Claire

"I ran the Nice-Cannes marathon on October 30, 2022, and I absolutely wanted to do this *famous* prom’classic, which is the mythical 10km of Nice. However, it's scheduled for January 8. Which is just 10 little weeks after the marathon… I decided to launch a MAS plan over 8 weeks.

On the day of the race, I felt tired, and it's ultimately fortunate because it allowed me to stick to my plan and not start too fast.
I maintained my pace of 4:50/km easily for the first 5 km.

After the U-turn, I "restart" and find myself at 4’30/km for 200m. I think that's when everything changed! Suddenly, legs like jelly… Short breath… I plateau at 5’/km. I kept that pace until the end of the race, finishing the 10km in 49’29.

I've been doing running for 2 years, my first half-marathon in 2021 (2h08), first marathon in 2022 (4h26).

I did the Nice-Cannes marathon on October 30, 2022, and was determined to do this *famous* prom’classic which is Nice's mythical 10km. But! (There is always a but...) it's planned for January 8. Which is 10 little weeks after the marathon… In any case, starting a 10km preparation was impossible… even without considering post-marathon recovery.

A colleague who was also preparing tried to convince me to follow his preparation over 8 weeks to bring me to the race… I’m widely covered, he said. No way! We trust and adhere to the campus method; this isn't to flout one of the first principles!

Well, after thinking about it, I decided to launch a MAS plan over 8 weeks, telling myself that even if it probably wouldn't bring me to a shape peak for my race, at least it would work on my speed, which was less emphasized during my marathon preparation, which obviously focused more on endurance.

Additionally, it was an exhausting last week in terms of work, with sick children, and pain emerging in my hip… everything to boost my confidence on race day… 😬

Campus estimates a MAS of around 4’30, and I feel really comfortable at this pace during workouts. However, you don't run a 10k at 100% MAS 🤪 so I adjusted a few workouts to test the pace I thought I could maintain. I thought maybe 4’50 would work… but I also knew I could crash along the way if I started too quickly…

So, I found myself on Sunday morning, at 9 am at the start line, in the 45-50’ corral, thinking a sub50 should be doable (I had done 52’33 on my own a year ago...) but secretly hoping to get under 49…
However, I felt tired, and happily, it helped me stick to what I had decided and not start too fast.

And we're off! A lot of people (7000 runners!) and it was bustling, but I felt I was in the right zone because everyone was running at the same pace as me. 4’50/km.
I would hold that pace effortlessly for the first 5 km.
At km5, there was a U-turn, and I thought the restart wouldn’t be easy.
Moreover, we now faced a lovely headwind…
So I "restart" and find myself at 4'30/km for 200m. I think that's when everything changed! Suddenly, legs like jelly… short breath… I plateaued at 5’/km. I told myself it wasn't serious. I had a good lead on my sub50, I could maintain this until km7-8 and go again later…

Spoiler alert ‼️ well no! I could never restart, I stayed around 5 to finish in 49’29.

So yes, I reached the goal I set, but my race management clearly needs review...
Even at the finish line, I couldn’t find the last bits of energy to sprint.

Well! Don't worry! I'm not going to rest on my laurels! My main goal is a half-marathon at the end of April, but I can't resist the little 10k that's 7 weeks away, 20 km from my home, to try and achieve the sub49 and manage my effort correctly 😃😃