Lucky 13

It's becoming very real, two and a half weeks to go!  Received race pack with program and ticket for registration.  I'm actually running an ultra-marathon!  

blue route is the 100km race

This was the last week of increased training at 104km/ 65mi.   Another week of good mental focus and solid performances.  Intervals, as per normal, started shaky but once in motion, the stars aligned.  Long runs, well, 73km in 2 sessions within 24hrs finishing last 30min near MP and with no major injury, that says enough!

Now it's taper.  This is the point where I (and I think most competitors) begin to question their training: 'did I do enough miles',  'what if I had done this instead', 'does missing those couple sessions make a difference' and 'will I have what it takes on race day?'    Advice I've received on this is simple, if you were consistent, hit all or almost all of the major sessions and make it to the start line with no major injuries, you're ready.

Along with the taper comes focused visualization.  Sitting quietly for some time imagining race day, the good times, the bad ones and the unexpected.  How you will react, and most importantly, how you will overcome.  This is relatively new to me, so unstructured, but I plan 10mins before bed four days per week.

With the visualzation will come goal times.  I've had a relative idea of my goal (under 10hrs, preferably 9hrs), but now that I have the race pack with times from the last couple of years, I'll make concrete targets.  To be posted soon.


H&N - 62kg/ 136.4lb and bf at 10.2%, on target.  Still clean diet, not yet at desired comp, so won't be giving in to cravings for soda, fried food or sweets (at least not until after the race!).  I'll cover race day nutrition in a future post.


R&R - Still on 8-8.30 sleep most nights.  Not skipping any stretch sessions, at least 1hr per day including foam roller and tennis ball foot massage.

No major injuries, but after 73km over 24hrs, hard not to have niggles.  The main concern is left hamstring and calf.  The back left side of the hamstring and outside of the calf are "off".  Not race ending "off", but they don't feel right and they get stiff after sitting for a while.  So, frequent icing and rearranging the schedule to get Wed and Thu off from running.  We'll see how it feels Fri morning.

Week 12

It's getting better and better!  Great week of training, 97km/ 61mi, topped off with a smashing 3hr 15min long run.  I finally started taking salts on my long runs and the extra hydration gave me a kick.

Even with great training, I can sense the exhaustion in my legs.  So, training plan has been altered: 1) remaining 7.5min HMP intervals reduced to 1km intervals and 2) removal of an interval session in the last week to bring the last long runs forward and add an extra day of rest.  At this point, these changes shouldn't affect fitness over 100km and hopefully the extra day of rest helps.

Also, you'll notice the inconsistency with the bike and yoga sessions.  Quite a disappointment, but I can't wake up early enough on non-run days to get these in (either heat, volume or a mix of the two).  Point to note for next training cycle.

H&N - still around 62kg/ 137lb and 10.6% bf.  Weight good and bf heading in the right direction again (pheww!).  Sticking to clean diet.  As mentioned, I've added salts during my long runs to boost hydration.  

Also, after testing Savas, Carb Shotz and PowerBar gels (drumroll please), Savas Pit In is the winner.  A couple reasons for Savas: 
a) cheaper - 50yen cheaper per gel on home country advantage
b) larger - will need to take less given 68g/ 170cal vs. about 45g/ 110cal for the others
c) easier - screw off cap w/ plastic nozzle miles easier to open and take vs. tearing for the others
d) mild flavor - subtle flavor goes smooth late in the run when my stomach wants no more gel

R&R - Sleeping is up, around 8 - 8.30 per night.  Again, I think it's a mix of the volume and Japanese humidity/ heat.  Back on the tennis ball-foot massage, and it's lovely!

Intervals - another good round.

Long runs - Monday was very mentally focused which helped maintain good cadence.  Tuesday, pushing mental barriers!  3.15 with last hour MP, it was awesome.  Wanted to slow during the last hour, "focus on this km, right here, right now, see after this km,"  next, "hit 10km and see how feeling" finally, "5min/ 1km left to full hr MP, why stop now?!"  I'm going to need a lot more of that for Tango.

Swimming Inspiration

First, Annaleise Carr, a 14yr old Canadian, recently completed a 31.6mi solo charity swim across Lake Ontario for charity.  She finished in about 27hrs.  Amazing!  Read more from Annaleise's site or CNN article.

Second, Diana Nyad is again attempting the Cuba to Florida swim.  You can follower her on twitter, @diananyad.  Would be amazing if she made it this time!

11 Down

Finally back on solid ground.  Another absorb week with 78.4km/ 49mi.  Feeling better after US trip which took more out of me than I expected.  Lesson learned for future training/ traveling (back off a bit!).

Anyway, a good week of training.  Mentally hesitant before both interval sessions, I was concerned the sluggishness from wk10 would continue.  How wrong I was!  Somehow, someway, a mental focus like never before came to and I nailed both sessions.  Set a good tone for the last 6wks.

Weather is still hot and humid (over 30C/ 90F w/ 80%+ humidity) but seems to have peaked.  Evenings are cooler and hopefully it'll cool off a bit for Tango Ultra.

H&N - just over 62kg/ 137lb and 10.9%bf.  Weight down and bf WAY up!  In addition to week in the US, I've fallen prey to cravings.  Same as peak training for Ironman last year, I've started craving soda and fried food.  I allowed post-run Coca-Cola (160ml) but held off on the fried foods.  Well, I'll be cutting the Coke and going back to fully clean diet for the last 5 weeks.

Given peak training and sluggishness, I've added vitamin supps (vit B, C +iron and D) to help my body  battle fatigue, boost the immune system and manage all the sun.

R&R - Generally still on 7hrs sleep except one or two days a week when I get 8-9hrs.  Again, hoping this combats the recent slowness.  Sticking with post-long-run naps with legs in the air and not much compression gear (too hot!).

Lots and lots of stretching, minimum 1hr per day.  It's doing the trick because still no sign of injury.  However, I'm slacking on the tennis ball-foot massage, need to get that back.

Intervals - nailed.  As I said, mental focus, felt awesome.  BANK IT!

Going long - not as good as interval sessions, but definitely better than week 10.  Something 'off' in my stride, but overall feeling better.


4.5wks to my first ultra.  Can't wait!

Norseman Xtreme Triathlon

The Norseman Xtreme Triathlon, arguably the toughest iron-distance triathlon on the planet, took place last weekend.  With some stunning Norwegian scenery, competitors start swimming in the fjords and finish at the top of a mountain, about 5,000m of climbing.

This year marks the 10th anniversary and ended with course records for both the men and women.  Keep reading: full race report or race website.

Catching Up

Ahhh!  It's been a crazy few weeks including a trip back to the US to visit family and friends.  Here's a quick catch-up.

TRAINING

Week 8 
A less than stellar absorb week.  I had been feeling run-down so was excited to get the extra rest.  But, I ended up with a few late nights, and so exhausted that I skipped one of the long runs (a virtual sin in my books!).

Week 9
Time in the US but didn't miss a beat.  A few training highlights: 1) wonderful scenery, farmland for miles and long periods without seeing anyone or anything other than nature and 2) smashed Tue's long run with 1hr MP ending the run in a different world having pushed so hard.

Week 10
Back in Kobe and kept on schedule but suffering from something.  The intervals were ok and then both long-runs were awful.  Legs were heavier than they've ever felt, and by a large margin.  3hrs Mon and 2.45 on Tue, both above 6min/ km pace (over 9min/ mi), well off my usual long-run pace.  I think it's a mix of travel and increasing distance, let's hope it clears up in week 11.

H&N - at wk 10, weight 62.7kg/ 138lb and 10.2% bf.  Weight up a bit and bf slightly down, so overall still happy.  The week at home busted through the clean diet (about 10 drinks and a couple sweets), though I expected it (have to stay flexible to stay sane) and don't think it'll derail body comp goals.


OLYMPIC TRIATHLON

Fantastic races for both men and women.  The women were first and it came down to an amazing photo finish.  Then, Team GB's Brownlee brothers delivered as expected with Alistair taking gold and Johnathon bronze.  The men's title was decided on the run where Alistair split a 29.07min 10k!  While olympic distance triathlons typically fall short of the full 10k (allowing jaw-dropping splits), the race director insists this was a full 10k.  Wow!

Read more by clicking the pics above.