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My #asics262 journey to Paris: Sub-4.30 Isabel
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Hey Isabel,
Congratulations once again on your new 10k PB. As 'threatened'! I am now going to revise your paces - I know you've sometimes struggled to stick to the slower paces and felt you could go quicker. I'm not going to suddenly make every run feel like a near-death experience, don't worry! Just a few adjustments so that they are more in line with your current potential and ability.
I am pasting the revised paces below, along with the revised weeks 6-8, taking in the new paces. It's really important that you let me know how you get on with these... and feedback if you suddenly feel as if you're working much harder all the time.
And just to reassure you on those hill reps! You only go as far as you can in 30 seconds - I didn't mean for you to reach the top!
It's good to make a mental note of where you get to on the first one, and try to get to that same point (at least) on each subsequent one. If you do the first 1 or 2 to fast, you'll soon notice that you can't get that far as you get more tired...
You'll see that the next two weeks are quite challenging - with long runs both this and next weekend. But the week after that gives you a bit of a break before the half marathon in week 9. Keep up the great work, and the good fuelling.
REVISED Training pace guidelines
Very Easy 10.20-11.00 Should feel as if you could do this all day. Effortless!
Easy 9.30-10.20 Should feel comfortable. Can chat quite easily.
Steady 9.00-9.30 Still comfortable but slightly more breathless and less chatty!
Threshold pace 8.35-8.45 Challenging but controlled effort. Can get short phrases out. Breathing should be hard but controlled, not ragged
Speedwork 7.10-8.10 min mile depending on length of rep. Tough. One-word answers only!
Long run goal paces LSR 10.20-11.00: 9.30-10.20 for pace practice and improvement
Current HMP 9.27
Current 10k pace 8.30
Current 5km pace 8.36 (8.11 predicted from new 10k time)
Current 1-mile pace 7.19 (giving speedwork guideline of 7.10-8.10 min/miling, depending on length of rep)
WEEK SIX w/c 20 Jan (approx 30M)
Mon Rest
Tue 5M of 1M jog, then 2 x 2000m at 10km pace (8.30 pace, or around 10 mins 30 secs per rep) with 3 mins jog recoveries, then 1M jog
Wed Rest
Thu 5M steady
Fri Rest
Sat TRAINING DAY (with 3 miles at effort) 6M approx
Sun 14M very easy
WEEK SEVEN w/c 27 Jan (approx 32M)
Mon Rest
Tue 4M of 1M jog, then 10 x 200m close to mile pace (each rep in around 54 secs) – jog the remaining 200m of the track in 90 seconds to recover between reps. 1M jog.
Wed 3M easy
Thu 6M of 2M steady, 2M at threshold pace (8.35-8.45 per mile pace), 2M easy
Fri Rest
Sat 16M – first 8 very easy, second 8 easy
Sun 3M easy off-road (on grass or trails)
WEEK EIGHT w/c 3 Feb (approx 26M)
Mon Rest
Tue 6M of 1M jog, then 4 x 1M at 10K pace (approx 8.30 per mile pace) with 2 mins 30 sec jog recoveries, then 1M jog
Wed Rest or cross train
Thu: 6M progression run – starting at 10.15 pace and speeding up a little each mile.
Fri Rest
Sat 5M including lamppost pyramid on shallow hill in Primrose Hill at threshold effort level. To be explained!
Sun 9M easy
Malcs - Thank you very much!!! I see your training is going really well too! Agree, it is a very good sign and I hope I don't have any cramps this Sunday, when I have 14 miles, that will give me a lot of confidence. It is good to hear that changing your trainings has also helped you to avoid them. I think it is the worst thing that can happen to you when running long distance!
Thanks for the tip on the compression socks, I will try on Sunday too! I have actually used them for very long flights and I think they make a difference, although those were socks and what I have now are more like tights, a bit thicker. But I will definitely try them after the long run.
By the way, I have plenty of new gels in my kitchen now, also waiting for Sunday. I will let you know
I hope you are well recovered after yesterday's long run and looking forward to next Saturday!
Rachelcgen - Good! I am happy to read this thread is proving useful and looking forward to following your progress. Which marathon are you running?
Thank you very much Sam!
I will definitely let you know how it goes with the new paces. And very happy to read that not every run is going to feel like a near death experience 
Enough with my funny way of running those Primrose Hill reps 
The next two weeks are quite challenging indeed but I am very motivated and I think these two long runs are a great opportunity to practice fueling and see what happens with my calves.
Regarding week seven, I may have to do a small adjustment as I have a business trip from Tuesday to Wednesday. Is that ok if I do Tuesday's interval session on Wednesday and Wednesday's 3 miles on Tuesday? I am actually not sure if I can run on Tuesday, but I will try my best. I can run on Monday too.
Hi Isabel, I'm running London marathon.
Rachelcgen Great! I will enter the ballot for next year
Best of luck
Hi all,
Back to running after yesterday's rest and here are today's splits time with revised pace:
Tue 5M = 1M jog, then 2 x 2000m at 10km pace (8.30 pace, or around 10 mins 30 secs per rep) with 3 mins jog recoveries, then 1M jog
Splits:
Now time for yoga
Very well done Isabel on your 10k PB. That was a brilliant time. Unfortunately I am having to rest my knee so my training is on hold. I still intend to run, run/ walk London. We will see how it goes.
Your training seems to be going well. I enjoy reading your thread.
Well done on your 10k PB - sorry I didn't get around to saying this on Twitter. Your revised times look good.
I'm hoping to enter the LM 2015 Ballot as well - who knows maybe we'll both be there.
Roll on Saturday.
Isabel
I don't know too much about the socks but I think the evidence do suggest they are helpful- we will ask Sarah on Saturday!
We will need to increase breakfast before marathon but lets discuss face to face on Saturday and I can post the summary of our discussion after the weekend! See you Saturday!
Malcs -
your condition these days is mighty fine
Thank you very much Littlemissactive, I am very happy indeed. I really hope you recover very soon from your knee problems. It is better to make a pause, rest and fully recover, especially when the knee is involved. And then come back stronger
Please keep me updated and very glad you enjoy reading my thread!
Hi Welshgje! Thanks a lot. Revised times look good but let's see how it goes in the next couple of weeks. You are doing very good too. So fingers crossed on LM and let's all target 30 min less (for next year
. That means Roger and Malcs will be close to become the new Mo Farahs 
Have a nice trip and see you on Saturday!
Hi Ruth! Great, will bring them over. See you on Saturday!!!
Hi all!
These are today's splits:
Thu 5M steady (9.00-9.30 min per mile. Still comfortable but slightly more breathless and less chatty!)
Today I struggled a little bit with side ache, like a twinge of pain. I breathed deeply and didn't stop but it can be really painful!!!
We received today all the info for Asics training day 1, which will take place this Saturday!!!! I am very excited to see the whole team again and the Asics and Runnersworld people who are taking good care of us!!!
Good night!
Hi Isabel, Enjoy your Asics training day!
I will be interested to read what Ruth says about breakfast - I currently leave breakfast until after I run but realise I'm going to have to alter this as I get into long runs!
Have a fun and productive day everyone!
CB69 - This time round I am trying to eat before my long runs, but it's hard because I run at about 8am on a Sunday morning, but have to get up and eat at 6:30.... which I can't even manage during the week! And I know that come race day I will be far too excited/nervous to actually eat anything.
Isabel, I hope that the Asics training day is good - the weather at least seems to be lovely for it - almost springlike here!
30 mins easy for me today
and 2hrs long tomorrow (in the rain
)
Hi all!!!
Back home after an amazing training day today at Battersea Park with the whole Asics and Runner's World teams. It has been an incredible day, I am really happy to be part of this project and can't thank enough Asics and Runner's World for taking such good care of us.
The day had an early start at 6.45 am not only with one but two alarm clocks, just in case
After checking I had all my Asics gear and my Garmin with me, off to Battersea Park!!!! It was very chilly and foggy this morning by the way.
It was really nice to see the whole team again, they are all really nice people, I feel very lucky and they are all very supportive and we have lots of fun together!
We had a busy schedule today with running session, running technique, photo shoot, nutrition and physio.
The day kicked off with a meeting with Sam. We reviewed my training for the past few weeks and mostly focused on the training for the coming weeks. As you know, Sam revised my paces this week and the next two weeks are going to be quite intense in terms of increase in miles, but I am ready and looking forward to it!!!! Sam mentioned I may go for a sub 4.20 in Paris, which is great. One of the things I need to improve is my running cadence, which is something I had never looked at. I think the goal is 180 if I remember correctly. We also had a running technique session which I explain below.
Then we had our running session. We first warmed up with Steve alongside the river. It was a nice and chatty warm up and the first time the five of us running together!
Then we went to Battersea Park track for the running session itself. We first ran a few laps at marathon pace with our Garmin watches. We have all become a bit dependant on the Garmin to check our pace!!!! But! For the second part of the training we had to take off our watches and "feel the pace", a bit challenging! For this second part, we had to first run one mile at marathon pace (actually, what we felt it was our marathon pace
We were handicapped according to our target times for Paris. In my case, I ran slightly faster than I should had. The next part was an accelerated mile, that is, one 400m lap at marathon pace, next lap at half marathon pace, next at 10k pace and the last one faster. We all did much better at this one and actually it was really good to run without the watch to feel our pace. And finally, the last mile involved faster straights, with the track bends at marathon pace and the straights at 10k pace or faster. For the non watch bit, Steve told us at the end of each lap if we were doing good and Sam was recording some parts, so we can later improve our running technique. After the running session at the track, we warmed down beside the river.
After the running session, it was time for running technique with Sam. I will try to explain properly but Sam please correct me if I am wrong
Main issues here:
1) Striding, where Sam explained how the foot should land while running. It is very important that the foot lands under the knee and not in front of it. If it lands under the knee, gives you more energy for the next stride and if lands more in front of the knee, it somehow acts as a break. It is also important not to lift the knees too high. We also did some exercises to improve this, for example bouncing on the spot or another exercise like bouncing forward and then stepping back in just one foot.
2) Arms position, and how important is posture for a proper running and how arms movement has an impact on the legs. Here it is key to relax your shoulders, to bend your elbows properly and keep them close to the body and give you some impulse from your arms movement.
And then time for the photo shoot!!! We had our pictures taken at the Peace Pagoda. Tom and Chris are really nice and make things easy so the photo shoots are always fun and there is lot of laugher
After a nice lunch with the whole team (Ruth approved
we individually met with Ruth and Sarah. I had a very interesting talk with Ruth about nutrition, my diet and my overall condition. The focus of our chat was breakfast at marathon day. Ruth will post more details on our conversation in the coming days but we mostly focused on breakfast at marathon day and nutrition during races.
Regarding my breakfast. The start time of the marathon is 8:45 am. I am going to try out a few options in the coming weeks but the most likely one seems to be a full early breakfast at 5.45 am, with yogurt and cereal and two slices of toast with butter and jam and a light snack an hour before the race with a bit of orange juice, a light yogurt (like Actimel) or a cereal bar (Ruth: the ones that I have and couldn't remember the name are Special K Chocolate Cereal Bar). Regarding nutrition during races, I am also going to experiment a little bit with gels during the long runs I have scheduled for the next few weeks. So, for example, for tomorrow's 14 miles (which will be the longest distance I have ever run, but only until next Sunday
I will try gels with caffeine, at 1 hour and 1 hour and 45 mins. So I will let you know how it goes. I also asked Ruth about drinking water during races and she said that thirst dictates, so I can have small sips of water but it is important to avoid drinking too much water before the race. She will explain more in detail, but it was very nice to meet you Ruth in person and all the information was really useful.
And then it was time for Sarah! We discussed briefly my overall condition (which is good!) and then my concern about calf cramps. As I have mentioned here before, that is my biggest concern at the moment for the marathon, as at the end of the half marathon I ran in September, I had a small pinch at the end of the race and suffered a lot of calf cramps in my right calf during the next two weeks after the race. To avoid this, I have to do some bridge strengthening exercises. I have a few long runs scheduled for the next weeks (14 miles tomorrow and 16 miles next Sunday) so I will see how it goes.
So! In sum, a wonderful day, really happy to see everybody, training going well and weather during the running session was good (although I could have come back home by boat, what a thunderstorm!!!!). All what we learnt today was very relevant and useful, and I am looking forward to putting that in practice.
Have a great evening!
Thanks CB69!
It was a really nice day!!
Regarding breakfast, I asked Ruth the same question. It really depends on the distance you run. So if it is not a long run, it is fine to have breakfast after your run. I actually asked this because, specially in the weekends or when I run before going to work, I just wake up and go for a run and I wasn't sure if this was ok. If you are doing shorter runs it is ok, but if you are doing long runs, it is better to fuel properly before the run, and give you some time for digestion.
Hi MacFinbob!!! The Asics training day was really good and we learnt a lot. I told Ruth that when I do long runs during the weekend (like 10 - 13 miles) I wake up early, have my breakfast, and then go to bed again
She said it is fine as long as you do the proper fueling and you can even have a small snack before running. The weather was good during the day! It was quite cold in the early morning but we even had some sunshine, although later we had one of the biggest thunderstorms I have seen since I live in London! Good luck for tomorrow. I am running 2 hours too 
Hi Isabel,
It sounds like you had a great day training yesterday and lots of useful information.
I have tried to sort out my stride to make sure that my foot doesn't land ahead of my knee, but find it very hard to work out if I'm doing it right! There are times when I think I've got it, but then I lose concentration and realise later that I'm back to he bad habit of my heel hitting first with an outstretched leg.
My long run started out in the dry but windy and ended quite stormy. The first hour I ran by myself, but the second, my friends came to meet me and ran the end with me, which was lovely. My two hours was just short of 13 miles at 9:23 average pace, so I'm quite happy with that given the conditions.
How has your run gone today?
Hi all!
Today I ran my longest distance ever, 14 miles! The weather was tough this morning, very cold, windy and rainy so I had almost the whole park to myself
But, since I was so happy and motivated after yesterday's training day with the team, this was not an issue at all. My running shoes are stuffed with newspaper though 
Sunday 14 miles very easy (10.20-11.00 min per mile. Should feel as if you could do this all day. Effortless!)
So here are a few details about today's long run:
Breakfast: 2 hours before the long run. I had yogurt with cereal, orange juice and once slice of toast with butter and jam.
Fueling during the long run: As you know, I am going to experiment a little bit with gels during the next long runs. Today, I had one SiS GO Gel Caffeine Berry 60 ml. First of all I have to say I am not a caffeine drinker. I used to drink Diet Coke almost everyday but I quit last summer and ever since I just have one or two per month. A few things here: 1) first time I have a gel with caffeine (and second time I have a get at all); 2) I had the gel at the 7th mile, I had been running for around 1h and 5 min; 3) my tummy felt fine; 4) I felt an incredible boost, at around ten minutes after having the gel I felt like flying, literally!!! and today's pace guidelines were very easy so I struggled with that; 5) I was supposed to have two gels today but since I had that boost, I just had one; 6) maybe it was just today and just because it was the first time having a gel with caffeine, but I felt like if I need to have 4 of these during the marathon....I may enter the finish line with Roy!!!!; 7) and last but not least, and a little bit of "gels for dummies", my hands were so cold that I couldn't open the gel while running, so I had to stop and it took me a while to open it, you can see it in my splits
Pace: the pace guideline for today was very easy, that is, 10.20 - 11.00 min per mile and the feeling should be effortless, as if I could do this all day. I struggled a little bit with that and found that running at very easy pace is much more challenging than running at a normal or faster pace. I tried to stick to the pace guidelines but from my splits I see I have not. I also thought that today's long run could be a good opportunity to improve my cadence, something I discussed yesterday with Sam, but I think this is easier at faster paces. But I am going to focus on that during the next days.
Overall feeling: during the race, very good and very good as well after the race. My calves feel a bit stiff though. As in previous long runs, I lost my appetite and only felt like drinking plenty of water but I had a snack, a cereal bar.
Ready for week 7!!!!
Here is week 7 plan. I may reschedule a few runs this week as I have a business trip and may even have to skip one, which would be Wednesday's 3 miles. I already discussed with Sam and it's fine. Also, I may change Saturday's long run to Sunday, so I have a bit more recovery time from today.
WEEK SEVEN w/c 27 Jan (approx 32M) Mon Rest
Tue 4M= 1M jog, then 10 x 200m close to mile pace (each rep in around 54 secs) – jog the remaining 200m of the track in 90 seconds to recover between reps. 1M jog.
Wed 3M easy
Thu 6M of 2M steady, 2M at threshold pace (8.35-8.45 per mile pace), 2M easy
Fri Rest
Sat 16M – first 8 very easy, second 8 easy
Sun 3M easy off-road (on grass or trails)
Training pace guidelines
Have a good week all!
Hi MacFinbob,
Very glad that the information from yesterday's training day is useful. It was really useful for me as well. Many new things to think about, specially cadence!
I know!!! It is really difficult to see if you are doing it right. We did a few exercises but it is very difficult to describe. I am copying here what Malcs is saying in his thread and hopefully that helps (thanks Malcs
). Also Sam may provide a bit more information during the next few days on how to improve this.
So this is what Malcs says (he was written a great report on yesterday's session):
"Sam showed us several exercises for improving our running efficiency. The first thing she talked about was cadence and with the aid of a metronome she showed us what 170 steps per minute should sound like. We then did some jumping on the spot to try and get a feel for this. The idea is of course to try and up the cadence so you're spending less time in contact with the ground.
We then did a very interesting exercise on correct leg movement. Sam told us that running is more like a cycling action of the leg than it is a walking action. It's quite hard to describe what we did precisely but you lift your knee up and out with the knee, not the foot, leading and then fall naturally forward onto the foot which pushes back and then repeat with the other foot.
At first it felt a bit weird but I could see how leading with the knee in this way would produce a more fluid running action, naturally bringing the body forward."
Good run for you today and at a very good pace!! And great that you were joined by friends, it makes a difference specially when the weather is so bad. Here in London it was really bad too. We had this very sharp rain and headwind, so I had a bit of frozen face after the run, but no pain no gain!
I had a 14 miles long run at very easy pace. I had a good recovery and I have been very active throughout the whole day. Next weekend I have a longer run! How does your week look like? Hope you have a nice week!
Hi Isabel,
My plan for this week is quite nice and with lower mileage - strange to only need to run for 60mins on Sunday!
Mon - Rest
Tues - 30mins Easy + strength training
Wed - Intervals - 10mins warm-up, 5x(5mins threshold, 1min recovery), Cool down
Thurs - 30 mins Easy + Pilates class
Fri - Rest
Sat - 45 mins Fartlek - run at varying paces, cool down
Sun - 1 hr Long Run
Tomorrow during the easy run, I'm going to try out the leading knee idea and look for some ideas for exercises to help with it.
Isabel
Glad to hear you enjoyed the 14miler today! I will post up summary of our meeting tomorrow evening .
As mentioned I think runs of under an hour that are steady are no problem to do before breakfast but you should refuel well after. If intense runs or very long probably best to eat before.
Hi MacFinbob,
Good! Great opportunity to rest a bit. I specially like your Thursday plan
I am off to Spain tomorrow so I may have to rearrange some runs this week.
Let me know how it goes with the knee exercises, I am also going to focus on improving this in the coming days, so I will also keep you updated, good luck
Thanks Ruth! It was really great meeting you on Saturday and thank you very much for coming all the way from Scotland. I hope your flight didn't have any delay, what a thunderstorm!!! Looking forward to your summary.
Isabel
Summary of what a carb load say would like for you below...
This is what a carbohydrate loading plan
Breakfast
50 bowl of cereal with 200g of yoghurt & 200ml glass of fruit juice
Mid-morning
2 slices of bread with honey or jam & 500ml fruit juice
Lunch
75g pasta with tomato based sauce & 250ml fruit juice/fruit smoothie/fruit cordial
Mid-afternoon
Large banana & 250ml of fruit juice/smoothie
Evening meal
75g pasta or rice with tomato based sauce
Supper
50g bowl of cereal & 150-200g pot of yoghurt.
Pre-Race Breakfast:
As Isobel has mentioned the start time of the marathon is 8:45 am. So Isobel is going to have breakfast 3 hours before: usual yoghurt & cereal but add two slices of toast with jam.
At hotel can fill a 750ml drinks bottle with 500ml of fruit juice then dilute with 250ml of water and then will start sipping in this between 6-.7.45 (does not need to finish it but to aim for 500ml).
At 7.30-7.45am: 1-2 cereal special K bars (yoghurt won’t be that easy to carry and may be a hot day)
Still working on gel plan but plenty of time to practice all of the above and alter what does not feel right.
sorry about large gaps in above post, wrote it out in a table and cut and paste
Ruth, as someone who doesn't really like much fruit juice, is it being drunk for the sugar loading? Are there alternatives? Also, if my usual breakfast involves coffee, then am I OK using that on a race day?
Evening everyone and congratulations Isabel all be it rather belatedly!
I am very envious of your 5 runs a week schedule - I'm only managing about three this year but am putting in two cross training sessions (swimming) a week to try and keep 2 disciplines for my triathlons going over the winter.
I hope you have a wonderful journey - I did and smashed nearly half an hour off my marathon time with Sam and the team. I then dropped a further 4 mins in the October following Paris.
No marathon for me last year but I used all Sam's advice to help my hubby go from a 4:17 to a 3:49 marathon - coachee turned coach!
I wish you well and look forward to trying to keep up with some of your schedule.
Ruth I seem to be training harder but have gained weight (it's not muscle) - I am being a bit naughty but even so seems unfair! A stone lighter and I would be a faster runner!
My long runs are very slow - much slower than other runners at my club - but I have a faster race time than them and trying to embrace the train slow race hard idea although it seems a bit counter intuitive. Sam does it work?
Just a quick post to thank everyone for your comments and welcome EmmaC to the thread!
I am currently on a short trip to Spain and will reply properly tomorrow evening.
Meanwhile, good night and happy runs tomorrow