I want one of those!

I'm pretty pleased with my HRM but one of the main things I need to improve this time around is my pacing and the HRM I own has no way of monitoring that. Well, here is one that does - I guess I should have done a bit more research.

I've always run 10 to 11 minutes miles over distance so I guess the only way to improve is to run the same route over and over again?

Tut tut tut

I really should have gone for a run last night but I worked quite late and made the mistake of lying down when I got back to the hotel, it would have taken a great deal of money to get me out of the door. I'll have to put more effort in for the rest of the week ....

Weekend rest?

Not a lot done over the weekend- hangover to deal with on Saturday then lunch with friends on Sunday which lasted ages so I managed to fit in a weight training session midday Sunday. I'll probably be using a free-weights session as my 'cross-training' sport on days that I don't run but still need to exercise. Still, back to the running tonight!

2004 Paris Marathon Route Map

Below is the map of the route for the 2004 Paris Marathon. Not the best of maps but seeing as I've never been to Paris I guess it doesn't really matter to me anyway .... ?

My personal goals

I'm obviously running against myself but as an extra challenge I want to beat some friends who have also completed marathons. In the table below my NYC Marathon from 2001 is shown, not the best of times but I was over the moon to have finished sub-5 hours (also I beat Friend 1 who did it in 2000). Friends 2 and 3 both ran in the 2003 London Marathon; I haven't got a hope in hell of beating Friend 2 but I reckon I can beat Friend 3. Friend 4 is the one to beat though - he ran the 2001 London Marathon and I think his time is the biggest challenge for me (plus it would make me a sub-4 hour Marathoner)

	Half		Full
	Time	Pace	Time	Pace
Me	2:15:28	10:20	4:44:18	10:51
Friend 1	2:08:32	9:49	4:47:57	10:59
Friend 2	1:43:30	7:54	3:41:40	8:28
Friend 3	1:58:46	9:04	4:20:07	9:56
Friend 4	?	?	4:00:??	9:10

I have always run at 10-11 minute mile pace so I need to improve my pace to 9 minutes (or less) to reach sub-4 hours. This will, I hope, be acheivable if I vary my running as shown in the previous post.

Workout Types

Below is a list of the kind of runs I'll be undertaking. I'll be posting a fll marathon plan later on as I'm just muddling through at the moment. I will most likely base my plan on Hal Higdon's (a superb source of advice). The following descriptions are from the Polar website: -

Slow-easy run

Jog easily for 30 to 45 minutes at 60-65% HRmax.These are the super critical RECOVERY runs featuring low-effort, fat-consuming runs that allow the carbohydrates you eat to be converted into muscle glycogen instead of being used up during an unnecessarily fast workout. After these runs, stretch your leg muscles. Then run several 10 to 15 second "strides" at a fast, but not sprint, pace to help put some flexibility, strength and coordination back into your legs. After each stride, walk back to recover.

Interval

There is no substitute for old-fashioned interval training, so get thee to a track and prepare for some serious speed work by getting a super good warm-up of jogging, stretching and strides.Then run 10 to 12 repeats of 400 meters at 90-95% HRmax with a 200-meter jog recovery interval between repeats to allow your heart rate to drop to at least 70%HRmax.The experienced runner may find these interval efforts more "user-friendly" than expected. If so, be assured that it is not necessary to go all-out in practice; only races require a 100% effort. If you find that you have an amazing amount of energy left near the end of this workout, reward yourself for staying on the right effort level by accelerating over the last 200 meters of the last two 400s to see how much faster you can run when you really try. Not only will this boost your confidence, it will teach you how to pace yourself and condition you to really kick at the end of your races. Cool-down with 0.5 to 1 mile of easy jogging at 60% HRmax. All Polar S-series models offer an Interval Trainer feature to help and assist you with your interval training.

Tempo

Start out at a warm-up phase for 1 to 1.5 miles, then include 15 to 20 minutes at exactly 85% HRmax.This workout pace is often referred to as a tempo run or a hammer run. Recent research has shown us that this run need not be as hard and long as formerly believed. Any time your heart rate exceeds 85%HRmax, you must back off the pace a little in order to keep the effort constant. Soon after the workout is over, you'll feel pleasantly pumped up, not exhausted and dead-legged like after an interval workout. The next day you'll feel great, too, not sore or tight like after a race or an overly ambitious speed workout.

Long easy run

Jog easily for 30 to 60 minutes at 60-65%HRmax. It's another slow, easy distance run. Keep in mind that you're just trying to maintain your endurance at this point, not build it. To do so, one long run every other week will suffice. (If you raced yesterday, aid your recovery by going only half as far as usual.). Stretch and run your strides after this workout. Discipline yourself to do the little things that make a difference.

In any Marathon training plan there is a day for 'cross-training' mine will be either an extra easy run if I need to make-up some mileage, or an upper-body weights session. There is also a 'fartlek' session, which involves hills, as I am nowhere near any hills I'll be giving this a miss.

About this site

My name is Mark, I am 34 and I live in England. This site is to track the progess of my training for the 2004 Paris Marathon in April, I completed the NYC Marathon in 2001 and pretty much haven't done a stoke of exercise since.

I have realised that (A) I like the feeling of being fit and hate feeling unfit, (B) I need a goal-based fitness routine. The only way I can keep fit is to have a goal which I can train for, and seeing as I loved the NYC Marathon so much I thought I'd give it a shot.

I really don't think I can ever repeat the obverwhelming experience of the NYC Marathon of that year, apart from it being my first Marathon and my first visit to New York it was the first city-wide event in New York City since the September 11th attacks. It was clear from the start line that this Marathon was a hugely important event to New Yorkers, I saw so many people whose race T-Shirts displayed the names of parents, siblings, children, friends or collegues who died in the Twin Towers. As soon as I crossed the Verzanno-Narrows bridge into Brooklyn there was a huge crowd of support which didn't let up all the way through Brooklyn, through Queens, along 1st Avenue, through the Bronx, through Harlem, through Central park all the way to the finish line. I must have high-fived hundreds of kids and was encouraged every step of the way.

Anyway .... though I know the Paris Marathon won't be the same experience the main reason I'm doing this is to discipline myself anf get fit again.