18 mile run this morning....a good end to the running week, and a great start to a week's holiday!

I mentioned in my last post about the need to slow down on my long runs - I've even put a separate page on my blog so my paces are there for everyone to see!

Well, I'm pleased to say that I did the run in an average of 10:07 min/mile, which is pretty much bang on my LSR pace, so I've got to pleased with that.  I purposefully picked it up a bit on my last 2-miles (under 9min/mile) and I'm pleased that I felt strong at the end.

I tried a couple of other changes for this morning's run:
- although I have ensured I've been well hydrated all week, I have been wondering if I've been under-hydrating on the day of an LSR.  This morning before I set out I chugged down nearly 3 pints of water, as well as my coffee and shredded wheat.  I did need a pit stop at only mile 2 but other than that it was fine.  Obviously a slow 18-miler is much different to a race pace Half Marathon, but I'm hoping this change will do me well, particularly when the temperature start increasing.  I think I did "bonk" a bit at the event last weekend and I definitely didn't today.
- I binned the flapjacks in favour of 8 Jaffa Cakes, and I must say they went down a treat.  I just took them in a pocket and they were easy to eat and digest.

This all means that I've done 36.5 mile this week...if I include last Sunday's Half Marathon it's nearly 50 which is a record I think.

I put two Marathon Talk podcasts on my iPod Shuffle today and I timed it so they ran out just as I was finishing.  It all means that I'm still at 100% for Jantastic, and we're 50% through the challenge now.

Plus, my wife had made some pancakes for when I got back.

So, all in all a great run - I'm mark it as a 10 out of 10!  Even better is that I'm now on holiday for a week.

Still so many questions about this running malarkey

Running is simple, right?  It's just putting one foot in front of the other after all.  Then why does it sometimes still seem quite a complex activity, with so many variables?

So, what questions have I still got?  A few are below:
- is my fuelling/hydration correct?  I don't think it is, and I need to work on that especially for a marathon.  Before the Half Marathon I weighed myself and I was 12st10lb (which is a good weight for me, by the way!).  After the event, I stuffed myself with kit kats, creme eggs, orange juice, crisps and water and when I got home I was 12st6lb.  What has caused that weight loss.....fluid loss?  If so, those fluids (including salts) need to be replaced.  How am I going to do that on a marathon?  I don't know yet, but I'll work on it.
- what time can I expect at the marathon in May?  Sub-4:30?  Sub-4:15?  At a push, Sub-4:00?  Why does this matter...surely I should just go out and try my best and see what happens?  I will of course do that on the day, but I'm still tinkering with my training paces (LSR especially, which I know I tend to run too quickly).
- after all the preparations I made in terms of food/fuel, why was I still peckish on the start line?  I think this is because I usually run at 8am and I had eaten as if I was running at 8am.  However, with the race starting at 9am and having to leave at around 8am to get there I had my food at home.  Should I look at what I can eat in the car on the way to an event?  Maybe.

What is interesting is that I think the vast majority of runners (whether they are in the middle of the pack like me, at the sharp end contending for places, or nearer the back on their own personal challenges) all continually think about these types of things.  My wife was spectating on the weekend, and people were calling out to runners asking how they were doing.  Every runner, without exception, was moaning about something.  No runner said they were doing really well and were happy….it was all, "I'm too hot", "I'm too cold", "This course is rubbish", "I'm hungry", "I'm thirsty", "My knee is hurting" etc etc.  I know when I'm running I have so much going on my head and I'm arguing with myself about various things.  What a funny bunch we are!

On reflection of my Exeter Half time, I am now happier....a PB is a PB after all!!  In June 2012 I struggled with a 2hr Half, October 2012 I did a 1hr 50 (breaking a 5 year old PB) and on the weekend I did a 1hr 47 so I do know that is a really good improvement.  I wish I had reacted differently on the start line, but I didn't and I can't change that now.  There's always the next event, which for me is just three weeks away.

I do have a bet with myself.  If I do not go out too quickly on my next Half Marathon, I will treat myself to a large mixed grill and a few pints afterwards.  I must not go off too quickly at the next event.  I must stick to my plan, get to half way more or less on target (not under target) and reassess how I am feeling at that point.

Sat AM before the big event

The Exeter Half is 3 laps around a canal.  I was thinking this setup would be of help to me as I'd have a good indication of what the course was (including things like wind conditions) each time around.  Plus I was thinking that after each 1/3 I'd have a good idea of if I was on target (this is less important as I'll have my Garmin anyway).  However, I've read that some people suffer with boredom on these courses and maybe not do as well as they'd hoped.

I guess it's about trying to keep focused on your pace (if looking for a PB, which I am).

In other news, I slipped off the bottom stair in my house last night, and tweaked my shoulder.  I wasn't drunk, honest!  I did some stretching and massage, and it seems 100% fine this morning but I was concerned for a few minutes.  It goes to show that I (being a finely tuned performance machine....), am pretty finally balanced.

Off topic, but I'm hovering over the "Submit" button to buy a couple of tickets for the Premier League Darts which is in Exeter on 28th Feb.  I used to love watching darts as a kid, and caught the opening games on TV this week.... It does get a bit raucaus at these events, and the fact it's sponsored by a crisp company and a money lending company doesn't bode well, but I'm thinking about it!

Another guilty secret of mine is that I love poker.  Not playing, but watching it on TV!  I record all the poker shows on TV.  For me I love the personalities, the fact that over time it is basically a maths game...and obviously winning $10m at the World Series of Poker would be pretty good!  I love the lingo as well....
"He's flopped the nuts" = he's got the best possible hand on the flop.
"Pocket rockets", or "American Airlines" = pocket Aces,
"Cowboys" = pocket Kings,
"The Ladies" = pocket queens,
"The snowmen" = pocket eights,
"Anna Kournikova" = Ace King (I.E., it looks nice, but doesn't play very well), etc etc.

In the same way that a lot of people follow football very closely, my game is poker.  I am going to say it's a sport because it does get televised on the sports channels   My wife thinks I'm absolutely nuts, and looks at me like I'm going mad but still.

Speaking of my wife thinking I'm going mad, after reading Shade's Noddy's guide to marathon preparation I bought some teacakes, microwaved them and had them without any spread yesterday.  I think she nearly dialed 999 for me, but I just blamed Shades!

Getting the schedule right

I confess, I was a bit "subdued" yesterday with regards to the running (and also generally) but I'm not really sure why.  Last week's runs weren't too bad in reality....in fact the Monday (10K PM training run) and Wednesday (the club speed session) were very good.  Thursday's was fine and Saturday's was also okay, if a little cold.

I think my issue is is that I am still not 100% sure on my training paces, and I'm worried that I am doing my LSR's too fast.  Even Saturday's session was 9min/mile pace and I think that needs to be more like 9:30-10:00 min/mile really.  This week on the LSR, I am really going to try and slow down and make sure I do more like 9:30min/mile.  I am well aware that that Internet is strewn with examples of people ignoring this advice and then blowing up on their marathon day, which is something I want to try and avoid.

Having said that, today's session was supposed to be a quicker session and I got 6 miles in at variable pace, some of it quick so I was pleased with that.  It was interesting actually, because I could have (and in some ways, I actually wanted to) run a lot further and I finished strong and steady.  Reflecting on this a bit, I wonder if I have stumbled across a schedule that suits me better.  Last week I ran Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday (as opposed to the more usual Mon, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) where as often my LSR is on a Sunday so on Monday's session I would not usually be quite as fresh.  I really feel that I could have gone on to do 10-12 miles today (not all at a quick pace), so I think I'll keep that in mind for future weeks as well.

I've mentioned before that I have drastically reduced the alcohol intake over the last few weeks and I've been continuing on that vein since the New Year.  However, to be honest I think that was getting to me as I was feeling that I didn't have much to look forward to in terms of non-running activities/weekends.  This is especially because although I have February Half Term off of work, it's close to my planned Half Marathon event, so I know I won't be able to "let my hair down" on that week either.  Therefore, my wife and I have organised a weekend away soon which is something that I am already looking forward to!

Another thing that I experimented with on my LSR on Saturday is fuel.  I know when I start regularly going over 16+ I will start need to practice a fuelling strategy for the marathon.  In the past I have used Go Gels, but I didn't really get on with them and to be honest they are quite expensive.  On the forums, I have seen talk of jam sandwiches but on Friday I made some flapjack!  I must say, it went down pretty well and it wasn't too crumbly and it was fairly easy to chew.  I've frozen 3 batches of it, and I think I'll make it again but maybe next time I'll add more Gold Syrup and probably throw in a few sultanas.  They don't look like much, but they were very nice - even if I do say so myself!