marathon training week 3

This week is interesting in that I began to use chia - a seed used by mexican indians. It is also called 'Indian runner food', and the claim is that people can run all day on this stuff.
The science behind it is that the seed becomes a gel and slows the passage of nutrient (banana) to the blood stream. this makes digestion of sugars more efficient, with no need for an insulin reaction to reduce blood sugar levels, or the energy loss that follows an insulin reaction.
I prepared the gel first - seeds left overnight in water, and prior to the run, took some first, followed by some banana.
Chia also soaks up a large amount of water, thus reducing hydration issues during the run.
It also has an energy profile of oils and carbohydrate, and protein and antioxidants.

Run 1
sunday morning, fueled with the recommended chia gel and banana, it was a dawn start.
my quad and glut max strings were still sore from from thursday's speed work, so it was a slow warm up with short paces.
first lap of 5.3 kms in 31 mins. av hr 130, a leisurely pace
second lap I sped up the heart rate to 135, and stretched out a bit. 5.3 kms in 31.30
third lap of 4.6 kms in 27.30, hr 137.
total 15 kms in 1 hour 30 minutes.
I was happy with that. The strings were a bit sore during recovery.

 run 2

this is a 10.6 km run. once again fueled with chia gel and banana.
my strings were still noticeable as I warmed up. the quads have grown a bit recently and took a bit longer to fill up. after a while the strings settled down and I picked up the pace.
the first lap went past 5.3 km in 30mins. 28secs, with an av hr of 139.
the second lap went past in 31.30, av hr 143.
I tried harder in the last 2 kilometres and managed to max my hr to 159 in a 100 metre sprint to the finish line.
total 10.6 kms in 62 mins, av hr 141. this is a slight improvement on previous times. 

the quads and strings felt good on the walk home - a warm down of 500 metres.
ideally I should have a cold bath when I get home so that the blood is forced out of my leg muscles. I could stand on my head for a while and this also would drain blood (and lactate) out of the legs to be replenished with 'fresher' stuff.

I've been looking at a profile map of the run I'm aiming for - it looks like a mountain climbing route up and down several mountains! I've decided to replace this week's speed work with a run along a section of the track.

I'll keep you posted!