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My #asics262 Journey to Paris: Sub 4 James
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Evening,
splits from today's easy 5m:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/434596193
Ha ha Ashley! It was my fault that the mileage was reduced, ran too much over the 15m last Sunday. A progression run is a sensible alternative for me, as Sam points out my mileage was creeping up. 18m next weekend! No getting out of that one!
Training Day on Saturday looks great. Will post some more details up.
Saturday's Running Session:
Warm up .
On track - strides - inc 400m at marathon pace with watches
3 x 1 mile on track with 3 minutes 400m recoveries - runners will be handicapped - slowest set off first - no watches
Mile 1: marathon pace - even as possible
Mile 2: accelerated mile - first lap marathon pace, second HM, third 10k, third faster
Mile 3: faster straights - bends at approx marathon pace or slower, straights at 10k pace or faster
Warm down.
I can't imagine you do but I'll ask for you tomorrow when I see the Asics team. I'm getting mine done by Bupa, can't imagine there's a French option!
Hi Adrian Lister 2
If you join a running club you don't need to have a medical certificate to run the marathon, plus you have the benefits of joining a running club. As I'm unable to meet up for training sessions I joined UKnetrunner . It's a national running club for people that can't make training sessions 2 evenings a week. I have been a member for 2 years and it's fab !!!
long run ticked off today. 12.4 miles @ 8:12 m/m. I seem to speed up lats few miles which brings average pace down. don't think I'll be doing that next weekend though!!
good luck for those going long
Thats a very fast pace for a long run ashley......very speedy....
hope you are having a good weekend James and picking up lots of tips.......
I'm resting for tomorrows race which will be under amber rain warning and high winds....on a flat 8 mile route that is subject to flooding and gusts of winds.....worked for 4 months for a PB there......lets hope the weather doesn't totally scupper my race plan
Medical Certificates - I know that for some marathons abroad, simply having I UKA licence (which you get via joining a running club) is sufficient, but this is NOT the case for paris, where the official website very specifically says you do need one, it also provides a draft medical certificate (in English) that you can download, you just need to print it out, fill your name in and get your doc to sign....and then remember to take it with you to the registration (my doc pulled a face, said they didn't like to sign these things as they were meaningless, but did sign it without making any charge) http://www.schneiderelectricparismarathon.com/marathon/2014/us/r2_certificatMedical.html
Morning all,
have a gap before setting out for today's 12m progression run so thought i'd give you some updates on a great day with the team yesterdays.
Lucky enough to be held at Battersea park, right next to the Thames. Malcs and I made our way up from the south. Gave us a good opportunity to catch up and compare notes on the journey so far.
We all assembled at Battersea Millennium Arena, a great venue and it was impressive to see how well attended it was. There was a constant flow of athletes onto the track and junior groups out training. Staff made us all feel welcome and loads of space to spread all our kit out! There was a lot of kit, especially with Gareth's welsh film crew in tow. I think he is becoming a minor celebrity in Wales!
First up for me was my catch up with Sam, who was full of cold and did a great jump making it up from the south east. we all appreciated that Sam, thank you Apart form my slightly haphazard mileage, Sam was happy with the way things were progressing. The new paces have added the extra element of challenge, and gives me the additional push that I was looking for. Unfortunately one of my scheduled races for March will need to be reconsidered as it is a week too close to Paris. I did have my suspicions that it my be slightly too close. May look to run the 10mile option which I think is on offer. We looked closely at the make up of the next two weeks and conserved the mileage weighting considering the Race Your Pace on Feb 15th. We want to use this to look at the impact of the training on my HM time, so excess mileage in the build up to this race may well be reduced. Sam will send through any amendments in the next few days.
Next up it was the run session. Secretly, this is what all of us were itching to do. Steve led a quick warm up around Battersea Park, at a warm up pace that was def most suited to himself and Roger! Good to get the blood flowing though! Then it was onto the track. It was 3 drills based on a mile each time, or 4 laps of the track. No garmins! This was about knowing you pace and settling into the rhythm that you feel is the right pace for the distance. I think all of use struggled a little with this, apart from Malcs who proved himself to be teacher’s pet on all drills! First drill was 1m at marathon pace, for me this was 8:50mm (new pace as of yesterday). I ran it in 7:45mm, a little bit off! I wasn’t the only one, naming no names… Then onto the progression run M pace, HM pace, 10/5k pace and 1m pace to finish. Much better this time, good progression in pace between each lap. Finally, it was winders. M pace on bends, fast straights. I enjoyed this. Trying to keep an even pace between laps, ensuring pace didn’t drop and aim for a strong finish. Managed to time this well and finish with a 1:27m 400m. All the drills were set up using handicapped starts trying to ensure a close finish between the 4 of us. Wow Roger is quick, I was very conscious of the squeak of Asics trainers as here roared passed on two of the drills. Did my best to hold him off on the final drill…just.
To wind up the running session, we ventured out into the park for a 1m cool down. Unfortunately, I don’t have the run data for the session as the garmin was put well away. Coach Steve may well be able to post this info up? Steve?
Before we headed out for photos it was a bit of technique work with Sam back on track. This gave us all some great pointers and will no doubt feature in all of our lsr today. It mainly focused on the contact point of the foot and ground and reducing breaking and maintain as much natural momentum as possible. Cadence to be kept high and foot strike to be under the body rather than in front of shoulder line. Sam may well be able to post some more technical information regarding this?
T
Then the customary photo session set up by Tom and Chris. I am sure the users of Battersea Park were baffled to who these 5 posers were dressed from head to toe in Asics kit! Points awarded if you can identify where we were standing during the photo session next to the Thames.
Then it was lunch, thank goodness, were all famished. Boys all went for carb loaded lunches and the girls were much more restrained. No surprise there then.
After lunch it was time for our session with Sarah and Ruth. Have to admit having had sport treatment before, the look of panic on my face when it was my turn on the treatment table was obvious. I am sure Tom caught this on camera. However, I should have had more faith in what was to come. After a quick chat with Sarah, we narrowed my ailments down to the reoccurring toe issues. A bid of calculated prodding Sarah, localized the issue to a tendon that ran from my toe along the base of my foot. It was this that was leading to the problem in the toe but also would be a cause for the stiff calf muscle. So ‘Magic Hands’ Sarah went to work. A bit of gurning on my part was followed by astonishment as the manipulation of the tendon is quickly and the pain subsided almost instantly. Seriously impressive. Trainers have taken a battering and some new ones have to be worn in order to prevent the issue from reoccurring. Claire is one the case. Thank you J Sarah you are a magician and relieved my worries of a niggle that just hadn’t seemed to want to go. Thank youJ Other than that the body seems to be in good order, apart from slightly unique leading leg that was kindly pointed out by both Sam and Sarah during the run session!
Finally a chat with Ruth, who had made the impressive commute from Scotland for the day! Thank youJ All in all, my nutrition is on track. I am still not eating enough between lunch and dinner. We agreed that it was time to start making flap jacks and keep these with me during the day. Easily portable and something that can be nibbled on here an there. Any healthier recipes would be greatly appreciated, I forgot to ask Ruth. We discussed the race breakfast and agreed the early breakfast of muesli then to be followed 90mins before race by a bagel with honey/jam. Will try this out next weekend before the lsr. I am also going to try and take a regular gel every 30mins from 45mins onwards during lsr. This is the plan I will go with during the race. I am lucky that I seem to have a gut that can cope with this loading. Great info once again. Thank you Ruth.
Thank you Tom for the lift home, it saved me from getting soaked!!!!
4pm, it was all done. A great day, incredibly informaitve and a real treat for all of us. Thank you Sam, Steve, Sarah, Ruth, Andrea, Sam, Katie, Claire, Tom, Chris and Dan. I am hoping I haven’t left anyone out at Asics and Runner’s World! Roger, Malcs, Isabel and Gareth, keep up the hard graft, it is obvious how well you are all doing!
ps. excuse the spelling and punc as I was assisted by two year olds and now need to get out running!
Sounds like you had a great day James. Glad the toes sorted and training is going well. I think you are going to be close to 3.30!
Good luck
Jon
sounds like a very productive day........hope the foot feels better on todays run......
I smashed my Pb at todays 8 mile race.....so still have that warm glow that comes from a PB
Good work on the PB Seren!
Congrats Seren, seems to have been a good weekend all round!
The foot felt much better on today's run, still a bit tender now after some serious manipulation of the tendons.
Splits from today:
http://connect.garmin.com/dashboard?cid=23256834
Pacing is wayward, was trying some technique changes with regards to cadence and foot strike. Seemed to provide hidden speed! Some readjusting took place around mile 3 but in order to keep the profession better miles I tried to up the pace, without becoming too fast.
Sam, I have just emailed you. Read before looking at the data from todays run!!!!
I would be useless pacing without my garmin......I really have no idea if i am running 9 min miling or 10:30
I kept on settling behind older men today as I reckon they are the best at even pacing as they were running way before garmins
I was running long before Garmins too Seren and I'm neither old nor a man. Well, I'm not a man anyway
It is great to practise 'guessing' your pace sometimes - wearing the watch so you can see how close you are and get accustomed to what different paces feel like- breathing rate, effort level etc
It was great to catch up with James, Isabel and Gareth yesterday. As James said I am not at my best
I have a terrible cold and am also sporting a hamstring tendon injury but at least I was setting a good example and not trying to run through it 
I'm really pleased with James's progress - and he looked in great shape too. I think a few pounds may have been lost?
Technique wise, we were looking at trying to land closer to the body to minimise braking forces - increasing cadence, keeping arms well bent to make them shorter 'levers' and therefore easier to move fast. We did some drills to that end (but mainly just to make them all look foolish in the photos!!)
Good long run james , looked hilly aswell. I did find it funny when you were trying to run at mara pace though
seren great effort on pb
Sounds like you had great fun James, well done.
Good work on the PB Seren.
I had a great 15.5 miler on Sat. Know what you mean about pacing, I thought I was running quite slowly but the average pace was 8.55 min mile. I think I need a new garmin as when I look at it, it tells me i'm running a completely different pace!
Great run Sophie, i'm glad others have had a few pacing issues! Seems like between you me and Ashley, we have all run a bit faster than we had initially planned. Must be those interval sessions! On the Garmin are you using the lap pace or av. pace display?
I took a rest day today, really wanted to rest the legs and have a leisurely start to the day. So what happens... boiler breaks down and no hot water. Not the leisurely start I had hoped for! Intervals tomorrow. Nice.
either you lot have a much better potential that you are aiming for or you are going to come a cropper when the long runs are longer and most weeks....
Let's hope it's the former Seren nos? I'm definitely feeling a lot stronger than I have been in previous training periods but I may well slow down as the runs get longer .....
James - sorry to hear about the boiler. I keep an eye on my av pace but my garmin is all over the shop, it never used to be this bad. I'm hoping it dies so I can get a new toy! To be honest though, I like to go on perceived effort and just check my stats at the end.
Great to meet you! I did get caught in that rain storm!
I am sure there are much nicer recipes than this (but I am not really a great baker... everything has to be simple and that goes for my cooking!) but I make these most Sunday night for kids lunch boxes as it is so quick.
•200g/7¼oz unsalted butter only I reduce this to 150g
•200g/7¼oz demerara sugar only I reduce this to 140g
•200g/7¼oz honey
•400g/14¼oz porridge oats
•50g/1¾oz nuts, dried fruits or ginger – all optional/ your choice.
•You will also need a 20cm x 30cm (8in x 12in) cake tin, greased. Put in preheated oven for around 15-20minutes or until edges goes crisp and still a bit gooey.
As mentioned on Saturday you really need to get some food in over that afternoon period as I believe it will make a difference to the training adaptations happening in your body when training for a marathon.
Your race plan & breakfast is all good so I will post eating plan for 1-2 days prior to Paris later on this week.
Seren - well done!!!
Mmm that sounds nice , I'll ask my better half if she can make some ( I only cook main meals) . Use lap pace display james
Evening team. A few crazy days. Seemed to be cursed with hardware going wrong at the mo. Touch wood the running seems to be the only thing improving.
Thanks for the recipe Ruth. Is the unsalted butter a better option the the oil based recipes? I would happily eat either, not a fussy eater!
Adrian, I have followed some natural runners on twitter for a while now. I am sure our coach Sam, is a big advocate of natural running. I find it hard to align my body position but had another practice whilst out on intervals today. Some of the YouTube videos ale it look almost unnatural how far the torso leans forward. If you can, I would invest in a gps watch. Makes a huge difference with begin able to analyse data from your runs.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/437165010
first part of today's intervals. Messed up the distancing on the recoveries a bit which led to the lower than intended mileage. Added an easy run to get the mileage up to nearer 6.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/437165026
Evening all and all the best for the training James.........followed a couple of these over the last few years and after a rough year last year only managing a couple of races I am back on it and hoping to go sub four at York later in the year. Hi to Sam and any others who remember me. Got through boot camp in 2011 but failed on the vote. Did a good half last year at 1.40 so feeling good for this year. Just doing 20 to thirty miles at the moment.
Just back from 5 miles with four at 7.30min miles and a slower jog home. Hate running in the dark with a head torch but no alternative where I live. All the best.
Hi mcs! I can only run 7:30s down a steep hill!
Good luck James - with a 22min 5k and 44 10k you'll be comfortably sub 4.00 I reckon!