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