Sickness and seminars.

I'm waiting for the men's marathon to start, which is the final event in the 2012 Olympics. I don't know about you, but I've absolutely loved the games and found them pretty inspiring. Further down the athletic pecking order, I've had a busy if inconsistent couple of weeks since my awesome ten mile run at the end of July, so I'm just going to put up some bullet points and maybe return to a few of these later...

• I smashed another PB today and popped my 20km cherry. I ran part of the Auckland marathon course in reverse (St. Heliers to the Viaduct and back). I had a brilliant time and was making a steady pace until the last 3km, where I bonked/hit the wall. The last 3km were absolute torture, I was still running but so, so slow. Finished at my car 2 hours 39 minutes after I left it and waded into the sea to cool my feet and legs. Memo to self: take more gels. 
• On that note, GU's "Chocolate Outrage" is both hilariously named and delicious (and has caffeine in it!) Also used NUUN's lemon/lime tablets in my new water belt to keep me hydrated, which worked a treat. Bought some Horley's raspberry gels at the supermarket this evening so we'll see how they go next week. I'm experimenting with different gels to see what I want to use on race day. 
• I'm also starting to use a Nathan water belt for longer runs. It initially felt very odd having what is 

  

  I stopped feeling like a poser with this after the first 5k.

  essentially a posh bumbag bouncing around when I was running, but I got used to it very quickly. The design is excellent and it was nice having another little pocket to store things!
• Speaking of buying things, my new Shock Absorber bras are AMAZING (despite having to send one back due to a defect). Boobs feel supported and even after a long run there's no discomfort. Full review once I've worn them in a bit more.
• Had some great runs the week after my ten miler but fell sick with some child-vectored leurgy on Friday afternoon (yay timing!) and spent almost the entire weekend in bed watching well people be athletic. Had planned to run my 20k then so a week's delay isn't so bad. Was kind to myself and took over a week off running to recover. I have a nasty tendency to pick up chest infections from colds (I'm a whopping cough baby) so wanted to avoid that if at all possible. 
• My gym offers a free 30 minute massage every month (which I pay to turn into an hour). The new masseuse is, erm, interesting. Let's just say it's hard to feel positive about your body when an extremely thin Asian woman is grabbing the fat on your inside thigh and jiggling it. 
• It looks like third time's the charm for my running shoes, as the Mizuno Wave Inspires have left me blisterless and as pain free as my feet are likely to get after nearly three hours of running. Such a relief.
• The NZ website Running Plus has contacted me about reviewing some equipment for them, which is very exciting. Not really able to talk too much about it at this stage but it's a fantastic opportunity! In the meantime please check out their page and like them on facebook if that's your thing.  
• I attended two marathon-related seminars within the space of about a week. One by Mat Lewisham on preparing a good training program for the marathon, one by Tracey Wheeler on nutrition for endurance athletes. Both offered some useful bits of information and Mat especially did a good job of answering my questions about my training and it was very comforting to hear that I am exactly where I should be on this journey and what I need to tweak about my program to help prevent overtraining. There'll be a separate post about these seminars sometime this week. 
• The marathon is 11 weeks away, and in just under three weeks' time I'll be lining up for my first half marathon in Whangamata. Hard to believe that six months ago I was having surgery on my ankle to remove the plate and pins, and a year ago (almost to the day!) since I had my accident. To be well on my way to achieving a life's ambition after these setbacks is very exciting. 
• Speaking of ambition, I'm considering life post-marathon. I don't want to go through all this training, push this hard and get this fit just to fritter it away after the final k. I like my fitness being such an integral part of my schedule, and I like the feeling of working towards a challenge. I am considering entering the Auckland Half Ironman, held on the 16th March. Obviously this is dependend on lots of different variables but I'm keen to have something to train for after the 28th October and I do enjoy my multisport to we'll see. Watch this space!