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The Road to Paris - On a Plateau - Asics Target 26.2 Training
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Angela.......I'm happy to say that you have sweet-talked me (not that it took much talking!) into putting an order in for that book from Amazon. It actually contains quite a few of the stupid distance Ultras that will always be on my wish list. Spartathlon will always be my biggest dream. But I doubt I'll ever be committed enough or fast enough or be able to run far enough to run this.
You are braver than me to be thinking about running in Antartica. I never realised it was so expensive. I think even if I needed to run there to say I'd ran a marathon on every continent, I'd still give it a miss!
Thanks again for the book recommendation!
Hey Sarah.....great to hear from you. Apologies yet again for not making any comments on your forum page for a while. I tell you what though, once Paris is over, I'll be camping out on your page as mine will be obselete!
I take it you won't be running any long runs all at MP?
I think this was a schoolboy error on my part, but there isn;t any lasting damage and it served as a good confidence boosting run. I can see why it isn;t recommended though.
I'm doing pretty well for the pre-race nerves actually. I still feel calm and focused. I'm sure I'll have a few 'moments' before race day where I'll feel the butterflies. In the past I've had more nevers, but that's been because I haven't done anywhere near enough training and I know I'm well under-prepared. I think following a proper training plan has helped with this time around though.
I have my yearly work party the night before London, but I'd love to still make it to watch London. I'll definitely keep my eye out for you and a few others I know who are running.
Glad you had a great time in France. Was that a trophy I saw you'd won?
From what I've been told, I think 18 two-weeks out might be a bit too much.......but Minni might give you the green light for it? I was happy with my 12 miles. I don't think it would have made much of a different doing 12 or 15 really for me, which I was I would normally do.
How was the weather in France?
Are they real niggles, or more in the head niggles? I swear, every time I put my foot down at the moment, I worry something is going to happen! Whereabouts is the foot pain? Does it hurt when running all the time? Does the pain go away the slower you run?
It sounds sensible to drop back to 15 miles after doing two 20 milers in row. If you did 20 miles this coming weekend how many 20 milers would that give you in training so far?
Are you feeling quietly confident of breaking your goal, given how well your training seems to have gone?
I can assure you, even if the next Ice Age sets in a week on Sunday, there will be no lycra wearing going on - shorts and t-shirt the whole way! I'm not sure my legs would thank me for this!
I think Minni might hunt me down and give me a good telling of if I did my planned 22 this friday or any other of my LSR at MP. I can see how confidence boosting it would be if I could do it but the thought frightens me (and not just because of the telling off I will get), ive learnt so much over these last 13 weeks.
Im glad that you dont have any pre race nerves. I know what you mean about being well prepared, it does help. Ive always been terrible pre exams...its normally my sleep that suffers though rather than anything else. Before my medical finals I didnt sleep at all the night before. Think I only had 5 hours before London last year. Im hoping to do better this time round.
Well spotted...I was 2nd lady to finish in France to I got a trophy and flowers. I was also the first runner back in my club so I got the trophy that is passed between the two clubs. It was cold in france and windy, but there was no snow or rain and it was probably to be fair not as cold as england. Saw a bit of sun on the fri and monday too.
I watched Steves podcast today on tapering. He was saying about 15 miles 2 weeks out which I think I would be happy with. I remember having a cold at about 2 weeks out last year and only managing 12.
I feel like I havent done that much speed training aswell like you, its strange as I know that I have done at least one session a week or a race in its place but it really doesnt feel like ive done many...maybe its due to them being out numbered by all the slower runs!
Sadly they have always been real niggles in the past and this one definitely isn't in the head either. However, I'm not too worried about it as I am still able to run and I have plenty of time to ease it out.
Sarah and Minni think it's a bit of plantar fasciitis and I think they might be right. It's right in the arch. It does tend to ease while running though which is good though the arch feels a little tired. Doing lots of stretching and standing on tennis balls
If I do 20 this weekend that'll be 3 x 20 and 1 x 23 so I'd be very happy with that.
I'm definitely quietly confident of a decent PB. Not sure about breaking 3:30 though. That I am a little nervous about. If I did three thirty something I'd be over the moon to be honest. And of course everything will depend on the weather.
How are you feeling about 3:30? Do you feel confident about 8mm pace for 26 miles? Have you worked out your pacing - will you keep it even all the way or start a little slower and try and run a -ve split?
Ha, so no lycra then
Probably just as well with the film crew following you. I wouldn't want to be caught on camera with mine.
Enjoy the massage tomorrow, I think you've definitely earned it!
Sarah, with your pace you don't need to do speed training!
Btw. re. sleep the night before, I remember reading somewhere that it's not such a big deal if you lose a few hours because of race nerves/excitement. The main thing is that you get sufficient hours rest.
Anyway, I'm sure you'll sleep better this year now you know the drill. Was last year your first VLM? Are you staying at the same place?
Shady, enjoy the book- it's ideal to read after u've done ur race, so u can plan the next one! Though am I right in thinking you're doing Comrades? When is it? It's certainly on my wish list
Angela - it's been cold enough the last few months for me to know that I won't want to be running any closer to the poles than I am at the moment
Comrades is a different matter - I would certainly give that consideration.
I know what you mean about the big city maras. I've done 3 London now and I did love it but there's alot to be said for the smaller ones. I'm doing the Great Welsh Marathon this year and it's nice and quiet and runs along the coastal path in Lanelli. I can more or less roll up just before it starts. Even though I live inside the M25 I still have to leave the house several hours before the gun goes off.
Day 102 - Asics Target 26.2 Paris Marathon Training (28/03/13)
Target: rest or low impact cross training
Actual: 1hr sports massage
Like yesterday, I decided to swap my runs around in order to fit them in this week. I wasn't able to run at lunch due to meetings and with my sports massage scheduled for after work, it would have been too much of a push to try and fit in today. Instead I just moved Friday's rest day to today and will do my 3 mile jog tomorrow. I don't feel as bad doing this considering it's only a short jog to re-arrange.
After procrastinating for a good 2 weeks, I'm very happy I finally got myself in to gear and booked my sports massage. I've learnt a ridiculous amount during this training and one of these is the importance of a sports massage. I'm extremely happy to have someone in my home town now that is not only available when I'm free, but someone who I was more than happy with and I'm sure will be seeing repeat business in the future.
I explained the issues I'd been having with my tight hip flexors and the sports masseur (I think that's the right terminology?) got to work on my legs. It certainly wasn't as deep or painful as the massages from Sarah at boot-camp, but it hit the spot. I was happy she gave both legs and gluts a complete work-over. My hip flexors were indeed tight, and it is always a nice sensation to feel them unwinding. What I hadn't realised was that both my calves and gluts were also really tight and having these worked on was actually much more painful than my hip flexors. It just goes to show that when you know you have a problem in one area, it's easy to neglect other areas of the legs, where tightness or strains go unnoticed.
It was definitely money well spent. My legs felt like spaghetti on the walk back home and I was even given a new foam roller stretch for my gluts, as I'd struggled to use it on my gluts so far and felt like it was doing anything. Before, I was just sitting on the foam roller and rolling back and forth. It doesn't take a genius to realise this does very little. A much better way is to cross one leg over the opposite knee and then roll on the foam roller, as this stretch is already working the glut before using the foam roller on top of this.
It just so happens the husband of the sports masseur is also running Paris Marathon, and it wasn't difficult to keep a conversation going for the full hour about running. My wife is the big winner here, as it means she gets a whole evening minus running talk!
My 'personal convocation' arrived via email today, which I need to print off (mental note to myself - please don't forget to print this off!) and take to the Paris Marathon Expo in order to pick up my number. On it though it says that the medical certificate must say 'running in competition' to be valid. I'm sure as mine instead says 'in running competitions' there should be no worry with it being invalid, especially as it was given to us as a template by Asics. But I can tell a few nerves are starting to kick in, as something like this starts to cause doubts.....and there was me thinking that I wasn't having any issues with nerves!
Calorie Watch! Food & Drink Diary – Wednesday 27th March 2013
So my attempt at going the last two weeks without any chocolate or alcohol took a giant stumble today. I think Ruth will be disappointed.......but in my defence, it was for the benefit of my future career prospects (lame, lame , lame!).
6:50am - Breakfast - Fruit and Fibre with Semi-Skimmed milk
9:00am - Cup of tea, bottle of water
10:30am - Cup of tea, bottle of water, banana
12:00pm - 5.2 mile run (see earlier for full description)
1:15pm - Lunch - Ham, salad and pickle sandwich in brown bread, bottle of water
2:30pm - cup of tea, bottle of water
5:00pm - Bottle of beer, glass of wine (after a meeting at work, we were given the chance to mix with senior management and enjoy some alcoholic beverages as a special treat for progress made on my project - it would have looked a little rude and awkward if I hadn't enjoyed at least one alcoholic beverage. I suppose I could have kept it at one, but having another meant I could put off going back to my work for a little while longer).
6:00pm - Cadbury's Creme Egg..........time to hang my head in shame!
7:30pm - Dinner - Macaroni and cheese with a big helping of spinach, pint of squash
8:30pm - Pint of squash, cup of tea, Muller Yoghurt
10:30pm - Glass of water
Hey Sarah..........I think my post marathon training will involve several glasses of an alcoholic beverage, a giant chocolate brownie, and some disgusting fast-food item that I'll regret immediately afterwards. I'm also sure it will involve a few days of doing absolutely nothing! Being serious though, I'd like to get back running within a few days to try and work the lactic acid out of my legs.
I definitely don't think running your LSR at MP will win you any favours.....even your own legs might try and disown you for doing it!
Great work on your 2nd place.......hopefully that will just be the start of a very successful few weeks of running for you. I mean, if I'm deemed in with a chance of going sub 3:30 (I think there may be a few doubters out there still), then someone of your calibre should be in an excellent, strong position.
Do you keep a diary of your runs at all? Looking at MyAsics, which I've been using all my runs since starting Paris marathon training average 8:17m/m. So basically I'll need to run 20 seconds a mile faster than my average running speed to break 3:30. I do admit that this makes it sound much more daunting! But I know with my faster runs, and races, it can be done!
I really hope it's not PF Malcs. Hopefully you can keep it under control. I take it, it's more painful first thing in the morning? I had to have a steroid shot for mine a couple of years ago as it just wouldn't go away. Luckily it's never come back. I tried everything beforehand.....stretching......insoles.......using a golf ball (like your tennis ball).....I even used a night split to sleep in.
That's a very solid number of 20 milers. My sports masseur was asking me how many 20 milers I'd done and how far my longest run was. She said her husband got his marathon PB (a solid one at that!) on marathon training when his longest run was only 14 miles! I think this shows how much of it is a mental battle.
As for 3:30..............there should be no reason why I shouldn't break 3:30, but I think my issue is, that I don't have a lot of minutes (or even seconds!) to play with. I think Sam's calculator has me coming in 45 seconds under. Martin Yelling's calculator has me a couple of seconds under 3:30 ( Half Marathon time, doubled, plus 10%). According to these calculators, I don't have a lot of time to play with. If I was on target for a 3:27, then I'd definitely say 3:30 was on.
All it would take would be an episode like Boffy unfortunately suffered with, where a toilet stop would be needed, and I'll be playing catch up.
There's nothing I can really do about this now......I've followed my training to the letter. I could have easily ran faster most sessions, but what's the point in doing this and not following your coach. Sam has an immense reputation for getting the best out of 'recreational' runners and I have full faith her plan has put me in the strongest position I'll ever be in to obtain my goal.
Regarding my pacing, I'll have to talk to Sam about this and how I should play it. Personally I'd like to go off at MP from the start. But I know this might be difficult to start with, as the runners spread out. So with this in mind, I'd rather lose some minutes at the start and try and pick this up later on, than spending extra energy weaving in and out of people and running further.
Have you got your eyes on a pacing plan yet? If I'm on for a sub 3:30, then you definitely are too.
I couldn't agree with you more Malcs on the sleep.......rest and adrenaline will get you through. Any race I've ran where I need my alarm setting means I never sleep well.
When I did the New York marathon I shared my room with a mate who went out the night of the marathon and got blind drunk......they came back in to the room about 2am and spent a good half hour telling me in graphic detail of what my mates had gotten up to that night and who had kissed who. Good stories.....but not really the night before a marathon. They then passed out and snored loudly all night. I didn't get back to sleep again befoee my alarm went off at 4am.
At the time I was extremely annoyed....but I learnt my lessons from it. It also didn't really affect me during the race. I didn't feel tired as the adrenaline was kicking in.
I don't think Mrs. Shady Ady is planning on doing similar next weekend!
Thanks Angela......I'll looking into the app as well. Unfortunately Mrs. shady Ady beat me to getting an Ipad, and at the moment I can't justfy having two Ipads in the same house. Not unless the new pay year also brings a hefy pay rise (which I know isn't going to happen!).
You do know this is a slippery slope though.......the few days after I've ran a race is the worst time for me entering another.......I just want to enter loads and have to wait until sanity hits and I can choose more wisely.
Comrades is in June. I'm not thinking about this though until Paris is out of the way though. I want to stay focused on the task at hand.
I don't think I'll run another marathon this year. I might do a half later on this autumn, but I'd rather focus on my shorter distance speeds. Time for running might be more sparse later on in the year and the break might do me good from being marathon training constantly.
Thanks for the suggestions!
I don't know what's going on tonight.............. I'm finding myself agreeing with everything you've said!
It's hard to beat the big city marathons for crowds and atmosphere but I've found the smaller ones I've ran more unique and picturesque, especially the ones that run through rural areas. The most picturesque and interesting one I've ran is Farnham Pilgrim's Half Marathon (same time as the full marathon)............amazing views, challenging trails, plenty of jumping over stiles!
The Great Welsh Marathon sounds like it has the beating of any of the smaller ones I've ran in terms of views and scenery though.
Ady - great to hear the massage went well. A nice easy week next week and you're all set!
I wouldn't worry too much about the calculators for determining pace. I reckon you've already proved you can do it in your training.
I'm still not certain about pacing yet. I haven't done as much speed work as you and what I have done wasn't as fast either. That said, my speed has always been ok, it's the endurance I've struggled with. I'm happy to go off at 8mm I'm just worried that at some point I'll run out of juice like the inferior non-Duracell bunny!
I really liked the feel of how we did it at Spitfire, progressively picking up pace. However, I do realise that we started pretty easy and clawing that time back at the end would be very tough.
Re. the foot pain. How limiting was your PF when you had it? Painful walking? Could you run at all? I've done all my runs this week on it and the happiest it's felt was in the last mile or two and immediately afterwards. I guess that at least is the best way round to have it. And walking is pretty much fine though I can feel a little ache in the background.
So I'm not sure if it really is PF but just a bit of tiredness in the foot muscles after the battering they've had over the last few months.
My current dilemma is whether to do 20 on it over the weekend. I wonder how much I have to lose from not doing a 20 miler 3 weeks out. I know you didn't but then I think you did one at 4 weeks out? Last week I only did 15.
Rest day tomorrow so we'll see how I stand (quite literally) on Saturday.
Re. sleep - Your NY experience sounded like my worst nightmare. I hope you got them all up at 4am as revenge
The GWR is a very pretty route. There are a few loopbacks though which some people wouldn't like. It's also two laps but having done Spitfire in two laps I quite like that format.
Don't think your Creme Egg won't go un-noticed btw. Ruth will be down on you like a tonne of bricks! Hang your head in shame indeed sir!
Have a great weekend - is it just a short one for you? I will need to check back.
Very jealous about comrades... SA is on the short list of honeymoon destinations, tho the future Mr. Isherwood is very set that the hmoon should be sun/sea/sand combo, so we're leaning toward st Lucia- I'm sure they advertise and push u to these beach honeymoon destinations so that ur so bored on the holiday all you'll want to do is procreate...
On Sarah O's thread a bunch of us have pencilled in doing San Fran marathon in 2015- not sure this one has made the book, but it's such a great city I'm sure the race will be fun.
Malcs/Ady, I'm only upto marathon number 3 (would be 4 if NYC had gone ahead). My first 2 were London and Berlin, so both big city, though Berlin was significantly less carnival like. Many people mention the crowds get u round, whilst this was certainly true for London, which was my first, I don't think it made a jot of difference in Berlin- I'm hoping the Halstead and Essex will give me a chance to enjoy the running part of the marathon, and clock a time closer to what my shorter race speeds suggest I'm capable of. Both the previous marathons were in 2011, and both were unseasonably warm days, which I'm sure contributed to me getting cramp relatively early in both races-something that never befell me in training.
I'm curious also, your both aiming for 3:30- what sort of times were your first marathons? Especially Ady, reading your thread I think your past training has been similar to mine...
I think that's everyone's worry.........just waiting for that wall to hit and the empty battery light to start flashing. I'm really hoping the combinaion of gels, carb-loading and a proper taper will keep this devil at bay until the last two or three miles, where I can grit my teeth and rely on adrenaline to keep me going!
Spitfire was excellent. It really only felt (my legs would disagree!) like a 10 mile race, as the first 10 mile lap was at an easier pace, so I only felt it on the second lap. But I don't think this would be my ideal way of running a marathon. Personally I'd love to get to the last 6 miles and have a few seonds to play with.......for example, run at 7:50-7:55m/m pace, which I know I can do, and then if the wall does strike in the last few miles, I know all I have to do is maintain a speed of 8:15-8:20m/m for the remainder. This is how I did the Dorney Lake Half keeping slightly ahead of my scheduled pace, and then growing in confidence as the race went on and managing to maintain it to the finish. Mentally I like the sound of this, rather than starting out slowly and playing catch up later on. But I'm more than happy to go with what the experts suggest.
My PF at it's worse was hideous....but I got it when doing my charity walk from Lands End to John o'Groats, so I don't think it would have been bad if I was able to rest it. As I didn't rest and continued to walk on it, it just got worse and worse - to the point where every step was painful and every time I stopped walking it would seize up. In the mornings though it was the worst. I took a few weeks off after finishing the walk and the been became more bearable so I started running on it. It was uncomfortable, but bearable, but in the end I decided to do the sensible thing and see a doctor. Something I should have done months earlier! They say PF is at it's worse in the morning, so if you aren't experiencing this, I'm not sure if it's this or not (not that I have an expert opinion on this!).
Personally I would attempt another 20 miles (even if it's at MP+60), as mentally, I would have a 20 miler under my belt 4 weeks out, rather than thinking that I hadn't put in a decent LSR for a month and a half. Then do 15 miles 3 weeks out like I th
Thanks Ady. No morning pain here so looks like PF is unlikely, which is nice.
If I was 4 weeks out then I would go for it for sure but my race is 3 weeks on Sunday. I'm still tempted to go for it but I will so be kicking myself I then end up having to rest up for the next week or so. I really want to taper properly for once.
San Francisco sounds quality Angela. That'll be a nice practice run for your Boston race in 2016!
I think either of those honeymoon destinations sounds acceptable
Part of my honeymoon was sleeping in a tent in the Sahara desert in Morocco. It rained on us during the night, and the tents weren't waterproof......not quite the 'sand' honeymoon that Mrs. Shady Ady was expecting I think!
It's interesting what say you say about the Berlin marathon. It doesn't have the same carnival atmosphere, but the crowds are still impressive. It's one of my favourite races, I think because it was the first race where I broke 4 hours. It's also the first race where I was beaten by a dwarf! What time are you hoping for, for Halstead?
As for my first marathon.......that was London in 2004. I went round halfway in 2:02 before losing all energy and finishing in 4:47. Looking back, I was so under-prepared - never ran enough in training, never ran far enough in training, never had entered a race before my first marathon, paid no attention to hydration or nutrition, thought gel was what you used on your hair, ran in a cotton t-shirt (my nipples still hate me for this), and thought the aid stations were there so you could enjoy as much Lucozade as your gut and bladder would allow! A spectacular failure - but at the same time thoroughly enjoyed!
I then hovered around the 4:10-4:30 mark for several marathons, before getting closer to 4hrs. I ran 4:04 in Chicago and realised that if I ever wanted to break 4hrs, I needed to focus on training half decently, rather than fitting it around everything else I did and putting it last in my priorities.
It took another couple of years before I actually did this and ran 3:48 in Berlin, which was the first time I went under 4 hours. When I've trained 'properly' (or what I thought was properly before Paris training) I've hovered around this mark and managed to do a 3:44 PB in Boston 4 years a
Of course it's only three weeks out
that's because I was thinking Paris was still 2 weeks away! Can you find a compromise? Do a 15 mile run (you already have a good number of 20's in the bank) and then a extra mile or two cooldown and maybe w/up? But that would be me, trying to sneak extra miles in, when maybe I shouldn't be doing so.
Sorry Angela.....I realised my last reply to your message cut off..........
.................
As for my first marathon.......that was London in 2004. I went round halfway in 2:02 before losing all energy and finishing in 4:47. Looking back, I was so under-prepared - never ran enough in training, never ran far enough in training, never had entered a race before my first marathon, paid no attention to hydration or nutrition, thought gel was what you used on your hair, ran in a cotton t-shirt (my nipples still hate me for this), and thought the aid stations were there so you could enjoy as much Lucozade as your gut and bladder would allow! A spectacular failure - but at the same time thoroughly enjoyed!
I then hovered around the 4:10-4:30 mark for several marathons, before getting closer to 4hrs. I ran 4:04 in Chicago and realised that if I ever wanted to break 4hrs, I needed to focus on training half decently, rather than fitting it around everything else I did and putting it last in my priorities.
It took another couple of years before I actually did this and ran 3:48 in Berlin, which was the first time I went under 4 hours. When I've trained 'properly' (or what I thought was properly before Paris training) I've hovered around this mark and managed to do a 3:44 PB in Boston 4 years ago.
I've also ran some really slow marathons, which embarassing at the time, have given me memories to focus on when the going gets tough, as I know it could be a lot worse. I ran the Quito Marathon with no training (to stupidly win a bet) in 5:21 and Great Wall of China in 6:23(ish), where the second section running on the wall towards the end almost finished me off. I find myself focusing more on these tougher running experiences in the latter stages of a race than focusing on the better times to help push me on.
I think Mrs. Shady Ady will be very annoyed if an Easter present is anything but chocolate! I will enquire though!
My dad was diagnosed with cancer in the autumn before my first marathon and it took his life this time last year, so in training for both I was spending almost every weekend with my parents to help them out. Clearly this was emotionally very draining, but also meant that the long runs didn't always get done, and when they did, I didn't follow a recovery program like i am now. This is the first time I've really trained well for a marathon, only skipping a run through illness or injury/injury prevention. I've done 280 miles so far this year and the marathon is 12 may, so by then I think I'll be between 450 and 500 miles.
M half marathon time was 1:56 and when u plug it into the calculators u get a 4:03- I'm going to try to pace for a 4:15 though. I've got Bournemouth on the cards for October, and depending how Halstead goes, I'm hoping that will be my first sub 4 hour. The plan is then to spend the first half of next year on speed, so I can be at a higher level training for an autumn marathon - maybe Berlin again?
Afternoon!
I am getting so excited for you all!
I only added the above so should you need to rely on different snacks you know what would be suitable and thought these are all likely to be available on your travels or travel well but as much as possible stick to plan.
Enjoy taper week!
Day 103 - Asics Target 26.2 Paris Marathon Training (29/03/13)
Target: 3 MILE JOG
Actual: 3.11 MILE JOG in 27:48 @ 8:56m/m
Mile Splits: 1st @ 8:58m/m. 2nd @ 9:03m/m. 3rd @ 8:53m/m.
It might have only been a 3 mile jog today, but for the first time in as long as I can remember, I ran without a single ache or pain. These sport massages are under-rated!
I know I didn't push myself running at this speed for this length of time, but my legs felt rejuvenated, refreshed and loose. I'm not sure how much of this is a psychological difference, but there was definitely a difference. Part of me wishes I'd now arranged more massages during my training. I also wish I'd pencilled this massage in for after this coming weekend's last long run. I'll just have to focus more effort on getting my foam rollering done correctly every evening.
Good Friday has always been a day where the majority of the time is spent finding anywhere that still has some decent Easter eggs for sale and picking the ingredients for Sunday's roast, shared with friends and family. With the shorter run, there was enough time to flick through the new RunnersWorld magazine yesterday as well, containing some very useful pre-marathon tips.
I always thought airbrushing was savoured for super models and pin-ups, but after seeing it had also been used on me (no guessing where!) it's left me in no doubt that I need to continue my recent weight loss and healthy eating well after Paris..........or at least work on my posture when having my photograph taken!
Here's my run from today:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/290388730
Calorie Watch! Food & Drink Diary – Thursday 28th March 2013
6:20am - Breakfast - Fruit and Fibre with Semi-Skimmed milk
8:00am - Cup of tea
9:00am - Bottle of water
10:30am - Cup of tea, bottle of water, Clementine
12:00pm - Lunch - Cheese roll, chicken roll, squid ball, spring roll, chicken dipper, mini cheesecake (lunch spread put on by work due to lunch time meeting), bottle of Diet Coke
2:30pm - cup of tea, bottle of water
4:00pm - Bottle of Diet Coke (only because they were giving the leftovers away from my lunch time meeting!)
7:30pm - Dinner - Chicken, rice with sauce with piece of bread. Pint of squash.
8:30pm - Pint of squash, cup of tea, Muller Yoghurt
11:30pm - Glass of water
I hear your pain! I can imagine how painful it must have been for you in those last few miles. I think I've suffered the same fate as you in the past. I've always started off too quickly and paid the price in the latter stages. This is the reason why in every single marathon I've ran, my 2nd half has been at least 15 minutes slower than my first half. Actually, the only time I've managed to go under 2 hours in the second half of a marathon was in Boston. This is something I really want to address this time around and if my other races are anything to go by, I should be in a position to do much better on this.
I'm really sorry to hear about your father. I think it shows what strength and resolve you must have had to even consider to carry on training. It must also give you a real drive to carry on and reach your final goal of Boston.
Your final mileage when you run in May looks to be identical to mine as well. I passed 500 miles with my run today and this is the first time I've ever ran this much in marathon training before. I really hope this is a good sign.
It sounds like you are being very sensible pacing for 4:15. There's no harm in starting out for this and then if it still feels comfortable later on, you can start to increase your pace. Berlin sounds like a good autumn choice....flat and fast and with a good Bournemouth Marathon behind you, followed by good Spring speed sessions, it sounds like you will be in an optimal position.
I think you're being extremely sensible with your plan. I know my problem would be to try and fit all the positive developments into one single marathon training and end up being disappointed. Your plans sounds very accomplishable. I wish you all the best!
Hey Ruth! Thanks very much..........I'm going to try and get as much of my carb-loading menu this weekend ahead of time, so I'm not leaving it to the last minute.
I'm excited too.........part of me wishes it was this weekend.......hopefully my excitement wont peak too early!
Youve made me want another sport massage again now...I must get one booked, maybe for next friday if possible!
You must have been fuming with your friends. Drunk friends and relatives can be so annoying sometimes. Chris is a nightmare. He was before london last year. He drank loads whilst I was on water, he then was acting stupid at the hotel until god knows what time before he passed out and started snoring. I still got about 4-5 hours sleep before I woke up and tried my best to make as much noise as possible to disturb his sleep....which he slept straight through. He then complained the next day that he was hungover and dehydrated whilst waiting for me to run by!!
It was my first marathon last year Malcs, but somehow, I think I might be worse this year as I know whats to come!
I have been recording all my runs on a spread sheet so it doesnt tell me my average pace overall but I know my LSR have been at least 30 mins slower than MP and today it was 60 mins slower. Im hoping that the speed training and races kick in on marathon day to help pick up my pace...I think thats what is supposed to happen!
Ive hit taper time now too, my last LSR this morning!