+ marathons and said before the race - "don't get greedy". I got greedy.

Next time I'll use a different calculator and go out significantly more conservatively. Meanwhile I figure with a good base and no injuries I will hopefully be able to work on running some 5 / 10 / half marathon type distances and chase some PBs.

Also that shrine section at 36k is TOUGH. Kudos to those who had paced their race well and had the strength to hold their time through that section, saw a lot of people struggling along.
Brilliant review, well done on the Full, well done on the self awareness to control yourself and also yes the shrine bit sucks absolute balls haha
 
Was going well after 10km running it in a tick over 61 minutes, but the hamstring started tightening up and then the groin issues seemed to return yet again, this time in the left leg (they've mainly been in the right side, pain since then has been mainly in between the legs above the privates). Slowest time I've ever done BUT that does give me 9 Melbourne finishes, meaning a run in the Green Top is closer than ever before. Still there's Auckland to back up for and tomorrow I'm planning to roll them over just to get back into it.
 
Hey all,

Back into running after a few years off, previous best in the half sat just under 2 hours and the full somewhere around 4:45 so not elite standards by any measure. Problem is after entering my mid 30's I am obviously much slower than before after all that time off which is quite frustrating but also pulling up much worse than I remember.

Would love to run a full again but not sure I've got it in me not only effort wise but also time since we have just had our first child. Anyone start training after having kids? The last thing I want to do right now is go for a run mainly due to energy levels
 
Hey all,

Back into running after a few years off, previous best in the half sat just under 2 hours and the full somewhere around 4:45 so not elite standards by any measure. Problem is after entering my mid 30's I am obviously much slower than before after all that time off which is quite frustrating but also pulling up much worse than I remember.

Would love to run a full again but not sure I've got it in me not only effort wise but also time since we have just had our first child. Anyone start training after having kids? The last thing I want to do right now is go for a run mainly due to energy levels
Hey mate, I've got 3 kids, work a busy full time job with a missus who works every 2nd weekend... And I turned 40 this year.

I did my first marathon last year, it can be done.. Like anything you just have to do what you can around what you can do... For me it involves lots of wearing a head torch and early mornings in winter which isn't always great but it's just a couple of months
 
Hey all,

Back into running after a few years off, previous best in the half sat just under 2 hours and the full somewhere around 4:45 so not elite standards by any measure. Problem is after entering my mid 30's I am obviously much slower than before after all that time off which is quite frustrating but also pulling up much worse than I remember.

Would love to run a full again but not sure I've got it in me not only effort wise but also time since we have just had our first child. Anyone start training after having kids? The last thing I want to do right now is go for a run mainly due to energy levels

i didnt run my first full marathon until 38yo, have now run 8 fulls (will be 9 after next weekend) and more HM's than i can count (am now 47yo). not fast at all either, best time in Full is 4.01 and HM PB 1:45. really only started running regularly around 34yo, but now its one of the most important things in my life, if i ain't running regularly i really notice the impact it has on my wellbeing both physical and mental. in fact, really the only reason i run marathons is the training, keeping active and fit, i don't really like the event itself at all to be honest! (though the last 200 meters is a pretty good feeling)
 
Hey mate, I've got 3 kids, work a busy full time job with a missus who works every 2nd weekend... And I turned 40 this year.

I did my first marathon last year, it can be done.. Like anything you just have to do what you can around what you can do... For me it involves lots of wearing a head torch and early mornings in winter which isn't always great but it's just a couple of months
i didnt run my first full marathon until 38yo, have now run 8 fulls (will be 9 after next weekend) and more HM's than i can count (am now 47yo). not fast at all either, best time in Full is 4.01 and HM PB 1:45. really only started running regularly around 34yo, but now its one of the most important things in my life, if i ain't running regularly i really notice the impact it has on my wellbeing both physical and mental. in fact, really the only reason i run marathons is the training, keeping active and fit, i don't really like the event itself at all to be honest! (though the last 200 meters is a pretty good feeling)
Thanks for the responses

Our boy is only 3 months old so thinking (hoping) with more consistency with his sleep etc I should be able to get into some sort of routine. Have been back at Park Run Saturday mornings as a family activity and finishing in the 28 minute range which is honestly a challenge at the moment.

Would love to add to my marathon total of 1 and also to do an Olympic triathlon…trained for 6 months a couple of years back and had it canceled the week before due to Covid
 
Thanks for the responses

Our boy is only 3 months old so thinking (hoping) with more consistency with his sleep etc I should be able to get into some sort of routine. Have been back at Park Run Saturday mornings as a family activity and finishing in the 28 minute range which is honestly a challenge at the moment.

Would love to add to my marathon total of 1 and also to do an Olympic triathlon…trained for 6 months a couple of years back and had it canceled the week before due to Covid
Like anything it's just about doing what you can around what you can.. I'll shift runs, go super early, go late, push back a day.. Whatever I need to get it done... Broken sleep with young kids absolutely sucks though so I've felt your pain there 😂

I'm similar to darrenmorgan in that I started late.. I think I was 35, I've only ran one marathon, I'm not quick or looking to set any records.. It's just become something I love and the body craves, and keeps me sane dealing with the kids etc as well haha
 
I should add... Time doesn't at all matter IMO, obviously PBs and personal goals can drive us. But it is what it is, if you stay consistent then the results follow, and the results are what they are. Family life can be hard and draining, I probably beat myself up too much after poor showings at events at times when really I've had a week's work doing OT before without breaks all day, or the kids have been mental or sick or whatever and it's not perfect leading up to what you are doing... And really that is what happens, life just happens and we just keep showing up and trying again.
 

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