Here we are, final stretch. Less than 3 weeks to go now, until the Paris Marathon. I've been following a 14-week training plan using Kiprun Pacer. So far so good, no injuries, no issues, I did almost all of my planned sessions. Could not be happied! I've been running consistently 5 times a week since the beginning of the year (4 sessions from the plan + 1 bonus slow run with barefoot shoes). I have progressively increased my weekly mileage week over week, peaking at 90 kms last week, with THE long run of the plan: 32 kms last Sunday.
So...
Where do I stand today? How am I feeling? What's my mindset like? Answers below. ⬇️
To be fair, I'm pretty tired. Both mentally and physically.
Physically, I've accumulated fatigue, due to the increasingly harder sessions.
The last two weeks were grueling. These were the hardest weeks of the plan, from now on it'll only get easier, as the taper phase started. Two weeks ago, I ran 21 kms at a pace of 4'25"/km (5 secs per kilometer faster than my target marathon pace). It gave me confidence but left me a bit tired.
Since the beginning of the year, I have been going to the gym every Monday, lifting weights and working on my upper body. It's 100% useless for runners, and it does not help recover from my runs. So I'll ditch that until the race. Not to mention that any extra muscle mass in the upper body will only slow me down on race day.
Until the race, I'll keep going swimming once a week, as it does not fatigue me, and I need to keep training for my Summer triathlon. Cycling, I'll take it easy. 40 kms of commute per week, one or two short (under 45 mins) sessions of home trainer and a very optional outdoor ride on the weekend, if the sun shines and I'm not too tired. That's all. I'll keep 5 runs a week, but they will only get shorter and shorter in distance until the race. Only the intensity will sort of remain the same.
Mentally, I reached a low point last week. Things are improving since then. Weeks W-5 and W-4, on Wednesdays, I had the same sessions: 5x 4000m at target marathon pace. I partially failed them. I did not have the mental strength. My legs could run but my head could not push them hard enough. For most blocks, I was 5 to 10 seconds slower per kilometer. I explain that mostly by the fact that those sessions were very long (2 hours 15 mins), because they included a 20-min warm-up and 10-min cooldown. And they took place on a work day. Sure I was at home, working remotely. But finding the time was EXTRA tricky. And then I had to make up for it at work by working later at night. Very exhausting mentally.
Besides those two sessions, I also "failed" the intervals session in week W-4 (last week). 12x (400m at MAS speed, which is 3'27"/km + 200m recovery). I ran more than half of the blocks 10 to 20 seconds slower per kilometer. That hit me pretty bad, mentally. Again, I had the legs, not the brain for it. It was on Friday, I was just out of a demanding week at work. But the 32-km long run that followed on Sunday fixed me up! I am regainging confidence now and feeling a lot better mentally, with every passing day.
Anyways, this is a summary of the past few weeks. I'm doing a lot better now, my sport schedule until race day has been adjusted, I know what I'm doing (or I like to believe I know it). I'm confident! Let's go!!!
Nutrition-wise, I'll (temporarily) remove ice creams and other sweets from my diet and increase my protein intake through Whey shakers.
And today's session was a massive success!
I also wanted to mention that following the lifes of fellow marathon runners through the RMC runnning Youtube channel has been a delight and a big help so far. They too are training for the 2025 Paris marathon, and hearing their feedback and feelings every week was very relatable. This podcast also offers a ton of advice.
This article will hopefully serve as a reminder for my future self: don't underestimate the last few weeks before a marathon. The beginning of the training plan may feel like a walk in the park, fatigue might go unnoticed for a while, but at some point it'll show up!