Paris Marathon 2013

Hi everyone, I've returned to the 21st century by getting internet access today.

I've missed so much but just wanted to say thanks for the kind words. I will give it a go, although my preparation is nowhere near optimal. And the thread is the thing that keeps me going when times get tough...

Jobs wise: I am a legislative drafter.

Emma: I know your comments about cramps was ages ago, but have you tried taking a soluble magnesium?

Dannir, IM and DLR (Or was it Eggy?): I too am "at-risk-of-binging-late-at-night". Have been desperately trying to shift 5 kgs I put on taking some medication last week. It's been a hard slog, but I've been doing a special diet that teaches you about nutritional cycling and I have got rid of about 3 kgs.

And Dannir: I'd love to do Marine Corps, but I'm also tempted by Medoc and Chicago.

Only 22km for me at the weekend but a good fast recovery session tomorrow.

megs11 wrote (see)

I can't believe how quickly it's coming round- only 4 long runs until taper starts! I have a question about long runs, in theory how much faster should our marathon pace be than our long run pace? I've been doing my long runs at about 10min/mile and I haven't had much trouble with recovery so I'm assuming thats a good pace for my long runs but I'm not really sure what sort of pace I should therefore be aiming for in the marathon/half marathon. 

Megs - That's kind of thinking about things backwards. Your long run pace should be dictated by your goal marathon pace. There are various recommended methods but most seem to suggest between 30 seconds to 1:30 slower per mile on your long run than your target pace.

Emmy- I would also suggest that you have a look at Hammer Gel,

.Workwise, Sports Massage Therapist.

Dark Vader wrote (see)

Nutrition and hydration is critically important to your run...  not just on the day, but during your preparation before, and especially in the 72 hours leading up to, a long run...  but, it goes much further than that and this is a longer term body conditioning subject that I am sure requires some experimentation on a personal level...

You need to see what works for you, and particularly what doesn't...  just because something works for one person, it doesn't necessarily mean the same thing will work for you.  I'm surprised that so few people actually give consideration to their diet during their training.   People will often refer to having a good run or a bad run, and just assume that it is their running that was good or bad.  However, I believe that there is more to it than that. I believe that your run can be totally influenced by your diet.

Considering your diet in all aspects of your life, having a plan for the run itself and also recovery food/drink after will be critical to making things easier or harder for you.

Having a bad run may not just be because you didn't run so well..  it could also be because you got the nutrition wrong.   Think about it......

That's really interesting DV. I noticed you mentioned in an earlier post that you're on a mainly protein diet. Is this because it's what works for you? Why low carbs?

Would there be a good start set of rules for someone marathon training to start with or do you just have to experiment and see what results you get?

For example, being well hydrated in the days leading up to a long run seems to be universally accepted as a must. What about shovelling down the carbs in the lead up? And afterwards should you aim to replenish all the calories burned? I've heard that getting protein within 30 mins of a long run is also very important.

When it comes to eating I probably fall into the category you described - I don't think much about my diet at all. I'm starting to now though and it's making me hungry 

Maus - Medoc tempts me... but that would be a third trip to Europe in one year and that's a bit much in terms of time away

Orbutt - if you are anywhere near Atlanta or New Mexico, call.....

Registered for Chicago Mara to day!  The computor process was a shamble - multiple crashes - took about 8 tries over an hour but finally got it. My son took an hour too and somehow was registered twice. And now I see they have suspended registration, with 18000 places left, until Thursday to sort out their issues! 

Phew, I think I've just caught up on several pages.

RR - What TD said.  First time I did a MP run on P&D last year I got it wrong and ran (something like) 3 miles warm up, 10 @ MP, 3 miles cool down then re-read the guidance.  After that the marathon pace bit was always the final miles, so in the example it would have been 6 @ LSR then 10 @ MP so that I was used to running the pace on progressively tired legs.  I really enjoyed those runs - pleasantly tough and by no means impossible.

Emmy - I'm no nutritionist but with regards to gels specifically....if it's only processed white sugar you're intollerant of that's sucrose (I think) meaning there's other sugars you could use.  Each have different characteristics in terms of how they're processed.

Malcs - Even if you don't follow it there's a book called 'Paleo for athletes' that you might be interested in.

Maus - Impressive going girl!  I'm at a several year high weight wise but I may now have a handle on it, but i won't bore with it here!

Medoc temps me too

Just concentrate on the running DLR and the weight should follow

Dannirr - I saw the facebook updates about Chicago having problems with their registration system this year. Wonder if the volume of traffic increased or they changed systems as it went perfectly smoothly last year.

DLR - many thanks I will definitely check that out.

Malcs..   there is a lot of conflcting debate in sports nutrition about diets for athletes...  I don't really know much about it and when reading one paper that directly contradicts another its hard to form any opinion at all about which is 'correct'.  

Just for clarification, but saying 'diet' I don't imply losing weight.   When I started on my training for my first Iron Man tri back in 2007 I was 2 stone (nearly 13kg, 28lbs) lighter in weight than I am now.  Looking back, I was clearly under-weight for what I wanted to do and achieve and I am now much happier with my weight and how it works for my running.   Putting on weight, primarily muscle, has helped me enormously.

Through a process of continual refinement and many 'lets see what happens' runs, I have started to learn what works for me.  I used to do the 'carb loading' thing just like most other runners.  Not any more.

However, by sheer fluke on one of my experimental runs, I found that by taking protein on during the run it really made a difference.  I think I was doing a 50 mile run back in 2010, or thereabouts, when I was experimenting with eating cubes of steak and fish.  Many times, I've been happy to stop at a McD's for a burger and fries and we've often laughed on here about the buffet of food I'll consume and still be able to run without digestion issues. 

The protein discovery made me think more about it and it has been important to the muscle development.  Obviously I do still eat carbs...  I eat anything.  The switch from being vegan for 18 years to being a meat eater back in the summer of 2010 was a profound lifestyle change.  Since then I have learned what works for me and what doesn't.

I think we are all different and we need to learn about our bodies.  There are some similarities in our nutritional needs to remain healthy, but when exercise and endurance is concerned I think we need to experiment and see what works.  Some things will, some won't.  

Fluids are hugely important too..  excessive loss of electrolytes, which you'll soon know by the swelling of your fingers, will affect your performance.  It's not just a question of gradual de-hydration.  I have experimentted with different volumes of fluid intake too.

I need to go now..  I'll write some more later....   hope this is interesting and thought provoking for how you approach your own life and training.

Emmy..  I fuel mid-run with Perpetuem.  It's a product from the US made by Hammer Nutrition.   I use a powder version and pre-mix it.  You can also buy chewable tabs.  I also have a 1.5 litre backpack with a Nuun electrolyte drink and I sip that.   So..  I am running with 2.5kg of additional weight, which I'll replenish mid-run if I need to...  that takes a bit of getting used.   I rarely use gels.   On the 36 mile run on Sunday I had three gels, and that was largely because of the hills and I felt I wanted a 'boost'.  I had one pack of jelly babies and I stopped at a garage and bought a coffee, egg and bacon sandwich and a Twirl bar.  

Low GI diet is good.   

Perpetuem is amazing.  It really works for me.

Hi Emmy

When doing IM tri's I mixed 4 parts gel/1 part water in 2 hand flasks and simply slipped  the flasks into hip holster pockets on my shorts, gave me about 4 hours of nutrition. barely knew the flasks were there.

The gel with a little water flows quite easily, not viscous like other gels.

On the bike I used dried figs as part of my nutrition, although supposedly dry they are still very moist(mates described them as Sh?t bombs), maybe an option.

Entry for Medoc 2013 is now open....     hmmmm....  I'm very tempted.

For Paris 2013, I'm not running there, but will take the Eurostar...   I just don't have enough time..  maybe next year.

Greetings one and all!

Well it has taken me exactly 20 years to recover from my first/last Marathon but I have yet to find a good excuse NOT to get to the start line for Paris 2013! ATM has kindly sent me info about the day etc. She has also told me I should say hello . . . .and so hello everybody! I am quite shy! This is such a long thread that I'm trying to read through it all so that I don't ask questions that people have asked before. . . .and I've never posted on a forum before so its a bit scary . 

I have just downloaded the Medical Certificate and I am a bit paranoid about making a mistake and not being allowed to run! When it says "Race Number" does it mean your own personal bib number or does the Paris Marathon have some sort of "Event Number". Sorry if this seems a daft question but I just want to make sure I have everything covered.

Not such a sunny day for running today but I hope to do a bit of something after work. . . .

Have fun, Chris