Feelin' Alright: Ten Days To Go

Wow, after four months training its only ten days left til my first Marathon in Canberra....over 500km run in training, 48 gym workouts, 10 swims, plenty of carb loads and it's all finally coming to a head....

The good news is my ankle problems have all been resolved, not even a niggle for four weeks and Im feeling pretty strong at the moment...

The next few days will involve a few ten km runs and core workouts, then one very small run with a complete seven day taper next week.....then my family and my two partner's families are off for the weekend to Canberra, staying in Manuka 1km from the start line and 500m from the best cafe strip in the city!

Wet Dreams

Me and my two Marathon training partners did 34kms last night while the rain came down in torrents....massive puddles, soggy shoes, cars splashing showers...the weather cleared after 17kms or so leaving us with some wet feet blisters but it meant we stayed cool the whole time and much less in need of litres and litres of drink...

Im amazed by the fact that no matter how far we go it's always the last five kms that hurt...Km 17-28 were actually the best, I felt really strong and confident and the fear of the Marathon was really knocked on the head.....one of the problems is our route has hills right at the end which really test you when the rest is flat and your in uncharted territory....

This morning I weigh 1.5kgs less than the day before....legs doing Ok..only normal pain, no niggles..now I get on a flight for a week of work in New Zealand

Eat Sleep Run?

One of my biggest challenges in preparing for my first Marathon has been sleep....Ive done every training run, lost a few kg's, changed my diet, done my core training but Im still getting only 6 hours of sleep a night.Im pretty sure on my last long run i actually drifted off while running in the last five kms....

In Running Times there's a great article on how important sleep is:

Studies specifically linking sleep deprivation with performance in endurance events are scarce, but in one of them, published in the British medical journal The Lancet, researchers found that a period of decreased sleep lasting only a few days interfered with glucose metabolism and raised levels of cortisol, a hormone released in response to stress that may interfere with athletic recovery at high serum concentrations. The study suggests that glycogen synthesis is impaired during periods of reduced sleep, meaning an athlete in these conditions is operating with less than a "full tank" and may "bonk" earlier than a well-rested

Last night i woke as per normal at 430, knowing i am doing my 34 longest run this avo and dreaded the idea of only getting 5 and a half hours but thankfully drifted off again.....thank goodness..I wonder how I'll go the night of the Marathon? Any hints?

Suffering on the Streets?

With four weeks to go until my first Marathon (Canberra) I am wondering just how much suffering will be involved on the actual day...so far we have done a max 30km long run and while the last five kms hurt i wouldnt say we really suffered...we do 34 this weekend and i feel pretty good about it..the last five k's of the longs runs has hurt but the only bad experience was when we tried to run 30kms in 32C and konked out at 24kms due to dehydration

Will there be mental anguish? If so, Ive read that it's better to focus on external dissociation than internal...looking around you, running to the next tree, talking to your partners, rather than focus on a mantra or switch on the music.....I plan to test this on the 43 coming up this weekend..

To Ipod or not to Ipod?

To Ipod or not to Ipod that is the question? Check the pedestrian above run over by a semi while listening to one...

Ive also noticed myself relying on it alot less during marathon training, keeping it as a safety net in my running belt but never bringing it out...The safety issue was also brought home to me last week when we ran past a cyclist on the ground, hit by a car and with a broken collarbone..
I tend to find it irritating on long runs and anti-social, given the slower pace means we can talk much of the way......Ive pretty much narrowed it down for use during Wednesday nights fast run..I just cant seem to get the pace up without the 'duff-duff-duff' sound in my ear...in fact my heart actually begins to race Pavlov's-dog-style when i hear songs at home which i have used on these runs..

What about you? Music or no? Just make sure that if you do have one you listen to something that'll work, like this...

Steady As She Goes

This week spells 3 weeks in a row over 50kms and three long Sunday runs of 30kms....Im pretty happy with how it's going, long runs are only really painful in the last five kms and pretty much recovered after 24 hours...the 6.5mins/km pace feels easy until the 24-5 km mark so all bodes well for the Canberra marathon...

This weekend we started at 5am and met the rest of the Warriors at the 14km mark..hydration and food managed well (2.5litres water, 5 shotbloks, lots of lollies)...same route up the old freeway towards Berowra

only one 34 km long run left and a few 20's...woohoooo

Run No Matter What

The last two weeks has been an emotional rollercoaster, to say the least....we nearly lost half of our family income, only to have it all returned at the last minute, with benefits!...then someone close becomes very sick.....I fear this wont be resolved quite as well....as a result sleep has been suffering with so much to think about and plan..

These events seem to cast running into relief, not just as exercise or a source of friendship and adventure but as a constant when everything else is changeing...despite lack of sleep and worry I have kept up the discipline of running 4 times a week, 50kms, establishing it as something I now know Ill do for life no matter what is going on....

Thankfully we are back in calmer waters now (at least for a while) and Ill keep on running..

Maybe It's Actually Possible

After last weeks horrendous attempt a a 30Km Marathon training run we finally conquered it today..it was 10C cooler, cloudy, 1 hour earlier and quite abit flatter....also we stashed water along the route last night which really helped...

The route took us along Penno Road to Hornsby, then along the old Highway to Mt Kuringhai and back...both me and my running partner found it pretty smooth and easy until the last five k's which hurt a fair bit....what a great feeling to finish strong after a degree of self doubt and see that the Marathon is something that is possible...

Sweat Rates?

After a fairly traumatic attempt at my first 30km run this weekend, hampered and eventually smashed by 32C we are planning to get back on the horse again, depending on the weather, before we have to reach for 34 in a few weeks. No more walking, no more stopping at supermarkets and back gardens, no more finishing at a run pace that was actually slower than my walk pace!

Ive been researching hydration, trying to figure out how much i need to drink to avoid bonking like that again..this table from Australian Institute of Sport is interesting although i plan to do the before and after weight tests to make it more accurate...either way it seems like a litre an hour when it's over 20C is about right....

RUNNING

Exercise type	Sex	Intensity	Sweat rate (L/h)	Ambient temperature (°C)	Relative humidity (%)
10 km	f	12.8 km/h	1.49	19-24	-
	m	14.6 km/h	1.83	19-24	-
30 km	-	-	1.25	9-17	30-90
2 hours	m	63% VO2max	1.41	22	40-45
42.2 km	-	9.3-15.5 kg/h	1.1	21-26	50-60
	f	9-12 km/h	0.54	6-24	45-85
	m	9-12 km/h	0.81	7	45-85
	m	8.7-16.1 km/h	0.96	10-12	73
	m	15.9 km/h	1.52	20	37
	-	9.8-15 km/h	0.69-1.27	12-23	-
56 km	-	10.4-14.8 km/h	0.96-1.00	11.3-25.8	-
80 min	m	70% VO2max	1.43	20

Smashed !

Today was officially the toughest run Ive ever done...a 30km Marathon training run planned but when we got to the start at 6am it was already bloody 26C....first 15kms went smoothly....ate some Shotbloks and then killed off another 7 without too much trouble....then the sun came out and i started to feel tingly, stomach ache......definitely dehydrated, despite 1.5litres gatorade, 1 litre water and lots of drinking the day before...

I noticed on Wikipedia.... Symptoms of mild dehydration include thirst, decreased urine volume, abnormally dark urine, unexplained tiredness, irritability, lack of tears when crying, headache, dry mouth, dizziness when standing due to orthostatic hypotension, and in some cases can cause insomnia

Lack of tears while crying? Thats pretty much how I felt as the temperature rose from 26C to 28C and 30C near the end...

I confess to actually walk/running the last 5kms (which I have never done before)...my Garmin was telling me they were both at the same speed!!!

Finished and went straight in the supermarket for a bottle of real Coke (never do that either), followed at home by protein drink, sprite, coffee, four ice blocks and more...

If thats what the wall feels like it bloody hurts!