All set for #DublinMarathon?

Almost there!!

You are just over a week away and you will be hearing all sorts of comments and advice over the next few days.

You may even get to the point of questioning yourself as taper madness kicks into overdrive. Have I trained enough? Are my shoes ok? What will I wear? Have I sorted my nutrition?

Lots and lots of little things will run around your head trying to distract you.

Ignore them all!!

Have confidence in yourself. 

You have done the training, you have sorted your gear, you know what you are doing. 

Trust yourself.

Here's a handy checklist to help you organise everything through next week. Remember don't sweat the small stuff, the big stuff is all taken care of at this stage.

Relax & enjoy!!

Ah sugar!!

What a simple yet complex thing sugar is?

C₆H₁₂O₆ 

Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen combined to form a compound that stores energy. Plants convert sunlight energy to sugars, we consume sugars and release that energy which fuels our molecular activity

I'm not doing a science paper, but that's one of the basic circles of life. Capture, convert, store, release. Energy just goes around the circle from one form to another, neither lost or gained though it feels like it in a long run!!

Everyone reacts differently, so I'm speaking about this from a personal point of view. If it resonates with you, I hope you can take something from it, otherwise, just store in in that bank of useless information that we all have! :)

I've always fought a spare tyre around my middle. I train like a divil and watch my diet but it won't go. I'm not advocating a  "Lose 8lbs in 5 days!!" conversion and most certainly would never entertain the concept. Instead I have progressively changed little things about my lifestyle.

I've an inordinately sweet tooth. Always had, always will.

I now manage it. By cutting sources of sugar from my diet over the past 2 years I can balance the odd treat dessert (usually homemade crumble) without feeling guilty or the need to run 20 miles afterwards.

Lots of people speak about energy gels and energy drinks in the sense that they get this amazing 'lift', they feel the body react to the sugars. I don't get it. The same with coffee, I don't get palpitations, buzz and likewise no withdraws when I take a break from it for a few weeks.

Now the body needs fuel, the sugar is just a fuel and is perfect for refuelling on the go during a long training session or race. It's light, portable, easily dissolved, easily consumed and packed full of energy.

Reading around the subject, I've self taught, that sugar spikes insulin response which triggers cortisol response which causes the body to store energy as fat.
Your body is under stress during exercise, fast sugar triggers more stress response, which triggers more fat storage or in fact restricts fat burning meaning you don't get any leaner through higher volume exercise.

Here's a good blog piece I found on the subject Hormones & Stress: Cortisol

Anyway this led me to think more about my body and reading more Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald advocating fuelling (correctly) before, during and after to minimise the stress response while others, Optimum Nutrition for Sport  have a more holistic consideration regarding mixing up fuel sources and training the body through adaptations to responses.

As mentioned on this blog almost a year ago (Stop Playing with your Food) I've adopted a bit of both worlds to suit me.

My main diet is protein rich (relative to how I used to eat) and a typical day would begin with porridge made on water ( sometimes a drizzle of maple syrup ), black pot coffee, some fruit in the morning and ideally dinner at lunchtime mid afternoon. (Usually meat and root veg, often just meat and no spuds). I'd often snack on mixed nuts and drink plenty of water.

This means I know there are no wild fluctuations in my blood sugars and with midday fuelling I can train in the evening / night. I can fuel with a gel before / early in session and after training I will have a recovery shake.

Elivar Products for the over 35's (Birth Cert required)

What I'm leading to is my recent discovery of a new product on the Irish market, Elivar.
A nutrition brand tailored for over 35's which initially (being honest) had me laughing before I realised: A) I'm long past that age group and B) this is the link I've been missing.

Using +Agave #9 gels sourced in +Amphibian King West meant I was already using low GI sugars, controlling my body's blood sugar and avoiding stress response. (Agave is widely used in nutritional products for diabetics and Agave#9 is ideal for any #diabetic sports person to use)

Now using #ElivarEndure I can fuel my long endurance training sessions where longevity is more important that explosive power or speed. The blend of protein and slow release isomaltose ensure that I can go the distance and coupled with a handful of gels I can be certain that my body gets all the fuel it needs. (See my recent long training session as an example)

Having an #ElivarRecover shake immediately after a hard or long session will help set me up for the next day and subsequent sessions:

Most recovery products have a 3:1 ratio of high glycaemic index carbs: whey protein, but as you get older you need a higher proportion of protein to recover effectively. That’s why Elivar Recover has a 1:1 ratio – and for sustained recovery a blend of fast releasing whey and slow releasing casein. This creates a longer recovery “window” to get you to your next session in better shape and with less pain.

Enter a new period of training, fuelling and recovery for me as I explore the options that Elivar provide me.

Contact the compnay for a FREE sample or pop into me at Amphibian King Limerick for more information.

The Marathon Wall

Here in #AKGalway we have our own take on the infamous 'marathon wall'.

If you have trained properly, put in the miles, allowed for proper recovery and prepared correctly for race day you can avoid that dreaded wall. "Hitting the wall", basically, is the onset of glycogen depletion in the body. That's the scientifically accurate description. Glycogen is a variety of glucose that the body stores to produce energy. Think of it as the fuel for your body's engine. Your muscles need it, and your brain thrives on it. Unfortunately, there is a limited supply of glycogen that your muscles and liver can stockpile -- about 2,000 calories to be exact. At  100cal per mile, 20 miles is where the body's fuel tank is empty!

Our Marathon Wall is actually some of the key items that you are likely to need in the build up of your marathon training program in order to avoid The Wall. Consider it a pin board with suggestions & reminders on it.


Assuming you have your training plan sorted, the number one item is footwear. I won't dwell on it, you know that it is, and you know how seriously #AmphibianKing take their footwear and how important it is that these are correct for you.

Footwear

One piece of advice:

DO NOT leave it until the week before the event to realise that your shoes are shot!!

It's now about 7/8 weeks from the key autumn events so it's a good time to start rotating a new pair of shoes into use. The average user should expect around 500miles from a pair of shoes, you will easily cover this in a marathon training program so don't get caught out with dead shoes.



 

Clothing

get your apparel choice right. There is nothing worse than running gear that is uncomfortable. Apart from the chaffing issues with seams and stitching, cheap fabrics just don't afford the right protection for your skin from both body sweat and UV light. You will be putting your gear through hours and hours of hard work so do not cut corners with this!

To get you through all-weather, get yourself a decent, breathable, lightweight, water repellent outer jacket or top. A long sleeve top (you can push the sleeves up to make it short sleeved!) and shorts or tights (long, 3/4 or short length to your preference). After that extra T-shirts, shorts, arm warmers, hats, gloves are all optional, I think necessary accessories, but optional.

My favourites?

Nutrition

How do you GU yours?

High 5!!

Time to Accelerade your performance and clear the PowerBar!

Agave loads of advice on nutrition on a daily basis to athletes and there is always a 2ndSurge of interest coming up to marathon time.

Nutrition is such an individual thing, you just have to experiment with it and find out what is best for you. There is no other way about it, trial and error with different products and flavours is vital. You won't race without fuel and you have to try in training.

Recovery is important too, and if you lead a busy life a recovery drink is a great way to kickstart the repair process leaving you ready for the next session.

Our favourites?





Joining the dots between clothing and nutrition is the term Recovery.

Recovery clothing

Recovery clothing is NOT Compression wear. The use of the word 'Compression' has invaded sports wear to the point of confusing the point. A tight top is not a Compression Top even if it says so on the box. Using 'Compression' tends to overvalue what is otherwise just a cheap baselayer, designed to keep you warm and comfortable.

Proper compression wear for example, Orca's Kila tight: "is an ideal multi-activity garment that has been scientifically proven to provide optimum levels of active and graduated compression. A unique double thickness panel of Orca’s Killaskn Kompress fabric is used in the calf area to provide graduated compression, helping to increase circulation and push blood back towards the heart. The high denier, circular knit fabric has superior stretch recovery and has been constructed in body contoured panels to provide active compression, helping reduce muscle fatigue and improve performance. The Full Tight is moisture wicking and has a comfortable double front seam and elastic waistband, and features an internal pocket and reflective logos for low light visibility."

The underlined portion is the functional part of the garment and why they are worth the money that they are.

Cheap imitations are just that, imitations.

Our favourites?

CompresSport Full leg recovery stockings are THE BUSINESS for recovery

Good socks & glide are two important accessories that no marathon runner should ever be without, ever! You will regret the day you forget your glide!

Coming closer to the day we will do a marathon preparation guide with a checklist of everything you'll need for the day itself.

Related articles

• The Art - And Science - of Marathon Pacing (bloguvib.wordpress.com)


• Words of advice for runners (runnerunleashed.com)


• Tips to Running Your First Marathon! (snapfitnessindia.wordpress.com)