my first marathon - with reflections

Hi guys !
Woo hoo ! I ran my first marathon ! 42 kilometres in ... pleasure and pain !
I ran in the Adelaide Marathon - what a great name for a marathon !
I love Adelaide like you wouldn't believe. Having lived here since I was nine, I have a lot of history here.
Adelaide has one of the highest standards of living in the world, principally because of it's climate, which allows for the growth of massive amounts of food, and probably also because it's a stable and well settled society, very safe, no wars, and has huge mineral wealth.
Given this blog is about adventures, running a marathon certainly qualifies. I managed to meet all two requirements - distance within time. I achieved my whimsical dreamy goal, with help.
So, alarm set for 5.00 , 5.15 and 5.30 a.m, I didn't get to sleep until 2.00. fortunately this was my fourth race and I wasn't as excited as in the past. I knew what to expect and had been catching up on sleep in the week before.
ditto running gear was well set out, I was totally primed with hydration, carbs, and dietary suppliments.
I parked my motor bike at adelaide uni free bike park and jogged to the marshalling spot at adelaide oval. 15 mins of hello's, turn on the garmin gps monitor, leave clothes in backpack in truck, take a quick photo, and get into the mob of participants. 200 and some individuals jammed into a tight space, we moved off at 6.45. I remembered to set the garmin.
we progressed like a snake winding around traffic cones, following directions from marshalls, to war memorial drive, which runs alongside the river torrens lake, where I go kayaking. we ran past the north adelaide golf courses (3 of them), where I play golf. I chatted to a few people for a while, totally enjoying the day. the weather was almost perfect - maybe a tad sunny. mainly the sun was behind us, so not a burning proposition. I had forgotten to put on sunscreen.
we ran past my swimming club's pool.
at around the 5 k mark I can feel some chafing on my crotch. thinking that I'll stop at the next loo, I decide to make adjustments then. at 8 ks I'm feeling the need to pee ! so we continue on, the legs feel good, the only niggle is the need to pee ! my abdomen is getting bigger and it seems to slow me down.
10 k mark and one hour has passed, I'm going well, if not a bit fast.
We are running down a road and I'm sure I can see the sea a few kilometres in front of us. I say so to the woman that I've been running with, Erika, and she assures me I'm wrong ! the sea turns out to be a murel on a building !
On we go and I run past my swimming buddy Steve, and his wife. I tell him I'm looking for a loo and he suggests I go into some bushes.
Finally at the 15 k mark, we get to a loo ! phew !!! I 'went' for 2 minutes. what a relief! pissing is definitely the 2nd best feeling in my world ! the best on this occassion!
On we go, stopping at a drink station. I have a camel back-pack so don't need to drink, but up-end a cup of water on top of my head and let it trickle down over me. we are near the west lakes lake, another fine spot for everything ! inc. fishing, swimming and kayaking, nearly always a bit windy for parts of the day.
So we are running past these nice houses with private little jetties when my left hams start playing up and begin to affect my running rhythm, I'm having trouble pushing off my left leg. this is new to me. by the 20 k mark my left foot has had enough and becomes sore ! of course I'm a bit worried but press on, thinking the hams and foot might recover. the alternative is to slow down, but hey! I'm experimenting with running through pain.
At the half way mark there is still no sign of recovery so, somewhat perturbed, I decide to walk for a minute or two.
21 ks has taken me 2 hours 15 mins. I'm happy with that. Let's face it, I am a marathon newby, not well prepared, and being careful. I'm calculating how much time I have left to finish the race. so at 8 minutes a kilometre, how much time do I have? this is the question...
Off again, and I come to another loo (phew!). any excuse to stop (recovery) will do.  I've already spent 1400 calories and it's time to start force-feeding. I pull out an energy gel and a protein bar from the camel back. I've also taken some creotine and have fat burning and Q10 pills to help me out.

My legs feel a bit better as I shuffle off again. I'm thinking that it is by no means assured that I am going to finish the race, and I will have to 'dig deep' to do so. My feet are sore, but what choice do I have ? I shuffle on, taking the energy gel and a piece of protein bar. I shuffle past a house that I painted the facia boards on 30 years ago. I took a photo of it. the facia boards are 3 floors above the ground and I had to climb up one skinny ladder to paint them - very frightening and dangerous. when I was at the bottom of the ladder the wind started to blow it over. luckily I was able to grab it and stop it from falling. the tradies inside the house thought I was on it and falling !
We move on to the esplanade which runs alongside the beach at Grange. I have a great view to enjoy. people are swimming, the local dragon boats are out. I'm wishing I was in one of those boats !
There is a woman who has just overtaken me and I speed up a bit to keep pace with her. on we go for another few ks. I meet swimming buddy Steve and his wife again, he says he'll go get a beer for me, I take a picture of him and tell him to get the car!
The woman in front of me starts to walk. this is good enough for me so I walk too. she starts, I start. we are moving at a slow jog pace, towards my surf-lifesaving club and the fabulous Henley Beach jetty. there's a group of spectators waving placards cheering us on, cool ! the marshals and other volunteers along the whole track are so encouraging, it really helps a lot!
We continue on. the road camber is making my feet hurt more so I move on to flatter surfaces. concrete is harder to run on than ashfelt (bitumin) so I avoid concrete. grass is too soft and uneven so I stick to the ashfelt. occassionally we run on spongy racetrack material which feels a bit soft.
We meet the river torrens at the 28 k mark. I'm moving okay, jogged 7 k's and walked for less than 5 minutes of that time. my legs are fine, no pain, just tired. the compression tights I'm wearing are supporting my legs really well.  most of me is feeling good, it's just my feet that are sore, the left one more so. I'm walking only to relieve my feet. it takes less than a minute for the feet to recover enough to start jogging again.
By this time I've figured that I will have enough time and endurance to finish the race. I walk under a road bridge, enjoying the first real shade in 28 k's (notwithstanding 2 loo stops). I have been mildly sun and windburnt. more gels, I take one and a half of them, washed down with a few mouthfuls of drink, and another piece of protein bar, wondering how much this might improve my performance.
The river has a bitumin bike track running alongside it, good shadey trees, and I begin to pick up pace. after a while I can feel my calves swelling so slow down. my foot becomes sore so I walk for a while. jogging along, I come accross another loo. I don't actually need to 'go' but go in anyway. more water over the head, pull out more gels, and have a drink.
I move on and settle into a jog pace - faster than a slow jog. I actually catch up to a few others who are jogging or walking. the course is undulating and it makes sense to walk up the rises.
At about the 32 k mark, I run out of endurance drink. 600 millilitres is not quite enough, must bring 1 litre next time! There is a group of 5 of us slowly wending our way along the river. we come to a view of the city about 10 k's away. I can see a building near our destination. I am struck by how far away it looks, but then understand that it's only 2 of my local 5 k loop, which I normally run in an hour.
Jogging along, I lift my head to see a course photographer some 15 metres ahead. I'm glad I'm not walking and have the chance to smile at him and exchange a few words. interesting that in spite of how my body feels, I am very happy to be saying hello to people. I can quite happily bear pain !
Jogging along, a sign collector rides his bike up behind me. we chat as I jog. he tells me that his job is to pick up the sign posts indicating direction and distance. I ask him how much time is left and we work out I should be able to finish on time. I'm not last and there are still some people behind me. I increase my speed up to a fast jog. this guy was helping me to jog faster.
at 6 k's to go we came accross another drink station. more water on the head, one cup of gatorade down the throat, I avoided the temptation to drink more.
A young couple caught up to me, the guy was having difficulties and his girlfriend was encouraging him. she had told him to catch up to me then have a rest (by walking). we spoke about how much time was left and that we would probably make it. she started encouraging me too and we took off at a fast jog.
At 4 k's to go we ran alongside a graveyard, near where I used to play as an eleven year old, so I took a photo. At eleven I was in the cubs and would wrap my scarf around my head in the ninja fashion. we had steel offcuts from a factory that we used as throwing knives, and became quite good at throwing them into trees. we played in the river for hours, eating the fennel which grew there, and ripping our shorts from sliding down concrete, grass and mud banks. what fun!
At 2 k's I took a photo of a weir where we used to go fishing and swimming. I had to save my cousin Tommy, who was out of his depth. of course he tried to climb up me, and I went under, and a bigger kid had to rescue the both of us !
so then we are running along torrens lake at elder park, accross the river from adelaide oval, past my old school rowing shed, and the festival theatre. whilst I've been here hundreds of times, never before as a marathon runner. we walked up the last rise to King William Road and turned to see people cheering us on.
We ran the last 600 metres accross the bridge and into the oval, finally to the finish line with 10 minutes to spare! total time 5 hours 35 minutes !
Slow, but I did it !
cheers dears !

PS. I should continue the story - some speed writing coming up.

Having finished the marathon, picked up the finisher's medal and recovery pack (apples, orange juice, oatbars), had several drinks of water, I moved off, picked up my backpack and sat down, started changing, undoing shoelaces, drinking and such like.
My legs went into free-fall and just totally relaxed. lucky my tights stopped them from swelling right up - those compression tights are brilliant for recovery.
5 minutes later I was ready to move on, however legs were not ! No way do I want to walk to my bike - I catch a taxi home.
Into a salted spa, I discover more pain. chafing has taken skin off my crutch, behind and thighs. a smallish pain which dissipates in a few minutes.
compression gear back on and into bed, legs continue to relax. the left hams are close to cramping, my ankle is sore accross the top and stuck in a tip toe position, whatever that's called.
I'm saying 'ow' about 10 times a minute!
I have 3 facebook messages from friends wishing me well, and reply to them. this marathon running would not occur without the well wishes of others, and I am very grateful for them.
I boost up on elasticity pills, paracetemol, and go to sleep.
2 hours later, the ow's still predominating, I make it to the car. no way can I walk anywhere so I drive to a hungry jack's drive-through.
home again, legs going nowhere fast, an early night.
in the morning, the now cold spa relieves feet and legs. legs are okay, no pain just fatigued. I spent the day typing the first bit of this posting. ankle still sore.
next morning I cancel my swimming appointment and continue working on this, go into town, speaking to a few friends about the marathon. band at night.
this morning I notice that I've lost muscle from my legs ! grr ! oh well ! the marathon was beyond my fitness level but that's life. the legs have recovered pretty well really and I might do a light run in a few days.
I have a 30 minute swim tomorrow where I'll lightly shake them out.
the next running event is the 10 - 11 km City to Bay Fun Run, in about 3 weeks.
In summary, running a marathon was a large goal for me. I achieved that goal by basically following a program of 3 runs a week for about 8 months.
I learned a lot about distance running, especially that preparation and recovery are much more important than I first realised.
I ran in 4 events, a 26 km, a 32 km, a 31 km, and a 42 km. The 26 was good, in the 32 I injured my foot from ill-fitting shoes, the 31 was good, in the 42 I hadn't recovered from the 31 and was under-prepared.
I'm going to continue marathon running, but will choose those that coincide with better preparations.
the Adelaide Marathon was a great marathon to begin with and I'm really happy to have done it.
cheers dears !

800 butterfly

Hello readers,
It's been a goal of mine, on hold in recent years, to swim Henley to Grange butterfly. that's 2 kms, maybe 800 strokes for me.
With my current program, I should be able to do it this year.
It's been suggested that I should fund-raise and donate the money to a worthy cause. hmm...
Why swim butterfly ? it makes you very fit, it reduces your heart rate, it expands your lungs and arteries, it's a very graceful stroke, it's an easy stroke to learn, although requires a moderate to high fitness level to do well.
so... recently I swam 800 butterfly, in 28 minutes, very slow but fairly easy. this was the 21st time I've done 800, and the 1st since last december.
At higher levels of fitness, and resolve, I did 800 in 22 mins. slow really, but got me to 2 out of 2 in Oz, 1 in SA. that's in my old age group, 50 to 54. I did it in 55 to 59 too.
I worked up to the 800 by swimming 400 IM 800 IM and 400 Fly, over about a month.
my speed in butterfly is determined by my kick, quads to be precise, glut max to a lesser extent. lactic build-up in the quads is the number one no no and has to be met with slowing down and breathing more.
But the interesting thing is what I think my swimming has done to my running. my running heart rate has dropped 10 beats a minute for the same distance and time.
I'm thinking that the fly (as well as the rest of my swimming program) has increased the size of my lungs, heart, and arteries. more air equals more oxygen, bigger heart means less need to beat as fast for the same result, and I don't heat up as much.
back to swimming butterfly.
it helps to be tall and lean to be a good swimmer. butterfly needs good shoulders, biggish pecs and lats, good lungs, and a good core.
Here is a big tip. diaphram. get it on board and you will blast off ! in other words breath as much as possible, fly is about keeping oxygen up to muscle requirements.
okay - here's a bunch of exercises to learn butterfly. this style is for long distance graceful and aerobic butterfly, as opposed to sprint fly.
your main aim is to glide.
1 get some short training fins, cap and goggles, shortest tightest bathers possible, or racing bathers.
2 the caterpillar. butterflies were caterpillars once, right?
-get in the water with flips on - hands to the sides, take a breath, kick off underwater from side and start gliding. keep your legs together and start a little dolphin kick. as you move forward, try to stay at a depth of 40 cm from the bottom. keep your head face down and look at the bottom. notice that your head and feet can move up and down at the same time, in opposition to your behind. notice that your body outlines a wave as it moves through the water. you can experiment with this, faster, slower kicks, taller, shorter wavelengths. one breath should get you 10 - 15 metres. stand up and do the same back, or breath and swim to the end of the pool. do this for 50 - 100 metres. really get a feel for your lower spine and pelvis following a wave pattern, as in what a caterpillar does. concentrate on going slowly and listen to the water rushing past your ears as you move your head in a rhythmic motion. there is no gliding - you are moving the whole time.
3 establishing a breathing rhythm.
breathing occurs on a 2 beat kick. hands out in front, arms alongside ears, thumbs crossed and clasped, fingers over fingers. kick off and glide from side, just below the surface. going slowly, kick and raise the head above the water, breathe, head under and kick again. the 2 beat kick is about a harder kick to get your head out of the water and a softer kick after the head enters again. do this for 50 - 100 metres. the harder kick comes out of the quads, abs and core and the softer kick out of the knees and ankles - this will make more sense when we get to the stroke. the sequence is big kick breathe little kick glide. you could try this with the help of a kick board/float. you could get a whip happening along the length of your body, but a whip of the ankles is enough for a glide. this exercise is slow and emphasises glide.
4 one sided butterfly.
this is so easy ! the last 2 exercises are much more important.
hands out in front (kick or dive to position), dolphin kick, one arm pulls through the water and returns elbows locked to front position breath during recovery stroke (arm in air). do this 50 - 100, swapping arms at leisure.
5 I like this one - you can forget 4 when you can do this.
arms out, 1 left or right stroke with breath, 1 other side stroke with breath, 1 butterfly stroke - no breath. repeat for 50 - 100. this exercise emphasises speed, which we don't need atm. the best bit is the glide you get out of the momentum of your arm's speed above the water, combined with a quick flick kick. concentrate on going slowly and gracefully. you should be able to glide for a metre with each stroke.
6 let's make this a multi-part lesson!  the stroke is symetrical. the best flyers have hummingbird chests - it's very easy for them to get their shoulders out of the water. so our first kick is designed to get our behind out of the water, and makes it easier to get our arms out of the water. the momentum of our kick (knees locked, quad and ab contraction) will get our bum out of the water, our stroke will get our shoulders and head out of the water.
strokes - butterfly came out of breast stroke. under water basically the same for the first part, but the fast bit was the above water bit - above water speed up, if you need to. under water, make a key hole shape with your hands, the narrow bit next to your centre of gravity (around navel) then pushing away towards your outer thighs, (feel the water being pushed past your legs). this is timed after your big kick so that you are on top of the water, and it is easier to swing the arms around in the recovery part of the stroke (the above water part). the recovery stroke is initially elbows locked, and a swing of the arms accross the surface and back to a glide position. the head enters the water before the hands. at this point, the small kick will create a glide, our prime aim. also at this point we can relax for an extended moment. the hands usually go in thumbs first, and adopt a skulling position.
other refinements swimming fly include reducing the splash of hand and arm re-entries, and breathing with the head facing at 45% to the pool - not upright and facing the end of the pool.
a critical part of the form is to get your bum out of the water before each stroke. you should be able to feel the water hitting the back of your legs at the end of your recovery stroke. to a large extent, the legs control your speed, as in more kicks = more strokes = more speed. the quads will soon lactate up if you go too fast, a definite no no for 800 fly.
anyway, I hope this post makes sense and provides some tips on swimming butterfly.
cheers dears !

my legs are throbbing heat

hi folks,
Recently I ran in the 'Hills to Henley' event. 30 kms, in 3 hours 10 mins.  not a fast run, but I'm happy!
the run is iconic to me, along the river torrens. I have done so much 'stuff' along that river, and I was able to re-visit some of it. the best bit was sighting the sea from 1.8 km to go.
I followed a 4 stage program - 1) 10 km at warm up aerobic pace, getting the fat burning going - up to 135 heartbeats a min. 2) 10 km heart rate up to 145, with bursts of speed on the downhill bits 3) 8 kms threshhold (going as fast as comfortable) 4) 2 kms fast as possible. It worked well.
interesting bits included a 'fast' first 20 kms, there was no 'wall', my legs wore out first and my heart 'doddled'. I took some gels for the last 10 kms and this seemed to speed me up. I need to build up my legs.
After 2 weeks, my legs are still recovering. I experienced what happens to me when I have worked too hard . I got into a cold bath, as you do for leg recovery, but started shivering, not a good sign.
I am re-assessing my goals. the adelaide marathon is a definite yes.
I'm not so sure about the trail runs. I would like to do them - 56 kms and 105 kms accross the adelaide hills.
My mag recommended a week off running, which I did. Interesting that my legs were still tired on thursday, and all but worn out during a 200 fly. On the wednesday I rode my bike into town and slightly strained a groin string ! so I hardly moved at all for the next few days and beefed up on elasticity pills and omega 3 pills. I have some fungi tea that is meant to help as well.
My mag says to do only 2 marathons a year - it must be conservative because I've met several runners who do much more than that. I am still very much a baby runner when I look at who I've met. It will be a massive task to get to their level, if at all possible. but hey ! it's very unlike me to give up on a dream ! I know why. It's complicated, involves pain, pleasure, work, and time.
I'm just back from a swim - 800 breast and 800 backstroke. my swimming fitness is picking up. I swam 400 fly the other day and am happy about that. next tuesday I will swim 800 fly - think about that. our pool will be 25 metres on the day - a short course, so I will be pushing off the wall 30 times (dive in once and touch to finish) 32 laps x 12 strokes per lap = 384 strokes, rounded up to 400. it will take around 24 minutes, will be tiring. I will be concentrating on breathing, good form and relaxing between strokes.
I've run twice this week, 5 kms monday and 10 kms wednesday. my legs are still recovering - monday was a slow run (5 kms in 32 mins), to look for niggles - no niggles. Wednesday the first lap was the slowest ever 5 kms in 37 mins, the second lap in 32 mins. The first lap was interesting because my heart rate was very low, making me think that my aerobic system had improved from the swimming I have been doing. I have run 5 kms in 26 mins so I'm a fair way off best times. given that I need to be ready for 42 kms in just over a fortnight, I will run 10 kms every other day and look for improvement. 10 km runs seem to be good for improving times. I'm tempted to do longer distances but don't want to break down muscle mass. I'll also basically stay off the plyometrics. seeing that I have only 4 weeks between runs, I'm a bit doubtful of whether or not I will be able to do them - 56 kms? 105 kms?  one step at a time and I'll keep my options open.
cheers dears.