Tapering Paranoia

The tapering phase of marathon training has started and I have to admit that I am not enjoying it as much as I thought. The aim is to be well rested and ready for race day - decreasing the mileage but keeping up some speed sessions, adding in some threshold pace runs and tempos so that marathon pace will feel easier.  However, I couldn't resist adding in some extra miles this week. Hopefully that wasn't a mistake!  Next week with very little mileage is going to be a challenge!

With less mileage I also need to TRY to eat less.  Anyone that knows me or reads this will know that I LOVE my food and the extra miles during marathon training has allowed me extra calories but over the next 2 weeks I need to be careful I don't put on weight.  This week hasn't went without temptation - dining out, leaving dos and cakes all around.  I baked some 'healthy' carrot cake cupcakes for a little treat by substituting the sugar with stevia natural sweetener and no margarine.  The only 'bad' ingredient was in the icing - just a little icing sugar and flora light with some lightest philadelphia cheese with some vanilla, topped with a walnut.  It was a bit runny but tasted good.

Celebrating with the inlaws for Cammy's 30th birthday

The paranoia of illnesses and injuries has also started to plague me.... every second person seems to have the 'bug' or a cold and I'm starting to think I'm getting it, I hope not!  I even got my Dad to do a drug run for me this week... I ran out of echinacea and thankfully my sister and Dad came to the rescue delivering me some to work in a plastic bag for me to down - looked very shady!  Every niggle I'm petrified it's going to turn into an injury that will prevent me from running.  Every news story about London gets me scared about their pollution levels or humidity or temperature.  At this point I just need to just RELAX.  It's easier said than done, believe me.  After 4 months of hard training I would hate to not to even get to the start line.  

My novel, 'School Daze' is also getting launched next week - argh!!  I never thought my novel would get published!  Exciting but really quite anxious and a little embarrassed about it all.  I love to write and wrote it as part of my 'bucket list'.  It's a complete random chick-lit fiction book about 3 young teachers and their love lives aka easy beach reading.  It's nothing serious so don't expect to be riveted by intellectual plot lines but I hope that some people may read it for the light reading entertainment that it's meant to be.  If I had more time I would have given more effort to it (I'm not making excuses for it being poorly written honest!) but maybe my next one....   

I received more good news this week too that I'm going to be a Baton Bearer for the Commonwealth Games representing Argyll and Bute!  Eeek!  Exciting!  I'm going to have to persuade my Aunty Patsy to join me as she was nominated too at one point and as the Toon folk say 'Patsy is a legend'! ;-0

A huge GOOD LUCK must go to Sarah who is competing in the Manchester Marathon this Sunday, her first marathon!  She has done a power of training over the last few months, being one of the most improved runners in Campbeltown Running Club in recent years and I'm positive she's going to do brilliantly.  Go go go Sarah, we're all rooting for you!

Training and nutrition diary for the week - 

29/03/2014	Breakfast	Snack	Lunch	Snack	Dinner
Sat	Pre: 2 slices soreen, beetroot juice.	During: water, Post: Toast pbutter + jam, protein shake	Egg mayo sandwich & fresh tomato soup.	Jasmine tea & 'healthy' carrot cake cupcake	Sloppy joe nachos, chicken fajitas then my banoffie pie and ice cream. Yikes!
Exercise	16 miles, averaging 9.03.  Windy!		Despite wind and rain really enjoyed morning run with Joc and Katie.  Good day of housework, baking, visiting the neices and meeting Chantal & friends in Black Sheep at tea time.  Had a wonderful sports massage from Ali too :-)  Had dinner at Lindsay and Craig's - delicious!  So starving and ate late so overate completely tho - whoops.
Sun	Toast & green tea.	Healthy' carrot cake cupcake	Goats cheese salad, roast beef & trimmings.	Cappucino.	Veg & lentil spicy pot & bread. (& slice of Stu's pizza)  Hmade cheesecake & icecream.  Tea & dark choc.  Double whoops.
Exercise	5 miles easy (with 3 on grass)  12 mile cycle.  Walk on Bellochantuy beach.		CRC's first Junior X Country competition this morning on Meadows - went great, well done all!  Some fast enthusiastic runners, great to see.  Was very windy but sun was shining.  Clocks went back so got little sleep, knackered.  Mother's day - had a lovely lunch at Argyll Hotel, Bellochantuy with parents, sis, granny and aunty Patsy.  Disappointed there weren't any fresh veg or eggs left in the farm 'shop'.  Stu and I went a nice walk along the beach  - what a beautiful setting, doesn't get much better than that.
Mon	Porridge & banana	Alpen bar & green tea	Ryvita & cottage cheese.  Apple.  Tangerine.	Ricecakes pbutter & jam.  Jasmine tea.	Venison meatballs with spaghetti in a tomato & basil ragu.  Slice hmade garlic bread.  Special k biscuit.  Tea.  Oatcakes
Exercise	32 lengths swim in am.  6 miles easy with 5 strides.  Hard spin session #sweaty		Tired but legs felt OK.  Great catch up with Jen on run and at dinner.  CD player packed up during spin but just did a track twice to make up for it ;-)  Stu away on a course so a bit lonesome but dinner date with Jen and phonecalls to the girls made up for it.
Tue	Toast, vit c water & blueberries & nat yoghurt.	Alpen bar & green tea	1/2 Tuna sandwich & lentil soup.  Tangerine.	Ricecakes pbutter & jam.  Jasmine tea.	Red chicken thai curry with rice & 1/2 wmeal pitta.  Special k biscuit & chai tea.
Exercise	6.5 miles at club inc 3 miles tempo (7.50s)		Beautiful day, had a great run.  Too tempting not to run more!  Stu away so had Mairi up for dinner and a good catch up.  Baked a cheesecake for brother in law's bday too - so fattening and delicious, can't wait to have a slice ;-)
Wed	Blueberries with nat yoghurt.  Banana bread nakd bar.	Alpen bar & green tea	LF cottage cheese & ryvita.  Peach.  Tangerine.	Banana.  Ricecakes pbutter & jam.	Harbourview grille - Chicken tenders + salad, chicken & mushroom risotto.  Slice garlic bread.  Green tea.
Exercise	1 mile swim.  5 mile easy run.  Combat and piloxing.		Lovely morning but soon turned into a dreich afternoon in time for 5 mile run.  It was ok, no major pain.  Had surprisingly lots of energy for combat and piloxing still going down a storm - gloves order came :-) Huge rush to get ready for going out for dinner for Cammy's bday but had a lovely night with the inlaws, just missed hubby (don't tell him that).  Dinner was ok but not spectacular - everything seemed more 'fried' than before.
Thu	Blueberries with nat yoghurt.  Toast.  Vit water	Alpen bar & green tea	LF cottage cheese & ryvita.  Peach.  Tangerine.	Banana.	Chicken curry with rice & salad (& small portion of veg lasagne!) Green tea.  Alpen bar (70 cals)
Exercise	6.2 miles steady (53 mins)  Only did 0.5 mile at x country.		Starting to feel 'ill' - paranoid?!  Cue panic buying echiniccea, vitamins and drinking litres of water.  Felt good on run tho with Joc before Julie's leaving do and parent's eve.  Resisted temptation in pub and had a water with a green tea chaser ;-)
Fri	Porridge & banana	Green tea & alpen bar	Leftover chicken curry and rice.  Tangerine.	Chai tea.  Green tea.	Spicy prawn rigatoni with red onion and green peppers.  Oatcakes, choc biscuit and tea.
Exercise	Spin.  50 lengths swim.		Still thinking I'm getting cold/bug - I hope it's in my imagination!  Last day of school for the holidays - yay :-)
Mileage	40!!!