Preparation for Bramley 20

Well, it feels like it’s been a bit of a lazy week. Usually, I go for LRR’s social run on a Thursday evening (often topped and tailed with a return run to Oasis Academy), but I thought I should taper before Bramley 20, so I didn’t run this week. Yesterday, I worked from home, which meant that I didn’t go swimming, but I did manage to fit in my Friday evening yoga class. It feels like my flexibility is rapidly disappearing, so maybe I should start doing yoga on Tuesdays AND Wednesdays at work, instead of just on Tuesday lunchtimes. I love the relaxation benefits of yoga, but am wondering whether some of my swimming problems are a consequence of the fact that I breathe very slowly.

Southampton parkrun

Today I did Southampton parkrun. The intention was to run with Lou, who was aiming for 32 minutes, but I started chatting to Neil and ended up speeding up a bit. Then I started chatting to Alice and Maz, before dropping back to chat to Tim and Caro. I finished in 30:48, but I’m not too bothered as I didn’t want to push too hard. It was run 94, so I think I’ll finally get to 100 on 30/04/13. It seems like it’s so far away at the moment! On the positive side, today marks my 50th volunteering effort – go me! Next weekend, Tony is pacing Kirsty and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to hang on and get my first sub 26 at Southampton.

Nutrition

At the moment, my diet is perhaps my biggest challenge. I keep intending to be good, but fail every time. I drank a hot chocolate after parkrun, had brie and cranberry sandwiches with Ellie and then ate some chocolate in town. Tomorrow, I must sort out a nutrition plan for the week… and I must resolve to stick to it.

Preparing for Bramley 20

Tomorrow’s challenge is Bramley 20, which is one of the Hampshire Road Race League races. Six Ladyhillers have entered the 20 mile race, so I’ve a strong chance of finishing in the B team! Last year I completed the race in 3:02:44 (9:08 min/mile or 5:41 min/km). As I rarely do parkrun in 28:25 these days, that now seems unattainable. The good news is that I managed to complete an 18.6 mile run on my own in Portugal, so I’m confident that I can do the distance, even if the speed is poor tomorrow.

I haven’t spent time preparing my favourite long run breakfast (carrot cake porridge), so I’ll probably have date and walnut porridge which is my current favourite. I’m undecided about how much to eat. For years, I’ve been eating 30g porridge a day, but am wondering whether eating 50g would stop me from snacking later in the day. It may not be wise debating this before a long race as I don’t want to end up with runners’ cramps tomorrow. I’m also debating the merits of agave nectar. I had thought it would be better than sugar/sugar substitute, but according to some accounts I may as well eat corn syrup. Maybe I should use honey. Any thoughts?