a bit more technical…

passed the emotional moments...let's dig into the numbers...
(the very few readers of this blog know that I am data-maniac runner)
1) the tapering....
for the first time, I tried to take advantage of the "Training Load" function of the SportTracks3 SW.
Without bothering too much with my own personal data, you can see that the load went down a lot during the last week of January because of work commitment, so I tried to do a bit more in early February to recover, but obviously this involves the risk of getting too tired close to race day…

The greenish line (Training Stress Balance) was so still well below “0” very close to the marathon and I really had to take 3-4 days very easy to get a decent taper and reach race day with a TSB of +8.
I think that probably is better to avoid getting so close to a “A” race with tough workout and get more freshness to really have the best performance.
If someone is interested in knowing more about how to use the function, just pop me a message.

2) The carbo-loading:
my terror is always to end up in a part-a-john after 10k because of having eaten too much, and at the same time I still need to eat those 400-500grams extra of carbs to build up reserves for the race
(my friend Stefano knows very well the consequences of this: we ended up with 6 stops in the … while still finishing in 2h34’… he carbo-loaded using cereals…)
So, like I did for Fukuoka, I mainly took some cereal bars, but mostly resorted to carbohydrates in powder. I found a product with acceptable taste and so it was enough to sip all day long. I highly recommend
So my gut was still light and I did not feel too bloated at the start…

3) Race Splits

Distance	Time	Split time	Split pace
5	00:19:28	19:28	03:54
10	00:38:42	19:14	03:51
15	00:57:43	19:01	03:48
20	01:16:37	18:54	03:47
25	01:34:56	18:19	03:40
30	01:53:53	18:57	03:47
35	02:12:16	18:23	03:41
40	02:31:33	19:17	03:51
42,2	02:39:55	08:22	03:49

Difficult to say something on this. The first 10k are uphill, so the pace was fair. From 20 to 35 it is mainly downhill and also we really started to pick up the pace.
The split from 35 to 40 is great, considering the climb out of the tunnel and all the other flyovers, etc…Than I was really done for the day and just keeping the pace.

4) The HR
All the race was done following the indication of the Polar… I did on purpose hold back until the 20Km at the lower end of the MP zone… then it was time to start the race..
Note the spike in bpm around 1h00’…it was right after the fall… It was really an adrenaline boost..!! I had to calm down.. relax back and let the HR goes down again


5) The REAL race…
apart from the performance of a middle-age guy… there was a real race going on ahead of me
Here the article on the local newspaper

and lastly, the newspaper also find the goodwill to make an article about “the race in the race” for the local runners, where I am also interviewed !!

6) The reward:
for me, the greatest satisfaction is to being able to run in Fukuoka again.. with 2h39' I am sure to make their entry requirements. Now you know where I will spend my first Sunday of December !