Rapperswil early in the morning
the Storm is building up momentum
This was probably one of the most difficult weeks of my training. In many aspects it was a pivotal week. First of all this week I reached the halfway point of my training, I’ve now been training for 18 weeks and I have 18 weeks to go.
I was really feeling the strain from the increasing distances and last Sunday I had some pains that had me ‘worried’. They were small pains and by no means worrisome, but I had the feeling that if I was going to stress myself too much, that I would make these small pains into injuries. This is also what I mentioned in my last marathon post, so I really wanted to take it easier this week.
On Wednesday I felt so good again that I decided to chance it, I would take it easy and really listen to the signs. This I managed to do and it set the pace for the rest of the week, however I also had a speed training scheduled for Friday and I had to decided on the day whether I was going to proceed or leave it.
Then to finish the week off, I had another record distance setting run scheduled of 24 kilometers, so the big question that played with me throughout the week was whether I could/should do it.
I hope you enjoy this resumé of my runs.
A very warm lunchtime run and I had enough reasons to take it easy. I had been playing with the idea to rest another day, but I felt good and on the day of the marathon you can’t choose the conditions either. I was determined to take it easy and I managed to do that during the first few kilometres, but as I realised that the pains were staying away I increased the pace a bit to my normal pace.
Overall a good and stable run, no complications which is the most important thing. I had a lower spm of 156 with a maximum of 164, which just shows as well that all the focus was on lasting the distance and taking it easy.
Ready for my last run at my workplace
This was the last run at my ’workplace’. I’d woken up early again, probably as I was excited as it was also my last working day in the office.
Despite not having any signs the day before, I took it easy today as I had to last the distance and I had a speed test planned for the next day. I set off nice and early and managed to take it easy throughout the run. I decided to go up to the castle for the last time, but I took a different way up this time. Once I got there I took some pictures and when I set off on the way back I had the sun that was rising above the mountains in my back.
This run I really focussed on my technique and I really felt that it made a difference. The support of the swans and lambs underway also helped me extremely and was a nice going away send-off. Overall a nice average spm of 157 with a max of 213, but due to the high focus on technique I had a lower energy consumption and a nice average pace of 5:24 min per km.
Again, I had cute fans supporting me today
Today I had a speed-test set for myself, however I felt a bit tired and was a bit afraid it could inflame any injuries, so I decided to start easy and then increase it with each kilometre.
I managed to do this throughout, although it was very tiring. The low average pace of 5:24 is due to the 1 minute breaks that I had in between each kilometre, but the average spm of 163 and the high of 206 spm tells the story more clearly.
Another record, one I'm very proud of
This was a real test, another increase in distance. Last week I set a new record with 21,7 km and now I had to break it again to 24 kilometres. Off course my head was playing with me after the signs I’d had a week before, so I said to myself to take it easy and if there are any signs of injuries that I would stop and head home.
I continued the routine I’d started a few weeks ago with cereal and electrolyte before I would leave my home and I feel this really helps my during the long distance runs. Especially the salt and magnesium have a positive impact on me, I believe. I also did a light warming up and stretching and set off whilst having a strong wind in my face coming from the other side of the mountain.
At no point did I want to overexert myself and I managed to keep a steady and slower pace. I felt really good throughout and I never even had the fear that I might have to cut my run short. My other neighboor joined me for the last 7 kilometres, which I had a bit of difficulty to plan with and I was almost afraid that I might not make it in time, but in the end I was in time and we had a good and comfortable last 7 kilometres. To her I didn’t even give the impression that I’d been running 17 kilometres already.
During my run I’d planned 2 breaks, the first one after 8,5 kilometres to take some water, gel and a salt tablet and also to plan ahead that I would have my second break just before I would set off with my neighboor. So the second break was just to fuel up on gel and water. I believe these breaks are a real help and something that I’ll have to plan for properly on marathon day, so I could really use some advice from anyone who’s ran events before. How often and after what distances do you take a small break? Do you stop at every stand? I'm asking all experienced runners and especially those in the 
Overall I had a nice average pace of 5:35 min/km and an average spm of 158 which is a bit higher than my runs on Wednesday and Thursday and considering the distance a great feat. My aerobic and anaerobic signs were also surprisingly good, so I’m feeling that my body is getting ready for this. The best thing is, I was feeling good afterwards as well and I had none of the pains or signs that I had a week before.
Next week is going to be a rest week, where I won’t increase any distances but I let my body adjust to the strains I’ve been putting it on over the past several weeks. My Sunday run is going to be another 19 km run. Before I increase it again slowly to a new distance record attempt in 3 weeks time.
Here are my 4 longest runs in comparison with one another:
Conclusion
I took it much easier this week than I’ve been doing in the past and this really helped my overall. I realise how important nutrition and sleep are on my body and I felt the difference when I pay attention to these details. The past 2 weeks I’ve been having headaches after my Sunday runs. I’ve been looking into this and I’m not worried about this, on the other hand I am going to take some additional magnesium to help avoid these signs in the future.
17 weeks to go and I feel that my preparation is going really well.
Below is the schedule that I’ve achieved this far (in blue) and what I'm aiming to stick to (depending on my fitness, health and nutrition levels):
Thanks for your support!
The running community is for me one of the nicest and closest communities I've ever been part of and they've been really supportive and helpful. There are people with varying levels of experiences from beginners to coaches. If you're a runner or want to start running after my posts and want to connect with other runners to share experiences, ask for tips and/or advice, join us on our discord chat by following this link.
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🐺je
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