Ryan Linden
Running, United States

Powerblog

Halfway Home

Were to the half way point now 5 weeks done and 5 weeks to go till Chicago.  The last week brought some more good workouts and trip to Chicago for a course tour.  The week brought another good week of mileage of a solid 120 miles again nothing to crazy, but where things should be at this point, just enough to start to wear you down.  The week had 2 workouts plus a long run so a little more than usual.  The beginning of the week gave you a little speed session with some K’s on the track, followed by a long workout of 5x2miles back at Stoney.  The nice part about the track workout was it went by fast, but gave you a chance to get the legs going again and feel fast, something that is strange to come by in marathon training.  The second workout was 5x2 though the intervals weren’t long it was long by the number of repeats compared to so many other workouts we do that are around 3.  Both workouts went good, and were faster than usual so things are coming around as we start to approach the race.  At the end of the week we got to spend some time in Chicago for a couple days and do a course preview, something I highly recommend and comes to help out at the later stage of the race.  We spent the first day running the miles 1-12 of the course in the morning, and then in the afternoon we ran the last 4.  For the second day we drove out to the 6mile mark on the course and ran from there the last 20 miles.  Though this will be my 6th Chicago Marathon, doing a course preview always helps, and allows you to visualize the race beforehand so when things get tough in the race you are able to dig down and get after it.  In the weeks to come since seeing the course I will spend time each week visualizing the race, going over it in my head at nights and on the daily runs, so when Oct 10 comes I am ready to go.  Every week I have talked about being hydrated, but with the temps and humidity being so high last week I can’t stress how important it is.  During race day I will take in fluids before the race and then try to take in 8oz every 5k throughout the race to stay hydrated, and in workouts I try to simulate the same thing as close as possible.  Without the proper fluids your body shuts down and is not able to perform at its peak, and days when it is hot out it is even more important to keep the fluids in you.  My drink of choice is the new Powerbar Ironman Perform drink and for the last parts of the workouts/races I will add a splash of Red Bull to it for the extra caffeine kick.  So were now halfway home and things have gotten much better since marathon training started, now its time to build from here and look forward to the weeks ahead and their big workouts.  My advice for all of you getting ready for a fall marathon, study the course and make sure you practice taking your fluids during your long runs and workouts in the up coming weeks.  Best of luck

Posted By:Ryan Linden On 08 Sep 2010 AT 12:14 | 0 COMMENTS
Topics: General, Hydration

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LOCATION

Michigan, United States

NETWORKS

Running, Athletes/Active Lifestyle

ABOUT ME

Marathon Runner