Marathon Training Update

Last weekend I did my scheduled 32K long run. It was very hard but it was a lot better than my previous long run - a scheduled 27K but I was only able to do a little over 25K. My wife even noticed that I looked a lot better than the last time.

So, what made the difference? Here's what I think.

Nutrition

1. During my scheduled 27K long run, I was also doing Maffetone's Two-week Test, which is basically a no-carb diet for two weeks. Bad idea when doing really long runs. This time, starting two days prior to the long run, I carbo-loaded and hydrated with Gatorade.

2. During my scheduled 27K long run, I started eating only after one and a half hours. This time, I started eating after 45 minutes, and every hour after that. Also, this time, I ate a whole chocolate bar (Choco Mucho Dark Chocolate). Aside from being yummier than Sport Beans or Nutri Bar, it made me happier and it made me look forward to the next meal. I based my nutrition schedule on this Runner's World article.

Pace

1. "Forget about pace, just concentrate on finishing the distance." Or something to that effect. Sorry, I forgot where I read it. I didn't check or compute what my pace should be, I ran what I thought will be slow enough to get me through the 32K. I also kept my heart rate way below MAF (Maffetone's Maximum Aerobic Function - 180 minus age). It only went over MAF around 24K, which was just about as far as my previous longest run.

2. I started a lot slower than usual for the first 5K. Fatigue occurred much later.

Psyche

1. My wife accompanied me for the first 18K, so I had great company.

2. I practiced all the mental techniques that I have learned.

3. For the first time, I listened to music on a long run. It actually worked in distracting me from the effort involved (I also read about this somewhere that there was research on this, but sorry I forgot where). But, I think I should not do this regularly to be effective because listening to music again and again will lose its novelty.

So far so good. The next two weekends are not long run weekends, so I have time to recover. My next long run is 37K on Nov. 13. It is also my last long run before the Marathon.