I guess that, during anything as difficult, or indeed long, as an Ironman training programme, it's inevitable that there'll be peaks and troughs; although I've had some tough sessions so far, I'd not had what I'd count as 'an absolute mare'...until today. Tonight I hit the wall.
Now, in the marathon, I've found the mythical wall that everybody hits to be less of a sudden, insurmountable object and more a 5k long swamp filled with treacle - enough to slow you down and make it hurt, but not to stop you completely. In IM training, however, it seems that the wall lands like a hammer blow right in the pit of your stomach and then tries to tear your entire body in two. Today marked the exact midpoint of the middle week of my training, so I guess if there's going to be a wall, then that's as good a place for it as anywhere.
Today was my long run day. Due to the extreme heat, this means a medium run in the morning followed by another slightly longer run in the evening. As I've said before, my body doesn't usually respond very well to running first thing, but the last couple of weeks that situation has improved and that proved to be the case again today. I flew around 14k at my heat-adjusted easy goal pace of 6:00/km.
This evening, it was going OKish until the 8k point (halfway for the night and 22k for the day). Then, it was certainly not going OK - in fact, Monos god of pain made a beeline for Dubai and landed slap-bang on top of me. I put this quasi-death I suffered down to one, or more likely a combination, of two factors...
Firstly, I started suffering hideous gastro problems. This isn't unusual for long distance racers (triathletes, runners. cyclists...whatever) as when you do endurance events, the body intelligently sends blood to the areas that need it most (i.e. the heart and muscles)...not the stomach, which closes down, which isn't good. I'm a bit concerned as tonight was the first time that I ran using the exact energy gel (Gu - chocolate and mint chocolate mixed with water - 100cals and 20g carbs per shot) that I was planning on using for IM and the exact sports drink (Gatorade orange thirst quencher - 100cal, 28g carbs per bottle) that'll be available on the course. However, I think my problems had more to do with a fairly hefty chilli con carne and sweet potato late lunch I had.
Secondly, just when we thought Dubai had reached maximum oven-ness, old Madre Natura decided to dial it up another couple of notches. It was 42C when I started running and 'just 40C' when I finished at almost 10pm. In these conditions, the body is working so hard just to, well, not keel over and die, that the rest is kind of secondary.
All of this said, a really bad session is only one that you don't learn from. I won't be having chilli before a big run again. I'll also try the gel/drink combo out on my 135k ride this Saturday - if it causes GI problems, then better I know now and try some alternative brands till I stumble upon one that suits. I was pleased with how I dealt with the setback - after a timely pitstop at a small shopping centre with a toilet, I dialed down the pace to little more than a jog and walked for 2 mins every 1k or so to take in fluids while walking rather than while my belly was jigggling about. Most importantly, after throwing up a couple of times, I finished the run - proving to myself that I've the mental strength but also that I'll be able to react to difficulties that pop up during the race. After the run, I also showed myself that I can down a 1.5l bottle of water in one gulp...impressive stuff, right?
The final lesson? Next week is my final easy rest week. From then on for the final month, there'll also be a focus on quality rather than pure volume. But simply put, I don't think much more than 20k a day is possible in these conditions. Anyone who's seen me train, race or, indeed, climb Kilimanjaro, knows that I'm not found wanting when (and forgive the colloquialism here) it comes to showing some balls. I love to train hard, I'll keep pushing my limits and, if I stop, you know it's because I've spent every last ounce I had plus a few more. I don't want IM training to be easy - it should be a right of passage, a test - I want to reach that finish line and for it to really mean something. But I'm aware that this attitude isn't always the healthiest. Tonight, simply put, did my body no favours at all and probably risked injury or illness. Idiot!
So, decisions to be made. I think I could eek a little more out of a morning run and maybe just get through an easy 10k in the evening on long run days from now on? Maybe (very reluctantly) the treadmill will have to play some role in long run days in future? Or, just as I've based my long run training on recent marathon trends for splitting the run into a morning and evening run, a lot of coaches are now prescribing two back-to-back days of quality, slightly quicker mid distance (i.e. 15k at 5.30 pace in this heat) runs...I think I'll give this a try in a couple of weeks' time.
For now, I'm just glad the day is over. Seven hours sleep then it's time to hit the gym for an hour on the bike...and tomorrow is a whole new day.
Now, in the marathon, I've found the mythical wall that everybody hits to be less of a sudden, insurmountable object and more a 5k long swamp filled with treacle - enough to slow you down and make it hurt, but not to stop you completely. In IM training, however, it seems that the wall lands like a hammer blow right in the pit of your stomach and then tries to tear your entire body in two. Today marked the exact midpoint of the middle week of my training, so I guess if there's going to be a wall, then that's as good a place for it as anywhere.
Today was my long run day. Due to the extreme heat, this means a medium run in the morning followed by another slightly longer run in the evening. As I've said before, my body doesn't usually respond very well to running first thing, but the last couple of weeks that situation has improved and that proved to be the case again today. I flew around 14k at my heat-adjusted easy goal pace of 6:00/km.
This evening, it was going OKish until the 8k point (halfway for the night and 22k for the day). Then, it was certainly not going OK - in fact, Monos god of pain made a beeline for Dubai and landed slap-bang on top of me. I put this quasi-death I suffered down to one, or more likely a combination, of two factors...
Firstly, I started suffering hideous gastro problems. This isn't unusual for long distance racers (triathletes, runners. cyclists...whatever) as when you do endurance events, the body intelligently sends blood to the areas that need it most (i.e. the heart and muscles)...not the stomach, which closes down, which isn't good. I'm a bit concerned as tonight was the first time that I ran using the exact energy gel (Gu - chocolate and mint chocolate mixed with water - 100cals and 20g carbs per shot) that I was planning on using for IM and the exact sports drink (Gatorade orange thirst quencher - 100cal, 28g carbs per bottle) that'll be available on the course. However, I think my problems had more to do with a fairly hefty chilli con carne and sweet potato late lunch I had.
Secondly, just when we thought Dubai had reached maximum oven-ness, old Madre Natura decided to dial it up another couple of notches. It was 42C when I started running and 'just 40C' when I finished at almost 10pm. In these conditions, the body is working so hard just to, well, not keel over and die, that the rest is kind of secondary.
All of this said, a really bad session is only one that you don't learn from. I won't be having chilli before a big run again. I'll also try the gel/drink combo out on my 135k ride this Saturday - if it causes GI problems, then better I know now and try some alternative brands till I stumble upon one that suits. I was pleased with how I dealt with the setback - after a timely pitstop at a small shopping centre with a toilet, I dialed down the pace to little more than a jog and walked for 2 mins every 1k or so to take in fluids while walking rather than while my belly was jigggling about. Most importantly, after throwing up a couple of times, I finished the run - proving to myself that I've the mental strength but also that I'll be able to react to difficulties that pop up during the race. After the run, I also showed myself that I can down a 1.5l bottle of water in one gulp...impressive stuff, right?
The final lesson? Next week is my final easy rest week. From then on for the final month, there'll also be a focus on quality rather than pure volume. But simply put, I don't think much more than 20k a day is possible in these conditions. Anyone who's seen me train, race or, indeed, climb Kilimanjaro, knows that I'm not found wanting when (and forgive the colloquialism here) it comes to showing some balls. I love to train hard, I'll keep pushing my limits and, if I stop, you know it's because I've spent every last ounce I had plus a few more. I don't want IM training to be easy - it should be a right of passage, a test - I want to reach that finish line and for it to really mean something. But I'm aware that this attitude isn't always the healthiest. Tonight, simply put, did my body no favours at all and probably risked injury or illness. Idiot!
So, decisions to be made. I think I could eek a little more out of a morning run and maybe just get through an easy 10k in the evening on long run days from now on? Maybe (very reluctantly) the treadmill will have to play some role in long run days in future? Or, just as I've based my long run training on recent marathon trends for splitting the run into a morning and evening run, a lot of coaches are now prescribing two back-to-back days of quality, slightly quicker mid distance (i.e. 15k at 5.30 pace in this heat) runs...I think I'll give this a try in a couple of weeks' time.
For now, I'm just glad the day is over. Seven hours sleep then it's time to hit the gym for an hour on the bike...and tomorrow is a whole new day.
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