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Sub 4.30 Andrea: #asics262
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It will!!!!! I am sure
It's just the pre-trip nerves. Once that you are on the train, all gone!!!! xxx
Andrea
You will be fine! Stick to your plan and go and enjoy the challenge of the hard bits and the joy of the good bits!!
May the luck of the Irish be with you!!!
Hi Andrea - just wanted to wish you all the very best for Paris. It is an amazing experience, one I'm sure you will never forget.
From what I hear you have done brilliantly - now all you have to do is turn up and run. You'll be amazing I'm sure!
Hi Andrea just wanted to wish you lots of luck for the weekend. Don't worry about anything. Believe and enjoy the race yes enjoy it will be an amazing experience go with Sams pacing you can always speed up in last 10k.
Enjoy the weedkend!!!
sarah
Hi Andrea - all the very best for Sunday. You have trained hard and left nothing to chance. Whatever else you do, make sure you enjoy yourself (or as much as you can!)
Love, Sally xx
Hope you were okay in Paris Andrea. I look forward to reading the report.
GJE
Hi guys! I'm home after the most amazing weekend and struggling to come to terms with normality. I got so used with having a support team doing everything for me, it was great and I felt like a proper VIP!
You may have already checked the results of the asics 5 from yesterday, but I'll give you a run down of our fabulous weekend. Everyone met up at St Pancras and there was a buzz of excitement in the air. Once we got settled on the train, we relaxed a little and caught up with what we'd been doing since our last training day together at Battersea Park. There had been a few injuries and worries about missed training runs but we were all confident of hitting our targets. A concern for everyone was the weather forecast. We'd been doing all our training in cold weather and the forecast was 20C and sunny. Not ideal, but you can't change it!
Once we arrived in Paris, the crew set off to the hotel with the bags while the runners and camera crew headed to the expo to collect race numbers and pace bands and take a look around. We ate Haribo, we bought Paris marathon running tops, I bought sports knickers, then we all got lost trying to find our way out! Finally made it outside by forcing a side door! Once we were all back together, we went to the hotel to get ready for dinner in a little Italian restaurant opposite the hotel. It was great to relax with everyone, have a chat over dinner and a couple of drinks then it was time for bed. All the excitement of the day had worn me out. I'd picked up a tickly cough last week which had been disturbing my sleep, so I wanted to try and catch up.
Saturday - time for a photo shoot. The weather wasn't great, a little cold and windy so we were trying our best not to shiver in front of camera. Once we were done at the hotel, we set off to Sacre Coeur with Tony telling us all about the history of it. He knows all things French. Well, he talks like he knows all things French, he could be making it up as we'd be none the wiser!
....contd.
Sacre Coeur is a great view point because of it’s elevated position, so it was a fab back drop for the photos. After a few selfie stops, we had a caricature done of the 5 of us. It doesn’t really look like any of us but the guy drew me decent boobs, so I was happy with that.
Back to the hotel for a little jog around the block to loosen our legs then it was free time until dinner. Hubby and I headed to an Irish pub around the corner as I knew I’d be able to get a jacket potato there. Hubby had a couple of pints but I stuck to Coke (boo). Headed back to the hotel to catch up on my sleep and spent the whole afternoon in bed napping, carb loading and betting on horses. Had a decent result as I had an E/W bet at 66-1 on the 3rd placed horse.
Off out to another Italian place for garlic bread, bruschetta and mushroom risotto. I couldn’t eat it all due to so many carbs earlier in the day but I did manage to have 3 jaffa cakes back in the hotel room before bed. After sorting out my gear for race day, it was time for bed…..
Sunday – the big day and we were up with the larks. A quick shower, then breakfast number one in the room, one final kit check and then off downstairs to meet up with everyone. There were a couple of last minute concerns as I had been worried about how to treat the blisters on my feet and Amy couldn’t find the tape to keep her leg together. Once sorted, we headed off in our taxi to the asics VIP area near the finish line. I had time for breakfast number two as my start time was 2 hours away. Tom had less time to hang around, so it was a rushed photo shoot and off he went after hugs and good lucks from everyone. I was fairly chilled and relaxed at this point, just taking my time, sorting my bib, using the loo and taking selfies. It wasn’t long before Tim had to make his way to his starting pen then Tony and Amy were heading off. It was just me left, putting massive amounts of Vaseline on my feet then another big blob of the stuff over my sock. My feet were almost squelching when I put my running shoes on. I should point out that this issue was not caused by the asics shoes! I have the most delicate feet ever. Even if I had shoes made from the best leather from a golden calf, softened with angel tears, I would still blister.
Haha
! This is true - Wikipedia, a bit of invention and a confident delivery are usually enough to fool most people!
Hi Andrea. Just popping in to say a huge congrats on your shiney new marathon PB
Well deserved, all the effort over the last 16 weeks of training. Just think how far we have all come since bootcamp 28th Nov 14, crazy. Andrea was the only one of the team that I saw cross the line, I had the best vantage point possible from the VIP pop up box and she crossed the line with a smile. You are a great woman Andrea and I am so pleased to have been able to share this experience with you Celtic Cruiser 
...contd.
Before long, it was time for me to go. After final good luck wishes from the team, off I went, together with Hubby, to my start pen. I was feeling a little emotional by this stage. The last four months had been building up to this day and it was soon to be over. Saying my goodbyes to Chris was hard as it meant I was now facing it alone. I stuck my headphones on and tried to relax, dancing to some 80’s tunes to loosen up my legs. Soon enough, it was time to head down to the start line. The sun was shining, the temperature was warming up and nerves were jingling. Race time!
I was determined not to go out too fast, which was hard as it was a downhill start. My first mile was 9:50, not good. I spotted Chris and his Mum before the 2 mile point and it was a great boost. Janet was waving at me like I was royalty! I found out later that she was so concerned about missing me that she shouted my name every 15 seconds just to be sure
I made an effort to slow down gradually after that and by mile 5 I was hitting the planned 10:15 pace. Chris popped up again at miles 4, 7, 10 and the half way mark, cheering me on and checking that I was OK. One of my blisters burst at mile 10 and at first it was really painful to run on. I got used to it after a minute or so and continued as normal (nails). The temperature kept rising and the lack of shade was concerning me but I was fairly steady through to mile 16 when the route headed down to the river bank and the section of tunnels. There was a drink and fruit station just before this point and people had stopped to take on fluid and walk a bit. The surface was slippery and the walkers were blocking the path, so it was hard to keep going but on I went. Next thing I knew, my little toe exploded! I must have developed another blister along the way without realising. Ouchie, it was sore, but I just kept running. Can’t exactly stop because of a blister.
The tunnels were a bit weird, obviously dark, but with green lasers and a DJ with dancers. The inclines coming out of them weren’t as bad as I expected though. I saw my in-laws after mile 16, waving at me and cheering me on and Chris made his final appearance at mile 17. That man ran 19 miles around Paris for me! He is such a superstar and I’m so lucky to be his wife. Mile 18 is where it got tough though. Coming out of the last tunnel, people were clearly suffering and there were lots of walkers. I couldn’t run straight through them and my pace suffered, dropping to 10:52. I picked it up again over the next few miles but by then I was getting really thirsty. I had drained the last of my energy drink that I had been carrying and chucked the bottle away. No point carrying it empty! The water stations were every 5k and I was pouring water of my head at each one, trying to cool down. As soon as the bottle was empty I was looking forward to the next 5k point! Mile 22 was really slow, I had a look at my watch and knew I had to try harder or I was going to miss the target time. Miles 23 and 24 were a struggle but I pushed myself in mile 25 at 10:05 pace. Mile 26 was a disaster though, I had nothing left and clocked 12:25. I knew the target was missed but I wanted to PB and get as close as possible to 4:30. I knew the finish line was around the next corner so I mustered whatever I had left and made sure I ran over the finish line with the rest of the guys cheering me on. My official finish time was 4:32:47, a PB of nearly 5 minutes, but not the intended target. I was pleased when I finished, I had pu
....contd again!
I had put a lot of effort in, especially at mile 18 when the demons were trying to make me stop a walk a bit like everyone else. If I had done that, I wouldn’t have got a PB.
After collecting my medal, finishers shirt and finally some water, I walked back to the VIP area for group hugs and to find out how the others had got on. I was first met by Chris who gave me the updates so I knew there would be a couple of disappointed people there. Poor Tom, he looked so despondent when I got there. Nobody could say anything to make him feel any better, it was heart breaking. Missing his target by seconds was really gutting for him. He cramped up for the last few miles and had to stop to stretch it out. He could not have worked any harder in that race and he had suffered a few injuries in training, I just hope he can bounce back quickly and realise that he achieved something amazing yesterday. A massive PB for him and bloody well earned! Tim got on really well and smashed his target time, everything seemed to click for him yesterday, really pleased for him. Amy did really well too, although did struggle at mile 18 like myself. Steve was there to help her along though and she came storming through with a strong finish. Tony just missed out on this target time, having stopped twice to pee! He seemed pleased with his time though and he knows that next time will be different with an easy sub four hour finish time.
So that was the race over for everyone. Time for another photo shoot and a catch up with the coaches and RW crew before heading back to the hotel for a much needed bath. The lager I had in the hotel bar was the best pint ever! This was swiftly followed by champagne for everyone before heading to a French restaurant for a protein hit and more booze. The race was relived more than once, the highs and lows dissected over bloody steaks and duck confit. Back at the hotel terrace bar, everyone relaxed over more drinks with more chat about the race and the next ones!
It was truly an amazing weekend and I’m sad that it’s all over now. The entire journey has been fantastic. I’ve met some wonderful people and experienced the life of a proper sponsored athlete. RW and asics have been fabulous and really knew how to look after us all. They made all the ‘plus one’s feel very welcome too and made sure they were part of everything that we did. Victoria looked after us all so well, making sure we got from A to B, had enough carbs, had everything with us for the race. They were all legends though and great fun to be with. The coaches were superb and everyone was so encouraging and supportive, I’m really lucky to have been part of the 2015 challenge.
I would encourage everyone to apply to be part of it, whatever form it takes, next year.
Aw, Pocket Rocket Amy, you are such a sweetheart! It was a real pleasure to share this whole experience with you. Well done again on smashing that target yesterday. Same again next year eh???
Huge congrats Andrea - been lurking on your thread for many months now. An amazing report for an amazing weekend.
I too have very 'delicate' feet (you say delicate, I say rubbish (or much worse) - they are legendary at running club.
Anyway, have you tried Blister Shield powder? I tried taping, pads, Vaseline, foot wax, single layer socks, double layer socks (you get the picture) and 6 weeks ago I was falling apart and panicking about getting round Manchester. My friends husband is into Ironmans and suggested teflon powder.
It's not cheap but amazing and somehow my feet are looking in pretty good shape off this weekend.
Enjoy the celebrations - well done
Andrea, massive congrats on running a fantastic PB. I’m so delighted for you! You were awesome yesterday in tricky hot conditions and to run through the pain barrier with your blisters is inspiring.
I’m really lucky to have shared the asics target 26.2 experience with yourself and hope to catch up again soon. The city mile is appealing
Andrea,
5 minutes PB is just brillant. Hot weather for running is nearly always going to slow you down so that was a big PB - well done. I will keep up to date with all your future PBs on twitter.
You have been a star. Take care
Ruth
Andrea Brilliant run yesterday, brilliant. And what a great person to share this journey with. If anyone thinks this was just 5 individuals in a process, not quite. You are 5 people with personal targets but you are also 5 people in a team, understanding and sharing the whole process, helping and supporting. Which is what you have done. Well done on your excellent, a brilliant achievement in the circumstances. Bloody well done. And great great right up!!
Hi Andrea, what a fantastic report of your weekend and the run. you have done brilliant since day one of bootcamp and I have really enjoyed following the forum and joining in with the 10k at bushy park.
You have be blowing that PB klaxon all the way through training and you got another one on Marathon day. So what if you missed the target by a couple of min reading your report I know you could not have done any more. Hot weather people walking and slowing you down, let them blister heal a bit and I am sure you will be looking forward to you next event and you will be cheering Chris on as well. I will let you know how I get on with mine in a couple of weeks.
Hi Andrea,
Great few posts on the event. Thank you for sharing. Actually have a tear in my eye reading all these reports. I remember the tunnels well - the banging music and the various people stopping with their pants down for a 1 or 2
Just brilliant. Well done.
Gareth
Really enjoyed reading your report and defo given me the inspiration to apply for next year! First marathon in a couple of weeks, I'd love some proper training to see what my body would be capable of.
Well done on your achievement, and congratulations on giving all you had
Great report Andrea - reading it made me almost feel like I was there!
Anyway, a great run in much tougher conditions than any of us probably expected for mid-April (or, indeed, wanted). It was great rushing out to the balcony to see you cross the line and watch you enjoy the triumph with Chris (who kinda ran his own near marathon to get around Paris to cheer you on). What I will particularly remember was the look of sheer happiness on your face post-race. You'd run a great race really well and you took the positives of the 5 minute PB and the pleasures of the amazing experience more seriously than hitting an arbitrary target time. Way to go Andrea - that sub-4:30 will come soon (Paris 2016 maybe?)!
Andrea - seems like only yesterday that I had the pleasure of meeting you at bootcamp. Now here you are at the end of the journey arriving in style with a magnificent PB.
Really enjoyed your race report. Congratulations on a great campaign!
Hey Snafflepants - thanks for the tip! I have ordered some Blister Shield today and will try it out when I'm back running in a couple of weeks. I have Germolene on my tootsies today and some Scholl tape.
Back at work now and feel a bit weird, something is definitely missing. Registration for Paris 2016 opens today with an early bird price of EUR80. Tony and I are tempted to run it again next year. Amy won't be around and Tim doesn't want to spoil the memory of this year, no idea if Tom wants to re-visit, the thought of it might be a bit raw still.
My next focus will be a few 1 mile races, some 5k and the London 10k in July. Just need to sort these pesky feet out and I'll be back!
Sarah Melrose2 - Sorry to hear you didn't hit your target, it was really hard going though. I must admit, I really struggled from mile 18 but the thought of everyone on the forum, at RW and asics watching my progress kept me plugging away. By mile 26 I was struggling to breathe! It's hard to think back to it now, but if I'd run mile 26 at my intended pace, I would have hit the target. I just couldn't do it after running 25 miles!
My job is now done but I'm fully aware there are many people gearing up for London, Manchester and Edinburgh marathons. I hope the rest of your tapering/training goes really well and the weather on race day is kinder to you than Paris
Very proud of you baby, I definitely didn't fancy the heat you ended up running in, and another sizeable pb (equates to 11 secs per mile) just 5 months after the last one.
I would echo everyone else's comments that the Team feeling amongst not only the runners, but all of the staff and supporters was very special. It was wonderful to be a small part of it, I'm just gutted that my desire to cheer Andrea on for as long as possible meant I never got to see Tom or Tim run.
My only other regret was listening to Andrea and making sure I was at the finish. Next time I'll be haunting her every step, where I could hopefully add some benefits like supplying extra water, drinks etc.
x
Many congratulations, Andrea!!!!! Very well done, running a marathon under that difficult circumstances and getting that shiny new PB. It's been so nice to read your write up as it brought so many nice memories from last year. It's been great to follow your journey and progress and I think you have done a brilliant training. Now time to recover, enjoy a few pints under this wonderful weather and think about the next challenge!!! Thanks for sharing your journey and wish you all the best.
Great report and campaign and you ran 4:30 to all intents and purposes and great work by Chris to support you so well.
as I put on Tony's thread, you weren't quite as quick as Amy in the race but you thrashed her by days in the race report writing.