Half Marathon Jitters

^I have a very bad case of it.

It's exactly two weeks tomorrow that I'll be trembling with anxiety about the mean feat that lays ahead of me (i.e. 13.1 miles of all-round body torture, to put it lightly! Haha, kidding. I hope). A gruelling slog with more than 25,000 fellow runners to accompany me (looking on the bright side, it'll make a nice change from always running solo!).



In times like these it's essential that I stay calm and plan ahead. Ok, so I haven't been upping the distance of my training runs per say, but I have been doing as much speed/interval training - combined with some treadmill hill intervals - as possible. I'm ever hopeful that this will provide an adequate amount of shock value to my body, in order for it to complete those 13.1 miles in a time deemed suitable for my runners'-ego.

Besides the niggling issue that is training, there are other, more fun things that I need to address. First of which being prerace nutrition; and second of which is my favourite part: HALF MARATHON ULTRA-MOTIVATING SOUNDTRACK! (Because let's face it, I will need all the motivation I can get)

Needless to say, there's a fine line when it comes to pre-race nutrition. Such a fine line that I'd be scurred to pop so much as a walnut in my mouth (repercussion: potentially too much insoluble fat. Drat). What makes things worse is the fact that there's so many contradictory advice articles on the web - coffee vs no coffee? Porridge vs low-fibre substitute? Fruit vs sports drink?!? Too much opposing advice, I CAN'T TAKE IT ALL IN DAMNIT! (and, calm...).



A pretty legit-looking article on Runners World suggests that between 1.5-1.8g carbs per pound of body weight should be consumed prior to a half marathon. I don't know how much I weigh exactly, but if I took a stab in the dark at 115lbs then that basically means that I should aim for between 172g - 207g carbs. Yes, that's right. The equivalent of a whole day's worth of carbs, all to be consumed before 9am! (the race starts at 9.30am or 10am, depending on which wave I'm in).

I eat porridge ever single morning, so effectively my body is used to this and thus it should be able to manage to digest it, despite the fact that it's considered a fairly fibre-dense meal. Sticking to what you know is probably the best option in this case. My usual combination of oats, almond milk, raisins, cinnamon and honey comes to approximately 82g carbs (according to the myfitnesspal app. Did I mention that I literally am in love with my new iPhone?). In accordance to the Runnersworld guidelines, I should be splitting my carb intake 6:3:1 at specific intervals in the run up to the race. So for me, my macros are as follows:

60% (consumed 3-4hrs prerace) = 103g - 124g carbs
30% (consumed 90 mins - 2hrs prerace) = 52g - 62g carbs
10% (consumed 30-60mins prerace) = 17g - 21g carbs

Doing calculations like these make me feel like I definitely have my shit together (oh sweet mathematic trickery, distracting me from the larger matter of the issue at hand).

Anyway, based on this little bit o' research, I think the best option for me is to stick to my porridge meal, consumed alongside a glass of fresh juice (toying between the idea of carrot, apple and ginger, or a new concoction that I'll need to practice making before the big day!) - that would be meal no.1. Next would be another glass of juice (beetroot for a nitrite boost), perhaps combined with something a little more sustaining. Finally, 30-60 mins prior to the race I think the good ol' banana will do juuust fine. Can't go wrong with a banana.



You might've noticed the running theme of coffee pictures in this post. Besides the fact I really like to take pictures of coffee (or, y'know, empty cups of coffee), it does sort of fit into this blog post - I didn't choose to put them in willy-nilly, people! Y'see, I have coffee on the brain as I'm seriously weighing up the idea of coffee vs no coffee prerace. I had planned to do a coffee fast (i.e. not drinking it at all from 10 days before the race. I know right, this is serious stuff we're talking about here), and then reintroducing it prior to the half-marathon, as I've read that caffeine works better as a stimulant after a (LONG!ish) break. However, now I'm a teeny bit worried that perhaps caffeine is indeed not the answer (I can't tell you how much I hope this is not the case. I drink coffee as an excuse prior to exercise; it's my prerequisite, and it is most definitely necessary, guys).

I plan to drink a lot more than I do now in the week leading up to the half, so that my body is properly hydrated throughout the run (and especially so to counteract the diuretic effect of the coffee that I'll most likely be consuming, despite those silly pre-warnings), plus plenty of sleep. My body clock is adjusting to early morning starts because of work, and I've been really feeling the effects of going to bed past-midnight over the past week or so. Not good, not good at all!

Another post will have to be dedicated on the pressing issue that is my half marathon playlist; clearly, I got a case of verbal diarrhoea discussing my prerace diet, and this has tailed off to be something of a brain-explosion. And in relation to my jitters, well...it's barely touched the sides on nipping those in the bud. In fact, it's probably done the opposite.

Anyone else doing their first half soon? Any advice for a fellow noob? Anything is welcome. Just please don't tell me not to drink coffee, ok? Deal.



^Aha, me after coffee. Ok, so I'll stop with the coffee hype now...