Beating my caffeine addiction and 9 weeks to go!

Last week was a better one; it included three decent sessions and over 80 miles of running.

The sessions included:

- 6 x 1 mile, alternating between threshold and 10 k effort

- A 90 min run including 6,5,4,3,2,1 minute efforts in the latter half

- A 30k progression run incorporating 10k at marathon pace and 5k at tempo

I wouldn't say I felt amazing but i'm definitely noticing an improvement on previous weeks. I'm putting this down to the iron, feeling a bit less stressed, better sleep and one more thing...

This may come as a shock to people who know me...but one other thing I've done recently is significantly reduce my caffeine consumption. Until recently, I was a self-confessed caffeine addict. This was only worsened by the fatigue i've been experiencing since my last marathon training period. I'd constantly use caffeine to perk myself up after life stress combined with training made me feel run down. In the end, though, I realized that I wasn't really getting much of a lift anymore...it was just bringing me back to a normal energy level.

I found this quite worrying and, along with my sleep and iron problems (both of which are worsened by coffee consumption) I began to wonder if my caffeine dependence was actually contributing to my worsening running performance. Around this time, I came across this guest post by a runner I look up to, Esther Atkins. For those of you who don't read the post (though I strongly recommend you do), Esther restricts herself to caffeine only before long runs and workouts. I found I could really relate to Esther's honest article and it motivated me to try this strategy for myself.

So, I'm happy to report one month on the wagon...I have somehow managed to limit myself to having caffeine only before long runs, workouts and races. Now, as someone, who was an absolute coffee addict before, I had my doubts. I thought that without coffee my life would be miserable. I'd somehow assumed I needed coffee for my creativity, happiness and energy. In the end though, none of this happened. What happened was totally positive:

1. I no longer NEED caffeine to transform me into a functioning human being when I get out of bed. This feels very liberating.

2. My energy levels have actually improved. Caffeine really was just bringing me back to a normal level rather than perking me up.

3. I'm much more in tune with my hydration and nutrition needs; without caffeine to make me feel better I'm finding I ensure I snack healthfully and drink enough water throughout the day.

4. When I have my caffeine before races, long runs and workouts I can actually take advantage of it's benefits. It's generally well accepted that caffeine improves endurance performance by reducing perception of effort, i.e. your race pace feels easier. Before, I don't think I was getting the full benefit of this as I had desensitized myself to caffeine from so much overuse.

5. I am sleeping a lot better; as someone who has suffered from sleep problems my whole life I'm finally finding the good nights outweigh the bad. I'm no longer waking up frequently every night and wake up feeling more refreshed.

So far, I'm pleasantly surprised with the results of my study of one :) I strongly recommend trying this if you are a bit of a caffeine addict, and/or, struggle with insomnia and iron problems. I must say, I thought it'd be impossible, but in fact it was pretty easy after the first few days. Of course, I still have my beloved Starbucks Cappucinos..but i've realised I still enjoy them just as much when they are decaf!

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Ups and downs: 10 weeks to London

It's quite hard to believe there are only 10 weeks to go until the London Marathon. I wish I felt fitter than I did at the moment but i'm trying to reassure myself with the knowledge that I am pretty sure I have felt similarly with 10 weeks to go for all my other marathons...the only one I felt great about at this stage I ended up not making the start line!

I'm also hoping that with the iron tablets and a few other changes things will start to come together.

The last week of training was a mixed bag; a session which went pretty well and left me feeling positive followed by a cross country race which momentarily made me feel like my marathon aim was ridiculously out of my reach. Thankfully, i never stay in this mode for long and my optimism has resumed...

The session, which I did on the road, was 6 minutes at tempo, 5 x 2.5 minutes hard, 6 minutes at tempo. I finished it feeling pretty happy; my tempo portions had felt comfortable at 5 and a half minute miling when they had slipped back up towards 6 minute miling during the time was feeling my worst over christmas.

The cross country was a different story...I travelled to London to compete in the Surrey League second claim for Herne Hill Harriers (a lovely club with whom I trained frequently when I still lived in London). The disgusting weather did nothing to help my uncharacteristically rubbish mood. I finished 7th and subsequently had to ask my friend to wait on the cool down whilst I collapsed on a bench...

Ironing out some problems: 11 weeks to London!

The start of my training for London marathon 2016 began with ironing out a few problems...quite literally.

I said in my post Frankfurt blog that i'd spent a lot of the training period feeling pretty fatigued and rubbish. Although I still think most of this was down to life stress, when I still didn't feel back to my usual self training in my more settled environment, I decided it was time to get my iron levels checked. Low iron is a common problem in distance runners, especially females, and I have been fairly prone to anemia throughout my running. With a lot going on, though, i'd neglected to get my levels tested for quite a while. 

I can't say I was surprised to discover that my iron levels were inadequate. Once the stress levels had reduced, I knew there had to be a reason for my sub par performances. It was quite a relief to be find out why i'd been getting slower despite hard training and why i'd been feeling unnaturally tired. So, with plenty of time to go until London I've started taking iron tablets in the hope of feeling back to my usual self. I'm making it my goal to get my iron levels checked a lot more regularly now as these things have a habit of creeping up on you.

So, although probably too soon for the iron levels to improve, I did seem to experience a bit of a placebo effect this last week. A much better week of training resulted; nearly 90 miles including two decent sessions and running the Watford Half Marathon at marathon effort as part of my twenty miler. The sessions included some intervals (some shorter sharper efforts, preceded by a ten minute tempo) and some continuous hill repetitions followed by two minute repetitions at a harder pace. I definitely felt a lot more like me by the Thursday hill session.

Downhill...too fast for the camera ;)

The Sunday long run was replaced with running the Watford Half at marathon pace, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The course was one of the hilliest i've ever done, which made for a fantastically challenging run. This did lead to marathon pace being renamed "marathon effort". I ran 78.29 for second place in a close finish, which I was satisfied with given the low iron diagnosis and having upped my mileage to nearly ninety in the week.

This coming week, i'll continue with some decent mileage and race either a cross country or park run on the Saturday. Sunday will just be an easier long run this week but i'll aim for two hours of running. My goal is to blog each week in the build up to London...

Muddy good fun...

With 78 days to go before the London Marathon (arghhh), here's a little update about what I've been doing over the winter. To summarize, it's pretty much the same as the rest of the year but with a greater proportion of time spent wearing head-to-toe mud or a silly costume.

Running around in silly outfits is genetic

In my opinion, this time (for those of us who divide our year into spring marathon/ autumn marathon/ other) is an excellent opportunity to have a little more fun with running. For me, this has involved; winning a race dressed as Mrs Santa, doing a long run in a 'Mountain Forest' (Worst. DOMS, ever) and getting extremely muddy.

The camouflage method worked quite well

Mainly, I like to do a bit of cross country to show off my other talents. By this I mean my ability to end up muddier than everyone else. (As proof, I offer you a picture of me at the Midlands Cross Country; an earlier edition where I decided to add a triathlon element by diving head first into a bog).  My friends and family actually keep a special towel in the car for me to sit on post run. It's lucky that I have this talent going for me, because I'm not sure I have my cross country running ability.

I've realized over the years, I'm not really made for running on dirt. I feel a bit like Bambi...wearing ice skates. Whilst other people seem to skim across the mud, I seem to slip and slide my way along with odd facial expressions and frequent unladylike language... However, whilst I assume it wasn't pretty to watch (pictures of me where I seem to be imitating a windmill suggest this is true), there were a few races that I was quite pleased with. 

Regaining my Northamptonshire Country title, after a few years as a Surrey-dweller, was a definite highlight. A friend did comment after seeing me fall over twice whilst walking the course that he wasn't entirely sure how I even managed to stay upright. I proceeded to explain my interval method, which involves stopping to wade through a particularly muddy patch and then legging it to the next one...

Probably the cleanest I've ever been in a cross country race...

Last weekend, I came 7th at the Midland Championships. This was a great day out; partly because I managed to stay relatively dry and mostly because the MCAA did an excellent job of putting on a great race after the original location was flooded (they'd have needed a coastguard if I'd have done that one).

I have to say I was fairly pleased with the result on a tough course. I actually didn't feel great at all (a fact that was later explained by a blood test, which showed my iron levels are low). However, I am definitely looking forward to having my feet on some more solid ground. Although, if there are any muddy puddles on the streets of London, I'll probably find them...

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