Finally the snow disappeared, and I was able to get back into training shoes - heavenly light after nearly two weeks of running in boots! Again, I exceeded the planned training mileage, and this Sunday's long run (nearly 11 miles) was in only 1 hour 41 minutes. 3 weeks ago I ran 10 miles for the first time, in 1 hour 47, now I've run a mile further in 6 minutes shorter. If I can add another mile and reduce by 6 minutes every 3 weeks for the next 6 weeks, that's the half in 1 hour 29! Unfortunately, I've only got 5 weeks, but anything like that rate of improvement will knock spots off my target time.
I seem to be vacillating between unreasonable optimism (see above) and a certain despondency that I haven't yet covered 13 miles in 1 3/4 hours. So, I need a backup plan. Checking on last year's results, 2nd in the over-60 class was run in 1 hour 42 by Colin Tether, number 613, so look up photos of last year's race, go through them until I come across number 613, and clock what Colin Tether looks like. Admittedly, out of a field of 540 in last year's event, one person will be difficult to pick out, but there won't be that many that look old enough to be in the over-60s. So, if I can pick him out, stick to him like glue, and outsprint him, as long as there isn't more than 1 new 0ver-60 coming up from the under-50s, the podium is mine!
Something else that I need to check up on is how glycogen loading works, to plan my pre-race diet. Come to think of it, I have another race next Sunday, so this week would be a good time to experiment. Googling "Glycogen Loading"...
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That book that Katherine got me (and that I think she keeps borrowing from the Library) talks about glycogen loading in great detail and also tells you the meals you should be eating months weeks and days before a race. I haven't tried it yet but the science of it seems sound.
I googled it for my information, and Wikipedia has the following:
[edit] Without depletion
In the 1980s, research led to a modified carbo-loading regimen that eliminates the depletion phase, instead calling for increased carbohydrate intake (to about 70% of total calories) and decreased training for three days prior to the event.[1] Most athletes now follow this modified regimen, and it is recommended by many coaches, although there are some athletes who still follow the original carbo-loading regimen.
[edit] Short workout
A new carbo-loading regimen developed by scientists at the University of Western Australia calls for a normal diet with light training until the day before the race. On the day before the race, the athlete performs a very short, extremely high-intensity workout (such as a few minutes of sprinting) then consumes 12 g of carbohydrate per kilogram of lean mass over the next 24 hours. The regimen reportedly resulted in a 90% increase in glycogen storage.[1]
Another website gave similar information, but with the addition of the warning that do it too often, and the body will get used to the trick, so you should use with caution. So I'm just going to use method 2 above for the Ironbridge 1/2, and save future uses for anything else serious.
For a 1/2 or full marathon, it seems to be well worth doing, but the number of calories that you'll be burning on the DW means that it probably won't make a lot of odds to you - you'll have to keep feeding during that!
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