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

Shady_Ady wrote (see)

Calorie Watch! Food & Drink Diary – Sunday 10th February 2013

There is 1 rule I always follow when staying the night in a B&B - fill your boot sat breakfast time! It was be scandalous to pay so much money and just have cereals in the morning. Plus, I was running in the afternoon so today's breakfast was just a carb-loading exercise!

9:30am - B&B Breakfast - Small bowl of fresh wild berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and redcurrants) with homemade granola, passon fruit yoghurt. Small bowl of melon, prunes and half a passion fruit. A hazlenut brioche. Small English Breakfast - Sausage, bacon, egg, mushroom, tomatoes. 1 slice of toast. 3 cups of tea, 1 glass of red grape juice and 1 glass of fresh pineapple juice. I probably could have taken a nap after eating all of this, but had another train to catch!

11:30am - Bottle of water

2:30pm – Pint of squash

4:00pm - 12 mile run on treadmill (see earlier for full description). Bottle of water

7:00pm - Dinner - Carrot and Coriander soup with Bulgar wheat and half a tin of Indian Mixed Beans thrown in. Pint of squash.

8:00pm - Cup of Ginger tea and a Muller Lemon Greek Style Yogurt.

10:00pm - Glass of water.

Obviously the amount I ate for breakfast meant I was never going to feel that hungry by lunch time, so I just followed my hunger, which meant I didn't really eat again until after my run.

Rule 1 (above) is a trap a lot of people fall into. It is fine if only stay at a hotel or B&B once in a while but too often..... and as a runner little and often is probably the best way to eat (for most runners). As for the rest of the day you actually ate very little. However the weight is still going down so keep up the great work and really focus for the next few weeks on very little "extras".

When I read Sarah Osborne's post about your face,before week 1, I went back to have another look - brillant!

Sarah O - good luck this weekend, hope it's  a PB!

Shady_Ady wrote (see)

..........................

Ruth..........Thanks for the feedback. I'll eat slightly earlier. This will mean I'll need to have a snack. Jam sandwich sounds favourite at the moment.  The last marathon I ran I ate flapjack cereal bars, but I know you said that this isn't always a suitable thing to have. I think I might make a banana and jam sandwich to graze at.

I don't think I'll have a gel beforehand. I've never tried this before, and like you say if I have a snack then this isn't needed.

Do you want me to have two gels during the race? Do you want me to stick to one every 35 minutes like in my weekend long runs? I've ordered a 30 pack in of SIS Go Isotonic gels, so I should be well equipped. It's amazing how cheap gels can be when you buy in bulk. Watch those pennies! My mother would be proud!

Sam.........1:39:40......now I feel even more confident of obtaining another 3:30 indicator. It'll be interesting to see how the half time will compare to my 5km time. Like you say, I feel I've always shown better performances in endurance races rather than shorter, speedier distances. I don't know if this is because I've never really trained for shorter distances before.

One thing I can be sure of on Saturday......I won't go out too fast and then crash and burn later on.

Banana & Jam sounds prefect to me. Flapjacks can take quite a lot longer to leave the stomach & digest. As mentioned, no gel needed for you.

Yes, a gel every 35 minutes as this your marathon plan, i want to know that after Saturday you feel comfortable with your gel race plan for Paris. However, usually for a half (if running sub 90minutes ) if had a few easy days of running prior to a half & had eating sufficient carbs before race you would not need to have any gels or other form of energy during race  but I want this to be a practise run for Paris.

Bulk buying  - once you know what you like, this is a great money saving advice!

Have a fab run and enjoy!

Day 59 - Asics Target 26.2 Paris Marathon Training (13/02/13)

Target: 6 miles comfortable @ 8:10m/m - 9:10m/m

Actual: 4 miles comfortable in 33:48 @ 8:24m/m

I knew sooner or later work would take over my week days again and swallow up almost every waking hour. I should be lucky I managed 8 weeks without this happening. This week has been hectic to say the least, so it'll be nice for the weekend to arrive and I can let off some steam at the Dorney Lake Half.

I should have managed 6 miles comfortable today, but a lunch time meeting and another 12+ hour day meant it wasn't until well on 11pm when I had the chance to finally get my run in. I took the easy option and decided the treadmill was a more tempting option than the dark, drunk filled streets! A little guy like me in fluorescent lycra, I don't think I'd rate my chances if meeting any unsavoury characters at that time!

As it was late when I started my run, I decided on only doing 4 miles today and adding the two miles I missed onto tomorrow steady run as an extra w/up and c/down.I had no problem with my knee today, but I still took extra time stretching afterwards as recommended by Sam and Sarah. I also added a gradient to the treadmill to make it a little harder.

One good thing about running this late - you have no problem falling to sleep afterwards!

Calorie Watch! Food & Drink Diary – Wednesday 13th February 2013

The only good thing about lunch time meetings is a free lunch. I might have pigged out and enjoy mine a little too much!

6:50am - Breakfast - Fruit and Fibre Cereals (about 50g) w/ Semi-Skimmed milk

9:00am - Cup of tea

10:00am - Bottle of water

12:00pm – Lunch - Cheese Ploughman sandwich on wholemeal bread with pickle and salad. Packet of beef hula-hoops, Wispa bar, Orange, Carton of Apple juice.

2:00pm - Clementine, Cup of tea, bottle of water

5:00pm - Bottle of water, cup of tea, apple

8:30pm - Dinner - Half a leftover Calzone (goats cheese, aubergine, red pepper and spinach) and salad. Pint of squash

9:30pm - Muller Yoghurt, pint of squash

11:00pm - 4 mile treadmill run (see earlier for full description)

12:00pm - Glass of water

CARB-LOAD FRIDAY!

RUTH MCKEAN wrote (see)

Breakfast: Large bowl of cereal /porridge (60g of dried cereal) with milk & 1 full bagel with generous spread of honey & jam & 200ml glass of orange juice (approx. 130g)

Mid- morning: Nibble on half pack of jelly babies (100g of sweets) and 500ml of low fat milkshake (approx. 120g of carbohydrates)

Lunch:  100g pasta (dried weight) salad, low fat fruit yogurt & large banana & 20ml glass of fruit juice (approx. 120g of carbohydrates)

Mid afternoon:  banana sandwich and 400ml of fruit juice & 3 jaffa cakes (approx.110g).

Dinner: 100g of pasta or rice or large jacket potato with usual foods but keep vegetables and meat/fish to small portions.  Large glass of fruit juice (300ml) or full sugar diluting juice and low fat fruit yogurt (approx.115g)

Before bed: large bowl of cereal or 3 slices of toast & jam (approx. 60-70g of carbohydrates).

Let me know what you think to the above.

So this is what I have to look forward to tomorrow. A day's extravaganza of eating..........that includes both jelly babies and jaffa cakes without any feelings of guilt. I think I might actually struggle with getting through this amount!

Malcs.......I'm glad you'll be sharing in a similar feast. Safety in numbers! 

Malcs wrote (see)

Ady, the pics are looking great. My reaction has reduced to a simple wretch now - way off the major vom I experienced when photo 1 was first released

I've been absent for a few days but I've cleared my diary and I'm ready for the big one - carbo load!

As I said to Steve, as an act of solidarity I am selflessly planning to carbo load alongside you pre Dorney. Just let me know when we start! 

Malcs........I think I understand what you're saying.......basically when the sight of me stops repulsing you, then I know I've lost enough weight and don't have to lose any more......or you are just saying in a polite way that I had a harsh paper round when I was younger!  To be honest I could be 140 lbs of pure muscle and I still think I'd struggle to pull off the lycra look and do it the justice it deserves!

Sarah........if I don't get the chance beforehand, I just wanted to wish you all the best for Barcelona Half this Sunday. I hope we'll all be sporting new PBs come Monday.

Everyone else......Apologies again.......I'm afraid I've ran out of time to responed to everyone tonight (again!).......I'll catch up I promise over the next few days!

Brolish wrote (see)

Malcs- are you racing as well or just carbo loading?

Oh, I'm just doing the eating part - one step at a time! 

Shady_Ady wrote (see)

Malcs........I think I understand what you're saying.......basically when the sight of me stops repulsing you, then I know I've lost enough weight and don't have to lose any more......or you are just saying in a polite way that I had a harsh paper round when I was younger!  To be honest I could be 140 lbs of pure muscle and I still think I'd struggle to pull off the lycra look and do it the justice it deserves!

Indeed Ady - when the sight of you in the tight stuff fails to send my stomach contents North you can be sure you've made it to your goal. Just so you know, I would be very concerned if the sight of any man in lycra (myself included) didn't make me squirm so please don't be offended.

Looking forward to breakfast already!

Sarah - have a great time in Spain. Really hope you get that PB - you clearly have every chance the way you've been running recently.

Ady - how is carbo binge day going so far? I haven't made a good start. The porridge left me stuffed so I'm already an orange juice and a bagel behind. Just done 2 slices of toast with loads of marmalade to try and catch up. 

Malcs wrote (see)

Ady - how is carbo binge day going so far? I haven't made a good start. The porridge left me stuffed so I'm already an orange juice and a bagel behind. Just done 2 slices of toast with loads of marmalade to try and catch up. 

I have to say.......I'm struggling already. I swear I can amost feel the last of my pasta still stuck in my throat as there's no room in my stomach!

I too was stuffed this morning after my normal cereal breakfast and then realised I'd left no time to eat the extra bagel, so I ate that as soon as I got into work. It wasn;t until after my first meeting that I realised some of the toasted burnt bits of the bagel were still stuck in my teeth, which from a distance made my grin look like that of a meth addict. School boy error not to look in the mirror and smile before going into a meeting!

The mid morning jelly babies were the easiest part. I've finished 3/4 of my pasta for lunch and I'm just staring at the rest, plus the yoghurt and banana with nothing but resentment. I think I might have to take a break from this and try again later. I'm not even going to think about the banana sandwich which is pencilled in for 3pm.

All it feels like I've been doing today is eating. I feel like the skinny guy (I don't look anything like this yet!) from 'super-sized versus super-skinny' when he's made to eat the food the fat person normally eats.

It's been a struggle but like a trooper......I'll soldier on! Now back to that pasta.....................

Ha ha! Meth addict, great image - love it 

I agreee - the JB's were a cinch. I wonder if Ruth would allow you to swap other things on the menu for JBs? Somehow I think a carbo load comprising mostly of sweets may not be to her liking.

I've never weighed out pasta before. 100g is alot less than I would usually have. I reckon I'm on over 150g most times. So the pasta was easy but yoghurt, salad and banana on top may be a struggle. 

Slightly embarrassing really - after all the cavailier talk fof feasting we've both fallen flat on our faces almost from the word go.

It's very interesting trying this though. In past marathons my carbo loading consisted merely of having 'a bit more' pasta for dinner the preceeding two days. Clearly I was way off course on that one.

Btw. what did you have with your pasta? I ended up with an egg, some bits of ham hock and half a tin of baked beans. Is that acceptable Ruth? 

Sure you'll be able to run tomorrow after all this food?  

Good luck at Dorney this weekend Ady! Toyed with the idea of running, but think my time will be better served getting a good long run done.

Come on A.W, admidt it - you just didn't want to carbo load so you could stay on that sparrow's diet of yours 

Ady - just stuffed myself with more pasta. I think my body is acclimatising . About to head down the M4 so I will wish you the very best for tomorrow. I hope you can manage the last segment of the carbo load too!

Paulo83 wrote (see)

Does anyone know how much to expect to pay for the medical to be done? Iv just got back from the doctor and been told it normally costs between ??140 and ??160!

Hi Paulo........I remember looking years ago at getting the medical done for Paris and saw that it was around £80 for a medical and around £30 for getting a signature on the medical certificate.....so maybe £140 isn't that unrealistic. I think Alex has got his done recently, but I don;t think he paid that much? I suppose other than your GP, there isn't any cheaper option out there? I'd be interested to hear if there was.

A.W wrote (see)

Good luck at Dorney this weekend Ady! Toyed with the idea of running, but think my time will be better served getting a good long run done.

Thanks Alex. It's a shame we're not going to meet up , but it's only another couple of weeks before the next training day and then Spitfire 20. It'll be nice to eet a few other RunnersWorld fourmites (I think that's the right term?) there as well. 

I agree it's probably best to get a long run in instead. I can;t wait to get my first twenty miler in next weekend. I feel like I'm being left behind slightly hearing of everyone else doing there's already! Good luck on the long run!

Malcs wrote (see)

Ha ha! Meth addict, great image - love it 

I agreee - the JB's were a cinch. I wonder if Ruth would allow you to swap other things on the menu for JBs? Somehow I think a carbo load comprising mostly of sweets may not be to her liking.

I've never weighed out pasta before. 100g is alot less than I would usually have. I reckon I'm on over 150g most times. So the pasta was easy but yoghurt, salad and banana on top may be a struggle. 

Slightly embarrassing really - after all the cavailier talk fof feasting we've both fallen flat on our faces almost from the word go.

It's very interesting trying this though. In past marathons my carbo loading consisted merely of having 'a bit more' pasta for dinner the preceeding two days. Clearly I was way off course on that one.

Btw. what did you have with your pasta? I ended up with an egg, some bits of ham hock and half a tin of baked beans. Is that acceptable Ruth? 

Sure you'll be able to run tomorrow after all this food?  

I must be a light eater. 100g of dry pasta for me was more than I'd usually eat, and after an extra half bag of jelly babies and bagel in the morning, compared to what I'd normally eat, it was a challenge to get it eaten! 

Unfprtunately it was me cooking it, so it wasn't anywhere near as eligent as it could have been if my wife had cooked it. I went for the very simple but effective pasta dish of pasta (obviously!) with pesto sauce, chicken and  some parmesan cheese. I also added pine nuts.......well I thought they were pine nuts but they turned out be sunflower seeds.......almost the same! I wish I had some ham hock to add in! You trumped mine there!

My carb loading before today was exactly the same as yours - an extra spoonful of pasta in the evening before the race and if I was really pushing the carb loading out, I'd have some bread on the side - normally garlic bread (maybe I was just using carb-loading as an excuse to do this!).

It's been good practice though attempting this. I know what to expect more now come Paris.

Malcs wrote (see)

Come on A.W, admidt it - you just didn't want to carbo load so you could stay on that sparrow's diet of yours 

Ady - just stuffed myself with more pasta. I think my body is acclimatising . About to head down the M4 so I will wish you the very best for tomorrow. I hope you can manage the last segment of the carbo load too!

The 2nd helping of pasta went down much better....definitely geting into the swing of things now.........I caught up on my yoghurt from earlier, but the large banana fell by the wayside. All I need to do now is to polish off three rounds of toast and I'm done for the day. 

I hope the M4 was empty of commuter traffic and jams!