Last night's two mile run had me worrying about all kinds of twinges in my heel, my hip, my knee. And my knee ached this morning when I got up. I know its all in my mind and its just "taperitis" but ... I put titanium plasters or "dots" onto any bits that may cause problems on the day. At this rate I'll be covered in them!
With three days to go before race day, its time to think about the energy stores in my body. Some people no longer believe that increasing your carbohydrate intake helps, and believe it just makes you sluggish on the day. I wouldn't do it for a shorter distance race but I have upped the proportion of carbohydrate in my diet today. I won't go overboard but I eat more than I usually would and include a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack too, which I wouldn't usually eat. I've made some flapjacks (which I've had to hide as they kept disappearing!) and other snacks would be things like rice cakes or a slice of malt loaf. I'm making sure I'm drinking water regularly, to help ensure I'm properly (but not over!) hydrated for Sunday.
The other thing I read recently, and which Sarah swears works for her, is to drink 500ml of beetroot juice for 3 days before the race. I've not tried it on any training runs so I'm not going to try it this time. Also, drinking that much beetroot would really confuse my hydration test of checking that my wee is clear or straw coloured!
Its a Washlands tradition that we go out for a meal on the Thursday night before the London Marathon. As a first timer, I found this really useful to get those hints and tips that you can only get from those who've experienced it. During last night's run, I was trying to tell Sam all the bits she should put in her bag for the end of the race. Some club members may have gone down today to pick up their numbers, so will be able to tell us what to look out for at the Expo this year.
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