Counting down to marathon #5
Photo © Torben Meldgaard
My 5th marathon is drawing nearer, inevitably. And I am getting excited which, unfortunately, does not contribute to my preparation since it gets me out of bed early in the morning. Sleep is very important in this stage of preparation. Lack of sleep can have devastating effects on your performance, especially in the death zone after KM 32 .
As mentioned below, we completed an excellent training on Sunday, which, nevertheless, I still could feel in my legs today. I went to the sauna for extra recovery yesterday afternoon, only to find out, that it didn’t have the immediate effect on my legs, which I was hoping for. Today’s run, therefore, was less than optimal.
I had abstained from eating dinner yesterday in order to have a more relaxing sleep and went running early this morning . After 10 minutes of warming up, I ran 8 track rounds in marathon speed. The first kilometer went really well, with my heart rate remaining in the mid 150ies, where I would like to see them on the first 10 ks in Salzburg on Sunday, too . But, right after finishing the first kilometer, my heart rate shot up like a rocket, bouncing between 165 and 170, much too high for a marathon.
My legs weren’t fresh but that didn’t explain that sudden jump . It seemed that without breakfast, my batteries seemed on the lower end and thus empty after the first kilometer, which would explain the jump. Going to the Sauna is always a bit risky for you stand a much higher chance to catch some virus. Also the Kneipp therapy is a challenge for the body and you can easily walk away with a cold . So I hit the break after my mid-day appointment with a client, switched off the phone and took a very relaxing afternoon nap. It was very refreshing and seems to have been the best thing I could have done. As I said, sleep is crucial in the very last week and I hope I can throw in another of these high quality sleeps as the week progresses.
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