Happy Halloween for yesterday, if you celebrate it. I don't usually so had to do some research prior to my classes yesterday re: what it's all about, then thought I'd dress up to demonstrate a 'scary costume' for my students. It was a bit of fun.
I'm not long back from my LONG run of the week, and my final long run before my LONG running event next week too. This morning I ran 32.5km and it took me 3:10. I took my standard bag of fuel and liquids and all was well. This run was definitely harder and more of a challenge that that of last Saturday, but I got it done all the same. So, why was it harder? Well, the distance was slightly longer (by about 1.5km), but I don't think that made a difference really, as it was quite early on (say at around 24km in) that it started to feel 'hard'. Hmm, perhaps from all the extra running sessions I've been squeezing in lately? Maybe they are starting to add up and effect my legs. Plus, my breathing and lungs felt a bit weird - I hope this isn't a belated issue from the Beijing race from a couple of weeks ago (which you can read about here: http://runningthroughchina.weebly.com/blog/beijing-half-marathon).
One thing I definitely did differently this week however, was I used no music to try and distract myself: so it was just me and my thoughts for those 3 and a bit hours. Fine by me, as I have a lot of thoughts. I did this (the no music tactic) as I wanted to test my mental strength and train my brain to cope with running for long distances by myself. The result? All good, but slightly more of a struggle than with music, of course.
Here's the official picture - my longest distance prior to the 42km run next Friday:
I'm not long back from my LONG run of the week, and my final long run before my LONG running event next week too. This morning I ran 32.5km and it took me 3:10. I took my standard bag of fuel and liquids and all was well. This run was definitely harder and more of a challenge that that of last Saturday, but I got it done all the same. So, why was it harder? Well, the distance was slightly longer (by about 1.5km), but I don't think that made a difference really, as it was quite early on (say at around 24km in) that it started to feel 'hard'. Hmm, perhaps from all the extra running sessions I've been squeezing in lately? Maybe they are starting to add up and effect my legs. Plus, my breathing and lungs felt a bit weird - I hope this isn't a belated issue from the Beijing race from a couple of weeks ago (which you can read about here: http://runningthroughchina.weebly.com/blog/beijing-half-marathon).
One thing I definitely did differently this week however, was I used no music to try and distract myself: so it was just me and my thoughts for those 3 and a bit hours. Fine by me, as I have a lot of thoughts. I did this (the no music tactic) as I wanted to test my mental strength and train my brain to cope with running for long distances by myself. The result? All good, but slightly more of a struggle than with music, of course.
Here's the official picture - my longest distance prior to the 42km run next Friday:
Now FOOD, SLEEP, and MASSAGE are on my mind. Hopefully in that order, but I'm not too fussy. Here's a good, quick video re: some self-massage tips I just watched: http://www.runnersworld.com/injury-prevention-recovery/runners-relief-self-massage-techniques?adbid=10152394490781987&adbpl=fb&adbpr=9815486986&cid=socVID_20141101_34736497
Although, I think I'd still prefer a relaxing, non-DIY massage instead.
Did you/do you celebrate Halloween?
Do you practise DIY massage?
Any tips for training my brain and getting mentally stronger??
Although, I think I'd still prefer a relaxing, non-DIY massage instead.
Did you/do you celebrate Halloween?
Do you practise DIY massage?
Any tips for training my brain and getting mentally stronger??
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