46k Training … Exhausting!

Last Saturday I set out to run a nice bike route near my home. It’s mostly flat and would lead through a forest, some suburbs, the countryside and canals.
As I’m training for a 6h run in July, I needed to add some extra distance to my long run. This route was 44k, so perfect!

As you all know, preparation is everything for running this kind of distance and durations, so I layed out everything I needed to make sure I had enough supplies.
The weather got me doubting what to wear but I settled for my Tribesports outfit.
The short sleeves could end up being a problem, but I took my chances.

Preparation is key!

The route started about 2 miles away from my doorstep, so I took the bike there. An extra 4 miles wasn’t exactly what I needed at this point and in the end it would give me the opportunity to ride the stiffness out at the way home.
At the start there was a nice sign with the entire route mapped on it, so after a quick snap of it for some aid (you never knew…) I set out.

The entire route at the start/finish point

The first 21k/13mi passed at a reasonable pace. I ran consistent (6min/km=9.65min/mile) which was the pace I hoped to average on in the end.
Combined with a heart rate between 130 & 135 I felt good and strong.

Charming suburbs

Some nice piece of forest

 

 

 

 

 

The route was changing enough and pretty enough to be interesting, which helps a lot on these looong runs.

After the first half I felt my energy sapping.
The plan was to eat a date every 2km and something stronger (chocolate, meli-koek, piece of gingerbread) every 8-9km, but I felt I needed to adjust this to every 5-6km or I would be drained way before the end.

Just lovely sights!

Crossing the BE-NL border!

 

 

 

 

 

At about 30-35k I felt everything getting harder and harder.
My hip joints were getting sore and my knees were getting more sensitive. The breathing and the muscles however were still cooperating very well.
This all changed at about 38k.
I hit the wall. It wasn’t a big wall, but it was a wall none the less. My emergency caramel gel were promptly put into my mouth along with some gingerbread and a good deal of water and after struggling about 15min I felt it got slightly better.

Running next to the canal (watching out for bikers ;-))

But the best was behind me… I already knew at about 35k I would end up doing more than 44k (I was back on familiar terrain) and the last 8k I was struggling.
Not that I was totally kaput, but my heart rate was consistently at about 140 and my pace had dropped almost 30s per km.
To add to my “luck” the weather started getting worse, wind started swelling and was in my face, I got into a rain shower (short one, about 5 minutes) and I because of this all, my arms were getting cold. (this may sound more dramatic than it was.)

But I just kept going  and ended at about 46.5k.

Timing at the end.

I ended up eating/drinking:

  • 40gr of oatmeal with 250ml water and 1.5 bar of black chocolate for breakfast
  • 22 dades during my course
  • 2.5 bars of black chocolate during my course
  • 4 pieces of gingerbread
  • 3 meli cookies.
  • 2l of water (slightly too little, my head hurt in the end)
  • 0.5l of water during my stretching
  • 1 bar of chocolate during my stretching
  • 0.5l of recovery drink (protein)
  • 1 recovery bar (protein + carbs)

The aftermath is great, yesterday I wasn’t all that sore, but I was tired.
Today the same, no soreness, but I could have used some more sleep… But tonight I’m aiming at another 20k, heavy week 2 out of 3 is starting!

PS: If you’re interested in live updates, you can always follow me on twitter…

 

How was your long run? Seen some nice things during?
Ever ran a layed out route (for bikers)?

Golden legs?

Not even a week after writing down I keep track of my Training PB’s, I get to adjust one.

My previous record in 2015 of 90 minutes in Zone 1 dates to only 2 weeks back, which made it my all time training PB as well.
It was the same pace as the previous one, but my heart rate was a tad lower.

See it at Endomondo or Strava.

Now, my avg heart rate was the same, my percentage in zone 2 is higher (8vs13%), but I crushed my PB with 12s/km.
That’s amazing if I may say so myself. (Endomondo / Strava)

I started running and couldn’t believe my Garmin.
First 3km were fast (<5min/km), but usually my pace drops a bit after that distance. But now I managed to keep up with it all the way through.

The weather was perfect though: sunny, but not too hot. Wind to cool down, but not interfering with my speed. And since it’s a vacation period in Belgium, there were a lot of tourists at the dike near the sea (my usual running spot), which caused enough diversion to keep me mentally occupied.

All in all, a very good run was had 😀

powered by EndomondoWP

Fighting The Scale … Forever

Although this is a topic that has been discussed a gazillion times before I thought I couldn’t let it pass on my blog.

The scale… That dreadful scale!

I’m not heavy, nor do I want to claim it, but none the less is the struggle with the pounds just as real.
On my about page you can see my ‘before running’ pics and more recent.
I lost roughly 5kg (10 pounds) with running.
5kg that I gained once moving out of ‘Hotel Mama’.

Even now, after 2 weeks of being only semi-active I have gained 1kg (2lb).
I eat healthy, I don’t snack an awful lot, but still…

So I’ve decided to try out MyFitnessPal to see where my flaws are.
Plan is to just enter everything now and after a week or two look for food to cut 🙂

 

 

Do you struggle with your weight too although eating healthy?
Do you hate it as much as I do (duh ;-))?
Ever used MyFitnessPal and have pro’s or cons?
Hit me up below!

Road To Marathon Brabant 2013 – The Decision

Marathon.
42.195 kilometers.
26 miles and 385 yards.

As you can read in short in my About page I have gone from zero to marathon in less than a year. Which means the journey towards it has been full of anticipation.

At first I just liked being active and getting in shape, but soon I found out I actually liked running.
Running gave me a certain calm and gave me time after a busy day to clear my head.

So after training for a couple of months I found out running goes well for me. I see improvement, but start to stagnate.
Time to find some theory that can support me.

I started reading up on Long Slow Distance, watching your heart rate, make sure you don’t produce lactic acid in slow runs, minding your posture, stride, foot landing, … and started putting it in practice.
This wasn’t always easy (I’m sure some post will once go about my cursing on midfoot landings), but I did see I was getting better all the time. Sometimes barely noticeable, some weeks I amazed myself.

After my 5k race that started all my trainings (read the recap here) I wanted a new challenge and decided I wanted to go for the big leagues: marathon!

After some talk with the Mrs. I decided to undergo a medical screening, lactate test, vo2Max test etc. so I could decide if I was built for it, wouldn’t crash during race day and if our joined schedule could find the time for all the trainings.

The calendar got filled out, the appointment at Mensana set for the medical part and just like that the decision got made for sure.
I was going to run a marathon.

How my training went? I’ll write about it in a not so distant future.

 

Have you ever run a marathon? How did you decide about it?
Have you taken a medical exam as well? Why (not)?
If you haven’t run one, do you want to?

Review: Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12

Intro

I’ve decided to review all of my gear starting with my oldest stuff.
This way I hope to help people should they need pro’s and cons for running gear.

First up: Shoes – Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12

This purchase dates from some years ago (Christmas gift :-)) and the shoes aren’t for sale anymore in the common stores.

Specs

  • Weight: 323 gram (=11.4 oz)
  • Profile (Heel): 35.7 mm
  • Profile (Forefoot): 22.9 mm
  • Drop from heel to forefoot: 12.8 mm
  • Price: Not relevant anymore, but I spent about €130 back in the days

Personal experience

First off, note that is a neutral shoe, which may differ with your own feet. Over- or underpronation require different shoes!

The shoes, as you can see in the specs, have a fairly big drop, which means your heel will be higher than your toes. When you are into minimal running, stay away from it, as this is nothing for you.
Plus side of this big drop is the cushioning in the heel, which is great for paving the asphalt.
Biggest downside however is that this makes it harder to land on the middle of your foot or in the front. You will easily be pushed towards a heel landing.
The cushioning catches this, so all-in-all it’s not that of a problem, but if you’re working on your running form and foot landing, I’d suggest a shoe with a smaller drop.
Last for the sole, it has a medium stiffness. Nothing much more to say there…

unfortunately, I have sweaty feet. So breathability always is an issue for me. This is not something you can test by wearing the shoes in a store for a test run, so it’s always waiting for my first long run before I can judge.
The Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12 does a good job about it. I never completed a run where I could wring out my socks. And when running into the wind I could sometimes even feel the flow going through my shoes.Sadly, this automatically means it is not waterproof. Not even one bit. Running in the rain? Wet feet.
Running early in the morning through the grass? Wet feet.Not noticing a puddle? Wet feet.Good socks help you with this and I don’t mind wet feet, rather wet feet from the rain than from the sweat 🙂

Aside from sweaty feet, I have wide (fore)feet as well. This often means choosing another shoe simply because I would rip the fabric in the front.
GTS 12 is wide enough for me, so no issues there.

For racing I would advice against them. They are too bloated. A shoe with less weight, smaller drop, less cushioning would improve your race.

In term of months, I wore them for a long time, as running was only a ‘when-I-Have-the-time’ thing back then. But I think I wore them for about 1200km (750 miles).
Which is a nice average for a running shoe I’d say.

In summary:

I would definitely advice this shoe for a starting runner as it is a nice basic shoe with a lot of support in the right places.
Once you get more experienced you automatically will feel if a lighter shoe or more/less drop or … would serve you better.
Brooks is an established brand that is widely available, so finding a similar shoe shouldn’t be all that difficult.

Rating

  • Weight: 3.5/5 (4/5 only for training)
  • Cushioning: 4/5
  • Stiffness: 3.5/5
  • General feeling: 4.5/5
  • Short run (sub 15k) rating: 4/5
  • Long run rating: 4.5/5

My Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12 at the end of their life cycle