Howdy people,
The data for the last couple of runs is below:
Monday evening run http://connect.garmin.com/activity/78632867
Wednesday lunchtime run http://connect.garmin.com/activity/78996942
Both runs were pretty short and sharp covering around 40 minutes in duration. The pace felt pretty comfortable, although to achieve my desired time in the marathon I will have to run faster than this for the entire distance. The strange thing is that since I have been taking things easier in the last week I have actually started to feel stiffer and a little more lethargic. Apparently though this happens to a lot of people, judging by the number of posts on the runners forums.
Tomorrow will be the first day of carboloading. I will be following the advice of 3 days of carboloading prior to the big event. In addition I will not be doing any running whatsoever for the next 3 days. As those of you who know me may know, I have done quite a few half marathons in the past and till this day I have never carboloaded, so it will be interesting to see if it helps or not. Actually in the past I have never really followed any of the training advice on runners forums and tended to run fast during my long run, oblivious to my heartrate, do no carboloading at all, and on some occasions stay up late the couple of nights before the race. I see the fact that I am now following advice as a maturing of my character, a coming to my senses so to speak. It is also a preparation for things to come, since I am under no illusion at all as to how much I will have to work to complete the Marathon des Sables. In this particular regard I will be following all the advice I can get.
Just as a closing note for tonight's post, my weight when I started this blog back in December was 86kg. I am now under 82kg, so I have managed to lose 4kg of body mass and probably a great deal more of fat, since I will have gained significant muscle mass through my combination of running, indoor rowing, yoga and Pilates.
Have a great evening
P
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Saturday, 9 April 2011
An important aspect of training when entering the unknown - research
Firstly, before I start my rambling, here is the link to my last long, slow run before the Zurich marathon http://connect.garmin.com/activity/78131770. I followed all the advice on the running sites to the letter and didn't try and slip in some extra kilometres. I covered just over 15km and the kept the pace to around 10km/h, which is really comfortable for me.
Now, as the MDS is really a completely unknown and unchartered territory for me, I decided to look for a book on the subject. There are quite a few books on the subject of endurance running, but in fact very few on the specific topic of the MDS. The one I bought in the end was "Marathon des Sables - ultra endurance running in the heat of the Sahara".
I have only got 50 pages into the book so far, but it seems a really interesting read. The best part of all is that I can relate to the author, because this was also his first initiation to the world of endurance running. I was rather surprised in fact that he had only run his second half marathon of his life with almost one year to go, and didn't really increase his normal training runs above half marathon distance until the event itself. He did however do a lot of extremely long hikes, a couple of desert excursions from Cairo and so on.
Somehow I can't help to feel that my training will be more advanced than this provided I don't suffer any serious setbacks. After the Zurich marathon I will be taking a week of recovery and then I will be hopping on my bike to start training for the Marmotte cyclosportive (climbing 5,000 vertical metres in one day) which starts in early July. I will also try and keep up a certain amount of running, albeit less than now since it will have to be balanced with the cycling.
After the Marmotte and a week or two of recovery I will have to hop on my bike again to make sure I am prepared for the Vuelta Sudamerica 2011, taking place at the end of September. Although I have decided to cut the tour short to allow me to explore Peru with Anny, I will still be cycling over 5,000km in the course of 2 months, reaching altitudes of up to 4,000m. I am not sure if it will be possible or not, but the aim would be to fit in some running during the tour. When the tour finishes I will have one month to explore Peru with Anny, and during this time running will be possible for sure.
When I get back from Peru, it will at the beginning of 2012 and then there will be 3 solid months of training before the MDS. Jobwise I have already informed my boss I will be away for 4 months at the end of 2011, and I have been given no absolute guarantee of a job upon my return, so it may be that I am a full time athlete depending on if I find a new job or not before the MDS. Unless I have found a job and they want me to start before mid February, I may well postpone the start date till mid April by which time I will have finished the race.
Apparently a lot of people who finish the MDS become slightly depressed for a few months afterwards, as everyday life seems too easy and no longer challenging. For this reason maybe I can immerse myself into a new job and start planning for other things such as marriage. First though I have to get through the MDS.
Just before signing off for tonight, I checked the MDS website and it seems like my friend SJ has successfully completed the 2011 course. WELL DONE SJ - SUPER EFFORT. IF YOU WANT TO DO IT NEXT YEAR AGAIN FEEL FREE :))))
Now, as the MDS is really a completely unknown and unchartered territory for me, I decided to look for a book on the subject. There are quite a few books on the subject of endurance running, but in fact very few on the specific topic of the MDS. The one I bought in the end was "Marathon des Sables - ultra endurance running in the heat of the Sahara".
I have only got 50 pages into the book so far, but it seems a really interesting read. The best part of all is that I can relate to the author, because this was also his first initiation to the world of endurance running. I was rather surprised in fact that he had only run his second half marathon of his life with almost one year to go, and didn't really increase his normal training runs above half marathon distance until the event itself. He did however do a lot of extremely long hikes, a couple of desert excursions from Cairo and so on.
Somehow I can't help to feel that my training will be more advanced than this provided I don't suffer any serious setbacks. After the Zurich marathon I will be taking a week of recovery and then I will be hopping on my bike to start training for the Marmotte cyclosportive (climbing 5,000 vertical metres in one day) which starts in early July. I will also try and keep up a certain amount of running, albeit less than now since it will have to be balanced with the cycling.
After the Marmotte and a week or two of recovery I will have to hop on my bike again to make sure I am prepared for the Vuelta Sudamerica 2011, taking place at the end of September. Although I have decided to cut the tour short to allow me to explore Peru with Anny, I will still be cycling over 5,000km in the course of 2 months, reaching altitudes of up to 4,000m. I am not sure if it will be possible or not, but the aim would be to fit in some running during the tour. When the tour finishes I will have one month to explore Peru with Anny, and during this time running will be possible for sure.
When I get back from Peru, it will at the beginning of 2012 and then there will be 3 solid months of training before the MDS. Jobwise I have already informed my boss I will be away for 4 months at the end of 2011, and I have been given no absolute guarantee of a job upon my return, so it may be that I am a full time athlete depending on if I find a new job or not before the MDS. Unless I have found a job and they want me to start before mid February, I may well postpone the start date till mid April by which time I will have finished the race.
Apparently a lot of people who finish the MDS become slightly depressed for a few months afterwards, as everyday life seems too easy and no longer challenging. For this reason maybe I can immerse myself into a new job and start planning for other things such as marriage. First though I have to get through the MDS.
Just before signing off for tonight, I checked the MDS website and it seems like my friend SJ has successfully completed the 2011 course. WELL DONE SJ - SUPER EFFORT. IF YOU WANT TO DO IT NEXT YEAR AGAIN FEEL FREE :))))
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Yoga on Tuesday and lunchtime jog today, so taking it easy compared to before
Howdy folks,
Time for a quick update of the last couple of days.
On Tuesday lunchtime the yoga was quite gentle compared to normal. The teacher was ill and I guess it would have been hard for her to demonstrate moves that required a lot of strength and energy, as she wouldn't have had much. It was good for me though as I was still aching from the previous week and needed to go easy. At the end of the class we practised handstands and I really felt I am starting to get a good foundation, and am able to hold it for up to 15 seconds.
This week my massage was shifted from Tuesday to Thursday so I haven't had that yet. It is a shame as I could have done with that on Tuesday, but I can still benefit from it tomorrow. It will be with a different person to normal so I hope that the stand-in isn't one of these sadomasochists who enjoys inflicting pain on poor innocent sports enthusiasts.
Today I did the usual lunchtime jog with colleagues. I had my Garmin GPS watch with me so it seems our usual loop through the woods is just over 7km and takes us somewhere around 40 minutes. When I checked my heart rate after getting back to the office it was around 125bpm so I really was taking it easy. At that pace I can run all day long.
Now I am off to an all you can eat buffet to pack in some carbs. Obviously I have to be a little careful as I don't want to gain too much weight in this tapering period, but at the same time I do need to get a good dose of carbs in my body.
Hasta luego amigos,
P
Time for a quick update of the last couple of days.
On Tuesday lunchtime the yoga was quite gentle compared to normal. The teacher was ill and I guess it would have been hard for her to demonstrate moves that required a lot of strength and energy, as she wouldn't have had much. It was good for me though as I was still aching from the previous week and needed to go easy. At the end of the class we practised handstands and I really felt I am starting to get a good foundation, and am able to hold it for up to 15 seconds.
This week my massage was shifted from Tuesday to Thursday so I haven't had that yet. It is a shame as I could have done with that on Tuesday, but I can still benefit from it tomorrow. It will be with a different person to normal so I hope that the stand-in isn't one of these sadomasochists who enjoys inflicting pain on poor innocent sports enthusiasts.
Today I did the usual lunchtime jog with colleagues. I had my Garmin GPS watch with me so it seems our usual loop through the woods is just over 7km and takes us somewhere around 40 minutes. When I checked my heart rate after getting back to the office it was around 125bpm so I really was taking it easy. At that pace I can run all day long.
Now I am off to an all you can eat buffet to pack in some carbs. Obviously I have to be a little careful as I don't want to gain too much weight in this tapering period, but at the same time I do need to get a good dose of carbs in my body.
Hasta luego amigos,
P
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