Flavio - Is running 90+km a week not hard enough for you??  You need to add the risk of a mugging too, haha.

Mick - Nice job on the PR even if it wasn't exactly what you hoped for.

darkwave - Medium effort for a NYC qualifier, love it.  Meanwhile I have to go to Melbourne to find a fast certified race and go BOTT.  Yep, my training plan looks great and I'm actually amazed how fresh I feel after the weekend.  This Saturday is a "Kenyan style" long run that will be a real test.

Mental Skills coach

So I went and saw a mental skills coach at the Sports Clinic at the recommendation of Caden Shields (my physio), and possibly everyone here who said anxiety is probably my main issue.  There was nothing earth shattering but a few things I can focus on.  Interestingly he said that our conversation was along the same lines of conversations he's had with All Blacks or Black Caps or elite track/road athletes.  One thing he drilled me on, and is always talked about on Running Rogue, is what is my "Why?"  Why do I want to nail a marathon?  It's hard to answer when maybe it shouldn't be.  I had a few answers like "to prove I can", "to prove I'm tough enough" to which he responded "you've already proved that."  I eventually basically said I don't consider myself to have run a marathon because I haven't had the chance to work through the type of pain you get when you approach the wall, as opposed to cramp pain.  But I don't know if that's my why or not.  I know I can't give up after a DNF at 27km where it feels like I didn't even have a real crack at it.  At some point if I keep getting the same result maybe I'll know it's just not for me.  I love the training, and I'm quite goal oriented so maybe I just need a big goal to motivate me.  He asked if I even needed to race if I enjoy training so much.  I probably would still get most of the benefits of training, mentally and physically, but I know at this point it wouldn't fulfill me.

So we worked through that side, and then looked at some ways to approach the next one.

-  Breathing.  Use breathing more deliberately to relax (4 seconds in, 6 seconds out), when I first wake up, throughout the day and try it in easy runs (it's actually harder than you think to breathe out for 6 seconds!).

- the WIN mantra.  "What's important now?"  Especially when negative thoughts come in early in a race or pre-race or in training.  It's very basic but easy to forget and try and run the last 10km in your mind before you get there (I'm sure this is a very common one)

-  Consider how I want it to go, imagine the perfect day.  But also consider some of the hurdles that might appear and think about how to handle them.  When they happen don't think "this shouldn't be happening".  Change the language.  "I expected this, implement the plan".

-  Everyone has negative thoughts, at every level.  Let them in, then let them float out.  Don't berate yourself for having them.  Timebox them if they happen outside a race (i.e. if you must think about it, give yourself 5 minutes then move on).  During a race, just think "that's interesting, wonder where that came from..." then go back to WIN.  Check the technique, review nutrition plan etc.

-  Success gives you clues.  Look at when things went well and find the common factors.  For me, most of the best races happen when I'm more focused on the process than the outcome.  Again, an obvious one but easy to forget and I've definitely done that in each marathon attempt.  When I ran 1:27 in the half last year, I had some family issues with Mum's house sale the night before plus I had Covid 5 weeks earlier and missed a chunk of training.  I remember walking to the start with Mark and saying "I actually haven't even thought about this race.  I'll go out at goal pace and take it as it comes".  That's the most obvious approach to any race but in the marathon especially (and in the half when I kept fading back in 2020), in the early part of the race I just thought about what might happen later.

He suggested planning the day before the race.  Nerves are okay but sitting around focusing on nothing but the race isn't helpful.  I'll go to a movie or do something completely unrelated to running.  He also basically echoed my plan for Selwyn - just run it, see what happens.  I might cramp, I might not.  I'm doing all I can to avoid it so just run and have fun.

This is all pretty obvious but with the fear of the unknown, maybe I've slipped into bad habits.  It's good to remember where to focus.

Mick nice job on the marathon, they are a crazy distance. Lots of drama can happen. 20c is hard-core!

DW your 6 mile tempos are less than our 10k tempos so it evens out 

I haven't been to a nightclub in....35 years.

Flavio excellent on the 90kms and through the ganglands. My sister used to live on the worst st in my city. She fitted in well though with 3 Rottweilers  big bikes, and substance abuse 

Steve I'm sure I need one of those mental coaches. I know my why is for good health but there is still a " I want to be a bit fast " ego thing which helps drive my running.

What's the plan with the Kenyan style longrun ?  They start slow right and build into it ?

Mark they did a 5k on the Rotorua airport runway yesterday.

90 people and 50 sub 20. It drew a fast crowd.

Mark - Yep, I agree that the why changes over time.  For me, I felt like I'd achieved all I could with the half (hopefully not true) so I thought I'd try the full.  Now I've been punched in the face a couple of times, I don't just want to do it, I want to do it well.  I won't say "master" it because that seems like something a select few *cough* RP get to do.  I'll definitely be interested in hearing more as you work through the book.

I think that was a good question you were asked about why do you need to race. I get a lot of my enjoyment from running just from training. But, the real test of your ability to deal with adversity comes in races.  You can get partway there in a workout but something about races just raises the stakes.

Piwi - that airport 5k looked like a really fun event, ditto the road mile. It's cool they've taken the chance to introduce some new events to reinvigorate the event.

 

darkwave - Medium effort for a NYC qualifier, love it.  Meanwhile I have to go to Melbourne to find a fast certified race and go BOTT. 

Yeah, sorry about the humblebrag (which honestly was unintentional, though it doesn't come across that way).

 

 

Keen - Excellent job at the 50 miler. I fully expect your race report to have at least 50 lines, one line per mile. Or 80 lines, in case you're feeling un-american 🦅🚫 😂

Just saw.  Wow!!!  Congratulations! Have we lost CK to the 50 mile crowd for good?

Keen- Awesome job on the 50 miler. Looked very flat. Great pace. For 50 miles in my book you could easily write 5 lines for a RR. 

Holy crap Fishy that 10x800 was strong, very nice job.

Piwi/Steve- Thanks, it confirmed my attempt to try Sub-3 again.  I know many on here (JMAC ) scoff at the yasso's but I have found them a fairly good indicator workout for me.  Before I start the battle royal I'm not suggesting they work for everyone but they are my "binkie" before goal marathons. I may not be in sub-3 shape but I'm sure as hell gonna give it a shot.  The course profile (point to point downhill) and reasonable weather says GO!

Fishy - 10 x 800 is a proper workout.  Well done.  IMO it really doesn't matter exactly what workout you run a couple weeks before a goal race.  The key thing is running some sort of decent workout, and nailing it, which you obviously did.

Thanks Mark- I think it's weird how the 2nd or 3rd feel like "oh shit I'll never get through 10 of these" but by the last few it feels much more manageable.