Time to Taper

I can't believe it - the main part of my marathon training is done and dusted!!
I'm excited that I've made it this far, I remember looking at my plan all those months ago now and freaked out about 3 hour + runs and now I've done it and it's all over! Phew!

Saturday 14/06 was my peak long run. Unfortunately Lisa is still nursing an ITB injury (please cross your fingers and toes that she'll still make it to the start line!) so I was to run this one alone again.
I figured I should run somewhere different and scenic for my last super long run, so I decided to start from Mordialloc Beach and run along Beach Road to Brighton Beach and back. And somehow I convinced my lovely husband to ride along with me...the entire way!
Rain was forecast for the morning but I was so lucky to be blessed with clear, dry weather again. I have really been very lucky with the weather on all my long runs!
I wanted to hit 32-34km's, hoping to get it done in about 3 hours 15 mins. 
I found this training run mentally tougher than the previous week, even with Ronnie there motivating me along the way (he was amazing though, snapping plenty of pics and videos along the way). In the end it was long, slow run but I finally got out 33km's in 3 hours and 20 mins (approx. 6 min per km) which is slower than I'd anticipated but still only roughly 20 seconds per km off my goal marathon pace.

I was initially disappointed with this last long run but at the end of the day, I have to be happy that I was able to do the distance and am injury free! 
One of the many things I've learnt during marathon training is that there's no need for me to 'smash' out my long runs, this is something I have tried to do in the past when training for shorter distance. The body takes time to recover between long, endurance runs and the harder you go, the more time your body needs to recover so you can't back it up the following week or possibly cause injury. I've been advised by my coaches Mel & Bec as well as doing abit of my own research that long runs during marathon training should be at a pace you can hold a conversation at or 10-20 secs per km slower than marathon pace. So I'm trusting that and hoping I'll be able to step it up a bit on race day.

I've also decided to re-assess my goal in regards to time for the marathon, not due to my pace in my training runs, although it did play a small part but as I am by no means an elite or naturally talented runner, therefore I shouldn't be too hard on myself for my first marathon. 
(I know I said originally that I was going to do one and one only....but I'm not ruling out possibly running another one day!) 
So the goals I have now are to run the whole distance at a fairly even pace (ie. not slow down too dramatically in the last 10-12km's) enjoy it as much as possible (ie. not hit the wall!) and finish the race with a smile (ie. not collapsing in pain and exhaustion!)
I'll still follow a race plan that should get me to the finish line in under 4 hours which will be a bonus if all goes right and I get there! But I know if I focus on a time goal and things unravel (as I'm assured they often do in a marathon) and I don't get it, I won't enjoy the feeling of actually finishing my first marathon as much as I should!
So I'm now going with making it to that finish line - with a smile on my face!

Following my last long run, I started the taper phase of my training. Last week I started reducing my km's, and will continue to reduce it this week and into next week (Marathon Week!) but will be keeping the intensity of my shorter mid week sessions as per advice from coach Bec and including in short periods of marathon pace in my long runs. 

Last Saturday 21/06, Ronnie and I headed back to Anglesea for the weekend and I was lucky enough to do a 90 minute long run along the Surf Coast Trail in Torquay, mixing it up with some trail and sand running finishing with 5km's at marathon pace along the Torquay Esplanade. It was the most fun I've had during a training run, I just listened to my body and went for time (except for the last 5k's obviously) and as I said on my Instagram page (@bec_heskes) it was 90 minutes of pure bliss running along the cliff tops above Bells Beach on a perfect Winter morning! 

This weekend I have a 60 minute long run planned...I'm not going to know myself! And my last massage and dry needling session before the marathon following that.

So that brings me to today - 12 days to go and feeling good!!

Bec xx

Countdown is on!

Countdown is now officially on, can't believe it's less than a month to go now!
Since my last post, things have definitely improved, training is on track and my body is feeling as good as can be expected at the moment!

The recovery seminar which Mel ran a couple of weeks ago now was fantastic! Amongst a wealth of knowledge presented by both Mel and Ross Kinsella (sports physio from www.free2run.com.au), on recovery and injury prevention, we were shown how to use massage balls and foam rollers to effectively release tight muscles. I found, in particular, using a spiky massage ball to release my glutes have been amazing and I've been feeling the benefits in my long runs which is awesome!! I would definitely recommend getting your hands on one!

My new bestie - the spiky massage ball!

My last two long runs have been alot better than the last one I posted about, but not without their fair share of dramas!
Week ending 27th May (5 weeks out), Lisa and I had 2 hours 40 planned along the Dandenong Creek Trail from Bayswater to Jells Park and back again. I was intent on getting through this one as pain free as possible. I'd had my massage and needling on the Tuesday, changed some things up nutrition-wise in the days leading up (increased salt to prevent muscle cramping, cinnamon to improve glycogen storage, small meal including high energy carbs the night before etc. More about my nutrition later) as well a couple of small changes to my training nutrition (gel every half hour after 45 mins and Endura in my hydration pack) and had planned to get to bed nice and early. So I may have gone obsessively above and beyond to make sure I didn't have a repeat of the week before! 
Well - the run went well, we ended up running an extra 7 mins to complete 28km's and I was feeling pretty good the entire time, except for feeling a bit sore and tired for the last 5km's which is to be expected. But it wasn't without drama! One of my dogs had to be rushed to the Animal Emergency Centre at 10.30pm the night before after an accident and resulted in emergency surgery and a stay overnight. So suffice to say, I didn't sleep much that night and was almost going to pull out of my run but yet another benefit of having a running buddy - I didn't want Lisa down but she was lovely enough let me sleep in an extra hour and we ended up heading out an hour later than usual. 

28km's for my poor girl, Tarli

I pulled up pretty well and was stoked I was able to run hard on Monday's session and get back into FIRE training that week.

Last weekend (Week ending 8th June - 4 weeks out), Mel had suggested earlier in the week that Lisa and I try running on our own - we were both like 'hell no!" as we had a 3 hour run planned and neither of us were keen on doing that alone! So in the end we decided to keep running together til our shorter taper runs. Well, as fate would have it, Lisa unfortunately was unable to run due to injury so I did it on my OWN! 
Not going to lie, I felt sick about it the night before and almost didn't get out of the car on Saturday morning (it was dark and raining too...) but in the end, I got started, took me 6km's to find my groove and then just kept going! 3 hours later I was 30.74km's down and feeling pretty damn good about myself! It was the best paced run I'd done over 23km's so was very happy and it has been a massive confidence booster. So turns out Mel was right yet again, her intentions are only the make me stronger.
The running crew were running the Warby Trail from Seville that morning so Mel kindly dropped me off at Mt Evelyn half an hour before and I was able to run past some of the guys on their way back. They then all met for breakfast after their run and, almost as if I'd timed it perfectly, they were all walking back to their cars just as I was finishing. I was lucky enough to have a cheer squad help me finish off my last 700m. Was a great finish to a great training run!

I haven't spoken a lot about my nutrition since training for the marathon, I'm still following Metabolic Precision as I have been for the last 3 years, but have had to tweak things a bit around long runs. There's been a bit of trial and error involved to get the balance of high energy carbs right, too much and I start to gain weight, not enough and my runs suffer. 
I'm definitely not a natural born runner so I rely on good nutrition to fuel my runs, especially my long runs. I can always feel the difference if I haven't been putting good food in my body and that doesn't make for a fun time when you're running close to 3 hours or more! That last shocker of a long run was probably a combination of a couple of poor food choices earlier in the week (I recall pizza and cake for my MIL's birthday!), tight muscles and not enough high energy carbs around the long run. I'm pretty confident I have my long run nutrition on track now, as the last two runs have felt good for the most part. Obviously prior to race day, they'll be more emphasis on carb loading but for training purposes, this is what seems to be working for me, so I'm sticking with it! (This is in no way a recommendation nor should you follow what I'm doing, this is only what works for me)

Night before 
- After my easy 30-45 min run - Nuun electrolyte tab with water, small meal of brown rice, lots of vegies and 1/2 my normal serving of protein with himalayan sea salt, omega 3
- Small meal of cottage cheese, berries, omega 3 & cinnamon before bed

Morning of run 
- 2 hours prior - small meal of brown rice, 1/2 normal serve of Chobani yogurt, berries and cinnamon
- Pre-run - 1 banana, 1/2 scoop Bioflex Carbfusion, 1/2 scoop protein powder
- During run - Dextro Energy Tabs, 1 every 15 mins from 45 mins, Endura mixed with water, I've been carrying a maximum 1.5 litres in my hydration pack.
- Post run - 1 scoop Bioflex Carbfusion, 1 scoop protein powder, Nuun electrolyte tab with water
- Meals following run - 2-4 small meals including high energy carbs depending on how long my run was (I like to indulge in a brunch at a cafe if I'm feeling up to it, eggs/smoked salmon with vegies and sourdough bread)

Off for a massage tonight, can't wait! Got my peak long run this week then it's taper time - can't believe it!

Bec xx