Haha I would love to find another marathon ! Can’t think of any soon apart from the ones around the corner , Newport , Boston Lincs etc but they are way too close. I would always film but it’s definitely something I’d like to see for myself how I would perform for sure.

A month is not enough time to fully recover?

Thanks , on a whole I was happy leaving Manchester. I’ll be back one day.

Thanks 🙏🏽, yea I mean I knew the wrist based heart rate isn’t always accurate and in this case it was likely locked high but it didn’t matter as perceived effort was hard so knew I was working in overdrive from the start line due to anxiety and nervous tension. 🙁 Something I have to work on for sure.

Yea probably did a bit but I already knew my perceived effort was way too hard anyway no matter what the number was. It didn’t take me long at all to realise the watch data was not accurate as it was likely locked high.

Yea you too and well done. I don’t use HR enough to warrant getting a chest strap tbh. I only use it as a guide and instantly cross reference to perceived effort which on the day was the issue from the warm up to the start line my body just didn’t calm down. So even though the numbers were far too high and incorrect as it’s wrist based, no matter the data , sub 3 pace felt like half marathon pace.

Haha thanks so much. Not sure Neil will do another one! He seemed pretty adamant about it 😅

Thanks mate. Onwards we go!

Appreciate the support as always Drew. 🙏🏽

Thanks, will do!

😊 thank you

Thanks I will do! 🙏🏽

Ah thanks, glad you enjoyed it.

Cheers Mack appreciate it.

It was proper good haha

Ah sorry, you should have just interrupted to say hi 👋🏼

Thank you very much!

Absolutely , thanks man. We dust off and go again.

Glad you enjoy the ride! Appreciate the support. The story will end one day and I’ll crack it.

Hi, remember the video is a few seconds of clips representing a 3 hour run. The Hr was irrelevant because I went by perceived effort super early as it was clear the HR didn’t move much and was stuck high. The HR will have shown incorrect data for sure but even if it was correct and not locked high it still didn’t change how I felt and sub 3 pace was too hard from the start line. I knew my heart was working too hard from the warm up! I don’t run to HR if I did I would have completely stopped and walked as there’s no physical way it’s possible to run a marathon 10 beats from max HR , I would be crawling by the late stages 😅

Thanks so much !

Thank you!!

Yea the data on the day was well off and I didn’t pay much at attention to it once I realised it was locked high early on. I went to perceive effort so early as I couldn’t do 1km from the start without it feeling hard. The Hr and data was irrelevant the fact my heart was pounding and stomach in knots as I was warming up just made my body into overdrive from the very beginning. I’ll be in Valencia this year so I hope I get a run like you did! Well done 👍🏽

Haha I am glad you are enjoying the rollercoaster ride. I do want the story to end though! 😂

Much appreciated!

Haha yes the “never again” only lasts for a little while. However Neil seems very adamant it will be never again!

Thanks for that. Glad you enjoyed it!

Ah good job supporting! The crowd on the day were amazing thank you 🙏🏽

Thanks! 🙏🏽

Thanks mate, appreciate it. You did well too.

Thanks ,the HR data wasn’t that accurate with the wrist based sensor but it didn’t matter what number it showed all I know it was too high. So positive is I felt good finishing the race.

Thanks Brett. Was my pleasure to meet you and see you break your pb. Top top bloke!

Thanks for the comment my friend appreciate the support. Well done you. We go again!

I wasn’t worried about the data so much , I knew the watch was showing a lot higher than normal and was most likely locked high. It was probably more likely to be around (175) if the watch wasn’t playing up. But my perceived effort in the warm up and at the start line I knew my body was already working in overtime at the very start so just couldn’t settle.

@@TheWu do you think it’s more a mental thing?

Definitely something that I need to work on. I think anxiety building to the marathon start is what eats at me and also the pressure of suffering and failure in the late stage which has happened each time for me. Like half marathons I’m completely fine.

@@TheWu Manchester last week was my first marathon, I really just told myself to just go out and enjoy it! Screw the result, screw the pressure! Enjoy yourself!

Well done you! That’s what I told myself early on too that’s why I got the late stage fine and crossed the line happy. Also being so close to the goal whilst feeling good is a positive to take away.

Thanks for the comment and continued support. Really glad I saw you both on the day.

Absolutely!

Thanks mate. I’ll get there eventually ! 🤞🏽

Thanks mate! Glad you enjoyed the content. Oh which event did you run??? Hope it went well.

I did the 20km of Brussels. Over 30.000 runners! Maybe that's one run you can pencil in next year, very fun event 😅

Thanks Matt, I was around for quite a while chatting to people, shame we didn’t meet. 😢

Cheers bro.

Ah nice sorry you didn’t get it but we go again! Never heard of Abington. There’s always Chester or Yorkshire for you both in October too.

I’ll keep going and get there one day!

Nice to bump into you on the day. Yea I think the wrist base heart rates were likely showing incorrect and locked high. Either way it didn’t matter about the data I just knew it was high whatever the real number was and my perceived effort was way to hard for a sub 3 pace. Looking forward to your race day vlog.

Oh nice, hope you get better weather in Amsterdam than I did! It was cold and heavy rain ☔️

@@TheWu ah yes, I saw your vlog. I really hope it’s not like that 🙏🏻😂

Ah that’s awesome!

Oh hope you had a good run in the end. Thanks

Thanks 🙏🏽, I think the real HR would have been probably around 175bpm. The watch was just generally locked high but didn’t really matter even if it showed the correct readings the fact is it’s still too high to start a marathon and it didn’t settle as I went most importantly via perceived effort which I mentioned a couple of times on the video.

Yea definitely a confusing one for me, just couldn’t make the pace feel comfortable right at the start. My body was working so hard in the warm up I knew it could take a little to settle once we started but it just didn’t.

Thanks 🙏🏽 , glad you enjoyed the music I tried to find the most fitting to express my feelings of the stages of the race.

Cheers 🙏🏽

Thanks man, appreciate it.

Thanks 🙏🏽 Yep that’s correct, I’ll get over the line one day !

I was yeah, that was the best positive of the day. Feeling fresh and only being around 1 minute over. Legs felt great too.

Much appreciated!

Yea you too man. I’ll get there one day! 🙏🏽

Well done 👏🏽 You are a marathoner! I’m sure you will work down now to that sub 4. My mate Neil is adamant he doesn’t want to do another 😅

@@TheWu I love being one of the 0.1% or whatever the percentage is 😂👍

Thanks , he’s still saying no! 😂

Almost 😅

Yea you are so right. It’s a massive positive to feel amazing at the late stage and finish of a marathon, especially if we run so close to our goal too! I’ll be running Valencia this year I can’t wait it looks good.

Hi, thanks for the comment. I don’t think you necessarily need to run 1:26 for the first half. Many people who break sub 3 can run 1:27-1:29 for the first half. I hope I would run the first in 1:28 myself. 4 weeks before this marathon I ran 1:22 in a half marathon race which felt quite comfortable throughout, so I was really surprised when the race started my slower marathon pace felt harder. 🤷🏽‍♂️😅

@@TheWuTry my strategy next time. Another thing worth an attempt is a 10 mile slow run the day before the marathon. This was my strategy the one and only time I broke three back in 2016.

Neil was the star of the episode! 😂

🙏🏽

Thanks, yea the wrist based ones are not that good, but it didn’t matter too much on the day. Perceived effort was hard so didn’t really matter what number it would have shown. 🥲

Thanks, I hope your friend had a better race than I did! At least I finished well and happy, positives for the day for me. 🙏🏽

Thanks mate

Thanks again for your support on the course. You put a lot of effort into those timings and cycling all day!

@@TheWu You’re welcome Will, watched @ob1brand video last night and the part at the end with you is great. And 3:01 is still fantastic✅

Haha well done!

What a awesome comment. Really glad the content helped you for your first marathon. I hope it went really well for you! 🙏🏽

Thanks Vicky. Yes I left Manchester feeling good. Neil definitely doesn’t want to do another haha

Haha yes I hope I’m that fit when I’m Donato’s age. You could always try york marathon it’s a little more elevation than Manchester but I’m sure easier than Paris. Paris has a few tough parts with the tunnels and inclines and also cobbled road surfaces if I’m right?

@@TheWu Yeah Paris was more up and down and the surface not as great as I remember from when I previously ran it in 2016 (not sure if a few miles of that were due to the course changes), although the course definitely was not to blame for my poor performance. Yorkshire was a possible autumn race for me, I had also considered running Málaga Marathon on December 15th but might not run another one until Boston 2025 now.

Thanks 🙏🏽, yep pre run anxiety was definitely an issue. In fact it’s not pre run anxiety, it’s just pre marathon anxiety as it’s only in marathons. I can be completely fine for half marathons.

Thanks mate, Boston Lincs for you soon innit !

@@TheWu no mate I've given up on the marathon. The last 2 years I've tried to train for it but the training sucks every bit of enjoyment out of running for me, running is my love it's the only time i get to myself for myself away from work coaching the kids and being a dad when I start the marathon training the long runs and making time for them really just stresses me out, so I've decided to concentrate on bringing my half marathon time down. I would love a 1.30 half so that the goal from now.

Yea do what’s best for you. The training can be really hard to manage and if it’s starting to be a negative experience it’s not the right way. I’m gonna be doing a few half’s too. Thinking Manchester and derby.

@@TheWu I've got derby on my radar mate. Apparently a lot easier than Sheffield so maybe can shave some minutes off there

@@WhithamfamilyTV derby is fast, I’ve vlogged it a few times

Neil did great , he really experienced the distance of the marathon didn’t he!

Thanks! Ah I know some people did Chester last year, I will race it one time for sure. 🙏🏽

Yea the heart rate isn’t really correct as it’s wrist base but I knew it would be too high regardless of what number was showing. I went by perceived effort as sub 3 pace was way too hard from the start line.

@@TheWu over 26.2 miles you have to find 2 minutes! That's 100 percent happening mate! 🤣

Ah sorry about the knee. I hope it has been ok since. Well done for getting to the end. Yes the only option was to ease off and just run to effort and not a goal time otherwise i would have been in a bad state in the late stage which is definitely not what I wanted this time around.

I appreciate that! 🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽

Yea it’s a forgotten skill for most of us, being able to run without the tech.

🙏🏽

Yea at least I was close enough, a lot of positives of the day to take.

Thanks 🙏🏽 , yea i didn’t take much notice to it early on as I knew it was stuck high. The main worry was just how hard sub 3 pace felt.

Hi, yea it’s a wrist based so I know it’s not the best or that accurate but it didn’t matter what number was shown really as I knew by perceived effort it would be too high. I will work on the anxiety and have been recommended to take some natural supplements for it.

Like a secret assassin! 😅

Thanks 🙏🏽 I feel so too!

Thanks for subbing 🙏🏽

Thanks haha I wasn’t don’t worry, remember you see about 3 clips lasting a few seconds representing a 3 hour run. I already knew the data was was locking high early on and whatever the number was I knew it was too high regardless of the number showing (in reality I bet it was more like 175bpm). The perceived effort was the main issue sub 3 pace seemed harder than half marathon pb pace!

Hi , yes the carb load and fuelling was great. It was definitely one of the reasons I was feeling quite good in the late stages and legs felt super good crossing the line. Something I’ve never experienced before in past marathons.

@@TheWu thank you so much. I’ve been on it for a couple of days now. Must say I feel guilty eating this much but hopefully it pays off!

Hi Robert 👋🏼, thanks for the comment. The problem was just how hard sub 3 pace felt from the start line. I go by perceived effort and it just didn’t seem possible feeling like that so early on. If you run 1:30 for the first half and it feels way too hard it’s pretty much going to be impossible to do well in the 2nd half as the late stage would just crash me.

Thanks 🙏🏽 I didn’t feel bloated I wasn’t eating huge amounts it was just mainly light things. It got a bit tedious eating the same stuff for a couple days but in the end it was a massive help for the late stages of the marathon. It’s something I will be doing from now on for sure. Legs were super fresh and fuelling on the day too felt good.

The watch data for wrist base sensors is sometimes bugged and inaccurate for sure and in this case has most likely locked high which has happened before in training many times, normally I take it off and put it back on to reset it. However I always go by perceived effort which was causing me the trouble and stress as I couldn’t even run 1km of sub 3 pace without breathing hard. The watch data became irrelevant really early on and I mentioned my perceived effort a couple of times in the video. If I was running to heart rate I would have stopped and walked as it was 190 to 200 which if it was correct would have been physically impossible to run a whole marathon at and feel fine.

The wrist based heart rates can be locked high and inaccurate. It’s happened a few times during training where I normally take it off for a bit and it resets. It’s impossible to run a marathon with those numbers being so close to my max Hr so it was definitely incorrect showing too high. I knew this was just a guide and I went by perceived effort. The importance of the data wasn’t relevant the effort was too much for sub 3 pace from the start line.

Thanks 🙏🏽 it wasn’t faulty just sometimes wrist base can spike high and needs to be reset by taking off and on again. I think the real HR would have been probably around 175bpm. The watch was just generally locked high but didn’t really matter even if it showed the correct readings the fact is it’s still too high to start a marathon and it didn’t settle as I went most importantly via perceived effort which I mentioned a couple of times on the video. I’ll keep going and get there in the end!

@@TheWu you’ll defo go sub 3 soon. 100%

The course is measured accurately. I think each time I’ve ran Manchester it’s always been 42.6km which is the extra from not taking the best route line. I think nearly everyone ran a further distance.

Hope you had a good race. Hmmm thinking about trying for a Pb in derby yea.

@@TheWu will see you then!

Hi Nate, I did not race to heart rate , the numbers were just showing high so that’s why I used perceived effort for the race. If I was running to heart rate I would have stopped completely and walked as it’s physically impossible to run a marathon at near max HR without crashing. I felt fresh at the late stages and end so my watch was locked high but I knew if it was showing the correct amount (probably around 175 my guess) it’s still much higher than normal.

@@TheWu yeah. I never look at heart rate unless i have my forearm band. Good effort mate. The sub 3 is looming. You'll get there 😊. Work on faster half Marathons. That way you have confidence running faster. I always positive split. Faster in the start but still relaxed. I don't get how people negative split since it just gets harder later on right? Paris i took it more easy but still the final stretch was hard. Shall observe you getting there💪

To be honest the vlog and camera isn’t the issue. The issue is the marathon itself. I’ve always had a bad time in the late stage and it’s always what I worry about when racing a marathon. I can run half marathon’s and perform well with no issues no pressure and no anxiety. Just the marathon I get really anxious. Sub 3 is just a journey rather than a need to achieve it. Being a hobby runner I'm not a professional or even high level club runner so I have all the time in the world and enjoy creating content to try show the journey of training and being there in the intensity of a race. So many people have said they found the content useful and started running or been inspired to try a first marathon so it’s worthwhile. But most importantly it’s for me personally as when I’m done with running in the future I’ll have it all to look back on.

Definitely haha

Don’t worry my wrist based monitor was most likely showing an inaccurate high number. I went for most of the race by perceived effort. Thanks 🙏🏽

Yes i think this was the best I’ve been in the marathon at the end which is a big positive. Body was fine physically, the race was lost at the start line where I just couldn’t make even 1km of sub 3 pace feel comfortable. Glad you enjoyed the content. There are so many good vloggers out there these days and it’s great to meet them in person at events.