We are out!
Two-nineteen on the clock and the training kicks off. Started today with a walk to the swimming pool for 1K in 40 laps. Around nine, I scoured the Hague Market looking for meze for tonight and walked home via Lidl.
It is not so #blackandwhite if it seems like maybe. Coincidentally, I was listening to an episode of the Pacer podcast where preparing for the marathon includes two training benchmarks. At both times, you must run briskly for one hour, and then maintain a marathon pace for twenty minutes. Based on these results, the athlete sees how he is doing and when compared to a similar later scheduled moment, important conclusions can be drawn in terms of training intensity, duration, nutrition and recovery. This also determines whether you are still or already on schedule.
Suppose that you do everything in your power prior to the first moment and get the most out of your way, which is of course the intention of a baseline measurement, then these conditions must be almost the same in attempt two, otherwise the ratio is lost. The factor that plays the biggest role as a dissonant is fatigue. Of course, after a few weeks of training, you are physically and mentally more tired than before this process. Overestimation can also play a role in preparing for the second measurement, because you've already achieved achievements where you've undoubtedly surpassed yourself; progress comes fast but won't last long.
That is why it is important to subordinate your schedule to this moment. Get more rest, change whole wheat to white, and consume more sugars. Decreise the distance and slow down. Focus on an effort that shows exactly what you can do. Only then does it make sense to measure.
Last January, I ran 155K, and even 10% more in February. The first step is back, because my current schedule requires far fewer flight hours than what I'm used to now. Where the profit is at the moment is everything about running. My focus is on letting new habits wear out, building routines, setting my marathon pace and slowly but surely working towards them.
