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It’s the final countdown: two days and I’ll be at the start line!

Three months of training, and we’re almost there. I had my last training run with the lovely N last night, so now its prep and packing for the big day.

My running buddy and I have opted to stay in Brighton on Saturday night for minimal stress, so the husbands and kids and family supporters are coming up en masse on Sunday morning. My daughter has put the finishing touches to her banner, I just hope I can hold it together at mile 19 when I see her cheering me on from the sidelines (sob).

Today, there’s a last minute bit of prep (ironing on my name to my running vest – please cheer us on if you spot us! Packing my bag and double checking I have everything).

I’m also going to do some yoga to stretch out my muscles – my favourite is Yoga for runners with Adrienne

Also on the list is to hydrate properly, so I’ll be carrying my water bottle with me everywhere today.

Today’s carb loading menu looks like this:

• Breakfast: Wholegrain toast, peanut butter and banana
• Snack: Bounce Ball
• Lunch: Crispy chicken salad with seeds
• Dinner: Quorn Spaghetti Bolognaise with garlic bread
• Snack: probably Turkish Delight 😆

I know to should be bootcamp today, but I’m giving myself a well-earned rest day. I’ll ask our friend Craig if he’ll share the exercises with us anyway (I’m sure he will).

Happy Friday lovely people.

Tahlia x

HOW TO HANDLE LONG RUNS

SO, let’s start with the good news…we did it! We nailed our long run last week, running a thigh-aching 29 kilometres (that’s about 18 miles). I feel like we might be ready for this marathon. My knees ache, my Achilles insists on clicking after every long run and I have a proud collection of beautiful sweat spots.

I’m going to be honest – 29k felt like a bloody long way. It felt like we were running for days on end (it was more like three hours). We took Percy Pigs and electrolytes to help with energy levels (and run into Burger King, drive-by style to grab an apple juice at kilometre 25, startling shocked lunchtime burger-eaters and the young boy behind the counter).

Anyway, despite looking like loony running maniacs, it got me thinking. This marathon lark is so complex – running is just the start of it. Just one element. You need to gear yourself up so emotionally, build your body up physically with training, and also understand your physiology to work out how much water, gels, carbs etc you need to keep going.

So, I started looking in to the science of taking on board water during a marathon. Should I just grab a cup at every water point (and risk of taking on board too much water) or should I put in place a strategy to drink a certain amount for each mile I run? It’s fair to say I’m pretty confused by the recommendations…

Well, research varies quite a lot! There doesn’t seem to be one particular method which is the best – if you take too much you’re risking your health, if you don’t take enough you’re also risking your health. Results can also be improved with the optimum hydration, but do you take in a measured amount, or just drink as you go? For runs totalling more than an hour, it’s a good idea to hydrate before and after according to an article from Runner’s World

However when it comes to longer runs, there is differing advice: some camps say you should work out how much you dehydrate on a run by measuring your before and after weight, and work out how much fluid to replace when racing – others, like this article I found from the London Marathon suggests you will need 400-800ml of fluid per hour (and also has a few good tips for maintaining fluid levels). The main takeaway is you must be hydrated properly at the start of your marathon – that doesn’t mean gulping down water immediately beforehand, but ensuring your water intake is sufficient in the week, days and hours leading up to the big day.

Ensuring you’re sufficiently hydrated is also key to great performance, and some articles also suggest that being insufficiently hydrated is as detrimental as not putting in the hours running beforehand.

Having sufficient Glycogen levels on race day is also important (Glycogen is a form of sugar that can be easily stored by our muscles and liver) and I found another article from Runner’s World which helped me to understand how best to approach this beforehand and on the day.

If you’ve been following the blog for a while now, you’ll have started to realise that I’m the slummy one in MIRL! I’m also not an athlete or a runner, I’m just a mum who set herself a challenge, and I’m not one to shy away from that. What I’m also not is a sports scientist, specialist or expert. So, I was pleased to find another article by Runner’s World called ‘The World’s Simplest Hydration Plan’, which says I can just go with my thirst. Grab a drink at the stations, and give myself 10 seconds at each water station. Being one for a simple life – I’m going with that option!

I’m always keen to hear your thoughts, so if you have any tips for hydration before or during the marathon, I’d love to hear your suggestions.

Happy Wednesday lovely people.

Tahlia x

It’s Bootcamp day (again!)

So, Tuesday rolls round again which can mean only one thing – Bootcamp! Today we mixed it up (actually, Craig forgot the gloves and pads) so we had a bonus circuits session instead. It was really challenging, great fun, and involved quite a lot of running so we burned more calories than usual too.

Today we did 1-10-1 which sounds simple, but is a really challenging workout. If you’re starting out, just work from 1-10 or set yourself a time limit e.g 20 mins and see how far you can get. Most of us managed to get from 1-10 an back to 8 – setting the benchmark for next time!

In other news – am running the 20 miler tomorrow with my running buddy. I’m absolutely bricking it (as my nephew might say) but have treated myself to a beautiful new water belt so I can rehydrate along the way.

download the exercise card here

I’ll keep you posted on progress tomorrow – wish me luck!

Tahlia x

PS: Thanks to those of you who’ve been following the plans with us! As promised, Craig is writing a custom plan for beginners so keep your eyes peeled, it will be ready soon!

Simple Running Plan

So, I mentioned previously that Tahlia has inspired me to get my running shoes back on. This I have done and it’s been far more enjoyable than I thought it would be!

Now, hands up here. I’m not a complete novice. I have partially trained for a Marathon and with the help of a local running club, managed to regularly rack up 11 miles. However, the Marathon dream came to a gradual halt when I fell pregnant and said a very big hello to bad hips.

That was nearly 8 years ago. So it has been a while.

After talking to several good friends (who run a lot) & looking at some plans online, I pinched the following stock programme which is I have to say, really working for me.

Last week I started this simple (but daunting!) Plan and was so chuffed with myself for doing 2km. The following run I upped my game and shaved off nearly 3 minutes. Again, although I know it’s not that great a distance, I was so proud of myself!!

This morning…drum roll please…I achieved 3km without even realising it (I was catching up with a friend who was running on the treadmill next to me!) and inadvertently ran/walked 3km in less time than I’d ran/walked 2km last week. This is the sort of plan I like. One that makes you feel good, has positive impacts and at the same time sees you hitting achievable targets! Give it a go…👍🏻

Next up, the 5 day healthy eating plan for the kids has begun. Last week we drew up a menu which I hope encourages them to try a few new things 🤞🏻

First on the menu was Tuna and Pasta bake. Easy you might think? What’s innovative about that? Others might wonder. Well, it’s been off the menu for a while in our house (see previous blog). My youngest PROMISED to give it a go. My Eldest couldn’t wait to have it back on the table!

Full of goodness, easy peasy to make (will add recipe card) and the sort of meal you can add extra elements to jazz it up, this just needed to make a comeback.

I served it with mini corn on the cobs and lettuce on the side. After eyeballing the plate for a few moments, the verdict was in….