PRE RACE JITTERS

It's no secret that I'm pretty nervous about running the London Marathon. I'm not a fast runner and as a result I'm not that confident when it comes to races. It can be demoralising when everyone around you seems to be taking about 3:30 marathons or under and you know you'll struggle to do it in 4:30. But then again, someone who's expecting 5:30 might want to throttle me. 


Going to the Expo and registration at the Excel centre was a chance to see just a handful of the runners who will be pounding pavements with me on Sunday, but rather than make me unsettled to be in the presence of those more dedicated, hardcore and fit than me, it made me feel more prepared. 


Everywhere there were stands selling things - kit, trainers, massage equipment, massages, energy gels etc. I realised that on the whole I've put myself in the best possible position with my training. My Dad has run quite a few marathons, so I have him to got to for advice. I have a personal trainer (who ran the Brighton marathon last week) and has worked with me for almost 9 months, nagging me about my nutrition, stretching and giving me the tools to look after myself. Because of my personal trainer, new fangled gadgets on sale at the Expo like the Magic Stick, The Grid and the Trigger Point kit are all well known to me already. My trainer also encouraged me to start experimenting with energy gels early on, so I'm all prepared on that front too with a massive stock of Cliff Shot Bloks and Gu gels. And I even have a sports massage every fortnight which has helped look after the increasing stiffness in my legs, which find it difficult to keep any decent equilibrium when I'm running on them at least 4 to 5 times a week. 


I have also tried as best as I could to stick to my schedule - of course I missed some sessions due to work, tiredness or injury, but I altered my habits quite drastically to squeeze the runs in - not drinking, not going out on Saturday nights, running home from work and forgoing socialising etc. I only missed on long run during the whole 14 week training schedule, and that was because I was limping from a tendon problem. 


Perhaps I'm nervous because I know I've prepared. I've done everything I can do. Which just leaves me to accept that on the day, if anything goes wrong, I can't beat myself up about it. But that might be harder to do than training to run this thing. 

Energy Gel Experiments - Results

Well, it's been a month and I've had 4 long runs in which to test these energy gels that I bought from Runners Need. As I've said before, I'm not a massive fan of energy gels, but I recognise they work and all I need to do now is decide on what I'll be taking with me when I run the Virgin London Marathon. 


Power Bar are made by Nestle, so they are out, which is okay by me because they're not unmissable. Shotz seemed to give me a stitch every time I tried them, so I've discounted those, and Torq had the worst consistency and taste of the lot, like a midway point between congealed sports drink and a science lab. Ick. 


I really do like the Gu consistency and will definitely use them because they seem the most effective at giving me that burst of energy (am thinking my last 45 minute of the Marathon), but I must say that Clif Shot Bloks are also great. They come in packs of 6 and you chew 3 to 6 every hour, and I say chew, because they are like cubes of jelly from the packet, with slightly less give. Unlike gels, you don't end up with sticky fingers and I know it sound stupid, but they give you something 'do', because chewing them takes a while. They only sell Mountain Berry, Strawberry and Orange in Runners Need, but as I hate hate hate orange and strawberry when they're not in their original forms (jams, ice cream, cordial drinks) I'm stuck with Mountain Berry. Their website shows more flavours...perhaps I make use of my parent's trip to NY next week? Another bonus about Shot Bloks is they also actually taste like human food too. As in something that might consume if you weren't running non stop in the rain on a Sunday morning. Which can only be a good thing in my book. The Limehouse 'loop' is where I expect I'll need these, as it's the one area of the course I know less well than any other, and when I don't know where I'm going I tend to perceive distance as much longer than it actually is...anything to keep me going. 

Energy Gel Experiments

I've only just relented and started using energy gels. It's lovely to find out that they do actually work! Where I used to seriously flag around the 10 or 11 mile mark, I now take an energy gel and find by mile 12 I'm full of beans again. It's no longer the actual act of running that I find difficult, but keeping the energy in the tank. 

My first foray was accidental - Power Bar gels, given away with a triathlon last year that turned out to be made by Nestle. I try never to buy Nestle products, so even though I found a flavour I liked (green apple),  I won't be repeat buying. 

In Runner's Need I decided to scoop up a selection of other gels to try over the next few LSD runs to see what suits me best, because I'm a bit picky with fake flavourings. Cliff Shot Bloks got the thumbs up from my personal trainer, so I will be trying them next week, but on Sunday I tried the (recommended in the shop) Gu energy gels. I was told that many runners had found them favourable, and I'd have to agree. The have a slightly gloopy consistency that funnily enough is not unpleasant - if anything if kind of gives you something to work with, almost chew, not just a runny liquid to knock back. I tried the Jet Blackberry and Tri Berry - I think Tri Berry is the better of the two. See - these are the empty packets...no running and littering for me. 

Once I've got through these after another 3 or so runs I'll report back more fully. If you have any tips or recommendations, please let me know...