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

Top work Ady! Enjoy the shandy!!!!

sarah osborne wrote (see)

evening. Loving the photos again...your face is a picture on the "before week one" one!

I will have a look tomorrow and see what I can find on the trigger point foam rollers.

I think starting of at 7:30 min/mls would work out great then speed up a little bit into the race...its so difficult to make yourself do it and not get carried away with the excitement of a race but its so rewarding finishing strong and fast.

Its always nice getting a PB, especially when its unexpected like my last half PB. My 10k PB is 43:20 at the moment.

Im having a quiet week of running this week. It was a 3m recovery run yesterday and a 7m gentle speed training session tonight, Im working 13 hours tomorrow and then im on call thursday. I go on holiday in the early hours on friday. I feel like I probably need a reduced milage week so it fitted in quite well. I plan to sightsee and do lots of walking fri and sat and then its Barcelona half marathon on sunday! Im hoping we all get new PBs....good luck

Hey Sarah.......I hope your Barcelona Half went well today. Looking forward to seeing how it went for you. I expect it's a lot more pleasant temperature than over here at the moment.

The face on the first picture was more a look of "oh my God! How did I let myself get into such a bad condition.........hopefully looking at this photos every few weeks will keep me on the straight and narrow. I never want to get into this kind of position ever again.

Good luck with the foam roller. I'm trying to get in the habit of using it every day now. It's definitely a good addition to each training session.

I was a little bad yesterday in my half. The plan was to start off nearer 7:30m/m and then speed up when the runners thinned out and pick up the speed again towards the end. But as it was easier to get up to speed almost immediately I ran the first lap a little faster than what I needed to and then as I fell in to my stride and felt good, I decided to see how many miles I could go continuously getting sub 7:20m/m miles. I shocked myself that I managed to get al the way to the end doing this!

The course was flat, fast and there was no wind at all. I think on a different, more challenging course, it would have been a harder act to stick to this pace throughout.

I hope you have a good week of training this coming week!  

SamMurphyRuns wrote (see)

Hi Ady

Keep an eye on that knee... you might just need to take some extra rest - maybe skip a run. Sometimes all the foam rollering and stretching in the world isn't the answer - your body is just saying, 'hang on a minute I'm a bit knackered right now!' and you need to respect that.

Also remember physio Sarah's point that just because knee (or calf,or whatever) is hurting it doesn't mean the problem is actually in that area. Perhaps doing a really good back stretch - with flexion, extenion, side flexion and rotation (basically, all the directions the spine moves) will help ease out any tightness that could have a knock-on effect on lower limbs. I'd do this seated/lying/all fours and make it all really GENTLE! 

Hey Sam........Thanks for the advice regarding the knee. It was fine yesterday during the run and I don't think it affected my speed, or style at all. But by the time I'd stretched and then sat through the Race Your Pace seminar after the race with Martin Yelling, it had become quite stiff again. I never seem to feel anything during my run, only afterwards it become stiffer (my knee!), 

I woke up this morning and it's fine at the moment, but I might skip my run today and do more stretching as you suggested. 

sarah asics pro team wrote (see)

Ha think Sam is after my job!! I was just about to post amke sure you look after you back as well. This is where the hip flexors originate from. Go back to that very easy core and as Sam says gentle back mobility work. Listen to your body and remember to ice if a bit stiff after a run. Life is very busy at the mo and take time when you can for the TLC but don't try and force it.

Let me know if stiil stiff. we are catching up in 2 weeks so you will all be due another MOT by then.

Hey Sarah.....Like I just wrote to Sam, as today is just a short recovery run and I don't have many plans, I was going to do extra stretching today and also maybe skip my run if I feel any twinge from my knee. 

It was very stiff after the race yesterday. It wasn't stiff when doing a mini c/down and stretching immediately after the race, but was after sitting down for an hour or so just after I'd finished.

It's not so bad at all when just walking or running, but I can really feel it when I climb stairs as then it starts to feel a little weaker than my good knee. I used the RICE philosophy yesterday evening and iced the knee and elevated it.

I am also going to go the Asics store this Friday and see about getting a pair of trainers with a little more support like you recommended on the last training day. Due to weekend commitments where I've had to travel away and also hectic working weeks, Friday will be my first opportunity to do this. 

I hope you've had a good weekend!

Clive Kelty wrote (see)

Hi Ady,

Hope the knee is feeling better. Loving the pics- must be really satisfying to see the difference in the mirror. Regarding pacing I have to confess to being a fan of negative splits.. I never really started doing this intentionally, but when I started running again in 2010 and entered City2Surf (iconic 14k race in Sydney)I was really spooked about whether I would be able to run 14k, let alone get up the massive hill in the middle. It is a really busy race (over 80,000 entrants) so I started REALLY slow and then picked up the pace when suddenly realised I had got up the hill , and was only a couple of km from the finish! I ran both my marathons in negative splits, the last one over 4 mins quicker for the second half.There is also something like a real psychological boost when you are going past people at the end, and thinking 'I feel strong'....

I'm sure Sam and others would have an opinion on whether this is good or not, but like the progressive runs I tended to do 'fast finish long runs' in the second half of marathon training. These are 10-14 mile runs, with the first 5 or 6 miles at easy pace, then pick it up to marathon pace till the end. The idea is you get used to running at a quicker pace when already fatigued.

Anyway, best of luck for the weekend for that pb!!!

Hey Clive....apologies for taking so long to reply properly. It's been a very busy week. The knee is still sore......although it's not really caused any problems during a run yet, just saw and a little stiff afterwards. Like Same and Sarah have said, I'll be paying close attention to this and if I need to take time off I'll be listening more closely to my body. It's best to take the rest now for a day or two rather than wait before it comes a full blown problem when I have to take a week or two off.

Your post was actually in my head yesterday while I was running my half marathon in regard to negative splits. I've never done this before and the closer towards the end I got, the more I realised I might be able to pull it off and get one. Thanks to the last 3 miles I managed this for the first time ever. I think it was only 5 seconds faster than the first half, but I'll still take that as a negative split!

Whether I'll be able to follow you and do this for the full marathon, I don't know. It's definitely given me a lot more confidenc in my ability to hold my pace and even go quicker a sa race develops, so I'm more than happy with that! And like you say it's such a pyscholical boost to be passing people towards the end, rather than everyone passing you.

RUTH MCKEAN wrote (see)

Shady_Ady wrote (see)

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

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!

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".

Ruth........don't worry.......I promise that stays in B&Bs are a very rare occurence and won't happen again before Paris. I know it's not the ideal philosophy to have while marathon training. I also promise if we have a buffet breakfast in Paris I will make sure I won' 'fill my boots' like I normally would. 

It's hard to break the mentality of 'well I've paid for this so I'm going to eat it' when staying in hotels or B&Bs. Plus the owner seemed so friendly, it would have been like a dagger to her heart if I'd turned down her offer of a cooked fried breakfast! Well, that's what I keep telling myself anyway!

The gel plan worked perfectly yesterday during the race so I'm more than happy to continue this for Paris. I did struggle slightly with the carb-loading and didnt eat everything I should have done (more due to the quantity than anything else), but I came mightily close to doing so. I'm definitely happy with this as well come Paris. I didn't feel heavy from this yesterday at all, so I have no qualms about this.

In our Race Your Pace Seminar after the race we had with Martin Yelling he mentioned that he advises his clients that they should have their main carb-loading meal at lunch time the day before the race, so that they can make sure they get their bowel movements (I tried to keep this terminology as clean as possible!) out of the way well before the start of the race.

I have to say, after first seeing the amount of food I was to eat during 'carb-load Friday', this was my main fear, that I'd struggle to get all my bowel movements out of the way before the race started (luckily this didn't end up to be a problem!). I don't think this is really an isue during my carb-load though as all my meals are of a similar size. 

Paulo83 wrote (see)

My doctor got back to me today and said they would do it all for ??42 as its for charity! That's more what is expected to pay

Good luck with ur half marathon! Don't think I could run with that much food in side me! I'm sure the pros are right though and you'll be full of energy!

Hey Paulo.......good luck in your Brighton Half today. I hope all goes to plan and you get close to 1:30 like you want. I hope the big bowl of pasta helped!

It's nice to see your doctor has a soft spot for charity and wasn't only thinking about lining his pocket. It would have only left a sour taste in your mouth if you had had to pay the full amount!

Alexs' girl wrote (see)

Hi Shady, Just popped in to say hi, was the girl in yellow stalking you at Dorney today! I tracked you all the way around.
You're pacing looked really good. It was my first time at Dorney today and I sneaked a cheeky PB because the conditions were so good I didn't want to waste the opportunity.
I just read back to see how much you were carbo loading! That was a lot of food!!!
Hope you're happy with your time

Hey Alex's Girl..........Before I say anything else, I'd like to thank you personally, as I don't think I would have managed to break 1:35 without your help. (even if you did sneak pass me in the last mile or so). I noticed on the last lap that you kept passing me and every time you did I noticed my cadence had dropped as I was tiring a little. I just tried to match your cadence, which kept my speed going. Thanks very much indeed. I hope you don't mind me plagiarising your running 

If I'd known you were stalking me I'd have probably made more of an effort to say hi!

Even I was impressed with my pacing and that's never really happened before. Each mile split was on or under 7:20m/m and there was only a difference of 10 seconds between my fastest mile split and slowest mile split. I definitely think the conditions helped for this though.

Congratulaitons on your PB. You must be very happy with that? Are you training for a marathon this Spring as well? Good luck if you are! I was very happy with my time. I like to dissect my races afterwards and see where I went wrong, but this is the first time where I can't really see where I could have shaved more time off. I was hoping to go much faster in the last 2-3 miles, but I was starting to tire by then so I'm more than happy to have maintained my pace. 

Malcs wrote (see)

Hey Alex's Girl - all official stalking has to come through me! Consider this your first and final warning

I read about last year where the conditions were not good at all - high winds I believe made it very tough so it's great to hear that it was better for you.

I won't ask your time as I'm guessing it will be similar to Adys which I'm sure he'll want to reveal himself. Well done on the PB!

Ady - I did the Llanelli Parkrun with Jen today. Very nice course and it was great to catch up with Jen in the cafe afterwards.

Looking forward to the big reveal

Haha........I've officially made it now I have a bonified stalker......I couldn't think of anyone better than you Malcs! Anyone that joins in carb-loading with me has the job for life!

We were all definitely very lucky with the conditions yesterday. Flat as a pancake and no wind. You can't get better conditions than this for a race and potential PB! Absolutely perfect conditions!

Glad you had a good time at the Llanelli run with Jen. Were you happy with your time or were you just running it for the chance to catch up with Jen? 

A.W wrote (see)

Top work Ady! Enjoy the shandy!!!!

Thanks Alex. I couldn;t be happier. I hope your long run went well this weekend. Look forward to catching up in a couple of weeks time.

Minni wrote (see)

Well done Ady! If that's anything to go by 3:30 is going to be a walk in the park.

Thanks very much Minni. For the first time so far, I feel a sub 3:30 is a distinct possibility. I just have to hope my knee stays okay and I have no more niggles before race day. I have everything crossed!

Paulo83 wrote (see)

Thanks Ady! I had an interesting run today. I was feeling comfortable for the 1st 5 miles and feeling confident of going sub 1:30. Then just as I went through the 5 mile marker something went twang just below my left calf! I did consider pulling up to prevent making it worse. I stopped for a quick stretch and then carried on at a slower pace and managed to get round in 1:32:12 so still happy with that! Got ice on my calf now and hoping I haven't stupidly done too much damage!

Paulo, great work on your Brighton Half run. I would have done exactly the same as you, although I dont know if this is what Sarah would advise  You definitely did the right thing though in stopping, stretching and then continuing at a slower pace. Ice and rest is the way to go. I've decided not to run today due to my knee aching yesterday. I've also got a cross-training day tomorrow, so that should be a good 2 days without running, which should see everything restored to full working order. 

You should definitely be on for a sub 3:30 with that kind of time. Excellent work. Very happy for you!

ThomasGreen24 wrote (see)

Hi Ady, after seeing your Facebook update, just had to log-on and congratulate you on the half marathon time. I think this training thing really does work, I'm going to have to give it a try one day! You've gone and beat my half marathon PB as well as having a faster marathon, I'm sure you'll shave a few seconds off my 5k soon the way you are going.

Good luck with the rest of the training mate and hope you stay injury free, you deserve it with all the hard work you've put in.

Are you doing any other events before the Paris marathon? Hopefully see you up in the midlands soon.

Mr. Tom Green. What a pleasure it is to see you posting on here! I can't recommend proper training enough. I've made so much  improvement in the past 9 weeks it's unbelievable....not only in the running, but diet and self belief as well. It's made me realise how much more potential I have to what I thought. 

Apologies for beating your half PB. I can assure you that your 5km PB should remain intact for a little while longer. A sub 20 minute 5km time is a more long term goal. I don't think I've quite got that level of speed just yet!

I just have the Surrey Spitfire 20 in 2 weeks time and that's it, apart from a 5km time trial at training day the day before the 20 miler. Don't worry, I won't better your 5km PB then 

If I stay injury free, then I'll be in a far more positive mood about reaching my goal.