A Long Run Down Struggle St

I was defeated by my long run this week.

All the preparation was there and I thought I had all my plans in place for a perfect 32km run.  It was not to be.

All week, a couple of lines of advice really resonated with me.  They came in an email from Linda Watson, head trainer at intraining.  She wrote: "do your long run much slower than your goal race pace. I cannot stress this enough. If you run too fast in training, it will result in a longer recovery period and ultimately inhibit your ability to back up with other important sessions."

After last week's 30km, I pulled up quite sore and realised that I did go too fast - then when I did my other sessions for the week, I was achey and couldn't quite give it 100%.

So I planned to do a nice, slow & steady 32km on Sunday morning.  I was excited about doing a morning run, as it is my preferred time to go.  Most of my long runs have been afternoon/evening, but I want to get in some more morning practice, as that is when the Gold Coast Marathon will be.  I had a rare husband and child-free morning, so I put the call out through parkrun to see if anyone wanted to join me - of course, there were other keen/crazy people out there and we set off at 6am.  Our route was from Arthur Davis Park (next to the Sandgate Pool), down the Shorncliffe Jetty, then across the Hornibrook Bridge, past the Woody Point Jetty and up to the Redcliffe Jetty and back again.

I really enjoyed the first 20km.  I had new company, lots of people to chat with and plenty of distractions.  We took a good, steady pace and it was a perfect morning with a gorgeous sunrise.  I'd had some porridge and banana at about 5am, as well as some pasta the night before, and I felt really good.  My aches and pains had gone and physically, I felt great.

The struggle came at about 26km.  I stopped at a bubbler for water just before getting onto the Hornibrook Bridge for the stretch home.  When I started up again, my energy levels felt like they'd taken a dive.  I continued shuffling across the bridge, but the rest of the group started getting away from me, and I just couldn't seem to make up any ground.

I called on my mental strength to just dig in and tough it out, which I did - but in true runner's terms, I just hit a wall.  I told myself I just had to get to the end of the Bridge (which is the longest in the Southern Hemisphere, and I felt it every step of the way!) - I thought that getting back onto the Brighton stretch would just give me the boost to finish.  I just felt so physically exhausted, like my body was running on empty.  It wasn't the soreness in my legs or feet (which is always there a little bit after this distance), it was just this complete and utter feeling that I had nothing left in the tank.

The rest of the group was getting further ahead - if it weren't for them, I'm sure I would've given up halfway across the bridge.  I hate being beaten and just wanted to keep up!  In the end, I walked 2 stints of 500m, at about the 29km and 30.5km marks.  If nothing else, I wanted to at least beat my distance from last week, which I did.  I got back to the park and had a nice big stretch, but felt completely defeated.  None of my long runs had been such a struggle.

I was pretty disappointed - I felt my preparation and mindset for this run was spot on.  It was meant to be slow and easy, but here I was, barely able to put one foot in front of the other by the end!  But as always in the worst runs, I definitely learnt a lesson.  This time, it was long run fuel.  I decided to have a break from my usual jellybeans, and instead took some raw energy balls I'd made, which had dried fruit, nuts, banana & chia seeds in them, as well as some dried apricots.

As delicious as they were, they just didn't cut it for 32km!  I'd also figured that eating well and carb-ing up before the run would give me enough boost, but it simply didn't.  I couldn't help but think about what so many people have said - the 30km mark in the marathon is the halfway point, and that last 12km is a real battle.  There is no way I could've gone another 10km on Sunday, which gave me a bit of a scare!  But again, it's a lesson learnt.

I went to the intraining speed session this morning, but my calves and lower legs in general were so sore, I just couldn't get up to speed.  Sarah (the coach) suggested just an easy jog, but I even struggled with that.  So I'm doing lots of stretching and having some rest, and hopefully the aches disappear.

As long as I'm feeling fresh enough, I'm planning to tackle 32km again this week - this time with plenty of jellybeans and maybe some other fuel on hand.  It's not a nice feeling to be defeated by a run, but there's always another opportunity.

The Working, Running Mum

It's not always easy being a runner.  Or a running mum.  Or a working, running mum.

Sometimes I wish that I'd jumped on this marathon bandwagon before I had kids, because I had SO much more time then!  I'd have heaps more opportunities to run and nothing to hold me back.  But of course, it's all part of the journey and the accomplishment will mean so much more, that I'm doing it at this stage of life.

I try and be pretty positive with my posts and I'm an optimist through and through...but today I'm just compiling a list of things that really suck about being a working, running mum!

- having to call on favours for babysitting for every long run (SO fortunate to have family support though!)
- getting home from a 30km run, grabbing a drink, then having to cook dinner/clean the house/bath the kids/read bedtime stories/put kids to bed...when all you want to do is have a big stretch and a soak in the bath
- getting up for work at 4:15am every weekday, then after the shift, doing activities with the kids all morning, then having enough energy to run (with both in the pram) in the afternoon - some days, I'm just plain TIRED!
- never getting a sleep-in
- when the only opportunity for group/speed training (Tuesdays at 5:30am) means getting up even earlier (yes, we're talking 3:45am) to go into work to prepare, ducking out for an hour of running, then straight back to the office for the rest of the shift.
- having to schedule runs with the pram around kids' activities, sleeps and commitments.
- wanting desperately to go to a weekly yoga/pilates class but lacking time/money or having husband travelling...so it just doesn't happen.
- having to push a pram into a headwind while running
- having to stop on runs to break up fights in the pram
- just plain feeling like there's not enough hours in the day!

But you know what?  I committed to this and it's completely my own doing.  It's a choice and one I know I will not regret.  It's one I hope to be proud of for the rest of my life.  It's a way to be a positive role model for my kids and to help encourage them to live a healthy and active lifestyle.

I am thankful every day for my health and the opportunities I have.  The marathon is less than 7 weeks away and I'm going to stop my pity party now and just get on with it - I have running to do!

Cracking the 30km (but a niggle along the way)

It's been an interesting week of running, with getting into new territory in a couple of regards. I headed out for a run last Sunday, after a really solid week. I'd had a "rest" from long runs, with my longest an easy 15km. I thought I'd just finish up the week with a quick 8km. Well, I'd only gone about 2.5km when I got a niggle behind my left knee. I pushed on, but it turned into a twinge, which became a pain and I had to stop. I gave it a stretch and kept going, but I soon realized I should stop. It didn't hurt to walk, but I couldn't run comfortably on it. I've never really had a running injury before, so I just wasn't sure what to do!

When I got home, I iced & rested it, and it felt pretty good. I put it down to running too many days in the week (it was run #6, and even though a few of those were only 5-7km, it's more sessions than usual). I didn't run on Monday, then went to my usual Tuesday morning speed session. I was pretty cautious to start with, but got through the 1km reps easily & the knee didn't trouble me at all - yay! I went on to do a good-paced 10km on Wednesday and another 5km on Friday and while I felt the occasional twinge, there was no pain.

Saturday brought the next challenge - breaking the 30km barrier for the first time. I felt mentally prepared to tackle the distance and made sure I fueled up well during the morning. Dean & I set out together and decided to just head out towards Scarborough for 15km then turn around. I felt great energy-wise and mentally strong as well. It was nice to follow different paths and have new surroundings to take it. Dean was again feeling tight in his hamstring and we had a couple of short stops for him to stretch.

From about 20km onwards I knew he was doing it tough and before 23km, he had to stop. It was so disappointing for him to not make the distance and I'm making him book into a physio or osteo this week to get it checked out. As I left him, I knew I'd just have to knuckle down and get those final 7km done. 3 of those were across the Hornibrook Bridge, which is long and boring and tough. I just went into robot mode and made it home to clock up the 30km in about 2 hours 45, a time I was really happy with.

My knee held up fine - again, I could feel it niggle every so often, but it didn't hurt or affect my technique. However, it has been a bit sore ever since, especially going up & down stairs. I'm hoping it's just general soreness and won't affect my training this week. I'm so happy to have reached that milestone & know that the mindset hasn't been an issue. I have a few aches & pains, but except for the knee, they are all my usual spots. It's 7 weeks until race day, so this is really crunch time for training and I'm feeling very much on track! Here's hoping for a pain-free week!

Nutrition for the Long Run

Since doing more long runs, I've come to realise how important nutrition is for fuelling us runners.  It's not just about what you consume on the run (like gels or jellybeans), but before and after is really important too.  I've been doing a bit of reading and found some great tips - I encourage anyone doing long runs to read up a bit and make sure you're helping your body as much as you can by getting the right fuel into you!

I'm a bit of a no-frills runner, so I'm not into fancy concoctions or over-the-top methods - but I am into whole foods and real foods, and getting back to basics (as you can read here at my other blog!)

I've had to be careful not to use long runs as an excuse to go crazy and eat anything and everything!  I need to get out of that "reward" mindset and stock up on good fuel, rather than eat too much chocolate, "because I've earned it" - it's such a trap!

Most of my long runs (which have been between 2:00 hours and 2:45), have been in the afternoon/evening, so I've had all day to prepare and eat well.  For morning runs (and especially on race day), I'll follow this same kind of regime the day before, and try and eat something pre-run too.

So, I thought I'd share an example of my usual long run day menu, and some recipes with ideas for other great long-run fuel!

Breakfast: porridge with banana and/or frozen berries, coffee OR muesli & yoghurt
Morning tea: apple and/or whole-wheat pumpkin muffin
Lunch: brown fried rice OR home-made wrap with chicken & salad
Afternoon tea (about 1 hour pre-run): dry biscuits with peanut butter & honey and/or banana (pictured below)
Dinner: whatever's on the menu!  Something like Indonesian Beef or Chow Mein or Moroccan Apricot Chicken or Sweet & Sour Chicken.

Brown rice crackers with peanut butter, honey & banana

I hope that gives you a few ideas about how to fuel up with good, nutritious, wholesome food.  I really notice a difference when I haven't been eating well - and I feel so much better when I do!

Speaking of long runs, after chatting to my intraining coach, I decided to have a "rest" from long runs this week.  So that meant waiting until next week for my 30km, and instead doing a 15km this week.  I really wanted to do parkrun, but didn't have many other gaps in my schedule, so I decided to put the word out and see if any parkrunners wanted to join me at Sandgate for a pre-run 10km (then to do the usual 5km as well).  There were 10 of us who did it and it was fantastic!  Running with others meant it was a breeze - I was so busy chatting and enjoying the cool morning and the stunning sunrise, that I barely even thought about the run!  It was nice also to then do parkrun at a steady pace (I had the pram for that final 5km), rather than get competitive and bust my guts like I usually do!  Overall, I did the 15km in 1:20, an average pace of 5:21.  It really was a wonderful start to the weekend :-)

Some of the dedicated Sandgate parkrunners who did the pre-run 10km (then the 5km too)

Two Months To Go: Getting in the Flow

Well, it's been a super busy couple of weeks and I've simply had to prioritise family, running and work, which means other things - like blogging - have had to take a back seat.  But reflecting on my training, I realise that I've actually had some real achievements.  And with just two months tomorrow until the Gold Coast Marathon, it's a real confidence boost to see all that training paying off!

Firstly, I smashed my PB at parkrun the week before last.  I was running it without the pram for the first time in a few months, so I was really curious about what time I could achieve.  My current pram (with 2 kids) PB is 23:52.  We had great conditions - a perfect, cool morning with beautiful blue skies - and I just got out there and ran for it!  I wasn't totally fresh, as it was just 36 hours after running 26 kilometres, but I just picked a lady in front of me and stuck behind her the whole way.  I finished in 22:33 and I was thrilled with that!  Yay!

The following week (last week) I got some good sessions in - I'm just loving running with intraining on a Tuesday morning.  It's a speed session, but is different every week, and I love being around other runners, meeting new people and mixing it up!  Anyway, it was a tough week, with my 1-year-old a bit under the weather and he'd been waking up a lot in the night.  I got to Wednesday and had heaps of excuses NOT to go running.  But I just made the decision to prioritise my run and decided to push myself and do a fast 10km.  It's not a distance I do very much lately, but I really enjoy it - so I took the kids down to the waterfront and went for it.  I beat my pram PB (set a few months) ago, and ran it in 54:08 - I was so happy to get under 55:00!  Double yay!

Friday came and it was time for my weekly long run.  This one was 28km and marked my 4th week in a row of a long run, each 2km further than the last.  Each time, I'm noticing the recovery is SO much easier and the mental battle is lessening.  The first couple of long runs, I would get to the end and literally feel like I couldn't run even 2 metres more.  But now I'm just feeling so much better at the end, and like I have a bit left in the tank.  So I set another distance record and recovered really well!  Triple yay!

Unfortunately, it's not all smooth sailing.  We had a wonderful family weekend away up the coast, but I was really undisciplined with my eating (it's so easy to use the excuse of doing so much running!).  We got back today and I knew I had to knuckle down and go for a run.  I did 10km, but I felt so tired and sluggish.  It really is so important to fuel your body with the right foods.  I run so much better and have so much more energy when I've been eating well - lesson learnt!  My time today, without the pram, was slower than my 10km with the pram last week (admittedly, there was a really strong headwind for half of it).  It was not fun, but was a just punishment for eating too much crap.

So, another week down and less than 9 to go until the big one.  I'm looking forward to pumping the pavement some more, putting some delicious and nutritious food into my body and doing a long run of 30km.  Stay tuned!