noattentionspan

I have a plan for my run tonight, but admittedly it’s only half baked.

1. Leave work and get home
2. Feed/water pets and let them out to roam about
3. Get food in me and get ready to run
4. Bus to train station, train to bus, bus to UBC
5. Run in the trails with False Creek group @10km
6. Run home @22km

This would have me starting the run home from UBC at about 7:30 or 8pm at the latest. Even going slow I’m still home by 10ish, perhaps as late as 10:30.

We’ll see if I think better of this plan and don’t do it by the time I head running at UBC.

At anytime I can pull the plug and hop on a bus that will get me to the train that will get me to the bus that will get me home to my shower.

So, why would I do this anyway? A couple of reasons really. I have to run a freaking marathon at the end of Ironman. A MARATHON. I’ve only run two of those, neither of them were perfect, neither of them had me coming close to my goals. One of them was disastrous.

I’ve long believed that the idea of running a maximum of 30 or 32km in training for a 42.2km run is ludicrous. You wouldn’t train for a 10km run by only running 7.5km would you? Well, you might if your goal was to finish, but you wouldn’t if your goal was to do well and to do and be your best.

I know I lose steam when I get out into the long distances. I get bored to start with. I get mentally beat up, and physically my body gets sore and tired. My very best half marathon races have been when I was training above 21.1km. When I KNEW my body could take it for the distance and the time.

Mentally, if nothing else, it’s important to me to do a couple of longer runs, get my body up into the big numbers and see how it does. Then I will KNOW that I can do it without falling apart.

I imagine that with more marathon races I would be less stressed about this. I would have done the distance 5 or 6 times or considerably more, and I would be confident that I could hit my target and hold it together until the race was done, not until I was done

Barring that though, I want to push myself a little bit, get really tired and want to quit, but keep going (when safe to do so). Simple as that.

Second, I failed my run on the weekend. 20km into a scheduled 30km run I bailed. And, if I really want to be honest, I bailed about 11km in. I just kept moving for 9 more km. So, I need the extra distance. Easy as that.

So, that’s the plan, let’s see how it goes.

— end of day

Steps 1-4 above went off without a hitch.
Step 5 was close, I had one almost trip that yanked a little on my right ass and hamstring, but nothing serious. 8.15km.
Step 6 was also close. I. DID. NOT. QUIT. Oh, I wanted to. I even lied to myself and said that I would if I could only get to the next mark. 21km exactly from the Ranger Station to where I had parked my car at Royal Oak Skytrain Station.

I was sore (I am sore) and tired. I have a couple of blisters. My glute and hamstring on the right are aching. I was bored.

I didn’t quit

Total for the day, 29.15km.

I’ve done farther than that in training without a hitch and certainly faster than I did it tonight.

But 2 days ago I was biking 140 and running 20. I didn’t need a recovery break to do this. At the end I COULD have gone more (but I sure didn’t want to).

There was no fanfare as I pulled up along side my car and the garmin beeped for 21km, except for the fanfare in my mind.

I’m overall happy. And sore. And tired.

Stretch, more liquid, bed.

One last thing… What did I do to get myself closer to the start and finish lines of Ironman Canada today? I didn’t quit.

Nutrition and Exercise

0745
- Vector and skim milk

1100
- Large container pork souvilaki pasta salad

1325
- Mars Bar (240 cal)

1600
- Pudding Cup (100 cal)

— end of work

1800
- Gu Chomps (8 of them, 2 servings)

1830
- 8.15km trail run at UBC
- Gel after run

1930
- 21km run from UBC to Royal Oak Skytrain Station
- Gel during Run

2230
- Vitamin water

2300
- Bowl of pork souvilaki pasta salad
- Glass of juice