Almost there

I just completed my last run (8km race pace) before leaving for Stockholm. I can't quite explain what it feels like to be almost at the end of this road, especially after all of the obstacles I found on it. 
But I'm Italian, so I won't yet say that I made it to the start line! There are still 4 days and a 5km jog that separate me from that... 


Butterflies are abundant in my stomach every time I stop to think about Saturday, I am already getting nervous and every time that I solve one problem bugging me there is always something new that comes up. I figured out a solution for the potty problem, the weathermen say it will be fresh and wet in Stockholm (14℃ with showers) so now what do I worry about? Chafing and blisters. Should I wear the brand new supercomfy superbreathable bra, or the old worn out and oversized but well tested one? The thing is... you don't notice how BAD something is until you try something GOOD... I sure don't have enough kilometers on the new one, but I think I'll risk it because I got almost allergic to the old one. 
What about the heart rate monitor then? Wearing it with the new one may also be a risk, but I want to have the data...
And socks: I have two pairs exactly the same except for size, should I wear the (slightly) tight smaller or the (slightly) loose larger? 
Last doubt is about the running cap. I have used one for the past couple of months, but I ran without it for the last few days. I like the cap because it keeps my hair under control and it protects me from sun and rain, but I also like to run without it for the better view and feeling now that I can tie my hair nicely. 


I guess I'm just getting too nervous and seeing problems where there really isn't any. I've done what I could to prepare myself at the best of my current possibilities, I think I can reasonably be proud of myself for making it all the way here. 
No blog entries until at least June 4th, so I'll see you on the other side of my marathon mountain. 




ps: there will be live updates on the Stockholm Marathon website, the start for my group is at 12:10, they will provide updates every 5km and I expect to finish in about 5 hours... look me up! My bib number is 22469.

The training nobody talks about

Warning: This post may offend people who pretend they never pee and/or women who pretend they've never wished they were able to do it standing. 

During these past few days after my last long run my mind has been preoccupied with things other than the running itself. The first of these is the weather: we've had such a cold "spring" (if we still want to call it so) that even the average temperature of 18℃ to be supposedly found in Stockholm on June 2nd would present a challenge. Luckily it looks like we are having a taste of summer this week. Last Sunday I went running pretty late in the morning on purpose to let the temperature go up a bit and at the end of my 16km run the thermometer was reporting 25℃. It was a good run, the weather didn't affect me at all so that gave me a bit of confidence about this first of my worries. 


Now for the second thing... I could use many words more or less politically correct, but I'll just stick with the easiest, words that even my 22 months old son can say: pee and poo. I have always been very conscious of the problem that these everyday simple actions can constitute in the middle of a city marathon with thousands of people around you, even (especially?) when you can use a port-a-potty. Then came the story of this woman and the discussion about it with other female runners, and I realized I really needed to think about a solution. I'm lucky I don't have her problems, but I also don't have any natural device which allows me to pee standing. 
Some friends suggested using a pStyle but I'm afraid it would freak me out too much and it surely wouldn't be practical to carry for the whole marathon. Other creative solutions with the same drawbacks include the use of a soft plastic coffee can lid or of a medicine spoon (if your imagination can't help you, google can, but be warned: it will not leave much to imagine). My husband then came up with a brilliant idea: a plastic bag. Not quite discreet so must be used in a port-a-potty, but otherwise easy to fold, carry and use while standing. Actually, I think I have seen once or twice some plastic bags dumped in portable toilets, without being able to understand why... I think I do now. And then I came up with yet another idea, possibly even better than the plastic bag: the paper cups they give at aid stations. No need to carry anything and much more discreet than a big white bag, I could even dare use it outside of a toilet if I'm desperate enough and if I can find a reasonably sized hiding place.
So that's my preferred pee-solution: paper cups in a port-a-potty. I'll carry a bag too, just in case... I surely don't want to end up doing what Paula Radcliffe did, and with every eye watching her! 


Did this talk gross you out? Sorry, but I had warned you. All this is also marathon training and I want to keep track of it here. You can still go on pretending you never pee nor poo. 


As for the actual running, all is good. My right knee still gives me some minor concerns but it should be fine for the marathon, we'll finish fixing it after that. 


Eleven days to go.

Last long run: 32km

Three runs after my last blog entry and before today: 12K on Sunday, 8K on Wednesday and 5K on Friday, and during all three I could feel that my right knee was not quite all right. My plan had a 5K jog on Wednesday and a 8K fast on Thursday, but other commitments lead me to switch distances (but not paces) and do a longer slower run on Wednesday, on completely unknown tracks. I saw water, for a change!

This was a natural reserve, a long tongue of soil cutting deep into the bed of the river, as the river widens and twists around it forming a sort of lake. It was so deserted that it freaked me out and I turned around and didn't go all the way. Those trees right on the shore seemed like the perfect place for rapists and murderers to hide their victims once they're done with them... I know, I know, very unlikely, but the movie in my head was just like that.

On Thursday, it just didn't feel right to do the 5K fast, as my knees had not been happy for the whole run the day before and still weren't happy then. I ran on Friday instead, no real pain but still feeling not quite right. 

And so we get to today and to the last real long run of this training program: 32km. I was really worried I wouldn't be able to make it, I could still feel the fatigue in my knees yesterday. 

I was prepared with many gels and two bottles of electrolyte, plus had organized to meet with my husband at the end of my first lap (15km) to get more drinks, but it wasn't necessary as it was quite chilly. Clear skies but only 8℃ when I left around 7:30am, and maybe 13℃ at the end of my run, 4 hours later. 

The hardest point was probably at 11km, my knees were unhappy and I still had such a long way to go... and, to say it all, I had to pee. Things got a lot better after the brief stop at my very private and very clean port-a-potty (read: "home"). I may really have to get one of those pStyle thingys to use during the marathon in not-so-private and especially not-so-clean port-a-pottys... 
Last 3km were pretty fast (actually the fastest of all except for the first one) because I just wanted to be home and get it over with. How dramatic is the influence of the weather on our runs!


Knees are killing me right now, although I can already feel that there's nothing wrong with the left one, just fatigue. The right one does give me a few worries, so I have abundantly iced it and I also took some ibuprofen, plus the usual menthol gel. What tomorrow brings, we shall see. 
Less than three weeks to race day.

Undo, please?

Floriade 2012

How nice would it be to have an "undo" function in real life? Going to the Floriade the day before my 28km run was really a huge mistake, it disrupted my training program and almost jeopardized my participation to the marathon itself. On Monday evening both of my knees were quite sore but less than they were two weeks earlier, after the 24km run, so I wasn't worried. The bad surprise came the following morning when I woke up to find out that my right knee was a bit swollen on the outside and so sore that I couldn't go down the stairs normally. It was the same kind of pain I had already mentioned to my doctor, only much stronger. He said it would be fixed as a consequence of what he's doing to my spine and that it wasn't necessary to do anything specific about it.
I had already planned on moving my weekly runs from Wed-Thu to Thu-Fri, to allow for two days of rest after the long run, I took some Ibuprofen on Tuesday and Wednesday, plus menthol gel and ice, but still it was a no-go on Thursday. By then the swelling was gone but it was still a bit painful to bend the knee so I didn't risk it.
This morning I went out early with a flexible plan: 12km easy if all was good, only 6km (or even less) if something still felt wrong. When I started to run the knee was so stiff that I thought it would be better to stop immediately, and I was even worried about the rest of my training and the marathon. Something in the back of my head though was telling me to keep going just a bit longer... and a bit longer... and after 2km all of the stiffness was gone. In the end I ran for a bit more than 7km, and now everything seems to be ok.
I have 12km planned for Sunday, we'll see how that goes. I really wish I could "undo" the walking last Sunday, but then I would also lose all of the pictures I took...