Day 4: EPIC Paris marathon

This was my favorite marathon to run to DATE!!! I finally crushed my goal of sub-4, 19 min faster than Chicago, and 7 min faster than my PB (Berlin in 2022).

I’ll divide this recap into pre-race; my racing strategy; the race; the vibe; post-race “celebration”; what I learned during this training cycle.

Pre-race:

4am: woke up feeling very well rested. I stayed in bed a bit longer, chat with husband. Checked oura, my readiness was high! My lowest RHR reached to 38.

5am: got up. Drink plenty of water and mate.

5:45am: pre race meditation for 20 min.

6am: write blog post of the day before. I was not in a rush and not anxious either.

6:30am: a toast with cream cheese first, and 30 min later a big bowl of oatmeal with some mixed protein powder for flavor. I was done eating by 7:30am, 3 hrs. before the start of the race.

We left our Airbnb at 8:30am. I said goodbye to the family and went to my corral. From 8:45 to 9:25am, I waited for the potty inside the corral. Fortunately, I got in before the start.

My racing strategy:

Not run faster than 9 min/mile for the first 10km, not to go faster than 8:45 min/mile from miles 6-20, and run whatever pace I can the last 10km. I broke down the race into 4 segments: 0-6 (ease in); 7-13 (start the race); 14-20 (stay strong); 21-finish (push).

My mantras: strong, resilient, grateful.

Positive self talk when things get hard: this is supposed to be hard. I am trained for this. I can dig deeper to get over with it. I will not give up to the pain. I choose to run this not because it is easy, but because it is really freaking hard (from my coach).

The race:

My corral was scheduled to start at 9:26, but I started at 9:44am as there were mini waves. When I started, I could jog as there were probably 50 runners per wave. Pretty smart.

For 18 miles I had to hold back. I kept reminding myself what my coach said, this is a long race, be patient. Every time I felt I was in the zone, I was too fast, so I slowed down. It was easy to carry away if not careful, but I was glad that I followed the plan.

My ankle felt weird around 10 miles, not painful that I had to stop, probably 3/4 out of 10. This has happened few times during the training, so I did what I prepared to do, keep going, gently roll my ankle to stretch a bit, and wait it to go away, which it did after 1-2 miles. It came again probably around mile 16, but milder. After 20 miles, all the other pain was stronger than ankle, so it faded away.

Last year in Chicago, I broke down after 18 miles (mentally and physically), so I knew things will get hard after that. When I crossed 20 miles, I was still feeling very well. Then I accelerated in mile 21 and got a cramp in my left abductor. My lower back got very tired, sore, painful suddenly, I wanted to keep up the pace but felt helpless to do so. My mind wondered if I was bonking, if I will ever reach my goal, if I could walk a bit. Fortunately, this time my mind was stronger, and I denied those thoughts. Instead, I told myself just finish this mile and I could reassess. Each mile from 22-24 went like that, fighting the urge to slowdown (I did slowdown, but I was still pushing), assessing the cramp situation, and working to keep my torse straight as all I wanted was to bend to relieve the lower back pain.

After mile 24, I had the motivation to run strong so my family can see me running strong. When I passed km 40, I felt renewed energy, so I pushed pushed pushed and finished strong, basically sprinting to the finish line, 7:45 min/mile pace. SO HAPPY and RELIEVED.

I had agreed with the family to meet them at 7km, 25km, 40km, and end of the race. I only saw them at 7km but they were waiting at 25 and 40. It was a real mental motivation to keep pushing. After I saw them at 7km, I thought it will be long before I could see them again at km 25, but actually those 18km went by so fast.

The weather was overcast the whole way, some wind but not strong, some rain at the end. It was 14C, 57F, perfect for racing. After getting the finisher t-shirt and medal, I walked like a crab until exit. I was supposed to meet with the family there, but phone signal was nonexistent, so I decided to walk back home by myself. I was so cold. When I got back, my lips were almost purple, but so happy.

Look my WA, I archived everyone except my husband and Sarah & Kae because I knew they will chill me up. It was so funny to hear their messages when I was more than halfway of the race. I was smiling.

The race vibe: AMAZING! It was a big event, over 50000 runners and their families. My bib name is Coco. More than dozens of people cheered me up on the course. They were mostly French, saying Allez allez Coco!!! We passed by few tunnels along the Seine River, and there were very cool music band in the tunnel. I especially appreciate the crowd in the last 3 km. It formed a narrow road with people cheering up the runners. Some part of the course is on stone roads, which made it hard to run by fast to avoid falling. The course has some ups and downs, nothing crazy but to keep runners “entertained”.

The water stations were spaced every 5km. They handled small water bottles instead of cups, which was genius. I usually bring water with me to avoid having to stop/walk to get water. This time with the water bottles, I could just grab and continue to run, almost not stopping. I felt like an elite runner! They also served banana, cakes, raisin, and sport drinks in some stations. I only got water as I carried my gels.

Fueling: I had huma chia gel at miles 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, with caffeinated ones at 11 and 20, and with double electrolyte one at mile 17. It kept my energy level stable, didn’t experience GI distress, and didn’t have to stop to pee.

Post-race. I got back to our airbnb before the family, sit on the floor and chatted with Sarah and Kae, and my colleagues who were tracking me too. Then I took a LONGGGGG hot shower, like 45 min as I was so cold. I stayed in bed for 2 hrs or so to relieve my lower back pain, absorbing everything again. I got out of the bed by 5pm, and walked to a chinese takeout place with the girls. While walking was not fun, I felt better afterwards.

I love the neighborhood we stayed, near Arc of Triumph, so pretty everywhere.

My happy meal post race was jasmine rice, big bowl of stir fry broccoli with carrot, and some chicken. I was so satisfied with this cheap happy meal. 🙂

What went well this time:

• Good sleep days leading up to the race. I mostly slept normal, as if I didn’t travel. Last year, I had broken sleep for an entire week before the race.

• I was not in luteal phase like last year.
• I was more relaxed and less anxious as the race was not the whole purpose of this trip.
• I had the support of the family. It meant a lot having them here.
• I had a good training round, slightly different than previous ones.
• I had a pacing strategy that I was patient enough to implement, and not carried away by the excitement and tapper fueled energy.

What went different this training cycle:

• Higher volume. I was averaging 50+ miles per week, about 20% more than previous cycles.
• Training workouts were simpler. Mostly hill repeats for a long time. Race specific workouts were only added 2 months before the race.
• More 20 miles runs than ever before and it didn’t intimate me anymore.
• Fueling more, about every 3 miles during workout runs.
• Focus on recovery, especially after my ankle incident. I was stretching, massaging, as it was my job. Every time I finish a run, I think about how to recover fast to be ready for the next run, which means be mindful of fueling, stretching, sleeping, and being in tune with my body more.
• I focused on mental training. Every time a run got hard; I used it as an opportunity to practice positive self-talk. The more I do that, the more likely I can endure those difficult moments.
• Not be afraid of niggle/injury. After my ankle issue, I was super anxious every time I go for a run. What if the pain comes back. But if I am patient enough and continue to run if the pain was not getting worse, most of the time the pain/discomfort went away if I stretch enough after the run. It was the practice I got during training (i.e., what to do when something starts to hurt a bit) that made me not panic during the race. I learned to start a run no matter how anxious I am about the injury. Most of the time, the run went better than I expected.

Changes I will implement in the next training cycle:

• Do more running specific strength training. I was doing twice a week general strength training; I think I’ll benefit 1-2 sessions of runner specific ones.
• Do more core work to prevent lower back pain later in the race.
• Do more stretching and mobility exercises. I only got to do those after my ankle issue.
• Do more mental work. I hope I can manage to push harder in those last 10km despite the pain.

This was my 6th marathon. The more races I run, the more I love the sport. Every time I get a PB, I allow myself to dream bigger. I don’t know when I can BQ but I know I will continue chasing it. 🙂