Hello all! I’m back with my regular recap.
Technically, this is a recap for the two weeks before the Paris marathon, my 47th marathon! I’ll be back next week with a recap of the marathon, but spoiler alert, I finished. Here’s how the taper went down…
Two Weeks Before the marathon:
Monday: Had a bit of a lie-in and opted for a spin class at Psycle after work, followed by some strength and physio exercises at home
Tuesday: 4×1 mile at marathon effort with a 400m jog in between each mile. 8 miles total.
Wednesday: Rather than a run commute to the the office, I took the train in and joined the group for a 10k run around Hyde Park. Gorgeous sunshiney morning.
Heartcore pilates after work.
Thursday: Another “session”, this time 30 minutes at marathon effort, 7 miles total with warm-up and cool-down.
Heartcore pilates after work.
Friday: Easy 5 mile run commute to the office, some of it with some friends.
Saturday: Last long-ish run before Paris, 11 miles easy, absolutely stunning London day, 20C and sunny!
We spent a great deal of the afternoon outside, wandering around Hampstead, with a stop for lunch at the best creperie stand on the high street.
That evening we had dinner at Tamil Crown in Islington; if we don’t stay in the Hampstead neighborhood longer term, I am interested in living in Islington, it’s really cute and fun (though no Hampstead Heath park, which Ruth loves)- either way, I think I’m a North London girl!
Sunday: A bit of a lie-in before a short recovery run (5 miles) with Dustin and Ruth.
Summary: About 42 miles of running, 3 Pilates classes
The Week of the Paris Marathon:
Monday: Ran to SoHo (4 miles) to take a Barry’s Bootcamp class with my colleague; probably about 2-3 miles of running in the class + arms & abs for about 6-7 miles total.
Tuesday: Took the train to work and ran Hyde Park from there, 3×6 minutes at marathon effort, for 6.2 miles total. Physio at Nordic Balance afterwards with one more session of shockwave therapy
Wednesday: Rest from running, Heartcore pilates after work
Thursday: Run commute + office run, 7 miles total
Friday: Easy 5 mile run before working a full day, then off to Paris via the Eurostar after work.
Saturday: Shake-out run in Paris, 3 miles through the Bois de Boulogne park. Gorgeous morning.
Shower, breakfast at the hotel, then metro to the expo.
I went to the expo expecting to wait in line for 90 minutes or longer, but fortunately it was not actually that bad! (Some friends ran it last year and waited a long time; my experiences in bigger European marathons like Barcelona and Vienna included long lines to get in, so I expected the worst and was pleasantly surprised.)
After the expo, we took the metro to the Eiffel Tower area and relaxed in the sun for a bit before grabbing lunch and chilling at the hotel, until dinner at Sorella (near our hotel, we stayed at the Saint James Paris, which was a gorgeous hotel and walkable to the start/finish of the marathon.)
Sunday: Paris Marathon! I finished- one of my personal worst times in a long time (other than the Médoc wine marathon in Bordeaux, but that race was just a party!) I ended up with a cold on race day, which didn’t help, but my fitness just wasn’t there. That’s what happens you miss 3 weeks at the peak of training…
My ankle/tendon was really sore after the race and into Monday, but is feeling okay now. I definitely pushed it further than it was ready to be pushed.
(Check out the guy smoking a cigarette behind me. I saw many runners light up at the finish line!)
Summary: 53 miles of running (with 26.2 at the Paris marathon!), one pilates class.
Post-marathon, we took a 45 minute train from Paris to Reims, where we spent two nights doing champagne tastings with my sister (who also ran the marathon) and her husband, which was lovely.
Unfortunately, I was coming down with a cold before the marathon, but it didn’t seem too bad; well. lesson learned, don’t run a marathon with a minor cold- it will become a major one! I completely lost my voice for the two days in Reims, and then have been sick since then. I guess its forcing me to take time off of running! I’m ready to be healthy now please….
How about this guy who ran the whole marathon dressed as the Eiffel tower? Looks so awkward!
Dustin didn’t run a PB (his time was 3:10, PB is 2:54) but due to the timing of the corrals, he was finished and showered by the time I crossed the line!
That’s a wrap! I’m linking up with Running on the Fly and Confessions of a Mother Runner; check out their blogs to connect with other fitness bloggers for workout ideas and inspiration!
(Visited 12 time, 12 visit today)
Credit : Source Post
