24. Ignition and Lift-off
Go Falcon, Go Falcon!
This week was a great confidence boost with a grand total of 140km. Here's how it broke down:
Monday: 15km
Tuesday: 15km
Wednesday: 20km
Thursday: 30km
Friday: 15km
Saturday: 35km
Sunday: 10km
I'm glad to report that, other than accumulated fatigue, nothing aches and everything works. Yahoo!
Generally speaking, I focused this week on getting the job done, although it wasn’t always easy. I always have a sense of anxiety creeping up before the 30km/35km runs. I hate the middle segments, when I’m in no man’s land and too far from home to even have the option to quit. However, I seem to find a second wind when I’m 5km from the end. It’s strange, but not unusual. I know very well that the marathon is won or lost between km 21 and 35, when nothing happens, the crowds are far from the finish line, and people start to slow down. To combat this sense of dread, I have learned to split the runs into blocks of 5km. I focus on 5km at a time and tend to go a little faster than usual; otherwise, these segments seem interminable.
Two major runs out of the way, and on the 35km, wifey came as support bike with gels, water, and Powerade, while Coach Matthew took one for the team and stayed with the nanny. I've experimented a little with carb intake. On the 35km run, I had one gel with 30g of carbs every 20 minutes, almost 90g of carbs per hour. It helped, and I wonder if I can take a little more on board. The issue now is with Precision Hydration and the horrible opening of their gels. It just doesn’t work for me compared to a Maurten, which you rip open and push the whole gel into your mouth.
Coach Matthew supported the process this week. He had decent sleep and contained his hyperactivity to semi-normal hours. Good boy! He doesn’t know (yet) that we signed him up for his first race, a 400m track race on September 1st (Canyon Run). The idea is for me to have a tune-up half marathon around one month before Berlin, and let him give it a go right after I finish! 100% he can do, unless he gets distracted 😂 and wanders off track.
I have listened to a couple of great podcasts this week, I enjoyed listening to Paula Radcliffe talking about super shoes and how back in the day, no one trained in their race gear. Today a super shoe does much more than make you run faster, it helps recovery and allows you to clock more miles. She also talks about the reward of doing something hard, I think in a comfy society, this is particularly important.
This week, I have some work travel scheduled, so distance will decrease. However, I don’t mind as long as I get a speed workout, a 30km, and a 35km run done. Stay tuned!
