u/Intelligence_Tax

*Edit:Male/26/6'1/80ishKG/ I'm trying to run a 3:09 this year, after previously running 3:16 for my 1st marathon & blowing up in in the 2nd. Which i probably should of DNF'd, but just about managed 3:59..for the 3:59 race, i was extremely dissapointed & angry when i fell off pace(1st 2 miles were fine, then the heat/humidity got me & couldn't keep down fuel or water, threw up, alot of run/walking, but happy i came away with the sub-4.

I 've been trying to average 75-85mpw & try to do more strength training which i'm still trying to figure out & keep it to hard days to help manage overall fatigue better. Also not caring about bodyweight anymore & trying to fuel as much as possible.

I just wanna know, was there a point in you marathon journey where something clicked for you?? Maybe it was taking it less seriously or slightly more seriously? Running with people instead of doing all your training alone?

Because the way i'm starting to think about it is "I don't have to do this, i get to do this"..idk, maybe that's too deep for a wednesday afternoon post😂

Hope everyone doing good & enjoying training

***TL/DR:Has VDot been accurate for you, if you checked it before a race in the past***

Did my 1st 5K a couple days ago and just about managed sub-20, which i was really happy after double checking the average pace the night before and being a bit anxious about it. I put my result into the VDot distance estimator and it says my marathon pace is 7:15(just over 3:10) which is about where i thought it was before a horrible 2nd marathon last month(1st - Dublin:3:16/2nd - end of June: Just maganed sub-4 after puking & very likely dehydrated in mid-high 20sC° temps, very disappointed)

I have my 3rd in roughly 45 Days & am very excited/nervous about. Milage has been good. Trying to sustain 70-80mpw, but planter is causing me to miss some days.

Anyway, apologies for all the yapping -Have you guys/gals found the VDot system to be accurate for your previous races, if you've used it?

Are there any sessions you have done that made you more/less confident in your true marathon pace?

I know long runs are the best way of gauging MP, but i've not done many long-long runs(16+miles), but have some 20+ mile days this block)

Pretty lengthy post, apologies.

I know the cadence/melody, but not sure that helps at all.

It's a female vocalist & it might be acoustic, but maybe not fully.

The lyrics i think i remember are

""It's so hard to be with you" "Cause i know we got issues"

"I hate the way you look at me now"

This might be helpful at all, so sorry if that's the case. I've tried googling every variation of those 3 lyrics but can't find the song. I'm 100% certain it's a female vocalist with a minimal instrumental that has acoustic guitar and possibly some other production aswell.

None of that might be helpful at all, so i'm sorrt if that's the case. I've tried googling everything i can remember but i can't find it.

If anyone can help and knows the song, i'd appreciate it

I have my 1st 5K race on Wednesday evening, that i would love to get a PR in & give myself the best chance to get a good result in, but my main focus right now is keeping milage high for marathon training(Key marathon race in just over 1.5 months). *Trying to keep milage between 70ish/80ishMPW* What would be the best way to manage my milage the day before the race & the day following the race*

Will trying to double, am/pm easy runs on the tuesday, with strides on the 2nd run(6-7miles each run), is that likely to effect my possible time by highering fatigue 18hrs before the race? And should i take a rest day, the day after the race to fully absorb the stimulous, or would an easy run be okay for the following day?

I love physical releases of movies & i hate that there's so much incredible streaming service movies/shows with no Blu-Ray/4K or even DVD release, at all. I know a small few have had a release, like The Irishmen/Marriage Story and a few others, but i hate that for whatever reason, if netflix decide to remove something, the majority of people can't access it again(Unless they have a VPN/hacked fire stick or a certain online site memberships).

I've seen alot of blu rays & 4ks of netflix titles on ebay & i would consider buying a few of them if i knew they were decent quality.

Does anyone here have experience with them? If so, are they comparible to official 4Ks/BRs?

Is ebay the best option or is other, better alternatives?

What are some movies that maybe seem like it's going to be one type of movie, but it's nothing like you expected by the end? Maybe in tone, maybe it started off funny but ended up really serious - or vice versa. Or one character that seems like the main character, but dies way before the end.

This might seem like a very random/stupid thing to ask for, so sorry if it sounds a bit none sensicle.

I'm a runner who suffers alot of planter & other little injuries. I would really like to get a zwift bike for cross training. I saw some videos of people with bikes that change their elevation and positioning for certain terrain. So for climes it angles upwards, downhills down, ect, but not sure if that is a Zwift bike or some other company.

Are there any other charges after I buy the bike? Like subscriptions to get full features, or anything like that?

What should i know before hand, if i was to buy a Zwift setup, and what ones would you guys recommend?

Might order a pair of Fast-Rs today, what are some PROs/CONs i should know about?? My main concern, is that my planter has started acting up recently, would they be a bad choice for runners who deal with planter? I have a few races coming up and i've seen alot of people say how good they are for shorter distances especially.

Anyone who has tried them, what where your first thoughts after trying them out, for the first couple of runs?

PROs/CONs, ect?

Have a 5K race in 2 weeks & a 10K in 3 weeks. I've ran 3 half marathons in the past(1:32pr) which have been my shortest race distance i've done. I was interested to see what my mile time would be a few days ago, so i did a couple time trials, b2b. It wasn't on a track, so not sure if that makes a difference or not. Had to dodge a few people on the path and lookout for cars to go on the road a brief points. On my 1st rep, i got 6:56. 2nd was on pace for a 6:30, but lost concentration and had a mental block and stopped @ 1200m. Final try, I got 6:24 and was pretty happy with it. 100% effort. I might have gotten 6:19 if it was a completely clear path or ran of a track(don't have a track near me). I had to dogde people on the sidewalk and go into the road when i made sure there wasn't cars coming, to avoiding stopping all together.

What would my chances be of 19:59? P.B. right now is 21:43, that I got in the 1st 5K of a 1:32 Half, had to consciously slow down when i realised i was going way too fast.

From that, what would you guys estimate are my chances of atleast 19:59/39:59, in 5k/10k atm?

Currently training for a marathon so I've been doing alot more long runs and haven't done much speedwork in the last couple months, so that could play a factor on the day. All & any advice is appreciated

I've been really interested in trying a few different supershoes. So far I've tried AF3s(have 2 pairs, really like them) & Adidas Pro 4s(Only done a couple runs in them\*20miles\*). I like the fit in both & have used the AFs for a few races & had no comfortability issues(2 marathons, a 30k & 2 half marathons). I've been really wanting to try out the Endorphin Elite 2s & R3s but whenever I see a pair of either for a good price(€200 or a little under) they rarely have my size(uk12) And there is a couple sites that have good deals but i don't know if they're 100% trustworthy. I've seen 365rider has a couple good deals but I've heard they don't have great customer service if the fit isn't 100% right, which is what I'm worried about.

Does anyone have experience with either company?if so, I'd love to know what you guys think(pros/cons,ect)

Does anyone know if I can change garmin to track bike training in time & not distance? I have a cheapish indoor bike that doesn't count distance, and it's kind of annoying whenever i go to biking on the home screen, it says 0 for milage

I've massively been neglecting strength training, which is leading to a few niggles. How do you guys structure strength training with your running program? Looking to do about 70-80mpw for my next block w/indoor bike cross training & I've noticed when i've gotten to 70+ mpw a couple time in the past, i felt really low energy the next week and wouldn't even get close to 50miles.

How would you do legs for example, and still have energy and not be too sore for the next training day? Would that be a back to back easy day? Or Keep hard days hard and do the strength training pm after a hard am session?

Really grateful for any advice you guys have on this. I know it's not a "one rule fits all" type thing and trial by error could be the only way to really find it out. Would love to hear what ways you guys breakdown training.

Race Breakdown

(peaked at 74 miles/couple weeks over 70 & alot of cross training)

EDIT:1st Marathon was 3:16 on alot less volume than this block & knew my fitness was in such a better place

Sooooo....GoalTime was 3:09:XX. I ran a 1:32:57 half start of May so i knew i wasn't going to get close to 2:59(Goal at the start of the block). Plan was to go out at 7:15 and keep as close to it as possible for the whole race & finish strong the last mile, but...from the 1st mile, i knew i wasn't going to get the time i wanted..it was pretty hot on the day & the whole training block was done in cool-cold weather(7-13C•). Heart rate sky rocketed after mile 1. It was 26C° on the day and got hotter as the race went on. It was horrible. Couldn't keep fuel down either., threw up at mile 8 & was probably dehydrated. Smart thing to do would of been just walk back to the start, but it didn't cross my mind. Made it to the next water station and drank 1 whole bottle and poored another over myself. By the time i got to mile13, i truly didn't know how i was gonna finish, but from about mile 6maybe, i was talking to someone and he said he planned a similar finish time prior to the race and he quickly found out, like I did, it wasn't on the cards for today. So we stuck together and just tried to keep each other going. Asking if either of us needed to stop, then we'd both stop and walk for about. Agree with each other"lets walk to the top of the hill & run", ect. It was a fucking rough one.

I managed to just barely go Sub-4, which i'm happy about for the conditions, But very annoyed at the outcome compared to my fitness.

I was so disappointed, because it was the hardest i've ever trained, this block & i knew i was the fittest i've ever been. 1 upside is, my body feels great. Don't feel like i ran a marathon at all. Anyway, back to the drawing board. Going to rest this week anyway, & think how to structure my training plan for my next one. Have a 5k booked i just over a month & already signed up for my next marathon, mid September. I'm even more motivated now & feel like i've learned alot this block

Okay, so as the title says, 5 days to go untill race day. What do you guys do running wise now? Do you only do very short easy runs each day & strides the evening before? do you still do some marathon pace miles?

I know my plan for the carb load, i know its bad to just stop running all together, so wondering what you guys do run wise in the days leading up to race day

EU BASED What are some websites that are legit/trusted for race day shoes that aren't $300+?? Been looking for a decent deal on the R3s but have bit the bullet yet because i'm unsure of how trust worthy a few of the websites are

For people who have ran multiple Marathons trying to PB each time, what are some of your carb loading DOs/DONTs??

This could vary alot depending on the runner, i get that. I'm just really curious.

I've heard people say 8-10g of carbs per KG of weight for the Thu-Sat/ & others that don't do nearly as much. Do you eat more on the Thu&Fri, to try not feel overly bloated on race morning?

*I'm really interested to see what everyone's thoughts are on this, thanks*

Edit:Peak milage 77mpw/averaging 60ish for about a month/Avg HR for the Half was 172/Avg HR for the Full was 170

I ran Dublin in 3:16 last October & know I'm way fitter now than i was then. I went through half in 1:35(which was a PR at the time) which i know was a big mistake. Started near the back of wave 3 after not being able to sneak into wave 1 with some lads who were running wave 1.

Cramped so bad the last 5km, pace slowed down to 9:00-9:45 a mile.

I ran a half a couple weeks ago & got just under 1:33. Paced it pretty well. Went out a bit too fast for the 1st 2ish miles but settled into between 07:05-7:10 mile pace nicely.

Didn't cramp at all which i was pretty surprised at, but i'm not complaining.

My plan for the Full was to try average as close to 7:15s as possible(7:10-7:15 range) & maybe try dip under 3:10 if im not hurting too bad by the last couple miles.

Does this sound like a doable pacing strategy or am i just not as fit as i think i am??

Any advice would be great

*Edit: Checked my weight this morning:82.10KG(181lbs)(6ft.1 if that's relevant info at all, also)

*Apologies if this is triggering for some*,

i know weight can be a bit of a sensitive topic.

I'm looking to sustain roughly 75-85 miles a week, but i'm a bit heavier than i would like to be at the moment.

I've been eating roughly 4000kcal a day, some days closer to 5000 not including gels during runs. I don't really know what i weigh atm, i'd guess around 85kg(187lbs).

I've been having a slight pain in one of my ankles(never hurts when running) & want to reduce the load on it so it doesn't turn into a bigger problem & i just feel better menetally & physically when i'm roughly 75Ks(165lbs).

Is there anyone who has experience with this? If so how did you manage to keep milage high & do good quality training, while in a caloric deficit?

*Again, sorry if this is a sensative topic for some. Any adive would be very much apprecaited*

Finished Dublin half last week and just barely scrapped my goal time of Sub 1:33(1:32:57). I knew that was where i'm at currently, & don't think I could of got any better. Didn't cramp at all, started near the front of wave 1, was pretty nervous before we set off but felt good. I want to not go out too quick but the 1st 2 miles were 2/3 seconds off Sub 90 pace, so I had to make myself slow with sub 70-85Minutes runners zooming past me 😂. I didn't cramp at all which i was surprised at, but delighted not to. My previous PR was 1:35 which i got for my half split in Dublin full from October. I was extremely happy with the result & now which areas i'm currently neglecting & some simple changes i can make to get a few more % points better. The last few weeks i've been the most serious with training than any other point. I got 3:16 for Dublin last year & I think under 3:10 is very doable for me at this point. I was hoping to get a Sub-3, but I no i've not been any where near as consistant & milage isn't where it would need to be at this point(built upto 70mpw a couple times, but not consistantly staying near that amount enough for multiple weeks in a row.

I'm going to try & get a ticket for Dublin again, in october and i'll try my hardest to get atleast 4-6 weeks(70-90, i think would be good) of decent milage & a couple races in before hand.

What are some of the key changes you guys have made from you 1st Marathon - to you 2nd/3rd? Was it bigger milage/more strength work/longer runs more consistantly/eating more/ect.