Recently, I have changed my energy gels from GU to Hammer nutrition. At long last, there is a shop on the 1st floor of Penang Plaza, "My Triathlon Shop" that sells the whole range of Hammer products. And it is cheaper than GNC even after discount. They sell from gels, recoverite, and a wide range of Hammer products. As usual, the energy gels come with caffeine and non caffeine. I have been trying out for a few long runs and it works fine for me. The shop also sells compression garments and fuel belts and other stuffs for endurance athlete.
Link to Hammer Nutrition. If you need to know more about Hammer products.
 |
| My Triathlon Shop and Hammer Products |
After a number of weeks of shorter long runs, it is back to those really long runs. My last longest run is 26.5km on 5 August after that I have been tapering down for my Green Run/Larian Hijau and Bali trip. Gettting to those runs above 21km is really getting to be difficult. My 26.5km run is pretty torturing. My body has still not adapt to the longer distance. After the run I just went home. Shower, eat and just lie down the couch with my legs up for a period of time and in between taking naps.
My last Sunday, I did 28.2km and 55km for the week. My longest run and the most mileage for a week. But it was fun. And my body could hold up better this time. I wanted to start at 5.30am but after wasting a bit of time only started about 5.54am which is pretty late since I know I will be running close to 4 hours. My body felt fairly strong for the first 22km but the pain in the legs starts after that. It is like when I was trying to run 16km the first time. However, the energy level is fine and fatigue did not kick in. Most important of all, the mental toughness is still intact. It started to rain heavily after 20km for about 3km and it reduce to a drizzle. The rain was most welcome. If not I would have been roasted. As it was already past 9.30am and it will be really hot. The timing of the rain was just perfect for me to continue the training. The last 4km I summoned my kick butt songs from my IPod to finished my 28.2km run.
Early in the morning when I started my run in the dark, I was listening to Marathon Training Academy(MTA) lastest podcast on the interview with ultramarathon man, Dean Karnazes. He is such an amazing person. The last question that Trevor from MTA asked him was "No matter the distance we know that the mind is important to the success of a runner. When someone's body is telling them to stop and the mind is telling them to stop. What practical advice do you have to keep going and where do you dig for the last bit of motivation?" The answer is quite surprising to me at first. Dean Karnazes answered "You know what I tell people. Be in the moment. Be present. Don't get ahead of yourself. Don't look for the mile markers and exacerbate the suffering. Put on the blinders. Don't think about the mile markers. Don't think about the finish. Just thinking about putting one foot in front of the next to your best of your ability. Think about the hurt. Think about the pain. Be present. Sense everything. It's amazing how this will get you through the low points." His answer really helps. Then I realised that I have been doing it all the time especially when I go hiking. I just concentrate on the few steps in front of me and try not looking up. Before you knew it, you have reached your destination. The same strategy applies here.
 |
| Two of Dean Karnazes Books |
To complete my marathon training plan,I still have to endure the 30km, 32km and the last 33km which I know I can after the 28.2km last weeekend as my body is holding up well after that. However, for the marathon, we must respect the distance. 42km is still a long way to run ...
The Marathon Journey continues....
No comments:
Post a Comment