Nutrition - lots of lean protein and general good diet to avoid piling on the pounds
Stretching/Foam rolling - Stretch regularly to prevent stiffness
Rest - lots of rest and some light runs.
Who was I fooling? From Sunday night I started stuffing myself with all sorts. It started off with chicken sandwiches (good) but as the week progressed it descended to burgers, pizzas, pastries, icecream, chocolate - I just about stopped short of eating lard!
Similarly the stretching etc. went out the window, although I did manage a 3 mile run last friday. It felt like I was carrying a rucksack!
Went for beer Friday night (complete with obligatory kebab and chips to end the night), and off to Copenhagen on Saturday to catch up with friends who I had been avoiding for fear they'd lead me to lead myself astray during the marathon buildup. Sure enough there was a food festival on next door to their apartment. After a pølse (huge sausage) I spotted an Italian dessert stand - (Censored)
As the Eurovision con songtest was on in Copenhagen that evening, my original plan was to head into the city to check out the buzz. But in the end I just had dinner with a friend who's running the Copenhagen Marathon this coming Sunday. He broke 3.30 for the first time last year so is hopeful of knocking a few minutes off this year.
The one area I have been diligent however has been rest, thankfully my sleeping pattern has returned to normal. It's clear (to me at least) that it was partly the knowledge of needing more sleep was preventing me getting any. I also think that when my body weight get's below a certain level it affects me in terms of mood and sleep. So while it's OK (I think) to do it short term, I'll be trying to stay close to but above 60kg for the rest of the summer. Besides I've also come to the conclusion it doesn't make as much difference as I think. Especially if other areas suffer as a result!
I drew a line in the sand on Sunday as I ate my last snegl (rolled pastry snail with icing). From Monday I was getting back down to it, not back into full training but back into the mindset at least.
One week & 6kilo's later!
So with this in mind I went for a light run Monday evening. Even though my pace was 8.30min/mile, it still felt better than Friday's effort. On Tuesday I was moving apartment (again) and decided that I needed to collect my bike, which I had abandoned at work months previously. I ran from the new place and the tailwind inspired me to 20minutes at 7.40pace, wow!
The Cork Masters T&F championships are on Sunday so I knew I needed to do something "fast" this week to see if I was up to it and also to loosen out the legs. Decided that Wednesday was the best day to give it a go and despite motivation being pretty low I managed to drag myself to the track (which happens to be 500m from my new gaff).
After a brief warm up, basically a jog over I got going. The plan was to do 8x400m with 400m recovery. This was n't a proper session hence the long recovery.
Started off with an 86second, which isn't a whole pile quicker than Marathon pace! The next one was 80 flat followed by 79,78 with the remainder all 77's. To me this suggested the session had had the desired effect of loosening out the legs some bit. I originally had lofty ambitions of a PB (9.16) in Sunday's 3K but now I think anything under 10 minutes will be fine. Besides it's a race so I'll be racing the other oul' fellas rather than the clock.
This evening I'm heading back to Copenhagen for the Danish Cup Final and to catch up with a buddy. 'My' Danish team won the league on Sunday last so are aiming for the double. No doubt I'll be having a slight relapse as I'm sure there'll be a pølse or two and maybe a few beers consumed!
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