u/Kitchen-Buffalo7083

I am doing the 10 day TmB in late June starting on a Thursday. I fly into Europe on Sunday before (I have the flexibility to rebook the flight without much price change). I was planning to stay in Annecey and do the bike ride along the one day and take the bus to Chamonix the day before the hike but Annecey is so expensive. What other options do I have for a city thats within 3-5 hours of bus ride away from Chamonix, walkable and has good internet connection but not prohibitively expensive like Geneva for example.

I am considering Turin or Milan for now since they both have flixbus to Chamonix. Any other city I should consider?

I ran London and had a very underwhelming race. I am trying to piece together what could have gone wrong so I can work on it for the next one (not soon - maybe CIM or something in 2027). But wanna put these in words before I forget things

PR going into London 4:22 from 2024. First marathon since the last PR. In the meantime, I have 4 sub 2 half.

I was training for around 4:00-4:10. All the speed work for 4:00 flat and the race plan to was to start at 9:30, average 9:20 for the first 4-5 miles and slightly work my up to 4:00 if if felt good. If not, just hold on to that pace.

The goal pace itself wasn’t new for me. My long runs (7 long runs over 15 miles) has some goal pace blocks. 8 weeks before the marathon I ran 1:52 half (PR). I figured if not sub 4, 4:10 was doable.

Right off the bat, 9:20-9:30 did not feel good, my legs felt heavy. I dropped off the pace group less than 2 miles in and had to stop for walking break at 9 miles. The rest was just trying to get to the finish line.

I am not really sure what went wrong. I have never had problems running 9:30s early on in my long runs even during the high volume weeks. I understand if I blew up later on I the race. But I cant explain what went wrong. So, I am asking here if anyone can find something I am missing.

-Peak week - 50 miles 3 weeks out. 20 miles long run and a speed workout

-Taper - I usually taper hard and I feel better than running a 25-30 mile weeks in taper. Week 1 was 15 miles, week 2 was 11. Week three was 5k at ~12min mile and some walking. Did not do any sightseeing friday and saturday. Just stretching and walking and sitting on the bed.

-Carb load - Honestly the best I ever have. Got 500g of carbs on Thursday, friday and Saturday

-Hydration - Well hydrated. I wasn't tracking quantity but I had plenty of water along with water+electrolytes/tailwind, OJ, coconut water.

-Sleep/Rest - Not good. I travelled from the west coast of US to London 4 days before the race. Got hit with jet lag pretty hard the first night. Then I was anxious about not sleeping and that made sleep less. Last time I got full night sleep was 4 days before the race. Once in London, I napped a lot but it was not good restorative sleep.

-Sports massage - After the long flight I got a sports massage 2 days before the race.

-Alcohol - 14 days before the race

Flying LHR SFO at 10 am. It’s 4 am and I haven’t slept all night. Planning to eat breakfast in the longue and sleep the moment seat belt sign is off.

What options will I have for food later on? I “pre booked” something but I’m don’t have any restrictions. Just need calories that aren’t snacks.