A few words on my race planning, based upon the course map and profile.
One week from today…
Posted by – April 2, 2011
…the training will all be done and it will be time to get everything together – the night before race day:
- My kit: shoes, shirt, shorts, gels, sunglasses, hat, pre- and post-race snacks, additional clothing, plasters, vaseline, etc, etc.
- My food: staying in a hotel so the snacks I need when I wake up will be there. Probably a bagel or two, a banana, coffee and water.
- And, hugely critical to success, my brain: the pace chart markers memorised for the key mile marks, the mental images I always use to get me into and through the pain, the course map and profile, where the hills start and end, where I can attack, where I can get a drink, etc.
Very exciting as this week will be, it’s all about rest and keeping myself in check as I travel, register, walk around Paris a little and then hit the start line. I still have to get my medical certificate but that should be fine on Wednesday or Thursday. Then we’re off. I can’t wait to run, and run as fast as I can. I think in all the races I’ve done before I’ve been relatively cautious – hopeful but not overconfident that a fast time would be the outcome. But in this one, I want to throw everything at it and see how I come off. It’s going to be great fun.
The trip to the doctors
Posted by – March 29, 2011
And what a strange trip it was! Hear all about it…
Last long run… done!
Posted by – March 28, 2011
My final bit of proper mileage is now out of the way and I bet you can feel the relief too!
16 to go – a day off my feet
Posted by – March 25, 2011
Had a jolly old time of it in the pool this morning after deciding that I needed a day off my feet.
Treadmill Torture
Posted by – March 24, 2011
A big session after work today on those ‘electric hills’ – the dreaded treadmill!
18 to go – ‘Double Pyramid’
Posted by – March 24, 2011
18 days to go, and yesterday’s session is hurting a little. At the track, it’s what I call a ‘Double Pyramid’:
- 2×200
- 2×400
- 2×600
- 2×800
- 2×600
- 2×400
- 2×200
All with 100m rest between each leg.
The warm up is my run to the track (about three quarters of a mile) and warm down the (very slow) jog home. I was happy with the level of intensity, too. It’s probably the toughst session and biggest effort yet in this training cycle, and at the right time.
Also on the menu for the next day or sois the design of my race pace chart. I’m going to try to incorporate a few options for the day itself, specifically a range of different pace options between 3.20 and 3.14 so I know exactly where I am on course in relation to my target time. I tend to panic a little when I can’t do the quick maths needed to know if I’m on schedule, and hopefully this will be solved by some thought and effort now.
My last game of football pre-race is taking place tonight, and I will enjoy this as a bit of crosstraining, and then it’s back to the treadmill on Thursday night.
The final days to Paris
Posted by – March 22, 2011
I’ve been away for a while but working hard. Paris is nearly here now and I’m going to make a big effort to post as much as I can between now and then. It’s been a tough journey so far but the hardest bit is yet to come.
Training update – getting to full strength
Posted by – January 25, 2011
I’m now getting over my injuries and fighting hard to find the speed I need in Paris come the springtime… Shouts are included here to a few friends, too – especially Richard following his fantastic marathon from a week or so ago.