i'm ready for you, soweto!

except that i don't have a trip booked for south africa ... at least not this year (i still have my eye on you, comrades marathon!).

i've been using a training plan (structured by coach norrie williamson) specifically designed for the soweto marathon in preparation for my first attempt at the detroit marathon.  i chose to follow this plan as part of my 'mix-it-up' year where i deliberately focused on races that i'd not run before and using strategies (e.g. running without a watch at the waterloo marathon) that might stimulate/promote improved results.  i know that many runners choose to focus on consistency consistency consistency as the route to real gains -  but when it comes to personality that just isn't me, so why not go for broke?

as i get ready to step up to the start line in motown this weekend i have to say that i'm feeling very prepared to try to bump out a new 42.195 km PB.  i've been able to execute all of the prescribed workouts at the paces that i would expect to hit ... my body has held up and my weight stayed in a good zone ... and thanks to all my friends and training partners (much love and credit goes to the barrie running ninjas, the barrie roadrunners and the barrie trail running club) i feel as if psychologically i have all the tools to meet an audacious goal.

with that being said, i'm ready to disclose the goal(s) for this sunday's race:

• 'A' goal - finish with a 3:00:00-3:05:xx time
• 'B' goal - clock a new marathon PB
• 'C' goal - run a negative split.

i've had the privilege of tapping into the wisdom and experience of a couple of speedy and accomplished marathoners (i wouldn't dream of not consulting the great stan ong who will be racing at the scotiabank toronto waterfront marathon, edging ever closer to his moose mug goal - and the other is my friend 'fast' bill steinburg) who have recommended that my best ploy at taking down an 'A' level goal is to try to run with a pacer and go for even splits.  i'd thought that perhaps i'd be able to adopt a similar strategy to the one that i used in waterloo of cruising through 32k and racing the final 10k, but the prospect of benefiting from the draft of a pace group has definitely got my attention.

so here at the precipice i stand, having controlled all that i can control.  now it's just time to enjoy the scenery and run my brains out!

#GOlikeneverbefore 
#ninjatakesonmotown

i'm ready for you, soweto!

fat-loading: the breakdown

after my initial stab at a 10-day fat-loading regime i wanted to share a few quick insights and reflections - just in case you might be considering it in advance of your next marathon/race.

1. it's a challenge to be creative and stay within boundaries.  my short list of go-to items included a whole lot of tuna, avocadoes, almonds, cheese, olive oil and chicken caesar salad.  most meals were a mix-and-match variation using those core foods.
2. i tried to keep a log of each meal that i ate - and even found that to be tough ... which seems funny since i log every run/workout.  somehow i've got a full day and a half where i cannot remember what i ate.
3. the first hard workout into the fat-loading schedule was a 16k Hansons Marathon Method tempo run (at marathon pace) - and after the first kilometre it felt like i absolutely hit the wall.  talk about pushing past your limits.
4. i lost weight.  which seems strange when you let people know that you're maxxing out on your (healthy) fats.  but sure enough i dropped about two pounds, even when it felt like i was taking in more calories than i normally would.  my friend and unofficial advisor stan suggested that it probably had to do with carbs retaining more water than fats.
5. there were some interesting recipes that i did try to tackle, including a cauliflower crust pizza.  while i still have some work to do in terms of really nailing the crust texture, it turn out too badly - if i do say so myself.



Here goes nothing ... Cauliflower crust pizza with avocado, peppers, pulled pork and mushrooms!

A photo posted by patrick voo (@pbfvoo) on Apr 17, 2015 at 3:43pm PDT



6. after all of this i think that i will be including a few more low-carb/high-fat meals into my regular diet.  even though by day three all i could think of was pasta and garlic bread, by day eight i was pretty ok with what i was eating morning, noon and night.
7. and i'll fat-load again - maybe even longer in preparation for The North Face Endurance Challenge Series Gore-Tex 50-miler this july.  (psssttt ... if you're thinking of signing up for any distance at this event, use the promo code D30PVON15 for a 15% discount!)

of course the proof is in the fat-loaded pudding, so we'll have to see if there's a pay-off on race day in terms of a smoother transition from glycogen-burning to fat-burning as a fueling process.  keep an eye out for my race report to get all the goods!

#GOlikeneverbefore

fat-loading: the breakdown

burn baby burn: a newbie takes on fat-loading

i've carbo-loaded before.  a three-day focus on building up my carbohydrates stores in advance of marathons has worked well for me - and truth be told i like gobbling down all of those muffins, breads, pastas and sports drinks.  it's kind of a treat.

but this is a first.

i'm fat-loading.

after having read several articles about this recently highlighted approach to distance event competition preparation (some in favour - like here, here and here - and some not so much - like here and here), i decided to give it a go in advance of the waterloo marathon on apr. 26.  given that i'm a hack at everything i do, i thought that it would be best to consult somebody who is (a) experienced in fat-loading, (b) a high-level athlete and (c) well-studied in sport sciences.  so without a second thought i reached out to my friend stan ong for advice.

gracious as ever, stan was quick to say that he was glad that i'd asked, and then probed just a bit to find out how to best craft a fat-loading plan that would meet my specific needs (including finding out what a typical meal would look like for me, my current weight and foods that i won't/can't eat).  factoring in all of this info, stan came back with an outline of a daily menu that i could riff off of and use to map out the week's grocery store trip.

if you've followed along with my blogventures then you know that i can't leave well enough alone - i like to tinker.  the beauty with this outline that stan's provided is that it has some flex to it - he even makes concessions for the occasional 'carb craving', allowing for a piece of toast or fruit here and there.  with that in mind, i was keen to launch into this new dimension of race readying.

#fatloading here we come ...!

A photo posted by patrick voo (@pbfvoo) on Apr 12, 2015 at 5:59pm PDT

 
i'm now a day and a half into it, and so far i've noticed a few things:

1. stan provided advanced warning that fats don't provide that 'full up' feeling like carbs do - and i admit to feeling noticeably hungrier after each meal yesterday and today.
2. so far it looks like fats lead to less weight gain than carbs - maybe because carbs trigger greater water retention.
3. it's already painful to stare at the loaves of bread and bags of potatoes on my kitchen countertop.

but i will see this thing through - and trust that there will be a pay-off come race day in terms of efficiently metabolizing fat as fuel, and staving off the vaunted 'wall'.

fat fingers crossed!

burn baby burn: a newbie takes on fat-loading

changing it all up for race week - the checklist

with just a few days to go before the 2014 mississauga marathon, i'm running through my checklist of things to bring/do:

• gatorade, beet juice and clif bars:  i've actually decided to tackle carbo-loading a bit differently this week compared to previous marathons.  i'd read that while most distance runners have a sense of the advantages of carboloading, most do not do it enough - so this time around i'm going to try a three-day carboload after having come off of a two-day carbodepletion mini-cycle.  honestly i feel as fit as i have ever been in my life, and am ready to start the fueling process for this race.
  
  
  
• Skechers GOMeb Speed 2:  none of my previous marathons have been run in a racing flat - and in fact, the only time that i've raced any distance in a racing flat was my last 10k event in which i also wore the GOMeb Speed 2.   a review on these is still to come, but at this point i can say that the fit is better than i had expected, and the pop on these shoes (courtesy of the Dupont Hytrel™ stability shank/plate) makes the propulsive phase of the running gait cycle seem that much more dynamic.  besides being a Skechers Performance Division ambassador, i would have had no questions about using these for the race this weekend - especially after Meb's iconic win at boston last month.
  
  
  
• garmin 305:  i contemplated running this marathon naked (get your minds out of the gutter people!) but i have essentially been doing that this week with my tapering schedule.  normally i would have included a couple of speed intervals and hill repeats in this final taper week, but after some reflection and paying attention to how my body is feeling i decided instead to forego intensity and pick up a few additional miles.  this is different from any of my previous training plans, but i do feel very good about it.


• blue-and-yellow rainbow loom bracelet:  one of my daughters made this for me last december - she'd asked me what colours i might like to have for a bracelet, and i requested blue and yellow (boston marathon colours) so that i could wear it during this upcoming marathon as a reminder that i'm just trying to hit my qualifying time.  in both of the last two marathons that i ran i felt that i had all the conditioning pieces that i needed to hit my BQ time - but in both instances i feel that i went out much too fast and bonked.  this time i feel even more confident than before (having run more miles in this training cycle than any previous, as well as pushing out race-pace runs geared toward a faster-than-BQ finish) and will be planning to run a very controlled race through 35km.  the bracelet is to remind me that i need to stay with the 3:15 pacer until we cross through the proverbial - and in the mississauga race it's a visual - wall.
  
  picture courtesy http://marleneontherun.blogspot.ca/2011/05/mississauga-marathon-bq-race-report.html

at this point i feel more than ready - the 'madness' of the taper really hasn't struck in the same way as in previous pre-race periods ... it's more of a sense of expectation of success.  

see you at the finish line!

changing it all up for race week - the checklist