After a dip in enthusiasm (too much training, dodgy foot, worry about how the marathon will be on the day), I got out tonight on one of my final major runs. Completed 10 or so miles in Regents Park and Primrose Hill. What great places to be in the spring time. Maybe the change of scenery helped, but I clicked off a very good 10k within the middle of the run, and felt my confidence soar.
Its only a fortnight to go now and all the hard work is done. For any Paris marathoners out there, you've got a week. The hard work is done and physically, there is very little you can now do to improve in your preparation for the race. Obviously, you have to eat well, hydrate plenty and look after your conditioning, not doing too much on runs or in the gym or pool. However, when you are out on those small runs, you can edge yourself nearer your PB thinking back on your training and the race ahead. What I like to call sharpening your brain.
You've built in mental toughness if you've come this far unscathed. You should be proud of those long runs, those hill reps, those intervals, probably all done in pretty rotten conditions if you're British, which have all contributed in getting you to within sight of the start line. Thus you should also have improved your self belief in your ability to achieve - or give it a damn good go getting near to - your target time.
During todays run I focused. I tried to visualise the crowds and how my body would feel on the day, with just a few miles to go. Give yourself the lift to push on, to not slow down when you're on for the time you want. Having realised all the hard work I'd done, I decided that its now that I should be enjoying my running. For too long its felt like a chore to tick off on the weekend or during the week amongst the rest of life. Not too long to go before you can put your feet up and not have to think about how many miles to cover on a Saturday morning. But in that focus, I tried to find my groove. I've talked about this with Charlie Dark, who runs Nike's Run Dem Crew that its like DJing...something he does and I do very badly, that when all things click, you find the right tempo and stay in that groove. If everything's working, and the conditions are right, you'll be running at just the right speed. Fast enough that you're achieving your race time, but not so fast that you'll burn yourself out. Get the right nutrition and water strategy going and you'll be much closer to that PB.
And now to the hardest part to teach. The rest period. Its so tempting in the taper to go out and 'do a bit more.' Any regular readers of this blog will roll their eyes hearing me go on about it again. But give yourself the break you need, off your feet, rested up, sleeping well, doing nice things to give yourself the best chance on the day. A couple of miles in the last week is not going to make much difference at this late stage, so focus on getting as much rest in to give your body and mind the required break to recharge.
Finally, advice from my coach in Victoria Park Harriers for fuelling, is to drink lots of liquids on the two days before the race, reducing carbs 1 week before, but then with 4 days to go increasing the carbs. The biggest, most nutritious day of eating (I've found at least) is 2 days before the race. As in Monica's entry, too much food the day and night before can bloat you. But you should still eat a big meal that is larger than what you'd normally take on that evening. And make sure it is wholegrain rice, pasta or bread, not white!
Most of all, let go and enjoy your running. Try and reconnect with the reasons you've done this in the first place. If you can't enjoy the day itself, whatever time you end up with, then thats a real shame.
Its only a fortnight to go now and all the hard work is done. For any Paris marathoners out there, you've got a week. The hard work is done and physically, there is very little you can now do to improve in your preparation for the race. Obviously, you have to eat well, hydrate plenty and look after your conditioning, not doing too much on runs or in the gym or pool. However, when you are out on those small runs, you can edge yourself nearer your PB thinking back on your training and the race ahead. What I like to call sharpening your brain.
You've built in mental toughness if you've come this far unscathed. You should be proud of those long runs, those hill reps, those intervals, probably all done in pretty rotten conditions if you're British, which have all contributed in getting you to within sight of the start line. Thus you should also have improved your self belief in your ability to achieve - or give it a damn good go getting near to - your target time.
During todays run I focused. I tried to visualise the crowds and how my body would feel on the day, with just a few miles to go. Give yourself the lift to push on, to not slow down when you're on for the time you want. Having realised all the hard work I'd done, I decided that its now that I should be enjoying my running. For too long its felt like a chore to tick off on the weekend or during the week amongst the rest of life. Not too long to go before you can put your feet up and not have to think about how many miles to cover on a Saturday morning. But in that focus, I tried to find my groove. I've talked about this with Charlie Dark, who runs Nike's Run Dem Crew that its like DJing...something he does and I do very badly, that when all things click, you find the right tempo and stay in that groove. If everything's working, and the conditions are right, you'll be running at just the right speed. Fast enough that you're achieving your race time, but not so fast that you'll burn yourself out. Get the right nutrition and water strategy going and you'll be much closer to that PB.
And now to the hardest part to teach. The rest period. Its so tempting in the taper to go out and 'do a bit more.' Any regular readers of this blog will roll their eyes hearing me go on about it again. But give yourself the break you need, off your feet, rested up, sleeping well, doing nice things to give yourself the best chance on the day. A couple of miles in the last week is not going to make much difference at this late stage, so focus on getting as much rest in to give your body and mind the required break to recharge.
Finally, advice from my coach in Victoria Park Harriers for fuelling, is to drink lots of liquids on the two days before the race, reducing carbs 1 week before, but then with 4 days to go increasing the carbs. The biggest, most nutritious day of eating (I've found at least) is 2 days before the race. As in Monica's entry, too much food the day and night before can bloat you. But you should still eat a big meal that is larger than what you'd normally take on that evening. And make sure it is wholegrain rice, pasta or bread, not white!
Most of all, let go and enjoy your running. Try and reconnect with the reasons you've done this in the first place. If you can't enjoy the day itself, whatever time you end up with, then thats a real shame.
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