luckycanuck: (half marathon)
[personal profile] luckycanuck
I didn't get up as early as I had planned, and stayed in to watch the first session of the Boxing Day test.

I did, however, decide to go for a long walk during the day rather than first thing in the morning.  It was 1:30 in the afternoon when I set out for Palm Beach, as far north as you can go on the northern beaches and about 20km from the Collaroy Castle.  I had filled up the 3L camel pack that I took to PNG last year and took along another smaller bottle.  I made it to Palm Beach in just over 3 hours and had about a two minute swim amongst the Boxing Day visitors.  Then I got going for the return trip.

During the return trip I started to feel a lot more fatigue.  I hadn't eaten all that much and I had consumed nothing but water so my energy was low.  I picked up a couple bottles of powerade which went down very well but all the same I found myself struggling.  I made it home having gone about 40km in six hours.  I ran a marathon when I was 17 and this is the furthest I've gone in one go since then.  It was also a reminder of how difficult it is to cover that kind of distance.  Now my legs are tired, my right calf was close to cramping up towards the end, and my right ankle has a dull ache.  I'll see how I pull up tomorrow, but I may not be able to walk to Bondi on Tuesday to meet Mitzi as I had planned.

I underestimated the stresses that a 12 hour race would cause.  I was originally hoping to do 100km, but I suspect I won't be able to handle that.  80km may be more realistic, but then again, just finishing the full time would probably be enough of an accomplishment.  Doing what I did today and then doing it again could be more than i can handle given the time I have to prepare.  Of course, I wouldn't have anything to carry with me and I would have been better prepared in terms of having eaten better and having more appropriate drinks, but there's not a lot I can do about stopping my legs from locking up after covering 50km or more.

I'll have to decide before I set up a site to take donations.  Once I do that, I'll be committed.

Date: 2010-12-27 12:27 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bozotkutya.livejournal.com
Which 12-hour race are you planning to do?
I've found that while a shorter training run is more interesting in a point-to-point format, a very long multi-lap race is actually easier than the same distance point-to-point.
You might need some more long distance training to prepare your legs, but otherwise I'm sure you'd do great. While you might not be fast, a 12-hour race is not only about speed, it's much more about stamina and mental strength.

Date: 2010-12-27 12:39 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] luckycanuck.livejournal.com
It's a 12 hour race in Canberra on the first Friday of February so there's not a lot of time to prepare.

I was going to be consulting you for advice on how to prepare and on what to eat during the race. So far you haven't said that it's wildly impractical so that's good.

Mitzi adds ...

Date: 2010-12-27 08:37 pm (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
Wow, take it easy, ol' Canuck!

Re: Mitzi adds ...

Date: 2010-12-27 08:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] luckycanuck.livejournal.com
I think I'll have to limit my long expeditions to about one per week.

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