Talkback: ASICS Target 26.2 Team: Lee

RichyC

Running as you feel with a reference to the pace and pace required for the races is in my mind more important than HR. To me they are stats you look at afterwards rather than let totally control your run. Lee doesn't put HR stats up but if you look at Knight Rider's 3:15 thread, his HR has gone down as he got fitter but he doesn't let it influence his pace.

re marathons - I have done 60 and while I run faster when younger, I only feel I got some sort of control over the event when I got my pacing right and the fuelling right ie gels and fluid intake. I was a much faster runner at other events n the late 80s and  90s but my marathon times were more consistent in the 2000s because my preparation was better and I was confident in what I was doing.

Lee - great that you are 3kg lighter, once you start your carb loading plan don't weigh yourself but do watch what you eat (as already mentioned) until you start this plan! It is hard to believe this is last week of taper .....please don't go mad or get fat!

Ricky - good to see you on here!

Won't get back on here until Tuesday for any last minute questions.

Nice 14 miler Lee, looking good for next weekend, hope you don't go too mad next week! I'm enjoying the reduced mileage and not feeling as knackered all the time. Got my vest too today do will probably wear it tomorrow if not too cold.

See you next weekend, Colin.

Last club run last night and it felt easy and flowing it was good to out with Sean, just shootin' the breeze as we loped round buggy run A (or was it B?). Piers looked like a different man working hard up the hill with Sean at 7min/mile pace as I jogged up behind, losing 7kg really shows.

Colin I'm looking forward to next weekend now, will be great to try out fresh legs for a change.

Lee - sounds like you are peaking at just the right time - have been following your thread and dipping in now and again (Sam's chicks are more my pace) - wanted to post a big good luck for the race this Sunday which i will watch on Eurosport - you've been a great ambassador for the sub 3 gang and i really do hope that your dreams come true on Sunday - enjoy the whole experience and have a great time - look forward to the report next Monday!!

Steve - wanted to use this opportunity to say a big thankyou for all the help you have given me directly (in answering my own queries) and indirectly (in answering others) over this last 16 weeks - it has been a real pleasure to join you and Lee and Colin on this journey and i have learned so much so many thanks indeed - enjoy Paris and your own race in London

Oscarr, thank you for your kind words of support, I will take them with me on the course come Sunday and use them when needed.

Today was the last real session of the training plan and it couldn't of gone any better: easy mile to start, that when I looked at the watch was 6:43 v. good news.  Then straight into 200s on the disused railway and they went swimmingly, 35s to a rep, except number 5 when I had to negotiate; a road crossing including one car, a courting couple, two kids on scooters, three dogs a sniffing and 4 ladies chatting...kind of the Easter equivilent of the 12 days of Christmas; this slowed the rep down to a 38s, still I managed a smile to all.  It was then onto the marathon paced mile and for the first time ever I realised the point of a jog recovery after the last rep!  The mile ended-up as 5:43 and if I'm honest I pushed a little too hard, but was enjoying it rather a lot.  I then took my foot off the gas for the final mile, until yet another hail shower started, so up went the pace and I was back in time to avoid the worst of the weather, thus keeping my lovely new DS Racers dry and clean.

So far I am neither mad or fat , so all is well...still 5 days to go...

Lee : I think Oscarr has summed up all I want to say. Will be thinking of you all this Sunday. The very best and look forward to hearing all the detail next week!

For anyone else doing Paris this weekend - hope all your dream PB happen!

Steve- excellent job!

Thanks. Lee and Colin have done a great job in doing the training and writing it up and Ruth has given some great advice on all the threads. 

Good luck in your races Oscarr

A good final pace session Choisty no 5:43 miles on Sunday unless it's the last one! - now save the energy up for the marathon.

Steve, you are bang on and I hope to feel capable of a 5:4x last mile come Sunday, as that means things have gone to plan...my thoughts on pacing so far are; 6:12 (2:42:30 pace) through 10M then reassess, either slightly quicken to 6:08 - 6:10 if things are good, or soften to 6:15 - 6:18 if it feels too hard, keep this pace to 20M at which time I should be either at 2:03 or 2:05, then I can either push for 2:40 if everything is still going well (hence the 5:4x last mile!) or maintain pace to break 2:45.

I would appreciate your initial thoughts on this strategy.  My normal race strategy is to go off too hard and try and hold on and I know this is a bad idea for Sunday! e.g. my 10M PB was set off 10:31 for the first two miles!

Another part of the prep was completed last night, my race haircut...this is a big thing for me as my hair only recently grew back as I suffer from alopecia, so to have a full head of hair rather than something that looks like moths have been at it is rather pleasing.  However it is close cropped for speed and wicking purposes! But I will look better in the photos than at bootcamp!!!

Still not fat, but I do feel the madness beginning

Lee, good luck at the weekend great prep and build up enjoy the race.

Thank you Sarah, on the 4miler today I checked all the flight systems and they seem A-OK, Psoas in rude health, nice long fluid stride and a smile on my face so the core work seems to have done it's job, thank you.

Not fat, although my boss brought in a very scrummy home made pavlova, the madness seems to of abated a little!

Good luck on Sunday Choisty.

I will keep my fingers crossed for you as I continue my VLM taper!

Russell

Choisty

provisionally schedule seems ok but need to make decision based on conditions and how you feel at weekend. Looks like could be wet and breezy.

You can get away with running aggressively at the shorter distances but you cannot do so in the marathon.

The key is to stay relaxed as you can for as you can - if you do then you find it easier to get through the stage from 18 mile onwards. if you reach 18 tired and slowing then the last 8 will almost certainly be excruciatingly painful.

Analysing the vast majority of world records at distances from 5000m upwards they have been done with faster second halfs. It's probably easy for the elite to run that way than club runners but the principle remains.

Reach halfway in control and then you can run a strong second half and have a better race experience.

The interview I did with Paula R out today in AW I analysed all her marathons and she ran quicker second halfs in 3 of her 4 quickest marathons (the odd one being when she stopped!) plus one of her New York wins