So I'm 5 weeks away from the toughest running challenge I've faced a 40 mile Ultra on Nov 7th
I've posted and asked for advice regarding my training and was advised to do a marathon before hand
I had aimed to get a Chester Marathon place but it didn't happen so my fallback was heading out for 26.2 on my own...this is a summary of my attempt
So I woke at 6.20 I'd pre-prepared my stuff (2l hydration pack, 4 raisin and nut bars, caramac, 500ml flat coke, a banana and 6 pieces of salami cut into triangles split in 3 peices each) I was aiming to do MAF for the whole marathon (more on this later) so I get ready and am out the door start my warm up I set of running my route plan is below
I hit my first niggle with my right foot I've had few issues with my plantar I had to stop after 2 miles and use an insert in my shoe (helped massively) and off I went down to Widnes Victoria Park (5 miles) for the parkrun loop (8.1 miles) and then back the same route to Warrington Victoria Park (16 - 20 miles) for that parkrun loop and then up round to Asda and home (20-26.2 miles) typing it and even mapping it made it seem easy but it was far from it
My plan had been listen to Endurance Planet Podcasts and when the going got tough switch to some music I like (Disturbed) after Widnes I ended up switching to the music much earlier than planned and it really helped, I had aimed to eat and drink every 45 mins, I had a veg burrito at 6.20am (not my smartest plan but didn't repeat too much) I hit the the first two 45 mins beeps easy then my watch stopped beeping or they merged with the mile beeps so I worked it on time I would stop and walk briefly to eat this helped a lot
My furthest distance prior to this had been 18 miles which was a lot harder (partly due to not being prepared) I had attempted to try a new route the same time as doing my longest run (not the best idea) trying to focus on the right way to go didn't help also my legs and foot hurt a lot and my nutrition during the run wasn't mins managed, so this second attempt was much better
From mile 16 it started to get tough and a few walk breaks really helped so my main focus was to do the whole distance as MAF about 12 miles in I turned the HR alerts on my watch of not because I was over but due to it creeping up and it gave me a good feel for Perceived Exertion which I haven't use I still monitored the HR but didn't slow down if it went over 157bpm, you can see below how the splits worked out and the HR for each mile ( I'm very pleased with the breakdown splits are very good and only saw increasing HR above 157bpm a few times in the back 10 miles which is to be expected.
The one difference in doing a distance in training and doing it in a race IMO is the mind...albiet I've not done a marathon race (yet) but the principal is still the same in a race there is an official start and end point and you are supported through fellow runners, the crowd and aid stations this creates an atmosphere that will push you on knowing there is an end in sight, for me doing this distance I could have ended it at any point I could have quit after Widnes ( 8 miles in or at 20 miles in... I did feel like it both times but pushed it from my mind) it was a massive mental battle which I'm glad to say I won
Overall it was a very tough day but I enjoyed it, I set a goal for myself and achieved it I didn't do it for anyone else (any praise I got is appreciated but not the main focus) it was prep for my 40 miler and I feel much more confident about it now, I posted about it on a few of my groups including this one and my running club one and got some nice comments and even got a mention on the running club Twitter page which was a nice surprise
Final picture is on me just after I finished I rarely take selfies during training only when it's been a tough achievement and 26.2 miles on your own can certainly count as tough
Hope you've enjoyed reading
Thanks
