8 Weeks to 40m
Ultra-marathon
The weather is starting to change. This week started with a
21 mile run which started dry yet ended in torrential rain! This is the first
rain during a run since I started this blog.
Immediately I felt the change underfoot. Tree roots became
slippery. The ground softened. My feet got wet. I will now need to monitor the
condition of my feet to ensure that blisters and other problems don’t start to
appear. I will also have to start being more careful in respect to my foot
placement.
The 21 miles was not easy. Well, it was easy until around
mile 16. Then it started to bite with my legs becoming heavier. Fortunately the
huskies are getting better and better at staying on task for longer distances
without distractions. This helped me through the last 5 miles as I could just
concentrate on my technique.
I had a little play with my food during the run. I had a
banana and a coffee just before I left, a 330ml full fat milkshake at the hour
and 2 hour mark, and a ½ a Mars bar at the 2.5hr and 3hr points. The Mars bar
was a mistake. I had a drop in energy around 20minutes after eating and my legs
became heavy. I took the next ½ of the bar and I picked up again for another
20minutes before my energy dropped once more.
From this I believe I am running much better without fast
sugars. I may well end up taking carbohydrates on the Ultra, yet it won’t be in
the form of fast sugar, such as a Mars bar, that’s for sure! I can do without
the fast energy followed by the heavy drop.
My long runs are the time for experimenting like this. I
need to make sure that I have practiced everything in training, working out
what is the optimum foods to take, when, and for what effect, several times
before the race. During an Ultramarathon is not the time to be experimenting.
36 hours before my long run I had a heavy sparring session.
This left me with aching and tired shoulders, and I was interested to see how
this would affect my run, especially with respect to carrying my rucksack.
During the run I could feel them, yet it didn’t affect me at all.
I made a change this week to my back to back runs. Instead
of doing a single long distance on the Monday morning after the Sunday long
run, I split it into two, in order to get a higher mileage in. Two runs of 7
miles completed. And the huskies rocked
in the afternoon – in fact, the afternoon run was one of my most enjoyable
ever!
I’ve got to admit though, the Tuesday morning run was a bit of a grind – I did feel every step. This in itself is great training as it is preparing me for being mentally strong. Lots of ultrarunners have told me that running an ultra is more about the mind than the body. I’m beginning to realise that they were 100% right. Yet I stuck with it and surpassed my 40 mile total even earlier in the week than last.
I’ve got to admit though, the Tuesday morning run was a bit of a grind – I did feel every step. This in itself is great training as it is preparing me for being mentally strong. Lots of ultrarunners have told me that running an ultra is more about the mind than the body. I’m beginning to realise that they were 100% right. Yet I stuck with it and surpassed my 40 mile total even earlier in the week than last.
The high mileage took it out of me this week and by
Wednesday I was very tired. So in order to prevent fatigue setting in, to
bolster my immune system, and to assist recovery I didn’t do any further runs
this week, took the odd afternoon nap (the joys of being your own boss!) and
the husky walks were gentle ‘smell walks’ – they need to recover too of course!
This is my fifth week’s mileage, week commencing Sunday 23rd
September:
Sunday: 21
miles
Monday: 7 miles
7
miles
Tuesday: 6.5
miles
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Rest
Weekly Total = 44 miles
