The A-Team

18 Feb 2008

Training this last week has consisted of:

Wednesday 13: 70 mins flat run (Desa de la Villa)

Sunday 17: 50 mins run (El Retiro)

I have officially ended training for this race now. According to half marathon training programs, you are supposed to wind down your training 2 weeks before the event – hence during the last week I hardly trained at all – just 70 mins Wednesday and 50 mins Sunday. Next Wednesday I will do a 15 min run just to stop my legs from stiffening up, but other than that, its a week of total rest in order to face the race with fresh legs.
Agent Smith decided to go for a very long run on Sunday – he wanted to test himself again before the race, and pass the two hour zone. Do you remember his advice to me a couple of blogs back? Well, I received a text message from him when he'd finished to tell me that.... his nipples have been totally obliterated and he was in agony!! Obviously he didn't follow his own advice! I spoke to him later, he's basically got all the problems I had – showering is particularly difficult. So to those people that know his true identity, if you see him walking or sitting with his shoulders hunched over forwards, its to avoid contact with his t-shirt...

...meanwhile back at the ranch, I looked at an altitude map of the course for the first time, here it is below:
Shock, horror!!! Just look at it – the second half is ALL uphill! And there seems to a sprinkling of steep little peaks there too – maybe I should be taking a rope and harness with me! Even more astounding, Agent Smith informs me that this year they changed the course to make it easier - I dread to think of what it was like last year! I was originally aiming to complete the race in 2 hours, but I think that needs rethinking now, perhaps adding another 15 mins...

Finally, what does an old rock'n'roller like oneself listen to running alone all this time? Well, I treated myself to an ipod shuffle some weeks ago, and its not even slightly filled, but this is what I've been training to (in random mode), and its not likely to change before the race (I just KNOW I'm going to regret going public with this...):

Yes, its a very mixed bag! I didn't listen to any music at all in the 10K race at xmas - I was content enough to take in the atmosphere and revel in the crisp English countryside - a sight I don't see very often. So I'll start out without any music at all – but I expect I'll be needing the distraction for the second half of the course. The theme to the A Team has always worked wonders in moments of desperation when I felt like I couldn't push anymore; it's guaranteed to bring on a smile and a burst of energy! I might listen to it on repeat for the last hour.

Weather wise it's due to rain all week (it's raining now) up to and including Saturday, so fingers crossed for a dry Sunday!

I'm pretty much ready to face the challenge now, and eager to get started. Perhaps I have a few butterflies in my stomach after seeing the altitude profile, but I'm eager to launch from start line and cruise over the finishing line. I'll write a brief blog entry on Saturday before the race if I can manage to pull my face out of the pasta bowl.

Until then, hasta luego Lucas!