The Final Countdown | 3:53 to 3:30 Marathon Attempt Ep5
Welcome back to quarantine to qualify a here on The Running Channel,
the series where I try and run under three hours 30 at Berlin marathon
later this month and bag myself,
the holy grail of running achievements.
My biggest goal to date. A Boston marathon qualifying time.
So with the help of adidas and experts in nutrition, sport psychology,
physio, and a running coach,
I'm going to be trying to hit that goal.
Now there've been a few setbacks along the way, feeling a bit sorry for myself.
Actually, that's an understatement. I'm really off.
I just want be able to run. I can't do it.
I'm ill. I've woken up this morning feeling, oh,
I've got the worst sore throat. I'm really hot and achy.
I just have absolutely no energy at all.
So it's just four weeks to go until race day now.
And after seven months of training,
it really feels like the pressure is on. So keep watching,
because I am going to be taking you to a physio session with
Paul Martin.
Who's going to give you some tips on a very simple but effective
warmup and give you tips.
If you are about to run a marathon too. Plus,
I'll be taking you out on one of my long runs and giving you loads of top tips for
how to get through them.
So with Berlin marathon, just four weeks away now,
training starting to ramp up before I then hit my taper.
So just to give you an idea of what I've been up to, I've had a 30 minute easy,
a progressive 10 K, and then I had a tasty little session,
which I'm going to have to read because I can't remember it.
There's so much running going on. It was three sets of four by a kilometer.
And then the pace of the kilometer reps got progressively quicker, uh,
another 30 minutes easy, but then tomorrow it's long run day,
so I've got 15 miles and each five mile chunk also gets
progressively quicker.
So I'm going to be prepping my long run from now.
So the day before,
so there are lots of things that you can do to get ready for your long run
before the day itself. So I'm making sure that I'm keeping hydrated.
I need to make sure that I'm eating enough food.
That's going to fuel me. Upping the carbs a little bit.
No need to go too mad on that.
And also getting a very good night's sleep ahead of the long run tomorrow.
So it's three weeks out from Berlin Morrison and it is long run day today.
So this is going to be a bit of a dress rehearsal for me.
So I'm wearing the shoes I'm going to be wearing for the race.
I am testing out my fueling to make sure that that is spot on.
I've got water with me as well. Obviously on race day,
there'll be eight stations. So we've got 15 miles. So as Josie said,
chunking is key, so I'm doing three lots of five miles with a progressive
pace. So first five at six minute Ks,
second five at 5 45 Ks.
And then the final five miles at five 30 per kilometer.
I've loaded it all into my watch. So I don't have to think about it. Um,
and yeah, I just always feel really nervous before a long run,
but so just need to get going.
I've got lovely location to run in at Draycote water.
So I'm just going to have a nice time smile my way through and, uh, get it done.
So three miles in and this is feeling great,
which I think at this end of marathon training is what you want.
And it's, um, it's funny cause I do get so nervous before long runs,
does anyone else get that? I just, get this like sicky feeling,
which means it's a struggle to like try and eat breakfast and fuel properly.
But as soon as I'm going. It feels absolutely fine.
And the best thing about today is that I had the appointment to be there.
Cause I'd arranged to run with camerman Freddie, thanks for holding the camera Freddie.
And so I had to be here because I just procrastinate and I would've put it off
and off and off.
And then I would have been in a rush and then it would have felt awful.
So some tips there for you,
if you struggle with that procrastination of getting out the door
So loop two of three, the first one felt really good. Um,
so now we're on 5 45 per k. Um,
it's amazing how different this feels to last weeks.
So I did the same loops, same mileage,
same course, and I'd raced a parkrun the day before.
It was part of my training, but yesterday was a rest day. Cause it was my birthday.
So my legs feel so much fresher,
which is great news because in the lead up to Berlin
in the next couple of weeks, I'll be tapering.
So it's a real confidence boost at the moment.
10 miles in, went through a bit of a slump. Um,
I'm hurting, we just upped the pace again.
So we're now on five 30 per kilometer,
it hurts to push at the end of a long run,
but it just it's so good to long training
breaks it up,
pushes you when you're tired and I'm visualizing the
finish. Now when I'm in Berlin, I'm going to be hurt and
I just need to push on and get it done.
Less than a parkrun, feel like I'm gonna vomit.
I'm so much faster this week than last.
I'm hurting, I'm digging deep,
I've had to collect my thoughts and get my mental game on
My mantras. Head, shoulders, knees and toes.
So form check, shoulders back, smile,
a smile a mile. Last hill and we are on.
This is my finish line. Oh geez.
I am so hot and so done.
Wow. I'm so proud of that.
A bit of deja VU back where I started and feel amazing for doing three and a bit
laps of Draycote water here. Um, I say I feel amazing.
There were points in that where I really did not feel amazing. Um,
but that was a real confidence boosting run.
So it was only six days ago that I did my last long run. Um,
so to be able to do this now and feel even stronger than I did last week,
it's just amazing seeing the progress and trusting in that process of building
up to race day. Um, still,
umming and arring as to whether I'm going to get the time I want on the day,
but you know, I've still got three weeks left now. Um,
so post long run, I am going to go and get some chocolate milkshake,
refuel need to rehydrate. I'm so sweaty.
It's been really muggy today and I'll probably have a little cheeky afternoon
nap because what's a long one day without a nap. Um, so yeah,
long run done onto the next.
So throughout training for this goal,
I've been really lucky to have the support of adidas who've helped me draft in
the experts in lots of different areas to really hone in on trying to hit this
goal. People like my physiotherapist, Paul Martin.
So he's worked with Paralympics GB and is technical lead physio therapist at
the English Institute of sport so, he kinda knows his stuff.
So Paul helped me right from the start when I have my calf injury and then has
been keeping in touch throughout trying to,
help me correct some imbalances and work on some weaknesses as well to make me a
bit of a stronger runner, ready to try and chase after this goal.
So I'm just off to go and see Paul now for one last time with three weeks to go
until race day, I guess it's kind of a bit like an MOT really.
Hey, how are you doing?
I still remember the silence that descended from,
from when we made a couple of little tweaks to the way your hips were and how
your foot was striking. Being a forefoot runner is, it's how you run.
Yeah we weren't going to re-invent the wheel were we? People are gonna argue
about what's best and what isn't
isn't it you've managed to get to where you've got to doing,
you know, running, running on your toes. So from that perspective,
we can make a lot of efficiency gains, which
yep, which I feel in training as well.
I think as much as anything, if people are looking to make performance gains,
you can go chasing speed as much as you want, but for something like a marathon,
if you can get the distance and the speed with,
with a significant reduction in energy output, then that's valuable.
That's as valuable a win as anything else you're going to do.
Onto your front.
So, what should I be doing in the last 2 and a half weeks?
So the last two and a half weeks,
I think the key thing is focused on your form. Clearly the big volumes,
the big work, the big efforts have all been done. I think from your perspective,
you've come through this pretty well unscathed,
So mistakes that people make then, you were saying,
what we tend to see is normally after big long runs.
It's often going to be a case of the calf is the key issue.
So just making sure that you're really staying on top of your calf stretches all the
way through, up to your, your big long runs.
But then afterwards staying on top of that by the time it gets to two weeks togo,
and you've got all those biomechanical things going on around the knees and it's
it takes an awful lot to unpick it, and yeah,
we end up having a lot of discussions about the importance of doing a fall run
versus just getting around.
And also there's the, the glute circuit, that you introduced me to on
I think it was our first session and I was like, oh my God,
what have I let myself in for. But that's a really good prerun,
it's a good activator. There's a general conditioning circuit,
So it's very useful.
I've been doing it for probably 15 years now.
And I can honestly say it always hurts. Don't expect to ever to get easier,
but it does the job,
and the difference that you feel when you stand up sort of has to be done to be believed really.
So Paul's glute circuit is a really good way to get those glutes firing before a
run. So if you want to try it yourself,
it's six exercises that you do each for 30 seconds at a time,
you can start off doing it for less.
If you are struggling and you start on one side of your body first and then do
the same on the other side. So the first exercise is clams.
Make sure that your hips are stacked and your abs are on the next one is hinging
at the knee and dropping your foot down to the floor.
The third exercise is stretching your leg out in front of you and drawing small
circles with your foot. You can change direction during this one.
If you want to, just mixes it up a bit. The fourth one sees you bend your knee
backwards and then hinging at the knee,
drop your foot down to the floor behind you.
The fifth is a simple lifting and lowering your straight leg. But by that point,
your glutes are pretty achy. And then finally in the recovery position.
So rolling slightly over onto your front,
