The main thing is keeping the main thing, the main thing

I always thought I done a decent job of carb loading - but I guess I was wrong.

It was actually great to get this done 5 weeks prior to Dublin - It certainly gave me food for thought on carb loading and prep.

The aim is to get 8-10g or Carbs per KG of weight - so I'm 80kg= 640kg-800kg!!!!

I used 'MyFitnessPal' to track it - So my biggest carb day day (664g) went something like;

Breakfast:

Porridge - 60g= 39g Carbs

3 slices White Blommer Bread = 60g carbs

Lunch:

100g pasta = 60g Carbs

Mars Bar (1st in about 3 years)= 23g Carbs

Dinner: Large Pizza = 142g Carbs (this is contentious as you can only process 80-90g carbs per hour, apparently)

Snacks: Remainder of the carbs

Many pancakes (lots of carbs in small pancakes) - had many of them.

Fruit Loaf - plenty of it.

Maurten drinks + solids

Tailwind Drink.

Carb drinks are your friend in Carb loading - something I haven't done too much of previously.

Friday 23rd: Easy run - 4.34m / 8.13 pace.

Sat 24th: Easy run - 4m / 7.59 pace.

Sunday: Long Session - 40k at MP+20

I'm going to go into some detail for a training run as I ran 40k at sub3 pace and didn't cramp or get any signs of cramp. Apologies.

So the thought process here is that you run for 40km for your Goal Time (2.50) - this worked out for me at 6.50 - a nice round number equivalent to a sub 3 time.

Fantastic - so I have to run, untapered, the vast majority (40k) of a Sub 3 marathon on my own and do it without Gels (coaches instructions) And I decide to do it on the DCM Route.

So From Thursday, I was carb loading, treating this run as a Marathon. I managed to get decent Carbs into me on all 3 days, leaving off from Sat about 3pm (Pancakes are great to get carbs and not feel full - as are carb drinks).

My 2 daughters were playing in the Dublin Intermediate Championship Final on Sat evening - so after doing grocery shopping, walking the dog and running - I went along to watch. Its always a strange experience having to pay to see your family play football. Thankfully they won!

This meant broken sleep as they returned at 3am - but I cant begrudge them this, they love GAA still at their age (19 & 22) - it was well deserved. I smiled while I slept.

Anyway - I got up at 6.30am - cleaned up my new puppys mess - fed the pair of them (dogs not daughters) had my own breakfast - Bagel, banana & coffee with a Maurten 320.

What I didn't do this time was fill myself with salts. I took 1x160 Maurten on Thursday (0.5g Salt) / 1x tailwind on Sat (0.6g salt) / most of Maurten 320 Sun morning - this is in stark contrast to prior marathons where I'd have multiple salt tabs, Electrolyte drinks etc.

I did not consume too much water in the build up - not too much salts bar the above.

Summary: Good Carb loading (600g per day) / Not too much water (normal amount) / not too much salts apart from 1 drink per day with 0.5g salt

40k Run:

I Drove and parked in Mountjoy Sq and done a short 400m warmup to Fitzwilliam Sq - I thought about doing a 5 min 1km warm up & cool down - to make a sub 3 - but that would be ego driven - so didn't do it.

Got right into it and hit pace quite quickly. Mile 1 was 6.50 followed by a downhill mile of 6.35.

The next few miles were uphill and to take 2k off the run - I turned down OS Road and didn't go up to Myo's. The hill at St Laurences Road is a curse at pace (my pace here was 6.48 but my GAP was 6.32 - so need to watch that).

The hardest part in the entire 40km was after the Dolphins Barn turn - Crumlin Road - a curse - a slight headwind and at this stage I had my only demons about finishing and I was only 12 miles in (Mile 12 on this road was my slowest mile at 6.56 - it also included a stop to change Podcast and check where the turn was :) ) ). I kept telling myself that this stretch is short and we turn off it and its mostly downhill - I knew the Rathfarnham 5k was on - so that gave me some inspiration to know I'd be running past that.

Once I turned at Walkinstown I felt great again - having to slow down at times - I did have to stop a couple of times to consult the map - despite running the route last week.

At this stage - I took a swill of 'Cramp Fix' - I tried these in Seville last year - but only when I got cramp. Today I took them at 3 intervals - didn't swallow but spit - 'oh matron......behave....' - apparently you don't have to swallow - its the tongue receptors that signal the brain.

I'll admit - this part of the course gets me and I did have to consult my phone a few times - mostly on the run, so didn't pause time too much.

Next few miles flew by - Ciara Mageeans interview with Citius Mag was the best thing I've listened to in a long time - shes a gas character.

The Clonskeagh Road is a terror - its a decent climb at this stage and culminates with the left turn to Roebuck Road and the climb that awaits you.

Main point about this climb - you can slow down on this - its short - you wont lose too much time by slowing pace by 20-30 secs per mile if needed.

I dont think I lost too much time here - I kept my gaze on the traffic lights at the top and just made my way to the top. Turning onto Fosters ave and smiling at the times I had cramped on this road in the past - today - not even a semblance of a cramp so far - but I was running at MP+20 secs.

Running down Fosters Ave was a joy - I knew I wouldn't cramp and this would be a big victory for me, albeit on a training run.

I still took some Cramp juice here and remembered that I had 2 'soft flasks' in the pockets of my under shorts - they had gone unnoticed - I took a mouthful in Phoenix Park - but forgot about them until now - took some water on here for only the 2nd time- about 21m in.

The fly over, Nutley Lane, past the RDS, it was only when I reached Ballsbridge did I start getting a funny feeling in my quad - it went pretty soon as I got near Haddinton Road - I flew past the traditional DCM finish line as I miscalculated the distance in my route planning and had to do a lap of Merrion Sq - Finishing was a very sweet feeling.

40km / 2.48.37 / 6.47 pace

Delighted with that, yes there were some stops involved, but it was solo on DCM route, untapered - btw - Swashbuckler will be happy to know that I wore the AlphaFlys and they were great.

This run fills me with confidence - cramp was my biggest fear - it dodn't come - was it the +20sec off goal pace, was it the 'Cramp Fix', was it the lack of OD'ing on Salts and keeping my body in balance chemically?? Not too sure - but I hope I have the confidence to replicate it on DCM Race Day.

Great trainer. **** racer.

My gravestone.

I wasn't at all focused on calories on the 3 days leading upto the 40k run - just carbs - looking back on it it looked like;

Thurs: 3400 Cals / 458g Carbs

Fri: 4393 cals / 664g Carbs

Sat 2992 Cals / 555g Carbs (didn't load too much in evening.)

The intention is to also get upto 200g Carbs at breakfast on race day e.g. 3-4 pancakes, 1 Maurten Drink / 1 Gel.

I think on Marathon week - I'll have it better planned out what I'll have for BF - the advice to plan it in 2 hour chuunks was also helpful.

Monday 3rd Oct: Plan was for 40mins easy - body felt depleted - managed 36 mins with a few stops.

Tuesday: 4th Oct: Back on it today - not a traditional session but a steady run inc some strides.

Pace hovered around 7-7.10 for the 50 mins of steady running - 5x30sec strides to finish.

Wednesday 5th: 45 mins at 8 min/miles - down to the PP and back.

Thursday 6th: Session: 1,2,3,2,1,2,3,2,1 km at MP - 1km float at 7.20

I seen this on paper and thought it looked handy enough - given previous sessions I had done (e.g. 3x7km off 1k float / 15x1k HMP) - so took the opportunity to do this on a lumpy route.

Ran from the house down to the PP, 1.5m of this was a WU (7.30 pace felt great) - went down the Upper Glen Road and up the S-Bends, up Wellington Monument Road - makes me laugh that even when you go downhill in the park you have the S-Bends & Military Road to contend with.

At this stage I felt fantastic - MP was comfortably faster than 6.30's and the recoveries were at 7's or faster - I turned at the Quays to go up Stoney Batter on a 1km recovery and went up at 6.55 pace - things started to turn from this point!

The NCR was full of people, so a good bit of weaving and dodging - I went into the Park and past Garda HQ - the headwind noticable at this point and I was all of a sudden struggling.

Up chesterfield, done a loop of the 2m Route at North Road and then down OS Road and onto the Furze - had to stop and take a Gel on the last 3km rep as I felt a bit dizzy and the rep pace was declining to 6.40's got back going with the plan to run by effort and went back up C'Field and up Castleknock Road to Myos - turned left and crested the high point of the DCM route - still had to finish the final 2k rep and done so about 1m from my house - took an easy 1k jog and decided not to do the final 1km rep - the effort levels were high from the headwind and the hills (bad idea) - got home and the stomach was in a bad way - took some water on and about 5-10 mins after my shower I was violently puking it all back up.

This has happened previously - high effort levels with the headwinds and a dicky tummy, probably not enough water or fuel for the session as well, I was fine afterwards and enjoyed my Pizza and a Beer :)

16.7m / 6.53 pace ave (inc WU/CD)