I asked you to ask me anything and what a polite lot you are, you asked about running… mostly. Here’s your questions and my answers…
What training did you use to go sub 4?

EM

I used a radical approach which saw me going travelling for four months and only lacing up my trainers once a week if that. I then returned 12 weeks before my target race in Edinburgh, paced a friend to sub-4:30 six weeks into training and then hoped for the best. You can read more about my road to sub-4 success here.
Do you do any regular strength work?

EM

Um, sometimes. When I remember. I know it will do me good and it helped sort out my ITBS problems but, I’m very sporadic about it. I do my glutes, some lunges, single leg squats and planks. But not as often as I should.
Everyone that becomes a good distance runner eventually develops their own mantras and ways of dealing with discomfort during training and racing. What’s yours?

Before a marathon I sometimes write ‘this is where you want to be’ on my hand. It reminds me that I’m doing something I enjoy and that I’ve prepared for for (usually) 16 weeks. I repeat ‘feeling good, feeling strong’ in my head and use positive self-talk. I then tell myself ‘just half an hour to go’, ’20 minutes and you can stop’, ‘come on, 2 miles, you can do that in heels and you never wear heels’.

What are your top tips for marathon newbies for getting through those long runs? Thanks in advance, keep up the good work! 🙂

Maybe it’s just me, but I love long runs. They’re the part of training that makes me feel like I’m progressing towards my goal. So focus on how far you’ve come each week as the mileage builds.

Map out some interesting, or at least different, routes as you’ll get bored after a few weeks. Have a friend join you part of the way or on a bike to entertain you. I don’t often wear headphones but if I’m really not feeling like doing my long run that day, I take my ipod and put some music on. Oh, and practice what you’re going to eat on race day – sweets, gels, etc.

Do you have many races planned? What is your go to race fuel?

Races? Just a few. This weekend I’m doing an Olympic distance triathlon which I’m feeling really unprepared for. In July I’m doing a half marathon with Liz and Katie. In August I’m doing Ride London 100, followed by a half-iron distance triathlon in September which I’m terrified of. Then, to top things off, Liz, Katie, Jen and I are all heading to Frankfurt for a marathon in October.

My race fuel for running is SiS Go Gels. I have five in a marathon. I’m still finding my way in triathlon but I had a Snickers bar on the bike part of my first triathlon and it went down well.

I’ve been running for about 3 years along with my husband and we’ve both recently completed our third half marathon. After completing the last half we decided to take the week off afterwards to allow our bodies time to recover and rest, unfortunately following that week of rest I picked up a nasty cold which has knocked me sideways and as a result no running for nearly three weeks now. I cycle most days but even that hasn’t happened as I’ve been off work.

Have you experienced anything similar and should I be worried? It feels like all the training and effort I’ve put in over the past few months is just going to waste.

Catherine

Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Remember above when I said I hardly ran for four months and then ran a marathon after six weeks training? Taper periods for marathons are around three weeks. Before Edinburgh (the same sub-4 race) I hurt my Achilles on my last long run. I hardly ran at all in those last three weeks before the race. I think I did two 3-mile runs. And you now how the race went. Don’t worry, three weeks is nothing, you’ll be fine, just ease back into it.

I have a question: If you were a super-hero, what would your power be?

The ability to run and run and never get injured. Wait, and the ability to turn water into beer.

 
Do you have a favourite race t-shirt and why?

I think it’s Venice marathon. It was a tough race that I didn’t enjoy AT ALL. But I’m proud that I finished it and so I like the shirt. I also wore the shirt during the race because I was ill prepared for the conditions and had to wear anything I had. So it’s special for that reason too.

If you could only ever run one route, for the rest of your life, every time you went out. Where would it be and why?

I think it would have to be round Richmond Park. Same route but if you run it throughout the year it changes with every season. There’s a few hills to keep it interesting too.