Post-marathon Planning

What I’m going to do after the marathon is over:
Give Stéph a sweaty kiss
Drink a litre of powerade
Put on compression socks
Try not to lie on the ground (but fail)
Collect my winner’s cheque (wishful thinking!!)
Fall asleep in the car
Soak in a hot bath for an hour
Eat a huge bowl of pasta
Eat a whole chocolate cake (with ice cream)
Enjoy a light massage
Fall asleep again
Wake up with jet lag
Hurt (legs really painful)
Realise where I am
Smile (pain goes away)
Fall asleep a happy man
Take a week off running
Plan the next challenge

Another great run tonight – 10 miles in under an hour. Started with a fast three miles (5:37 miling), then into a comfortably four miles (6:11 miling), then finished it off with two miles at threshold (5:31 miling) along the sea wall, and finally 1.5 mile warm down (7:07 miling). Nice cool breeze around Vancouver now as autumn approaches, although that didn't stop me from going topless.

I’m feeling very good and surprised with how effortless my body can just adapt to running quicker than six minute miling. I guess when I stopped all the heavy mileage and focussed on shorter but quicker training for 5/10k racing it’s somehow paid off. The trick now if not to overdo the faster workouts and then blow up before the marathon and go in feeling tired.

To top it all I’ve cycled to and from work every day this week – that’s a round total of 83 miles (135km) – which will have given me some aerobic assistance and helped to loosen the muscles following the hard running. Having biked home and then gone training each night I’ve often felt a bit of fatigue lingering in the legs, so hopefully that will been beneficial come race day.

Right, 11:30pm and I’m shattered – bed awaits and then up to Whistler tomorrow for the day with the parents. Might squeeze an early 30min loosener in before we go, otherwise a day spent resting won’t do me any harm at all.