Go Hard

Post marathon I didn't have an exact plan regarding my recovery. I just went with the concept that I should know my body well enough by now to do what was required to recover. Also at the back of my mind, I didn't want to detrain to the extent that I felt like I was restarting. There was a bit of hope of being able to take some fitness gains from the marathon itself. At this stage I don't know how much of that I have achieved. Since the marathon itself I have only done whatever I feel like and nothing of what I don't. The only other criteria I put on myself was to stay clear of any sustained threshold style running. Currently that is something that really eats into my recovery abilities. So over the last couple of weeks I have got in a couple of weights sessions, a swim, a few very low intensity runs of up to an hour, one 2 hour easy run and two sessions of very short and fast intervals. Every few days I've noticed an increase in energy. The aches and tightnes...

Like every other aspect of my racing I do apply a drinking and carbohydrate strategy during the race. The best way to describe this is cover what I actually did during the race and give some reasoning along the way. The carbohydrate loading leading was covered in Carbohydrate Loading - Melbourne Marathon . Pre-race: 2.5 hours prior to race start: 60g cornflakes 150g peaches & pears 200ml low-fat milk Espresso 500ml Gatorade  This topped up my liver glycogen stores that get depleted during the overnight sleep.  The timeframe allows everything to settle and pass through my stomach to minimise the risk of gastrointestinal problems during the race. The water within the gatorade combined with the hydration strategy as part of the carbohydrate loading over the previous days should have me adequately hydrated for the race start. 45min prior to race start: 300mg caffeine 10min prior to race start: 200ml water This was preceded by a 15 minute easy war...

Post marathon my brain took a break from training, as did my body. An easy swim and a very, very slow run was thrown in at some point. It wasn't training, just something to loosen up. Otherwise, my exercise has consisted of a few walks with the dog and family. On Sunday, it was good to be on the other side and support my wife in her first fun run in 17 years. Despite taking note of the winning times and thinking I could have beaten those, it was even more enjoyable than I was hoping. It was good to see others get excited in the same way I do. Soon enough I'll get to answering some questions that have been asked about the marathon and my preparation. This will also include a bit of analysis of what went wrong and what went right in the build up. This week, I am getting back into some regular, comfortable training. Future plans are still up in the air, but there are a few thoughts bouncing around inside the skull. Recovery has been surprisingly exceptional. At this stage I think ...

Experience played a very important role this time around. The time on the clock was far from my original goals. I had overcooked myself in training so the final few weeks were no where near what I believe is required for a good marathon. Fighting the green snot that my family kindly shared took something away from an optimal condition. These aren't excuses, just the couple of negatives that created some obstacles. On the other side there were many positives to be taken from this marathon. My pre-race thoughts on pacing can be found in: Pacing - Melbourne Marathon . The carbohydrate loading went to plan ( Carbohydrate Loading - Melbourne Marathon ), and I found myself feeling full and energised. There is a certain look to the body on race morning when this goes to plan. I had that look. In the taper ( Short Taper ) I completed the least amount of training that I have ever done in a taper. This was because I fighting the germs making there way around the family and I still required ...

Yet another topic that can have more opinions than participants. I'll keep things relatively simple. This is my plan as it relates to me. It is the carbohydrate loading plan I have followed many times over the years. I have tried other modifications, and results seemed to be at least less than optimal. Mainly I follow the guidelines from the Australian Institute of Sport. There is a lot of evidence, research and practice behind these guidelines. They are well tested. However, there is a little bit of extra detail to go beyond these guidelines. AIS - Carbohydrate Loading Fact Sheet . Depletion Starts on Monday with a run of approximately 80-90min, which includes 30min at or above marathon pace. This should tap slightly into the stored muscle glycogen, and set up the body for some mild to moderate carbohydrate depletion. My diet from Monday to Wednesday will be relatively low in carbohydrate. The focus will be on protein dominant foods. The calories will also be relatively low for m...