Of Gummi Bears and Glucon D

When I first started training for a half Marathon, I discovered a very simple and effective solution for fuelling during the run - the very humble and down-to-earth Glucon D powder. This unassuming sports drink which has been around since the 1930s and with several special appearances during school "sports days" under its belt (I only used to have it, never took part in the actual sports day activities) is pretty sans-glamour but it does what it is meant to - spike the blood glucose levels for instant energy during intense activities... It did the trick, it was easily available, convenient to use and super pocket-friendly so it made sense that in this training cycle too, I would go back to my trusted fuel.

For an added hit of carbs during the run, in the past I've turned to Gummi Bears and that had also worked very well for me. I've read that the thumb rule for fuelling on the run is 30-60g of carbs per hour that you're running for. I suppose its not an exact science but I calculated that it worked out to about 15 gummies for my 2 hour run today.

So armed with my Glucon D and Gummi Bears, I set out nice and early for my run today, and it went really smoothly. I've recruited Dom to be my fuel Marshall on my long runs from here on out and its really sweet! He trails me on his bike and gives me my sports drink at designated intervals :). It really saves me from having to lug around the bottle with me and plus, I also get a body guard for the dark and lonely patches in my route;).

It has been over 5 years since I've done a 2 hour long run but still, the drop in my pace seems quite alarming. These days I find it a struggle to maintain even a sub-8'00" pace for longer durations. When I started this training cycle, I told myself its only natural and that the pace would pick up and settle over the next few weeks. But its been 8 weeks of consistent running and the pace doesn't show much signs of improvement. Back in 2018 16K in 2 hours was a slow day.. :) Today, I could just barely do 14K... 

The wise thing to do would be to not stress about it, continue keeping the pace easy and focus on just being able to cover the distance. Afterall, it will be a first. Now if only I can take my own advise.

(Almost) 8 weeks in

Just like that, another 4 weeks have slipped by. The 2nd block of my training is almost through. Encountered my first hiccup in the training when a week ago I fell ill with the flu. Things were going pretty well till then. I had completed my 90 min run in week 6 without incident and was feeling pretty good about the whole thing and then, BAM! Flu. I got over it in about 4-5 days - or at least I thought I had - but I guess I was pretty fatigued from the flu and I couldn't get through my long run for the week (the 1hr, 45min one). My knee started hurting about 1 hour into the run.. and for the last 30 minutes I had to stop and walk.

The week that went by has been better... my last run felt good. The knee was well behaved and now tomorrow, I nervously look forward to my 2 hour run. 

Even though the previous week was pretty much bust, it did give me a chance to look over old training notes, and catch up on some long overdue running-reading and it helped me realise that my runs have been getting longer, yet, I haven't really tweaked up my hydration or my pre, during and post run fuelling... This absolutely needs to change. Starting tomorrow. And oh, I absolutely need to get better with the strength training. (Yes, I know! We've been through this revelation before!)

4 weeks in...

As mentioned before, I've divided my training weeks into blocks of 4. Each with its own goal. Yesterday marked the completion of the first block. 

I considered Block 1 as my honeymoon block, the easy block which would be a nice segway into Block 2 - slightly more intense. The goal for Block 1 was for me to transition from 0 (almost) running to consistent running and by the end of it to build up to running for a duration of 1 hr. Happy to say that it has gone well. This 4 week period was important because the idea of running 1hr at a stretch was not too daunting but the task of running consistently was still challenging enough. I feel it probably wouldn't have gone as well as it did if I had set myself loftier goals of say, a running a 12K straight away.

My time "off" running certainly shows in my training though. It has affected my fitness and endurance levels and most visibly it has affected my overall pace. Whereas before I could comfortably finish 8.5K in an hour, it is now a struggle to even do 7K. I used to consider 7'45" as my "run-forever pace" (you know, the pace that you can run at which feels so good that you feel like you can run forever at that pace) that has now slipped down to 8'45" or even 9'00" I would say. I'm trying not to be too concerned by it. The main goal for this race is to just to complete it but ideally I would love to finish it in under 4 hours. I'm hoping as the weeks go by, my paces will improve.

For Block 2 (weeks 4 to 8) I have set myself the goal of building up to running for 2 hours. Its not unchartered territory per se, but the last time I ran for 2 hours was 5 years ago. So yes, I'm definitely a bit nervous about it but having managed to get through the 1st block, I do feel positive going into the next one.

Wish me luck!