I signed up for the Paris Marathon on April 12, 2026.
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Thank you!
I think I am in a good place now (for the race and in general). The works is far from done, but I have created a good foundation for a successful marathon. The next couple of weeks will then inform what exactly my criteria for success are.
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In an alternative timeline, I raced the Paris Marathon today.
In the one we live in, I did a long run with hard headwinds. I ran it as a dress rehearsal for #CPH42 (Copenhagen Marathon, in 27 days), and it was quite encouraging. It was hard, mentally and physically, but I managed to stay in control and finish strong. I could have added 10k, had I had the time and some extra water and gels. I felt good, and I am ready.
Distance: 32.19k
Pace: 5'52"An easy morning run through the fog and the cold. This was supposed to be a 5-6 effort out of 10, but I gradually took it to 7. It was fun.
I did the exact same guided run a year ago. This morning, I managed to squeeze out an extra .5k in the same amount of time without really pushing myself. Progress, I guess.
This was my 400th run since I got back to the sport in 2023. Thank you all for the community!
Distance: 7.69k
Pace: 5'14"#CPH42 in 24 days.
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An easy morning run through the fog and the cold. This was supposed to be a 5-6 effort out of 10, but I gradually took it to 7. It was fun.
I did the exact same guided run a year ago. This morning, I managed to squeeze out an extra .5k in the same amount of time without really pushing myself. Progress, I guess.
This was my 400th run since I got back to the sport in 2023. Thank you all for the community!
Distance: 7.69k
Pace: 5'14"#CPH42 in 24 days.
My mental visualisation of that kind of progress goes something like this:
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A guy is sitting at the finish line.Then new Aske passes.
And then the guy counts to 150 before Aske from one year ago passes the line.
—That extra 500m is actually quite a lot!
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My mental visualisation of that kind of progress goes something like this:
—
A guy is sitting at the finish line.Then new Aske passes.
And then the guy counts to 150 before Aske from one year ago passes the line.
—That extra 500m is actually quite a lot!
That is a nice visualization. I like that. Thank you.
And yes, 500m more is definitely more than expected. I did think there would be improvement, but to see it materialize is something else (and very satisfying). It is almost like a year of consistent running has an effect...
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That is a nice visualization. I like that. Thank you.
And yes, 500m more is definitely more than expected. I did think there would be improvement, but to see it materialize is something else (and very satisfying). It is almost like a year of consistent running has an effect...
What! Consistency in training and continuous improvement actually works!
(Joking aside, it's a really strong learning experience, and something I need to remember, every week is small progress)
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An easy morning run through the fog and the cold. This was supposed to be a 5-6 effort out of 10, but I gradually took it to 7. It was fun.
I did the exact same guided run a year ago. This morning, I managed to squeeze out an extra .5k in the same amount of time without really pushing myself. Progress, I guess.
This was my 400th run since I got back to the sport in 2023. Thank you all for the community!
Distance: 7.69k
Pace: 5'14"#CPH42 in 24 days.
I started the day with a fartlek: 5 min warm-up and then seven sessions of 1 min hard + 2 min easy #running.
Training endurance and sharpening my form, I pushed for a high effort, and it was challenging and hard (especially toward the end). But an up-beat soundtrack, a beautiful sunrise, and a tolerance for burning lungs helped me through.
This marked the 100th consecutive week where I have run at least twice.
Distance: 5.22k
Pace: 5'05"#CPH42 in 22 days.
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I started the day with a fartlek: 5 min warm-up and then seven sessions of 1 min hard + 2 min easy #running.
Training endurance and sharpening my form, I pushed for a high effort, and it was challenging and hard (especially toward the end). But an up-beat soundtrack, a beautiful sunrise, and a tolerance for burning lungs helped me through.
This marked the 100th consecutive week where I have run at least twice.
Distance: 5.22k
Pace: 5'05"#CPH42 in 22 days.
You're ticking off some major milestones lately!
That sounds like a great workout to feel the speed you're capable of.
Not quite feeling like marathon pace yet I guess
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I started the day with a fartlek: 5 min warm-up and then seven sessions of 1 min hard + 2 min easy #running.
Training endurance and sharpening my form, I pushed for a high effort, and it was challenging and hard (especially toward the end). But an up-beat soundtrack, a beautiful sunrise, and a tolerance for burning lungs helped me through.
This marked the 100th consecutive week where I have run at least twice.
Distance: 5.22k
Pace: 5'05"#CPH42 in 22 days.
Getting out of bed and out of door was hard this morning, as I got too little sleep and woke up slightly dehydrated after a concert last night (we went to see Zar Paulo put on an amazing show, get your tickets now!).
Nevertheless, this turned out to be a fine long run, and one where I got to train endurance and perseverance. It felt like running km13-34 of a marathon. And all is good.
Distance: 21.21k
Pace: 5'35"#CPH42 in 21 days.
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Getting out of bed and out of door was hard this morning, as I got too little sleep and woke up slightly dehydrated after a concert last night (we went to see Zar Paulo put on an amazing show, get your tickets now!).
Nevertheless, this turned out to be a fine long run, and one where I got to train endurance and perseverance. It felt like running km13-34 of a marathon. And all is good.
Distance: 21.21k
Pace: 5'35"#CPH42 in 21 days.
Nice! Well done! That's absolutely perfect to do a fatigued run, perfect planning!
I've been enjoying a few of the most recent @coachbennett podcast episodes and can definitely feel what you mean when you say it's a great inspiration!
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Getting out of bed and out of door was hard this morning, as I got too little sleep and woke up slightly dehydrated after a concert last night (we went to see Zar Paulo put on an amazing show, get your tickets now!).
Nevertheless, this turned out to be a fine long run, and one where I got to train endurance and perseverance. It felt like running km13-34 of a marathon. And all is good.
Distance: 21.21k
Pace: 5'35"#CPH42 in 21 days.
This week, I'm on a research stay in Stockholm. Even though it's great, it has messed up my routines - but I finally got a run in this afternoon.
This was a tempo run:
1 mile warm-up
1 mile @ 7/10 effort
1 mile @ 8
1 mile @ 9
(+ some easy parts in-between)The city is beautiful, the weather is nice, and a run is an amazing way to see a new place (I think @BenjaminHan refers to it as "taking bus 11").
Distance: 7.95k
Pace: 5'11"#CPH42 in 18 days.
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This week, I'm on a research stay in Stockholm. Even though it's great, it has messed up my routines - but I finally got a run in this afternoon.
This was a tempo run:
1 mile warm-up
1 mile @ 7/10 effort
1 mile @ 8
1 mile @ 9
(+ some easy parts in-between)The city is beautiful, the weather is nice, and a run is an amazing way to see a new place (I think @BenjaminHan refers to it as "taking bus 11").
Distance: 7.95k
Pace: 5'11"#CPH42 in 18 days.
New territory to run in is nice, but even nicer if you have the time to actually go on the run!
Congratulations on finding the time and having a great workout too!
(I'm thinking they should put in treadmills in the trains so we can workout while travelling!
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This week, I'm on a research stay in Stockholm. Even though it's great, it has messed up my routines - but I finally got a run in this afternoon.
This was a tempo run:
1 mile warm-up
1 mile @ 7/10 effort
1 mile @ 8
1 mile @ 9
(+ some easy parts in-between)The city is beautiful, the weather is nice, and a run is an amazing way to see a new place (I think @BenjaminHan refers to it as "taking bus 11").
Distance: 7.95k
Pace: 5'11"#CPH42 in 18 days.
I started the day with a long run in Stockholm, ABBA and Kent in the earphones.
As the hotel only allows you to have breakfast once, I was running on fumes(/one banana), so the second half was hard. But the firat half, where I ran by the water around Djurgården, was just great and amazingly beautiful.
And now, breakfast!
Distance: 21.25k
Pace: 5'50"#CPH42 in 16 days.
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I started the day with a long run in Stockholm, ABBA and Kent in the earphones.
As the hotel only allows you to have breakfast once, I was running on fumes(/one banana), so the second half was hard. But the firat half, where I ran by the water around Djurgården, was just great and amazingly beautiful.
And now, breakfast!
Distance: 21.25k
Pace: 5'50"#CPH42 in 16 days.
They want you to jump into the minibar for snacks before breakfast. Tricksy tricksy people! (Got inspired by @nerdd|s post
)Very well run!
Looks like it was very nice weather for a long run
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I started the day with a long run in Stockholm, ABBA and Kent in the earphones.
As the hotel only allows you to have breakfast once, I was running on fumes(/one banana), so the second half was hard. But the firat half, where I ran by the water around Djurgården, was just great and amazingly beautiful.
And now, breakfast!
Distance: 21.25k
Pace: 5'50"#CPH42 in 16 days.
30 mins tempo run on the hotel treadmill this morning.
My god, are those things boring. The running was nice and all - but no, Marie Kondo, this did not spark joy.
Distance: 5.61k
Pace: 5'21"#CPH42 in 14 days.
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30 mins tempo run on the hotel treadmill this morning.
My god, are those things boring. The running was nice and all - but no, Marie Kondo, this did not spark joy.
Distance: 5.61k
Pace: 5'21"#CPH42 in 14 days.
I bet it sparked the required physiological response
Then the joy can be acquired in other ways (like having the family close again as far as I can understand
) -
30 mins tempo run on the hotel treadmill this morning.
My god, are those things boring. The running was nice and all - but no, Marie Kondo, this did not spark joy.
Distance: 5.61k
Pace: 5'21"#CPH42 in 14 days.
Just an easy morning run. Sunny, but cold. Spring is coming. I felt good.
And the Copenhagen Marathon is approaching fast; it's the endgame of my training cycle now. It's all going according to plan.
Distance: 5.44k
Pace: 5'16"#CPH42 in 11 days.
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Just an easy morning run. Sunny, but cold. Spring is coming. I felt good.
And the Copenhagen Marathon is approaching fast; it's the endgame of my training cycle now. It's all going according to plan.
Distance: 5.44k
Pace: 5'16"#CPH42 in 11 days.
Easy run at 5:16/km sounds really good!
I hope you keep the feeling for the remainder of the training towards the marathon!
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Just an easy morning run. Sunny, but cold. Spring is coming. I felt good.
And the Copenhagen Marathon is approaching fast; it's the endgame of my training cycle now. It's all going according to plan.
Distance: 5.44k
Pace: 5'16"#CPH42 in 11 days.
Got up early to do a long and easy* morning run before taking kid to school. Such a beautiful start of the day. I met surprisingly many other smiling runners even before 6 o'clock.
*: I ran the last 5k as a tempo run, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Now, winding down for the next week to focus on short runs, more sleep, carb loading, and dealing with some workplace stuff that takes a mental toll.
Distance: 21.47k
Pace: 5'24"#CPH42 in 8 days!!!
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Got up early to do a long and easy* morning run before taking kid to school. Such a beautiful start of the day. I met surprisingly many other smiling runners even before 6 o'clock.
*: I ran the last 5k as a tempo run, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Now, winding down for the next week to focus on short runs, more sleep, carb loading, and dealing with some workplace stuff that takes a mental toll.
Distance: 21.47k
Pace: 5'24"#CPH42 in 8 days!!!
What a sunrise!!
Sounds like a perfect run, I hope your preparations in the weekend and next week will go as expected setting you up for an exciting run next week! (Sunday right? So 9 days from now?)
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What a sunrise!!
Sounds like a perfect run, I hope your preparations in the weekend and next week will go as expected setting you up for an exciting run next week! (Sunday right? So 9 days from now?)
The sunrise was amazing. All I can say is, the picture does not do it justice.
And yes, 9 days is of course the right count. Thank you.
