Luton Marathon

[tc]

Lets get the TT vs RW challenge underway without any messing about - Top 5 finishers count. Surely they can come up with 5 crack runners. Cmon, TTers are at a disadvantage, there's no swimming or cycling. (well not quite sure about the swimming yet.)

Right, i'm off on me bike for a few hours.

[lewistri]

Don't worry too much about the weather. Living in Luton means im aptly placed to comment on the weather. It hasn't rained today, spat a little yesterday and nothing the whole of the week. It's not exactly windy although there is a slight breeze i noticed while watching Luton Town beat Preston NE 2-0
Should be fine tomorrow, my Dad is doing the relay, got his Sorry magazine for the London Mara through today. I won't be there as i've got 2 football matches to referee.
Lewis

[kevholt]

go the town 2-0 about time bozzzzz well done lets hope we can goin in to xmass with a good winn vibe!!

[wiganer]

Good Luck to all the TTers today who are doing Luton.....hope the wind drops/is non-existent and that you all fly around the course........

race reports later please chaps !!!

[lewistri]

Yes Kev thats what i like to hear, some support for the boys. Did i remember you sayin you was gonna come to one of Dave's brick sessions on a saturday or not? Anyway mate cya l8r

[dalecannonman]

DNS for me I'm afraid. I arrived in Luton at 8.20am, swapped my Zipp wheels for some of your earth pounds eith Tweenster and then managed two laps around the car park before the stabbing pains in the right calf re-surfaced. Had a good chat with Doug before the race aned conditions on the day were sunny, cold and a bit breezy. At least the rain was holding off! Hope everybody has a good run and as somebody else once said, I will return!

Dale Cannonman

[doug]

A very brief report - more to come

The weather was wet and windy on the way up, but had fizzled to a light drizzle by the time I got to Luton. Had a good chat with DCM. The race started bright and breezy, I tried to keep my effort even so was overtaken up the hills a lot on te first lap, but made up a lot of places on the second. By the third lap the wind had picked up and I had a bit of quad pain from about mile 22 onwards - not as bad as before so although I slowed down a bit I was able to keep going and finished in 3:27 for a pb by 11mins

Had a chat with toyota_crown ad the finish - he pulled out after 2 laps to save himself for the Round Rotherham 50 next weekend

[dalecannonman]

Great run Doug. In those conditions, a PB of 11 mins is one hell of an achievement. Now recover hard, as PaulL would say!

Dale Cannonman

[clarkyboy]

OK - just got back. Woke up this morning thinking I was at sea with the rain lashing against the window but it soon cleared up.

Really enjoyed this race - bit draughty but only a problem for a couple of miles per loop. Felt strong on the 2nd loop but the 3rd did me - calf pulled me up a few times but in under 3:40 and that's good for me in those conditions.

I thought it was well organised with friendly runners and the facilities after v. good.

Well done to everyone who entered.

[iainm]

well done guys. sorry to hear about that, dale. probably the right decision though

[dalecannonman]

iainm - Thanks. I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself at the moment and wondering how long it will be before I can get back to running. But with my ironman planned for next August, I can't afford to take any risks with long term injuries. I remember saying after my London 2004 marathon, "never again", but I caved in this year, only to be hit by injury again. Perhaps I should mean it this time around. In the words of one Mr Redgrave, if anybody sees me going anywhere close to a marathon entry form, you have my permission to shoot me!

Dale Cannonman

Dale Cannonman

[tc]

well done doug on a pb, you looked fine at the finish, i think theres plenty more pb potential in you yet. where was that wuss Daz, never saw him? bad luck dale, chin up. had a chat with oldnick of Farnham tri, who'd also pulled out at lap 2. maybe it was longest-day-itis.

yeah, i thought the wind could have been a lot worse, just a pain in the ar*se on the top stretch from Streatley towards Sundon, but i was expecting it too be as bad or worse when heading back into Luton again but this wasn't too bad. most of the day was bright sunshine, not that cold at all if you were running, and the roads had bout dried out in the wind too.

I wasn't feeling 100%, and entered on the basis that theres nowt much else to do in Dec so may as well wreck my shins doing this, but as Doug mentioned i'm tempted by falling flat on my face attempting my first ultra at 50mile RRotherham trail NEXT Saturday!

so I thought i'd at least start the race and see if there was any magic in my legs (or newish Nike Cesiums), and then maybe give it a good go. ran on grass/verge wherever possible to minimise impact as road racing i find really hard on my dodgy shins.

Sadly it was never looking like i was going to repeat last years time of 3h05 or a top 25 place, as i only did 13.1 miles in a laboured 1h36m30s, and not rally enjoying it (which is the point) so would have maybe struggled to 3h15 at best, more likely 3h20, and killed myself in the process. Maybe i'm getting old or more sensible?? so i ducked out at the end of lap 2 at 2h07m52s, as nowt to prove.

showers were just as useless as last yr - a tepid dribble.

well done to Lincoln Tri-er Steve Campion who had a similarly unpromising start to the race but caught me around mile 15 and powered on to a consistent paced 3h15, not far off even splits in the last two laps. I doubt i'd have been able to keep up with him.

on the basis of my performance here i'd be a bit daft to attempt RR but we'll see how i feel and wot the weather's looking like. Although i'm not 100% after my smash four weeks ago, it was nice to be racing again, hopefully i'll get back to full speed some time soon.

[trex]

Well done Doug, but given the way I've seen you run I'd suggest that a near 3:40 was a soft pb to be breaking! Marathons are a funny beast and you've put in a decent one.

Andy

[Daz]

I tried but it wasnt to be, again! I managed a PB of 3:05 but oh so wanted that elusive sub3. I think the weather got me on this on. Kept waking up and tensing the legs in my sleep (why do I do this before maras! ).

In the civil service champs there werent that many entered. I did a bit of homework and predicted Id need around 2:55 for a chnace of a medal.....which funnily enough was exactly what was req'd when I saw the results sheet.

I ran 2:55 pace up to Mile7. But couldnt keep it up so kept to a 2:58 pace after that. While running round lap 2 I met up with one of Hywels Boxfit friends. Got chatting about all sorts of stuff and people we both know. Great bloke. Also helped take my mind off the clock!

On start lap 2 and 3 I tried to add a few more secs with those first 3 miles. I got through the rest of lap2 ok but legs became v sore. By Mile22 on lap 3 the legs finally went. Again, they seized up rock solid on the start of the uphills. Mile 23 basically took me back to 3:00 and from that point I realised I'd have to drop the pace top get a PB. If Id gritted teeth and kept going Id prob have got cramp.

Stayed behind afterwards to cheer home the rest of my civil service team. Andrew got back in 4:40 and Nigel around 5:15. The poor guy (think in his early 60s) really suffered to get through lap3. They both made sure they got around because it means we have an outside chance of a civil service team medal. Total respect to these guys for doing this. It was very heart-warming. I saw nigel with head in his hands in the hall later, completely wasted. I salute him.

The weather got me today. Ill be back for a fast spring mara and that d**n sub3

Well done everyone else for getting around. Thats the toughest Ive been through. Bad luck DC with the leg, hope it heals up soon.
Doug congrats on the PB. Looked out for you guys but didnt spot you.

BTW - anyone fancy a team effort next year?

[tc]

daz said:

Looked out for you guys but didnt spot you.

BTW - anyone fancy a team effort next year?

I watched the feckin finish and didnt spot you - are you still a bleached or carrot top? Team -you mean Relay? - hmm maybe.

OK I take it back your not a wuss, well done on that pb. You matched my time from last yr but another bloke i watched finish at around 3hrs was 2 mins down on last yrs time as a 'for instance' due to the wind, so you'd have beaten me on that too.

i managed to not mentally scar anyone with a Paula stop this year. or maybe that's why you ran so fast to stay well clear of me. well done again bud.

[veganpower]

Cracking time daz, i might do this one next year

[doug]

Well done on the pb Daz

T-Rex - I've yet to run a really good marathon, 2004 I bonked and did 3:39, 2005 I had really bad quad pain and was reduced to 12min miles and finished in 3:38, today was the closest to what I think I ought to be able to do, but still had some quad pain and had to slow to 9min miles at one point.

I think I ought to be able to manage a 3:15 someday before I get too old and start slowing down...

TC - good luck at Rotherham

Dale - recover strong and I'm sure you'll be back in no time

[tc]

cheers irn bru / dougal / douglas. That IRN-BRU top is your trademark aint it?

tc said:

Right, i'm off on me bike for a few hours.

Probably wasnt the best pre-race prep i've ever done, but did encourage me to not finish, which for once, was the right thing to do.

[Daz]

doug maybe you're better on the flat? i reckon a flat course without the wind would see you down close to 3:15

TC, carrot? ;D the only carrot in it is 15 carrot baby! I had my cap on. been growing my hair a bit so didnt want it in my face.

[tc]

i reckon doug's got that in him too.

I didnt see a single pirate or pirate supporters. Anyone else?

[doug]

daz said:

doug maybe you're better on the flat? i reckon a flat course without the wind would see you down close to 3:15

Maybe - but I faired worse on a flat course at Abingdon last year, I actually like hills

[tc]

doug said:

Maybe - but I faired worse on a flat course at Abingdon last year, I actually like hills

Thats topical. So OK, excepting weirdo hill runners like Doug, my research tells that Abingdon Marathon (Oxford) is one of the few flat marathons that dont clash with the summer Tri season. Other obvious one being FLM. So Daz, are we on for Abingdon next yr then for the big sub-3? Or do you want to do it the hard way again at Luton?

Its early Nov i think, but books up in advance.

www.abingdonamblers.co.uk/serve_page.phtml?static=home/home.phtml

[doug]

tc said:

doug said:

Maybe - but I faired worse on a flat course at Abingdon last year, I actually like hills

Thats topical. So OK, excepting weirdo hill runners like Doug, my research tells that Abingdon Marathon (Oxford) is one of the few flat marathons that dont clash with the summer Tri season. Other obvious one being FLM. So Daz, are we on for Abingdon next yr then for the big sub-3? Or do you want to do it the hard way again at Luton?

Its early Nov i think, but books up in advance.

www.abingdonamblers.co.uk/serve_page.phtml?static=home/home.phtml

Abingdon is in mid/late Oct - this year was on the 22nd, last year was the 16th

[paull]

dalecannonman said:

Now recover hard, as PaulL would say!

Hard?
Who "Lives Hard"?

Now Doug has got the idea...

doug said:

Dale - recover strong and I'm sure you'll be back in no time

Laugh Strong, Paul.

[paull]

P.S.

Well done Daz.

[badger]

Well done everybody. Marathons are fickle beasties.

[dalecannonman]

.....eat humble pie strong

Dale Cannonman

[tc]

dalecannonman said:

.....eat humble pie strong

Dale Cannonman

Ha, one of my fave bands. Peter Frampton's back catalogue is surprisingly strong too.

I have just entered for RR50 - what has swimmingdunce got me into now - nooooo!

[Daz]

TC, I entered Rome Mara in anger yesterday ;D. I think it may be my only mara of theyear, unless you count ironmans.
Anyone for Rome?

The way I see it is this - maybe the great gods will pity me and let me have that sub3.

[doug]

Provisional results are here:

homepage.ntlworld.com/david.debnam/2006_mara_results.htm