The Road to Paris - On a Plateau - Asics Target 26.2 Training

Ady- where in Poland did you run a mara?

Brolish wrote (see)

Ady- where in Poland did you run a mara?

Hi Brolish.....it was in the town of Lebork, which is in North Poland near the seaside town of Leba and east of Gdanks, Gdynia and Sopot. It's full name I think is Maraton Ekologiczny Lebork.

It's a small marathon through villages and countryside. You pass fields of strawberries and the smell fills the air. Nice at the beginning of the race, but towards the end when my body was craving sugar and food, it just made the cravings even worse!

It also attracts a few more elite runners from neighbouring Belarus and Ukraine as well. Because the father of the family I was staying with knew the organisers of the race and had won age group categories several times before, he had somehow managed to get me on the front line of the race.

So as the TV camera was panning across some of the regions strongest runners on the start line, with their national vests and club vests on, there was my sandwiched inbetween them looking completely out of place! Obviously starting next to people so much quicker than me, I lived the dream for the first few hundred metres and then paid the price for it for the rest of the race.

The father wasn't racing that year due to an injury so he rode his bike around next to me for the full race and carried water, sponge, fruit and food as well. Not that I really fancied eating much after the previous day's food I'd eaten!

It was beautiful sunny weather as well. I attracted a lot of attention as the father had tied a Union Jack to the front of his bike and announced to every spectator that I'd come all the way from England to run this. This was a positive as it kept me running for much longer than I would have done if running by myself. I hadn't trained enough for this and had been struggling from an injury picked up a few weeks earlier at the Prague Marathon.

I lived here for about 6 months a couple of years earlier teaching English and had taught the father's children for basically free and this was just his way of showing genuine niceness, hospitality and appreciaition for this. This is still one of my best running memories! Hopefully Paris will add to these!

Ady,

The weather looks good for tomorow, so you should enjoy your training run.

I look forward to reading your training reports on Monday. You certainly are going about your preperation for the Marathon in a thorough way, whcih is great. Giving it your best shot.

Have a good training weekend.

Cheers, Allan

Almost time for the weekend to begin. Before it does, I'll try and catch up on my messages!

Sam........Likewise. I'm happy that I'm enjoying the training. I did wonder before I saw the training plan if I would find it daunting and difficult, but it hasn't been that way at all. The fact that I've been able to put in a good performance in every session so far has kept my motivation and morale levels high. I think if I struggled during the sessions, then I wouldn't have the same levels of confidence that I do now.

Thanks for allowing me to do my long run tomorrow. I took today as my rest day so I would be feeling good for my run. I'll do my 4 miler on Sunday instead and maybe a pilates workout as well.

You'll be thrilled to know that the build-up run did live up to my expectations. It would have been interesting to see how many more miles I could have gone while still increasing. Probably a few if I had the wind behind me!

Thanks for the feedback regarding warming-up before a marathon. In the past I've worried about conserving energy so much, that I've done no more than some dynamic stretching while trying to focus on the journey ahead.  

Brolish........Thanks for the questions regarding carb-loading. Is this something you regularly do? Do you change your diet also during marathon training, or are you always a healthy eater?

Sarah........Thanks for the compliments. I'm surprised to be honest with how well my speed sessions have gone as I thought these would be the ones I struggled with the most. I'm hoping my rest day today will make tomorrow's long run all the more easier. It's funny, as because I'm looking at my watch more now as I'm pacing myself better, it makes the run go much quicker. It's helped to have already done several runs over 15 miles, as the thought of doing 18 tomorrow actually doesn't seem that much at all. It goes to show that half the battle of a marathon is mental!

It's interesting what you say about Shepherds Pie and better taste buds. I don't know if it's psychological, but I feel my taste buds have become sharper in recent weeks as my diet has become better. I definitely feel like I can taste the sweetness in fruit more than before. Probably because I don't have as many desserts now! Do you feel the lack of balanced meals that you said about effects the quality of your training at all? Sometimes it's hard to fit meal time into a schedule, especially if I'm meeting friends after work. Like you when this happens, I don't eat until much later than normal.

I hope you liked your Thai Green curry. Any guy that can rustle up something like that in the evening is definitely a keeper!

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Malcs.........good to hear from you. Now I've had my eyes opened to what carb-loading actually is, I will be a changed man forever.

You only managed one slice of bread and Jam last night? You're letting the side down........you need to up that to at least three slices. I need some company here! 

I too was impressed with the 800m reps. I just need to replicate that when it matters. I'm sure you'll have no problem staying with me at Spitfire. I think it'll just mean I'll be able to stick with you much easier than I would have done without this training! It'll be interesting to see what pacing I'm given for this.

Blimey.......you do have a lot going on. Are you staying within the same area where you are now, or moving further afield? I promise they'll be no slacking on my part..........as evidence of this, I'm writing this reply on a Friday night instead of getting myself down one of those discotheques where the youth of today hang out!

I'm actually jealous that you have a house to sell. Hopefully by the end of the year or early next, I'll be in the position to be a home owner. Let's hope they'll be a nice pay rise coming my way in my review later this month to make this happen. But if babies come along first, then this might scupper these plans for a while!

Well I hope you manage to keep running during these busy weeks and if you don't post much, at least they'll be the chance of a catch-up at Spitfire!

Allan.......Nice to hear from you. I haven't seen the weather forecast for tomorrow so I have high levels of optimism now! As long as the wind has gone that's all that matters!

Today's rest day should hopefully mean tomorrow's session is a strong one. Then I can go out and enjoy the rugby in the afternoon and relax on Sunday. Sound easier said than done!

Hopefully Monday's report will be a positive one! 

Day 47 - Asics Target 26.2 Paris Marathon Training (01/02/13)

Target: REST or low impact cross training

Actual: Rest Day

This is actually the first time during my marathon training plan so far that I've taken the easy option when given the choice. It actually took me quite a bit of debating to make this decision. I had a rest day on Monday (not including the 15 minute ab workout) and have always crossed-trained on one of my two rest days each week.

But considering I have my longest run of the training plan so far tomorrow, I thought it might have been slightly detrimental to my performance if doing something today.

Instead I used my free time just as efficiently - I finally got around to buying a foam roller after weeks of promising to do so! A trigger point foam roller at that! Let's hope the tight hip flexors never make a re-appearance now.

I have to say after Sarah's massage at Training Day last week and help from my wife in the hip flexor stretch I was given, my knee hasn't caused any issues since. I hope this continues to be true tomorrow.

Calorie Watch! Food & Drink Diary – Wednesday 30th January 2013

6:50am - Breakfast - Fruit and Fibre cereal w/ semi-skimmed milk.

9:00am - Cup of tea, bottle of water

11:00am – Banana, bottle of water

12:00pm - Run - 5 miles comfortable (see earlier for full description)

1:15pm - Lunch - Ham, Cheese, Cucumber, Lettuce and Pickle Sandwich on Wholemeal bread. Bottle of water

2:30pm – Clementine, Cup of tea, bottle of water.

4:00pm - Bottle of water.

5:30pm - Cup of tea, apple

7:30pm - Dinner - Thai style carrot and coriander soup with added Uncle Ben's Mediterranean Rice and a 1/3 of a can of chickpeas. Pint of squash

8:30pm  - Low Fat Yoghurt with handful of raisins and apricots, cup of tea.

10:00pm - Small glass of water.

Calorie Watch! Food & Drink Diary – Thursday 31st January 2013

Today marked a whole month since last having a beer - New Year's Eve. No way do I expect to go the whole 16 weeks without a pint of two, but I think cutting out the empty calories had when having a drink most evenings has definitely helped with my weight loss and marathon training.

Today I had drinks after work for someone who was leaving and for the first time ever, I drank non-Alcoholic beer - Becks Blue. I was pleasantly surprised. You can still feel masculine with a beer in your hand.....and at the same time, the feminine side of you can also be content in the knowledge each bottle has roughly only 60 calories!

7:20am - Breakfast - Fruit and Fibre cereal w/ semi-skimmed milk.

8:30am - Cup of tea, bottle of water

10:00am - Cup of tea

11:00am – Banana, bottle of water

12:00pm - Run - 6 miles build-up from 8:05 (see earlier for full description)

1:15pm - Lunch - Ham, Cheese, Cucumber, Lettuce and Pickle Sandwich on Wholemeal bread. Bottle of water

2:30pm – Clementine, Cup of tea, bottle of water.

4:00pm - Bottle of water, apple

6:30pm - 2 bottles of Becks Blue Non-Alcoholic Beer

8:30pm - Dinner - Tin of Lentils, half tin of brown chickpeas, a dollop of sour cream, large handful of spinach and small shavings of Parmesan to make a kind of soup. Quite impressed with the flavour and how it turned out! Pint of squash

9:30pm  - I felt very guilty immediately after this - two fingers of a Kit Kat, cup of tea.

10:00pm - Small glass of water.

Calorie Watch! Food & Drink Diary – Friday 1st February 2013

Weekdays have certainly fallen into a routine now, as I try and fit my snacks in. I'm eating at virtually the same time and eating the same things during the day, with only my evening's meal adding more variety. I'm more than happy with this and I'm eating my five portions of fruit and veg a day. Maybe I should try and mix it up a bit more?

6:50am - Breakfast - Fruit and Fibre cereal w/ semi-skimmed milk.

9:30am - Cup of tea

10:30am - Cup of tea, bottle of water

11:00am – Clementine

12:00pm - Lunch - Ham, Cheese, Lettuce and Pickle sandwich with added mustard and cayenne pepper on Wholemeal bread. Absolutely vile - made it myself and thought I'd add the mustard and cayenne pepper as I've read it increases metabolism - it just turned me into a sweating mess as I struggled to eat it! 2 Bottles of water

2:30pm – Clementine, Cup of tea, bottle of water.

3:30pm - Apple

5:10pm - Pint of squash

6:30pm - Dinner - 1/2 a Meat Feast pizza and 1/2 a pepperoni pizza (total of 750 calories), about 12 olives, pint of squash. This is my once a week treat and not a meal I'm expecting to have any more than that. Surely this once a week isn't that bad?

7:30pm - Cup of tea, 1/2 a small Cadbury's fudge bar - no more than two small mouthfuls.

9:30pm  - A green tea, a couple of cherry tomatoes

11:00pm - Small glass of water.

Hey Sam.........Enjoy your Meet the Experts Weekend. How many people are you expecting to turn up for it? Do you ever get nervous doing such speeches or does it all come naturally? I still have butterflies before doing public speaking, but they soon disappear when I start. 

I'm planning on doing the first 14 miles at 8:30m/m pace, instead of going up to the top end of my pacing guideline like normal. That way I should have a bit more reserved in my legs for the last four which I will do at marathon pace. 

Have a good weekend!

Ady- sounds like your Polish mara was one to remember! 

I don't eat anything special when mara training but then it's not often that I'm not mara training.... I eat well most of the time and don't really crave stuff that's not good for me other than red wine which tends to be my downfall. 

I always tried to have some extra carbs 2-3 days before the race but without really calculating the number of grams needed.  I think I will give it a try next time for the VLM.

Day 48 - Asics Target 26.2 Paris Marathon Training (02/02/13)

Target: LONG RUN 17 MILES comfortable (8:10-9:10m/m). Last 3 miles below 8.10 pace. This was changed from Sunday to Saturday due to commitments tonight and tomorrow. My mileage was also increased by Sam to 18 MILES COMFORTABLE with last 4 miles below 8:10m/m pace.

Actual: 18.06 miles in 2:30:06 @ 8:18m/m.

Mile Splits: 1st mile @ 8:10m/m. 2nd mile @ 8:23m/m. 3rd mile @ 8:24m/m. 4th mile @ 8:22m/m. 5th mile @ 8:27m/m. 6th mile @ 8:27m/m. 7th mile @ 8:28m/m. 8th mile @ 8:26m/m. 9th mile @ 8:28m/m. 10th mile @ 8:25m/m. 11th mile @ 8:30m/m. 12th mile @ 8:19m/m. 13th mile @ 8:28m/m. 14th mile @ 8:30m/m. 15th mile @ 8:00m/m. 16th mile @ 7:52m/m. 17th mile @ 8:01m/m. 18th mile @ 7:55m/m

It was like I had a little devil sitting on my shoulder in today's long run. The devil wasn't urging me to give up, he was urging me to keep on going further than my planned session. "Go on, sneak a few more miles in and get that first 20 miler under your belt," he kept saying. "Just make up an excuse - you had to run back to a shop to buy a drink........or you just misjudged the distance."

It was nice to be thinking like this. Before on my long runs I'd be counting down the miles until it was over and finished. Now I'm finding I just want to continue. I think this is because I'm feeling much stronger in the latter miles. I'm not struggling to maintain my speed and I still feel I have more in the bank to give.

I'm sure Sam will be very happy to hear that I ignored the advice of my little devil and stuck to doing my planned 18 miles. If I had listened to the devil on my shoulder, I would have been extremely close to setting a new 20 mile PB (which stands around 2hr 45min mark) and I'm pretty sure with how I was feeling, I would have ran the full marathon distance quicker than my current PB (3hrs 44mins). When I ran my marathon PB I really faded in the last few miles. I don't think that would have happened today. This is such a confidence boosting feeling to have. All I have to do is replicate this on race day.

It was still chilly and breezy outside, but in sunshine, it's easy to forget this. The first 9 miles were directly in to the wind, on an out and back route. The wind was nowhere near as bad as my runs in the week and didn't make any difference to maintaining my speed. The first 14 miles today should have been ran at comfortable pace (8:10-9:10m/m). Normally I always go a couple of seconds faster than my lowest limit (if only to prove to myself that I'm succeeding in each session). I didn't really want to run the first 14 miles at 8:10m/m pace today, as this is pretty close to my marathon pace and I didn't want to get to the last 4 miles and find myself struggling to go faster. Instead I settled for a speed close to MP+30 - 8:30m/m.

I found I had no problem sticking to this and I knew I could go faster if I wanted to. It was even better once I reached the 9 mile mark and turned back on myself. Now I could feel the wind on my back. I was surprised how quickly the miles passed. In fact, I was surprised by how quickly the whole run felt even though I kept checking my Garmin to make sure my speed was okay.  

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For the last 4 miles I had to increase my speed to be quicker than 8:10m/m. I wanted to go even faster than this to match my MP pace. As I was feeling good, I tried to push myself even further by getting under my MP pace by a few seconds. I didn't manage this for two out of the four, but that was mainly because most of these miles were uphill. All four were either on or below my MP target.

As Ruth has prescribed SIS Go energy gels, I used two of these today, followed by a Hi5 energy gel (I would have used SIS Go only, but only realised I didn't have enough as I was about to go out for my run). I normally use HI5 gels, but thought I'd give SIS Go gels another chance after struggling with stomach complaints the last time I used them. This time they didn't cause any issues at all, so I think I'll continue with these at Dorney Lake Half Marathon in 2 weeks time. Out of all the gels the SIS Go are my favourite for consistency and taste. It's just like sucking jelly through a straw!  

I probably should have used 4 of these today, but I completely forgot to take the first one on 35 minutes. Only remembering after 45 minutes. I blame dropping my water bottle and missing a fresh steaming pile of dog turd by centimetres, which took my mind away from taking my energy gel! I think either a 4 or 5 gel strategy for marathon day would be perfect!

After my long runs I sometimes struggle afterwards with feeling a little queasy and tired. I haven't felt like this at all today. Although it would have been nice to try and get a new 20 mile PB, I have no complaints at all with how this run has gone. I've followed exactly what Sam has prescribed, and like I've always said, that's what I will always do. Hopefully my future long run will be just the same!

Here's my run from today:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/268681872

Calorie Watch! Food & Drink Diary – Saturday 2nd February 2013

After a month of not drinking alcohol, I decided last night would be the perfect time to become reacquainted with this addictive substance! It was a friend's birthday and I did manage to control the mount that passed my lips very well. I might have had a cheeky few bites of a banned food substance on the way home too!

I suppose my timings of meals today could have been better planned, but due to social commitments, running my long run and rugby watching, this wasn't possible to do!

8:45am - Breakfast - Porridge w/ semi-skimmed milk. Two spoons of raspberry jam and spoon of sugar. Cup of tea

9:45am - Pint of squash

11:00am – 18 mile run (see earlier post for full description). 125ml of water, 2 ISO Go Blackcurrant energy gels & 1 Hi5 Strawberry energy gel. Didn't feel thirsty on my run at all today.

2:00pm - Small glass of water & small glass of chocolate milk

2:30pm - Lunch - Tin of lentils, half a tin of brown chickpeas, cayenne pepper, garlic, salt, parmesan cheese gratings, milk and orange juice (I obviously wasn't watching what I was doing as to add more broth to the meal I was planning on adding milk, but picked up the orange juice container by mistake and had poured a good glug in before realising my mistake. Ruined the meal, but as I was hungry and didn't have time to make anything else, I ate it anyway!). Pint of squash

3:30pm – Cup of tea, bottle of water.

5:45pm - Pint of water

7:30pm - Pint of German White Beer.

8:30pm - Small Glass of red Prosecco to toast the birthday girl.

9:30pm - Bottle of Beck's Blue Non-Alcoholic Beer (only because the alcohol drank so far had gone straight to my head and I knew I still had to run the following day, so didn't want to completely fall off the wagon!).

10:30pm - Pint of German White Beer

12:15am - Several bites of my better half's cheese and bacon pasty. I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist the temptation. 

1:00am - Late, Late Dinner/ Midnight Snack - Subway Foot Long Veggie Delight Sub (approx 580 cals.). Pint of water.

Day 49 - Asics Target 26.2 Paris Marathon Training (03/02/13)

Target: 4 mile JOG @ 9:20 - 10:00m/m

Actual: 4.02 miles in 37:06 @ 9:13m/m

Mile Splits: 1st mile @ 9:14m/m. 2nd mile @ 9:19m/m. 3rd mile @ 9:17m/m. 4th mile @ 9:09m/m.

It's a lovely feeling waking up on a Sunday morning knowing you've already done your long run of the week the day before. I much prefer doing my long run on a Saturday and then a nice, shorter, relaxed recovery run on Sunday before starting the next week of running. It also means I can enjoy a lie in and not have any feelings of guilt!

I'd spent a good part of the previous evening acting like a teenager again and dancing to songs I had no idea who sang or wrote. Disappointed no Verve, Blur, Pulp or The Killers had made it on to the play list, I woke this morning expecting to feel groggy, sore and aching from yesterday's run and Dad style dancing.

I was surprised when I didn't. Maybe learning to take time after a run to stretch properly could be one of the reasons why the aches had stayed away. This meant today's recovery run was much easier than I was expecting and made it an enjoyable jog. I was glad I wasn't doing my long run today as it felt much colder without the sun showing its face.

I struggled somewhat to maintain a steady pace. I think this was a combination of factors. Now that I am running at speeds I've never ran at before, this speed seems much slower than what it felt like 8 weeks ago. I was also thinking a lot about my 5km next week and coming up with a plan of what I'll do. Just having this on my mind meant I kept speeding up without thinking about it.

Even when Paris is finished, I'll definitely keep this recovery run in my training the day after my long run. Before this would be a rest day. It makes for a great end to a week's running. It also leaves plenty of time to enjoy a Sunday roast too (alongside the previously mentioned lie in!

I don't have a long run for the next two weeks due to my 5km and half-marathon races, so I'll be raring to go in 3 weeks time!

Here's my run from today:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/269249827 

Ady - well done on the 18 miler. (I did 18 today as wel)l. If you aren't feeling queasy like you used to it sounds like you've built up to this correctly. It is good that you felt that you had more in you - that's very promising with a good 6 weeks of work to go before the taper starts.

I reckon this is your year mate!

Week 7 Asics Target 26.2 Paris Marathon Training Round-up (W/ Ending 03/02/13):

Monday:

Target: Rest Day

Actual: 15 minute P90X Ab-Ripper-X Workout Video

Tuesday:

Target: 2 MILE EASY then 3 x acceleration strides then 6 x 800M (or 3 mins) at 6.30-6.50 pace with 3 min jogs in between each. 1 MILE EASY (7 MILES)

Actual: 2 miles easy, 6 x 800m (or as I was using the non-metric system - 0.5 miles) at6.30-6.50 pace with 3 min jogs between each, 1 mile easy and 3 x acceleration strides.

Total: 7.95 miles in 1:06:00 @ 8:18m/m.

Splits: 2 mile W/up @ 8:10m/m. 1st 0.50 @ 6:26m/m. 2nd 0.50 @ 6:31m/m. 3rd 0.50 @ 6:25m/m. 4th 0.50 @ 6:29m/m. 5th 0.50 @ 6:29m/m. 6th 0.50 @ 6:27m/m. 1 mile C/Down @ 8:05m/m

Wednesday:

Target: 5 mile comfortable (8:10-9:10m/m)

Actual: 5.25 miles comfortable @8:06m/m in 42:35

Splits: 1st 0.75 @ 8:34m/m. 2nd 0.75 @ 7:49m/m. 3rd 0.75 @ 8:01m/m. 4th 0.75 @ 8:02m/m. 5th 0.75 @ 8:08m/m. 6th 0.75 @ 8:08m/m. 7th 0.75 @ 8:00m/m

Thursday:

Target: 6 MILE BUILD-UP (From 8.05-7.35) (GOOD TO DO THIS AS AN ‘OUT AND BACK’ RUN, COMPLETING SECOND HALF FASTER) 

Actual: 6.04 Mile Build Up in 46:39 @ 7:43m/m

Mile Splits: 1st mile @ 8:03m/m. 2nd mile @ 7:53m/m. 3rd mile @ 7:50m/m. 4th mile @ 7:43m/m. 5th mile @ 7:36m/m. 6th mile @ 7:18m/m.

Friday:

Target: REST or low impact cross training

Actual: Rest Day

Saturday:

Target: LONG RUN 17 MILES comfortable (8:10-9:10m/m). Last 3 miles below 8.10 pace. This was changed from Sunday to Saturday due to commitments tonight and tomorrow. My mileage was also increased by Sam to 18 MILES COMFORTABLE with last 4 miles below 8:10m/m pace.

Actual: 18.06 miles in 2:30:06 @ 8:18m/m.

Mile Splits: 1st mile @ 8:10m/m. 2nd mile @ 8:23m/m. 3rd mile @ 8:24m/m. 4th mile @ 8:22m/m. 5th mile @ 8:27m/m. 6th mile @ 8:27m/m. 7th mile @ 8:28m/m. 8th mile @ 8:26m/m. 9th mile @ 8:28m/m. 10th mile @ 8:25m/m. 11th mile @ 8:30m/m. 12th mile @ 8:19m/m. 13th mile @ 8:28m/m. 14th mile @ 8:30m/m. 15th mile @ 8:00m/m. 16th mile @ 7:52m/m. 17th mile @ 8:01m/m. 18th mile @ 7:55m/m

Sunday:

Target: 4 mile JOG @ 9:20 - 10:00m/m

Actual: 4.02 miles in 37:06 @ 9:13m/m

Mile Splits: 1st mile @ 9:14m/m. 2nd mile @ 9:19m/m. 3rd mile @ 9:17m/m. 4th mile @ 9:09m/m.

MILEAGE: Target: 40mi. Actual: 41.32mi

It's nice writing these weekly round-ups, as every week there seems to be more positives than negatives.  This week has been no different and I have no complaints with how my sessions have gone. Alongside the 800m reps, I think the 18 mile long run is the one that stands out the most. Not only did I feel like I was holding back on the pace I was running at, but I also felt when I increased my pace for the last 4 miles I could have gone even quicker if needed. I also felt I could have happily continued at MP for a few miles more. If I'd taken another gel, then I think I could have even managed full marathon distance continuing at a similar pace. I know a lot can happen in the last few miles of a marathon, but I don't think I have ever finished 18 miles and felt so good and strong. It took a lot of restraint not to continue.

It's all good doing this in practice though, but now I have to prove I can do it on the big occasions as well and in races!