Romain Adam, co-founder of RunMotion Coach, set himself the challenge of breaking his marathon personal best at the Deauville Marathon. He started his marathon build-up quite late, 10 weeks before the race, after running UTMB at the end of August.
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How did your Deauville Marathon go?
I had several good reasons to run the Marathon International in Deauville:
– RunMotion Coach is the official coach of the Deauville Marathon
– The French Marathon Championships were held there this year
– And the course looked really pleasant.
My goal was to improve my marathon personal best (2:38 in Lausanne). I planned to go out on 2:35-2:36 pace.
The weather was uncertain, with showers forecast before the 9:45 start. So I made sure to stay well covered during the warm-up, and as I reached the start line, the sun came out!
The Deauville Marathon is under way! It goes out fairly fast. I make sure to stick to my pace of 3:35-3:40 per km, and to take 2-3 sips of water from the first aid station at km 5. I feel good on the first lap and try to save as much energy as possible. First half in 1:17:40, perfect!
Then, 50 metres after halfway, the heavens open and every runner is soaked to the bone! A proper Normandy shower! It lasts 10 minutes. At that point I try to focus on my stride and not think about the negative things that can creep in. Then the sun comes back.
I’m delighted with my splits, running every 5 km between 18:00 and 18:30. But at km 30 my hamstrings tighten up. I know I’ll have to manage it. I manage to stay with a group of 5 runners until km 32, then I have to slow by 10 seconds per km to protect my hamstrings. Yet cardio-wise and nutrition-wise I feel great!
At km 40 I see the sea and the last long 1.5 km straight along Deauville beach. I look at the clock and tell myself that if I speed up I can run a high 2:35 or a low 2:36. I enjoy that long straight and lengthen my stride.
The Deauville boardwalk is right there, the finish is close! I cross the line in 2:36:21, 2 minutes faster than my previous personal best! I finish 45th in the French Marathon Championships.
How did you manage your Deauville Marathon build-up?
This summer I’d done an ultra-trail build-up. I felt good aerobically thanks to the volume I’d done over the summer. But a knee injury at the end of August hampered my return. I worked with a physiotherapist to treat my painful knee and do targeted strength work.
When I started again in mid-September, I felt I needed to do some sessions at VMA (vVO2max) and half-marathon pace to regain speed on the flat. Good timing: those sessions were in my RunMotion Coach marathon training plan, which works on marathon pace but also on intermediate paces.
My schedule didn’t let me do every session, but I completed a good part of the plan. The last two weeks were lighter, so I reached the start line of the Deauville Marathon as fresh as possible, and really hungry for it!
What motivates you to run?
When I used to race on the track (800-1500 m), I loved seeing the clock come down and breaking my personal bests. It was a way to see my progress in concrete terms.
Now I run above all for pleasure and to recharge. Running is part of my balance. And I like setting myself ambitious goals.
Living in the Alps, in summer I love heading into the mountains, so I focus on trail and ultra-trail (to spend even more time on the trails!). And I like to set marathon goals in early spring and in autumn.
How did you discover the RunMotion Coach app?
I’m one of the founders of the app, so I know RunMotion Coach well. Even before it took shape, I wanted to give back to running everything it has given me, by guiding other runners to progress and enjoy themselves.
What made you download RunMotion Coach?
Of course I was among the very first to download the app, on 4 October 2018 😉. I’m a fan of the new version (well done to our teams!), which brings even more flexibility to training.
What do you like most about the RunMotion Coach app?
I love having training adapted to me and not having to overthink my training. I let myself be guided because I fully trust the app. And I also like looking at the stats in “My summary”, which are presented a bit differently from Strava.
What’s your next sporting challenge?
After Deauville, it will be another marathon at the end of March. I’m still torn between the Rome Marathon and the Barcelona Marathon. Ideally I’d go under 2:35. After that I’ll take a short break before starting an ultra-trail build-up in April, probably for UTMB at the end of August!
Well done Romain, recover well and good luck with your next marathon build-up!
