Tales from the Day - Spring in Paris...

Paris Marathon 2019 Race Start

It sounds like a dream and for one CLA athlete it was!

Anthony came to us wanting to run a faster marathon after a challenging DNF (Did Not Finish) at the Paris Marathon in 2018. Although Anthony had run a marathon 14 years prior, he had to drop out in 2018 with an injury.

After rehabbing his injury and getting over the disappointment that comes from a DNF, Anthony came to the CLA Team with the idea of training and finishing the Paris Marathon 2019 in under 4 hours. He knew he needed some help but wasn’t sure what working with a coach would be like and was afraid it would take over his whole life. Anthony bought in to coaching and reaped the rewards! 

Congrats to Anthony on a fantastic PR at the 2019 Paris Marathon 14 years after his first marathon!

Learning to Train

Even though Anthony had run a marathon many years before, he learned a lot leading up to the 2019 marathon.

Marathon training requires committing the time to allow both your body and mind to adapt to the demands of training. With a suitable training plan, Anthony learned the value of consistency and balance. Without a clear training schedule Anthony admitted that he would tend to let work dominate and take up all of his free time. He did a sensible build and made sure to claim his training time even with all the various life demands.  

This doesn’t mean that he was perfect in getting in every scheduled running and cross training session. Far from it! Like everyone, the demands of life, family and work often had to take precedence. He is a great example of living a full life and still achieving athletic goals. He traveled. He worked. He had weekends with friends. And sometimes training was just not the priority.  

He is a great example of living a full life and still achieving athletic goals.

Learning to Balance

Consistent training is a huge component of the successful athlete. But consistency doesn’t have to be perfect. Anthony learned not to panic and cram all his workouts together when he missed workouts. He was good at communicating with coach and we revised workouts according to his schedule and his body’s demands.  

Listening to his body was another piece of training Anthony really worked on. He starting to understand the difference between minor aches and pains versus injuries and what to do about them. And he also learned the difference between being unmotivated and actually tired. Many athletes struggle with these same things and nobody gets it right all the time! The more we listen and question, the more we learn.

Another key component for Anthony was learning to bring some balance to the intensity of his efforts. He (like many other athletes) tended to run all his workouts moderately hard in the misguided belief that a workout, every workout had to hurt. He learned how to be deliberate with his harder workouts and make sure to incorporate easy recovery runs, tempo runs and everything in between and he learned why this was important.

He discovered the benefits of cross training. He got back on a bike and into the pool for some recovery workouts and found he really enjoyed the mix. He also was able to bring back consistent strength and mobility work. Anthony is not a fan of the gym but was able to use our shorter strength routines and make sure to add this important component back in his training routine.  

Race Day!

Spring in Paris turned into a perfect day with sunny but cold temps. It was perfect for a perfectly executed marathon and Anthony did just that. He had a lot of friends and family supporting and cheering him on as well.

Anthony started with a pacing group whose pace matched his original goal (to break 4 hours). The relaxed pace set him up right to run strongly. The only issue? The Paris marathon takes place in Paris with some very narrow streets! He bumped into traffic towards the end of the marathon. But he still held it together conserving energy and moving forward.

Anthony ran even effort and Anthony maintained pace all the way to the end.  And this paid off as Anthony ran a 3:45. This was nearly 15 minutes under his original goal!

What's Next? 

Sensibly Anthony is looking to rest and recover and have fun while he works on different distances and biking goals.

He’s taken a break physically and mentally.and backed off on scheduled workouts. Using coach's help, we are creating a schedule that keeps just enough in to keep him focused but not too much to feel too much pressure.

And he realizes that he doesn’t necessarily have the time to invest in another marathon immediately. He plans on returning not until 2021! We think this is a great idea as it will give him a chance to grown and strength as an athlete.