Cobbles & Red Wine - Sarah’s Paris Marathon Plan: Sub 3:35

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  • Stolen! This is the Up-The-Nostril shot taken at the Bootcamp 3:

    /members/images/645234/Gallery/Up_the_nostril_shot.jpg

     Thanks to Katie RW for the pic! image

  • Food Diary

     

    1st March

    Breakfast: Porridge made with water, 3 x tsp sugars, dash of milk, 1 tsp linseeds.

    Lunch: Chicken & Bacon salad (large), no dressing. Salad included lettuce & other mixed leaves, peppers, cucumber, tomatoes.

    Dinner: Doner kebab and chips (It WAS takeaway night)

    Snack: crème egg

    Drinks: 4 x coffee, 4 pints of squash, protein drink

    Exercise: 1 hours walk, 1 hours grocery shopping with 3 year old.

     

     

    2nd March

    Breakfast: Porridge made with water, 3 x tsp sugars, dash of milk, 1 tsp linseeds.

    Lunch: 1 x gluten free bread roll with ham salad, grapes, melon and kiwi

    Snacks: crème egg, 2 x rice cakes, 1 x protein bar

    Dinner: Chicken buffet with chips. (Again a not very good evening meal … exhausted after bootcamp so went for an easy option)

    Drinks: 1 x lucozade, 5 x coffee, 3 x pints of squash, 2 x pints of water, 1 x protein drink.

    Exercise: Bootcamp (approx 7 miles incl exercises and w/up, c/down), 3 miles walked to station approx.

     

     

    3rd March

    Breakfast: Porridge made with water, 3 x tsp sugars, dash of milk, 1 tsp linseeds.

    Lunch: Protein bar (as was running Silverstone from 12 midday to nearly 2pm and it took until 4:30 to get out of the car park)

    Dinner: Burger with fried egg, mushroom and cheddar and some chips.

    Snacks: almonds, crème egg, portion of strawberry ice cream, 3 x High 5 gels

    Drinks: 4 x coffee, 3 bottles of water, 1 pint of water, 1 pink of cola, 3 pints of squash, 1 protein drink.  

    Exercise: Silverstone half marathon so 13.1 miles run, approx 2 miles walked.

     

     

    4th March

    Breakfast: Porridge made with water, 3 x tsp sugars, dash of milk, 1 tsp linseeds.

    Lunch: Natural yoghurt bar with almonds and sultanas with yoghurt. 15g cheddar, 1 x apple.

    Snacks: 1 x bag pistachios, some almonds, 1 x mint aero chocolate, cup of green grapes.

    Dinner: 2 x kipper fillets, ½ courgette, 3 x mushrooms, portion of spinach, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli – all steamed. Portion of cottage cheese, 1 x fresh beetroot, 1 x sweet potato.

    Drinks: 1 x cup of tea, 3 x coffee, 3 pints squash, 1 x protein drink.

    Exercise: 1 hour walk

     

    5th March

    Breakfast: Porridge made with water, 3 x tsp sugars, dash of milk, 1 tsp linseeds.

    Lunch: tina of tuna and 1 tbsp mayonnaise.

    Snacks: almonds, crème eggs, banana

    Dinner: 1 x pollock fillet, ½ courgette, 2 x mushrooms, portion of spinach, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli – all steamed. Portion of cottage cheese, 1 x fresh beetroot, 1 x sweet potato.

    Drinks: 5 x coffee, 3 pints squash, 1 x protein drink.

    Exercise: 8 miles run.

  • well done on the session - even though it was treadmill at lunchtime and spread over 10 hours! and another good report. That HM time when not 100% still shows you have masses in hand for a 3:30-3:35 marathon and around 1:45 in marathon is going to feel very comfortable.

  • I went out today to try and see if I was ok , I did 6 mile in 42 mins and no signs of back niggles ( thumbs up ) I didnt reliase I ran so fast until the 5th mile , I need to slow down otherwise injury will certainley come back. 

    I,m not racing the parkrun now while maybe after the VLM ,  I will be running the parkrun but steady away , just to prepare me for the long slow runs.

    You look to be on your way back to form , keep up the good running !!!!!!!!!!!!

  • BTRRBTRR ✭✭

    Hi RRR

    Brilliant posts - you are a complete hero for your performance at Silverstone, and I thought of you as I set out for my 9 miler this evening, still feeling the after effects of the virus. But I got it done and felt fine after too.

    I would have been very proud of your time - even if I hadn't had a cold and an infection to fight off.

    Well done you!

  • Hi Sarah, glad its not just me who doesnt like or get this spinning thing...whats all the fuss about??



    Thanks Angela for the plug. Im jealous of both you and sarah now.....you being able to eat that the night before a main run and Sarah for being able to eat a meal and then run shortly afterwards!



    Looks like Sarahs back...good running today
  • Thankyou ever so much Ruth, your a complete star. I will certainly try this before I run east hull 20 a week on sunday to give it a trial run....its making me hungry just thinking about it!
  • Ive just thought Ruth, this means I will have to give the Hiltons full cooked english a miss on the saturday morning....what a disaster!!!!!!!



    Im sure I will live though and if it helps im happy to have cereal and toast instead,
  • Morning Steve Marathon Coach,

    Thank you! I did feel a bit of a cheat spreading it across the day, but it’s what I had to do to get it done ... before all the streetlights went out!

    I’m glad that the latest HM makes my Paris target look like its good and achievable. Hopefully it’s a case of putting in the hard work now and being able to enjoy the marathon as the payoff!

    Can I check the session tonight, please. I’ve got it down as:

    9 miles with 42 mins of alternating paces of 10k, marathon and fast jog.

    Why 42 minutes? Should I do a normal mile warmup and then start 42 mins from there? I’m sure it’s something simple I’m not seeing (such as it works out at a mile distance) but I can’t quite work it out. Sorry.

  • Evening Derrick!

    Yes starting to feel a lot better thanks!! Finally! Although 3 year old has come home from nursery with a sick bug ... I’m just going to wear a diving suit for the next 4 weeks. Might slow me down a bit, mind ...

    Sounds as though you’re doing really well ... and possibly on track for a new 10k PB in your next race!! image

  • Morning Buffy!!

    Thank you so much! That’s such a nice post – thank you.

    So glad you’re feeling better too and you felt fine after your 9 miles. How did you feel while you were doing it? I’m still feeling quite tired while I’m running, but not so exhausted afterwards. I’m finding my legs are achier too. Are you getting this?

  • Morning Sarah!

    Hee hee!! I do like to go to Spin Class when I get the chance, but oh my goodness I feel like I’m dying half way through. I always end up clock watching in the class too and the first half an hour seems to take an AGE to go past!! I always feel amazing afterwards though ... or maybe that’s just the feeling of relief that it’s over!!

    Sounds as though I may need to educate you in the ways of gluttony at the Thunder Run!! Hee hee!! We’ll be doing lots of miles – surely an excuse to scoff lots of jellybeans and flapjacks that always seem to be in the food tents. Although saying that I hope there ARE food tents there .... Haven’t done this particular run before ...! Eeek!!

  • Week 12, Day 3

     Goal: 11 miles slow in 8:30s to 9s

     Actual: 11 miles slow in 8:30s to 9s

     

    Last night’s run was fine, although I noticed that my pacing was all over the place. I kept dipping down to sub-8 min/miles then pulling myself back to the proper pace of 8:30 – 9s. But rather than being disappointed with that. I’m seeing it as a good sign. As a sign that I’m feeling better and finally shifting this cold.

    When we did the pacing exercise at bootcamp of running at 8 min/mile I found it difficult to hold that pace because of the cough and the tightness in my chest and it felt as though I was running at least a minute a mile quicker. I didn’t even like to think of running 26.2 at that pace while I was feeling like I was.

    I’m training for Paris at the moment, but my whole reason for running is because I enjoy it and I love feeling like I do when I run. Remember how great it felt when you were about 6 years old and running in the park just for the sheer joy of it? That’s how I usually feel when I run. Life is good. The grass is greener, the sky is bluer when I run.  But the last 2 weeks, there hasn’t been much joy. Every mile has been a hard slog and I’ve laced up my trainers and gone out there because I had to.

    But finally ... dipping into sub-8 min/miles by accident? That’s good. It means that running is no longer feeling quite so difficult, that I’m reclaiming some of the joy. I’m not quite back to normal, but soon I’ll be running like a 6 year old again.

    With joy, that is. Not around the local park with a mad Labrador and a football. Although there’s time for that too.

     

    Distance: 11:14 miles

    Time: 1:34:21

    Avg: 8:30 min/mile

  • Good that you are feeling better and felt able to go quicker. I thought the schedule said 36 mins which was that because it was divided by three minutes as each pace to be run for a minute and would roughly be five miles

     

  • Morning Marathon Coach Steve,

    Thanks for your speedy reply! I'll amend my run to match your reply.

    Can I just check one more thing, please. I've got intervals scheduled for the Tuesdays for the next 3 weeks. What recovery times should I have between each set. Is there a system you use for the length of each interval (such as 60 secs for 400s or 2 mins for 1600s etc) to give you a recovery time or does it depend on what you're training for and the individual?

  • Hi RRR, what a lot of faff for a run at the gym... this is why i gave up my gym membership and have officially become an all weather runner.  That way, if i run after work i just get changed and go, rather than pack a bag, get i ncar, drive to gym (5 min drive), get to gym, wait around for a free dreadmill, do a work out, try ro fend off all the boy PTs who wanna talk to me, - problem with being mixed race- I look exotic to everybody image and by the time i get home, gotta make dinner.  now i can get dinner prepped as i'm getting dressed to run... go run., and by the time i'm back, have dinner ready in 10 minutes.

    Sarah, don't be jealous... you shouldn't be jealous of a burger king/kfc consuming gal masquerading as a runner!  Look at how much faster you run!!! image

  • the recovery depends to some extent on whether you are building endurance or working on speed. sometimes I just like starting at a set time so for your 1000m reps you start every 5 minutes so if you do 4:15 you get all of 45 seconds recovery and that builds endurance. For the 400s you are working more on speed and not building up too much tiredness as it's in the taper so I am suggesting you start every 2 minutes 30 and if you run 95, you get 55 seconds recovery. For the 200m, I am suggesting just doing a minute jog - you could just fast jog back to the start - doesn't matter if it takes 65 or 70.

    On the 800s it's also an endurance session and would probably prefer you doing by starting every 4 minutes but if you are tired, it may be bettter starting every 5 minutes

  • Evening!!



    I'm going to change rest days and do today's run tomorrow morning!! Not sure how I'm going to get on with an early morning run ... First time for everything!! Will make a change to finish a run in daylight anyway!
  • ok at least it gives you more rest from Wednesday's run but does mean it is closer to the weekend runs and with it being early morning, you may want to start it more gently than you would an evening session. 

  •  Hi Sarah

    I  have sort of made a decision for you! about a restaurant the night before Marathon (6th) and in process of getting this booked. This is the one: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g187147-d3534218-Reviews-Il_Piccolo_Rifugio-Paris_Ile_de_France.html . The problem this year is that the area you are staying has only small eating places so sitting 17 was the problem so close to the hotel but this restaurant has suggested that we book it all out for private eating, it only sits 23 in total anyway and because it has good reviews etc I just thought this was going to be the best option.. If you want to give me an idea of what you want (perhaps we can wait a couple of weeks before doing this) I have email contact and also do rice options. I have suggested we book for 6.30pm.

     The night before you are not likely to be eating until 9pm as you do not arrive in Paris until 6pm, then go straight to expo so I think best suggestion is to eat  at one of the two Italians only 200-400m form the hotel. I still need to confirm they will take the number we need etc so trying to do this today. These two restaurants are ranked lower than the above by trip advisor but still good reviews. I will send link once I know this is possible. Restaurant choices has been a little tricky this year  as little website info on eating places in this area of Paris etc hence time this has taken and no menu available to give you links.

  • Some information just to start you thinking/remind about race day (not sure you will thank me for that one!).

    • The marathon starts at 8.45am. You are likely to be leaving hotel around 7am. So remember to pack a snack and choice of fluid in bag that you may be having in-between breakfast & race start. Check all belts/gels/ sweets again before you leave are in order.
    • Every 5km there will be bottled water and sponge station (may be useful towards end if hot). There is also dried fruit and fresh fruit at these stations but suggest you stick to your practiced plan.
    • At 22km (around 14miles) there is PowerAde available but only at his time during the whole race. I would be happy if you wanted to mouth wash with this but probably nothing more unless you know for sure this won’t cause you stomach problems.

     

     

  • sarah osborne wrote (see)
    Ive just thought Ruth, this means I will have to give the Hiltons full cooked english a miss on the saturday morning....what a disaster!!!!!!!

    Im sure I will live though and if it helps im happy to have cereal and toast instead,
    imageYes it does!

     

  • RRR,

    Just to say glad you are back on form and keep up  the love of running!

  • RunnyRunRun wrote (see)

    Morning Sarah!

    Hee hee!! I do like to go to Spin Class when I get the chance, but oh my goodness I feel like I’m dying half way through. I always end up clock watching in the class too and the first half an hour seems to take an AGE to go past!! I always feel amazing afterwards though ... or maybe that’s just the feeling of relief that it’s over!!

     

    Ive only ever been to spin class once and it put me off going again...maybe I will give it another shot after london. I get so bored doing anything other than running.

    I think you have described running fantastically above...running does make you feel like a kid again and gives you a sense of freedom. Im glad that your getting all those feelings back again after a difficult couple of weeks. image

  • Angela Isherwood 2 wrote (see)

    Sarah, don't be jealous... you shouldn't be jealous of a burger king/kfc consuming gal masquerading as a runner!  Look at how much faster you run!!! image


    Im going to use this one on my OH.....see if I can help him give up fast food for a month... last time I think he only survived 6 days!

  • RUTH MCKEAN wrote (see)
    sarah osborne wrote (see)
    Ive just thought Ruth, this means I will have to give the Hiltons full cooked english a miss on the saturday morning....what a disaster!!!!!!!

    Im sure I will live though and if it helps im happy to have cereal and toast instead,
    imageYes it does!

     

    Boooooo!!image

    Maybe that was somewhere else I went wrong last year. image

    I did 18 miles today, 8 miles at MP. I had a shot block at 2,4,6,10,12,14 miles and two jelly babies at 8 and 16 miles. No problems with my stomach or anything and I felt full of energy all way round.

    Thankyou Ruth

  • Hi Sarah,

    Well done on your 18 miler! And lots of MP miles image

    I think the similarities in our OHs are remarkable. When I met him, and we'd message about what we had for dinner or whatever, he would regularly reply one of the following: KFC, McDonald's, dominos pizza. And he was a footballer, but 'injured' so never played.

    Now, he eats much healthier, and is doing the following races with me this year:

    Bupa 10000 (London 10k)

    Ride London 100 - 100 mile bike ride, I'm even scared about this

    Bacchus half marathon- convinced him due to the presence of wine on the course- seems like a copycat of the medoc marathon, so quite intrigued image



    My OH has been more successful than me on the dryathlon ( no alcohol in January) now I'll have the odd glass mid week but he's still limiting himself to only drink wine on Sundays, though I think my absence over the last couple days may have led to sme boys nights out! Is yours a runner too?
  • good run sarah - I can never train hard on a Friday as it's been my easiest day of the week for much of the last 40 years!

  • BTRRBTRR ✭✭

    Hi RRR

    Glad you are back on form after your period of illness!

    Amazingly I managed my 20 mile run today, although it has been by far the hardest and the slowest I've done so far. I've definitely lost some speed during my lay-off, but not much endurance, I think. Hope my speed returns quickly like yours seems to have! I assume you've got a long run on the cards tomorrow - good luck !

    Buffy

  • BTRR - well done at this stage the speed of the 20 is relatively unimportant compared to actually getting the miles in.

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