Berlin Marathon, 26th of Sep: Preparations

Thuringen Ultra 2010

Well, this is it. I have arrived at one of this years main targets. During the year I have had PB's at all new marathons I've participated in. A total of 6 marathons of which 4 is on the road and two on trails.
The first marathon was in Rome 21th of March with a finish time of 4h 18m 50s-an improvement from last years PB of 4h 31m 10s(Oslo Marathon).
Since then I've raced in Ålesund 8th of May( 3h 52m 9s), in Copenhagen 23th of May(3h 49m 14s) and in Stavanger 28th of Aug(3h 46m 21s). In addition two marathons on trails, but those are not comparable to street-races.
Being able to improve every time is good but very challenging when the next race is due-like now. Anyhow, I've made good preparations when it comes to training, tapering and other necessities.
Now it's time to establish a race-strategy. First of all I need to decide on the pace. Average pace in Stavanger was 5:22. Clearly my aim is to do better than that. I need to forget about time and consentrate on my tasks which is: keep a steady pace, supply with nutrition as planned and enter my zen-zone.
My target pace in this race is going to be 5 min/km. That will  result in a finish time of 3h 31m. With an extra effort the last 2km I'll reach the finish line within 3h 30m. Split times(5km) trhoughout the race will be 25m.
Strategy:
-Warm-up: I'm doing 10 min light run before start combined with 5 min stretching.
-Nutrition: I'm using a drinking belt with 8 bottles of energy-drink of 0,15 l each. I'm not stopping at any supply stations at all. No solid food before the race on race day.
-Shoes: Saucony Kinvara
-Clothing: Singlet, short thights-both from GORE
-Mental part: It's important to endure a lot of pain in order to obtain my targeted pace. In order to do that I'm consentrating on keeping the pace at all times, focusing on fullfilling the km I'm in, embracing and examing any pain that occurs and staying in my zen-zone at all times-one step at the time up till ten and again throughout all the race. In addition I'm visualising my performance in advance-running through every step of the course in advance in order to programme myself mentally to perform.

Finally, most important of all, have a good run.

Preparing for Kristins Runde on Saturday the 19th

Almost there now-my first official ultrarun. I'm pretty excited about the race as it is my first, but I'm calm when it comes to execution. My strategy is as follows: The distance is 81,3 km(50,5 miles) and 25 % is on trails-mostly up to the top-points of which there are five of. The rest is on gravel roads. Vertical is 2300 m(7545ft). My aim is to finish within 11 hours. In order to do that I need to have an average pace of 8min/km(12,87min/miles).                                                                                                                                                       My approaches when it comes to strategy is as follows.                                                                                                                                                

Overall:
1) On ascending the top-points I'm walking fast
2) When running on gravel roads I'm running at a pace of 6 min/km
3) When ascending a step hill I'm walking.
4) Every 1 hour consists of 55 minutes of running and 5 minutes of walking.                                                                                                                                          

Nutrition:
-Water/dehydration/energy-drink:
I'm using my drinking belt with 8bottles of 0,15 l. These will be supplemented when needed with water from passing lakes. In advance I prepare 5 bottles of water, two bottles of energy-drink and one bottle of dehydration-mixture(Maxim).
-Nutrition:
My need is 500kcal pr hour. 9hours of activity requires 4.500kcal of supplementary energy.
I'm using different means. Firstly I'm bringing 6 units of energypowder to mix with water. This will give me a total of 1.350 kcal.
Secondly I'm bringing 8 loafes of bread in two units with 4 loafes in each. Each loaf equals to 250kcal. That equals to 2.000kcal. 
In total 1.350 kcal with energydrink and 2.000 kcal with loafes of bread-Grand total so far is 3.350 kcal.
At last I'm bringing two chocolates. That should bring me up to 4.500 kcal.                                    
                                                                                                                                                            Clothing:
-Upper part: Gore Vertical windbreaker
-Lower part: Gore Knee-Length thights, Gore Running sock
-Shoes: Montrail Masochist
-Monitoring: Polar S725X and Garmin Forerunner 205
-In my bakcpack: Nit-cap, gloves, socks, emergency-kit in case of injuries, mobile-phone, keys, money, credit-card, ID
-In my car: A change of clothes, some snacks, mineralwater

Racepreparation-Kristins Runde

The race on Saturday the 19th is fast approaching. It will be my first official ultrarun. In addition it will be my longest run ever-50,5 miles. More to come on my race-strategy later on. The subject here is my preparation this week before the race.
I'm scheduling two very, short, long runs in zone 4. The first is due tomorrow and the last one Thursday.
I will also take steps to reduce the stiffnes in my thighs and in my body. I'm scheduling some specific massage to loosen up the strains in my body. Hopefully it will take place on Wednesday. I might also schedule a short massage-session on Friday exclusively for my thighs. I have also ordered a cap to wear on Saturday. Most likely it will arrive no later than Friday. If not I'm buying one here in Oslo.
It's vital that I get enough sleep this week. It is also important that I make sure to eat properly the last days of the week before the race.
Well, then. I was thinking about my previous races. Are there any similar features to to gain experience from?
In Ålesund the 8th of May I had two recovery days at the beginning of the week and one on Friday. The race was on Saturday. In addition I had four workouts that week-one running session. Total workload: 8h.
In Copenhagen I also had three recovery days-one at the beginning of the week and the two last the days before the race. I had three workouts-two of them were running sessions. Total workload: 6,33 h
At Nordmarka Forrest Marathon last week on Saturday I had three recovery days again-Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The race was on Saturday. I had two running workouts that week.Total workload: 6,33h.
Length of training sessions last week was 1h and the week before that 1,5h-2h.
I'm not scheduling less than two workouts, but I'm limiting the length to 45 m. Intensity: zone 4. The first one will be tonight and the second one on Friday-the day before the race.
On Thursday I'm having a massage to loosen up my body a bit. I can still feel stiffnes in my feet-especially my legs after last Saturdays race.

Race report: Nordmarka skogsmarathon, Oslo-Norway, 12th of June

This was a new experience for me. My previous marathons have been on solid pavement with limited elevation. This one was quit the opposite. About 90 % on gravel roads, 10 % on trails and with considerable more elevation than my other marathons. I addition the conditions were demanding with heavy rain most of the time and some wind on part of the course. At the beginning of the race I could feel that this wasn't going to be a good day for me. I felt a bit worned and my fet were heavy. I didn't manage to establish a proper running pattern on this race. As a result I didn't perform well technically and had to work hard to maintain my speed. Regularly I had to walk on parts of the most demanding ascends. Not because I had a too high heart rate, but because my fet needed to reduce the workload.

The first 14 km(8,67 miles) has an elevation of 226,5m (743ft) and the next 12 km up to 26,2 km(16,26 miles) has minor ascends. After that there is an ascend from 26,2 km to 29,1 km of 81m (265ft)-thats were the highest point of the race is 444,7m(1459ft). After that the course is descending overall but with two ascends-the first after 30,8km (19,15 miles) when moving towards Kobberhaughytta-an elevation of 47,2 m(155ft), and the second after 35,3 km(21,95 miles)-an elevation of 71 m(233ft)-to 37,5 km(23,32 miles) from where the course descends rapidly to the finish line, from 370m to 188 m(1215 ft to 618ft)-a distance of 6,9 km(2,89 miles).

My aim was to finish with an average pace of 6min/km(9,6 min/miles).
I finished with an average pace of 6,17min/km(3 % slower than my target).
I came in 8th in my age group of 12 starters. My finish time was 4h 20m 23s.
That is just about the same time as the one I had in Rome Marathon in March this year(4h 18m 50s).
Rome Marathon is a street race on solid pavement with low elevation. Clearly I must have improved since then-as my performances both in Ålesund and Copenhagen shows. Yesterdays race and the ones categorized as street-marathons are not comparable. It will have to race something similar in order to compare. The next opportunity to do that is Kristins Runde next weekend.

Some technicals:

Split times:
1) 5 km:                 28m 22s
2)10 km:                58m 56s  (30m 34s)
3) 15 km:           1h 29m 58s  (31m 01s)
4) 20 km:           1h 59m 20s  (29m 22s)
5) 21,0975 km:  2h 05m 28s    (  6m 7s)
6) 25 km:           2h 30m   9s  (24m 41s)
7) 35 km:           3h 35m 44s(1h 5m 34s)
8) 40 km            4h   7m 18s  (31m 34s)
9) 42,195 km:    4h 20m 23s  (12m 54s)


Average speed:
1)  5 km:           5,67 min/km 
2)10 km:           5,89 min/km(6,11 min/km)
2) 15 km:          6,00 min/km(6,20 min/km)
3) 20 km:          5,97 min/km(5,87 min/km)
4) 21,0975 km: 5,95 min/km(5,57 min/km)
5) 25 km:          6,00 min/km(6,32 min/km)
7) 35 km:          6,16 min/km(6,56 min/km)
8) 40 km:          6,18 min/km(6,31 min/km)
9) 42,195 km:   6,17 min/km(5,88 min/km)



Average heart rate: 159(179).
1) 5 km: 163(178)       2) 10 km: 168(179)            3) 15 km: 160(173)
4) 20 km: 163(170)     5) 21,0975 km: 159(166)   6) 25 km: 153(165)
7) 35 km: 155(165)     8) 40 km: 155(165)            9) 42,195 km: 159(172)

Calories: 2.946kcal


Total elevation: 655m (2.148ft)

The log file from Garmin can be found at:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/36566269

Nutrition:
I had an intake of 2,0 l of water, 1,0 l of energy drink and 0,15 l of  dehydration. In addition I had three bananas during the race. I refilled every 10 km-except at 40 km. The rainy weather led to a decrease in intake of fluids compared to Copenhagen Marathon three weeks ago. However, during the race I felt some hunger. The race started at 11:00 and I just had some fruit and an energy bar before the start. That was to little I guess.

Equipment:
-Shoes; 
I used Montrail Masochist. They served me well and I was pretty impressed during the trail part of the run. Excellent shoes. However, I think there are better options for gravel roads-Puma Concinnity for instance. This time I needed to use them as they are pretty new in order to prepare properly for the race next Saturday.


-Clothing; 
I used my Mythos thights, a gore-tex jacket and a nit cap. In addition a singlet. I don't like running in the rain so that's the reason for wearing all those clothes. The alternative was to dress with just the singlet, short tights and a cap. I get wet anyway. I felt a bit restrained wearing all that clothing so the next time I'm using the lighter version. I'm going to buy a cap. My socks were new. A pair from Gore. They served me very well during the race.


-Drinking belt;
It served me well during all the race.


-Electronic devices:
I used my Polar S725X to monitor my heart rate as well as split times, and Garmin Forerunner 205 to monitor my course. They both worked well during all the race.

Mental part:
It was a though race. I didn't manage to establish a proper running pace. Nor did I manage to use my zen-exercises as means of help-only partly. The course is special and not like any other marathons I have runned. Gravel roads and a lot more elevation. I almost felt like this was my first marathon-that is right in a way also. However, it is what it s and I have to deal with it. I haven't trained enough under similar conditions.
Before the race I didn't worked my way mentally through the race. I have before and that is a good preparation. To set the pace in advance is a clear advantage. It makes me able to consentrate on keeping the pace at all times and monitoring it every km through the race. In that sense I'm focusing on my working tasks during the race-not the finish.It helped me to maintain my performance through the race.


Preparation:
I've had two training runs  leading up to the race. I didn't run the day before the race. During the last workout I could clearly feel the effect from the tapering. Still my feet were heavy during the race. It could be that the increased workload when it comes to running is affecting me overall. I addition I need to train under far more similar condtions in order to improve on later participations. My nutrion intake was to low before the race. I suffered a bit from that. I experienced no stomach-problems during the race. Nor did I need to go to the toilette during the race. I did before the race.



Points of improvement:
-Performance overall; I need to train under similar conditions in order to improve on my finish time.
-Muscular endurance; I need to improve on this area. My feet are the limiter-not the heart rate.
-Mental part; continue my work on establishing zen-drill as an integrated part of my running.

Planning for race of tomorrow-Nordmarka Forrest Marathon in Oslo

A new race is due soon. This one I've scheduled right at the end of my period of tapering. It's not an A-priority race though-it's an C-priority race. I'm using it to get ready and prepare for the race next Saturday, which is an A-priority race-Kristins Runde in Oslo.
I need a strategy for tomorrows race. First of all I need to decide on my finish time. In order to do that I must decide what my pace is going to be. My pace during the last three marathon races have been 6,09(Rome), 5,55(Ålesund) and 5,43(Copenhagen). Those are all races on solid pavement and with low elevation. The marathon tomorrow is on gravel roads and with moderate elevation. I'm deciding the pace to be 6,0 min/km.
The finish time will be just under 4h 15 min. I will be pleased with that. I will bring along 5 bottles of water, two bottles of energy drink and one bottle of dehydration drink as usual. In addition I will bring along two energy bars. Roughly speaking I'm planning to pass Bjørnholt at 1h 15m, Kikutstua after 2h 15m, Kobberhaughytta after 3h and at the descend from Ullevålseter towards Sognsvann after 4h. It will be a rainy day tomorrow. That's good-I need the training. I'm using my Mythos-thigts and my Gore-Tex jacket. On the feet-Montrail Masochist. I need to run some more with them before Kristins Runde. On the head a nit cap-if necessary.
I will be staying in zone 4-the low part-on average through the race. It will be a though race. That's good. I like that. Most important with tomorrows race is to consentrate on executing excellent technique, keep a steady heart rate and speed and stay in my zen-zone at all times.
Before the race I will do some light running to losen up a bit. I will also use some vaseline under my shoulders.
No solid food tomorrow-just fruit and energy bars. I'm using both watches tomorrow-Polar s725x and Garmin Forerunner 205.

Race report-Copenhagen Maraton, 23th of May

Overall this was a race with a good outcome. I finished with a new personal best. My personal best now is 3h 49m 14s. That means I managed to lower my previous personal best from Ålesund Maraton 8th May this year with 2m 55s. It was a demanding race with a micture of heat and wind, but also a great deal of clouds.
Copenhagen was a new experience to me. The Danish are obviously very engaged in their marathon. There were lots of people all the way through the race that mostly went through the city centre and some of the suburbs. There were even a number of ensembles playing live music enroute. The course is pretty flat and not very demanding. It runs mostly on asphalt pavement but there are some minor sections of brick pavement. Sparta DK-who is head of the arrangement-did well on most parts of todays arrangement. There were  12.644 registered of which about 9.847 started and 9.141 finishers-706 DNF. I even saw on two occasions a participant being taken care of by emergency-personell. A lot of people experienced cramps during the race. Many head out for a fast, first part of the race. I myself make an effort to run at a steady pace, and hopefully a negative split-and passed lots of people during the second half.
My placement was 3.267 of all the particapants and nr 46 in my age group(40-44).

Some technicals:

Split times:
1) 10 km:                51m 50s (51m 51s)
2) 15 km:           1h 18m 25s (26m 35s)
3) 20 km:           1h 44m 55s (26m 30s)
4) 21,0975 km:  1h 50m 44s (  5m 49s)
5) 25 km:           2h 12m 23s (21m 39s)
6) 30 km:           2h 40m 38s(28m 15s)
7) 35 km:           3h   9m 27s(28m 49s)
8) 40 km            3h 37m 29s(28m   2s)
9) 42,195 km:    3h 49m 14s(11m 45s)

The finish time is 2m 55s faster than in Ålesund. An improvement of about 2%.


Average speed:
1) 10 km:          5,15 min/km
2) 15 km:          5,23 min/km(5,32 min/km)
3) 20 km:          5,25 min/km(5,30 min/km)
4) 21,0975 km: 5,25 min/km(5,30 min/km)
5) 25 km:          5,30 min/km(5,55 min/km)
6) 30 km:          5,35 min/km(5,65 min/km)
7) 35 km:          5,41 min/km(5,76 min/km)
8) 40 km:          5,44 min/km(5,61 min/km)
9) 42,195 km:   5,43 min/km(5,35 min/km)

Increase in average speed from last marathon in Ålesund(5,55 min/km) is about 2 %.

Spread in speed is: 12 %-up from 4,5 % in Ålesund


Average heart rate: 163(zone 4).

1) 10 km: 164               2) 15 km: 164   3) 20 km: 163
4) 21,0975km: 164 km 5) 25 km: 164   6) 30 km: 163
7) 35 km: 163               8) 40 km: 163   9) 42,195 km: 167

Average heart rate is slighty above the one in Ålesund.

 

Nutrition:
I drank 3,0 l of water, 0,9 l of energy drink and 0,15 l of electrolytes.
In addition I ate two bananas.
The temperature was between 15-20 degrees celsius. I was bothered by it when the sun was present. My conditions when it comes to training differ in temperature. Allthough I take great care making sure I don't get dehydrated this marathon was a new experience. Up to 20 km I managed to replace my lost fluids with my water bottles. After that I needed to make use of the supplements from the arranger. From 35 km it was hard to maintain a sufficient intake of fluids and I suspect I didn't make it. I have to improve on my routines.

Equipment:
-Shoes: I used Mizuno Wave Ronin. I didn't experience any problem. They are simply wonderful!
-Clothing: My singlet created some brushings under my shoulders. I have to use some vaseline on later occasions. I bougth a pair of new tights, kne-legth, from Gore at the Sports exhibiton when picling up my bib. A good experience. Gore is an overall, positive experience during three years of using their products.
-Drinking belt: It functioned satisfactory throughout the entire race.
-Heart rate monitor: Apart from irritating my skin it served me well. The watch shortcutted the speed on three or four occasions, but I was just for a short moment and it didn't bother me. The speed sensor is showing a to low speed. I ought to adjust it.

Mental part:
Actually it was a pretty though marathon. Maybe I had a too fast speed the first part of the race and paid for it later. I addition I think i suffered some from the hot conditions. I tried during the race to consentrate on my own performance by doing a spesific mental exercise in order to enter a zen-zone(counting my steps on my right foot up till ten and repeat again). It worked partially, but I need to train on that . The last part of the race was demanding, but again I need to train in order to handle these conditions. I am in zone 4. Maybe I could have pushed a bit harder, but that's difficult to know during a race. I aim to keep my heart rate in zone 4 and that I managed this time as well. I'm satisfied with that. I kept matching my split times with a schedule based on 5min/km pace. That turned out to be a good move as I experienced good control with my status all the way during the race.

Preparation:
I didn't run the day before as planned. That turned out to be a good move. On race day I had four loafes of bread. That was two to much. I had some minor difficulties on three occasions during the race due to an urgent need for a toilette visit. I didn't have to attend the toilette. It was just falsh alarm
Tapering the week in advance was good. Anyhow I think I was more fit in Ålesund two weeks ago.


Point's of improvement:
-Speed: I need to increase on my speed in order to lower my finish time.
-Endurance: I need to run more on average in order to maintain pace at set speed during the entire race.
-Technique: More work on this is necessary. I may have to seek feedback from more experienced runners.
-Mentally: I need to establish a training routine in order to incorporate zen into my running. I think that will suit me well.
-Equipment: 1) adjust speed sensor, 2)use vaseline under my shoulders
-Preparation: Improve on my intake on nutrition before and under the race

Race-Ålesund Marathon, Norway, 8th of May

New personal best: 3h 52m 9s. My fourth marathon was finished in Ålesund today. It's a small race with around 100 participants-most of them running half-marathon. It was a rainy day, light breeze and somewhat cold (6 degrees celcius). The course was levelled, but only to a minor degree.

Some technical data:

Split times:
1)10 km:              54m 33s
2) 21,0975km: 1h 54m 23s (59m 50s)
3)31,0975 km: 2h 50m 40s (56m 16s)
4) 42,195 km: 3h 52m 9s    (1h 1m 28s).

Average speed:
1) 10km:           5,46 min/km
2) 21,0975 km:  5,42 min/km(5,39 min/km)
3) 31,0975:        5,49 min/km(5,63 min/km)
4)  42,195 km:   5,55 min/km(5,54 min/km)

Average heart rate: 162
1) 10km: 162(Max: 171) /2) 21,0975 km: 161(173) /
3) 31,0975: 161(173)     /4)  42,195 km:   162(171)

Nutrition:
I drank 1,2 l of water, 0,6 l of energy drink and 0,15 l of electrolytes.
In addition I ate one banana.

Overall it went exceptionally well. I'm very satsified with the outcome. I didn't just get a personal best by a small margin-I smashed the old record entirly. I ran 26m 41s faster-an improvement of 9 %.
The speed is very even. The maximum gap is only by 4,5 %. In addition the speed is fast. My first goal was to perform better than last time and second to finish below 4h. I managed both.
I think my strategy paid off well. My plan was to consentrate on technique, keep a steady, preset pace and a steady heart rate below treshold. I think it is crusial to establish a strategy in advance-especially when it comes to speed.
When it comes to nutrition I think the intake of energy drink and electrolytes was successfull. I felt strong almost all the times during the race. One minor low was at the beginning of the fourth leg, but it got sorted out after I had some energydrink. I suspect I'm low on my intake of fluids. I need to check that out in the time to come. Further on I need to work more on developing my routines when it comes to nutrition.
Mentally I felt strong most of the time, but I needed to work on myself on the fourth lap. I was consentrating on my tasks as decided in advance and to reach the next distance mark(km). It worked out well. Before I imagined the finish line was within reach.

Racepreparation-Ålesund Maraton, 8th of May

Almost there again. On the brink of encountering another marathon. This one is in Ålesund-Norway tomorrow. It'll be my fourth marathon-the third in Norway and the second this year.
It's a C-priority race-which means I'm not tapering in order to perform beyond an ordinary long run. I planned on carrying out a workout at treshold pace this evening, but I've been logging 4 workouts the two days ahead of this-resulting in stiff thighs-so I need to recover. Pretty much the same scheme as the previous marathons.
My goal is to perfom better than the last marathon-the one in Rome this year. I finished there at 4h 18m 50s.
Breaking the 4h 15 m barrier should be within reach-maybe even better. Well then, in order to do that I need to perform a 5,5 min/km-speed, leaving 8 minutes to nutrition intake. It wont be to hot tomorrow. That's good. I hope it's not to windy and rainy, but thats beyond me to alter. I'm bringing 8 drinking bottles. One with dehydration fluid, two with energydrink, and 5 with water. I addition I supply with some water enroute.
I'm arriving the start area some 1,5 hours before start. That leaves time to warm up properly. I'll be doing some light running, a few sprints and some ligth running afterwards. During the race I will focus on maintaining the target speed at 5,5 m/k and keeping a steady heart rate between 150-160. Nutrition before the race is ligth as before, consisting of fruit, fluids, low on coffein and no solid foods.

Race of today, Sentrumsløpet-Oslo

I'm very pleased with the result from this race.I finished at personal best. The finish time was 49m 54s. That's an improvement of 5m 8s from last years race. In relative terms that equals to 10,3 % improvement since last year. Clearly my hours and km on the road has paid off.
Some key data: average speed is 4m 59s/km(12,03 km pr h/7,52 miles pr h). Average heart rate was 175, maximum heart rate was 187. Time after 5k was 24m 49s. Overall placement: 2132 of 6500, gender placement: 384 of 2119, age: 41 of 307.
Preperation: I arrived 45 m before the start and did some light running lasting about 5-7 m. Further on I carried out 3 short intervals at high speed. After that I did some light running again, 3-4 m. Finally I did some stretching(5 m). The start area was packed but I managed to leave at planned speed(5m).The course ascends the first 3 k but I kept my speed. Working my way through Frognerparken I passed the 4k mark right on schedule(20 minutes). Encountering the last big ascend in Bygdøy Alle I lost some speed but not much. Although I experienced some pain I still felt strong and capable of finishing within my target. Arriving in the city center again I passed 8 and 9k with a few seconds behind schedule. One last, short and step ascend and I had a short km to go. Feeling that I could succeed if I pushed all I could manage I got the energy I needed to do so. Entering the last stretch I put in my last effort and finished at 49m 54s. My main approach was to keep the target speed at all ascends, try to run steady at target speed during the descends in order to lower my heart rate, run at target speed during the flats and try to spare some strenght to the last 1 k. My strategy was successfull. I finished at personal best.

Running: Testrun before tomorrows race-Sentrumsløpet-Oslo

Main purpose with tonights workout was to prepare the body for the 10k run tomorrow. In order to do that I needed  speed, to be just below anaerob treshold and run about half the distance to see if it works out alright.
Well then,
I had an average heart rate of 165(5 below treshold), an average speed of 5m 8s pr. km and covered 5,5 km (3,4 miles). My test course is pretty flat, but it was windy from time to time this evening. I can operate between 5min and 5,5 min without difficulty in the race tomorrow. That suits me fine. I'll start with 5,5 min and increase the pace every 2,5 km with 0,25 min. The main target though is my heart rate. I need to be just below treshold, 165-170. I have a good feeling about tomorrow, but it's going to be a tough race. My main competitor is myself and what's in my mind. I don't care about the other participants in the race. I'm running at a speed of 5 m pr km, heart rate is between 165-170 and I consentrate on executing excellent technique all the time and targeting the next km. Split times is 5m, 10m, 15m and so on until 50min.
Preperation for tomorrow:
 a good nights sleep, an easy first half of the day, light meal, arriving the start area no later that 45 min before start, carry out a good warm-up, check on my gear, get a god starting spot, repeat my tasks during the race mentally several times, visualise the race several times, visualise myself breaking the finish line within my time target.

Recovery day

Having experienced a test with a negative outcome on Monday this week it's important for me to perform well in the race scheduled on Saturday 24th of April. I participated last year and have put a great deal of effort into my training since then. I have logged 250 hours of training since then of which 102 hours is running time. Distance covered while running is 953,4 km(596 miles). To make all this effort worth while I ought to perform better this year than last year. It's a short distance-only 10 km(6,25 miles). Last year my finish time was 55m 2s. To me a performance that's minimum 5 % better than last year would be satisfactory. That means I'd have to finish within 52m 25s. I had a workout recently-16th of April- consisting of a short, long run at a heart rate of 166-just below my anaerob treshold(170).The distance covered was 10,4 km(6,5 miles) and the time used vas 55m 39s. That eqals a speed of 5 min 21s per km. That would result in a finish time of 53m 30s.Last years race I had an average heart rate of 171. That means I can put some more effort in my race this year-looking at my results from the recently short, long run. I should say that the finish time should be under 53 min. I'm heading for below 50 min. Feeeling a bit stiff in my ties today I've decided to take a day off to allow my body and mind to recover. Tommorrow I'm going to run a very short, fast run in order to prepare my body for the speed to come on Saturday's race.All this means that I'm treating this race as a priority B race. There'll be no training on Saturday-just preperation for the race-more on that later on-tommorrow.

Races 2009

In 2009 I participated and finished in the following running races:

1. Sentrumsløpet-Oslo,         3.5.09  :      55 min 2 s, 10 km
2. Stavanger Marathon,       27.8.09  : 4h 37min 27s,  1. marathon
3. Oslo Marathon,               27.9.09  : 4h 31min 10s,  2. marathon

Rome Marathon, 21th of March 2010

Well then.

It's been a few days since a finished the marathon at a personal best 4 h 18 min 50 s. It all went well. I had a terrible nights sleep before the race and I feared that the lack of sleep would ruin my race, but actually it didn't. I managed to consentrate on the tasks as planned and managed to keep a steady pace through the race. My average speed was 6,09 min/km. The start was a bit challenging given the amount of participants. After about 5 km it got sorted out. My average speed the first 5 k was 6,16 min/km. The next 5km up to    10 k i increased my average speed to 5,52 min/km. I had been standing in line in the start area for about one and a half hour. I guees I should have been more eager to keep warm and to warm up. All in all I should think that my first 5 k was a warm up. Well, after having moving out of the city center we were heading towards it again and we were in centro storico after 15 k heading towards the Vatican. My average speed on this interval was 6,0 min/km. I felt good and eager to carry on. Moving on we were headin towards the Vatican and gaining some height. All the same I managed to keep up pace in spite of a brief visit to the toilette-I guess I spend some 3 minutes there. Nothing to mention at all. Anyhow I had an increase in average speed and noted 6,32 min km. Eager to get back in the race after that I increased my speed a bit as we were heading north and out of the city again. By 25 km I had an average speed the last 4 k of 5,54 min/km. Working our way back to the city center again eventually I did manage to keep an average speed of  6,18 min/km. By now I were beginning to notice that I've been running some 30 km. I was wondering about if the the speed was a bit high, but I decided to keep it up and managed to arrive 35 km at an average speed the last 5 k at 6,06 min/km. Only 7 km to go then. The next 5 km up till 40 km was in centro storico and the pavement was not asphalt but stone bricks. Average speed was down that 5 k till 6,12 min/km. With the final line just around the corner I deciced to get mean towards myself and increased the speed and had an average speed the last distance of 5,48 min/km. I had a good feeling as I was crossing the finish line after 4h 18 min 50 s-new personal best!
As the record down below shows I managed to execute a negative split.

Split	Time	min/Km	Delta	min/Km	RealTime
Km 5 - Via Ostiense	0:31:21	6,16	0:31:21	6,16	0:30:31
Km 10 - L. Testaccio	1:00:45	6,04	0:29:24	5,52	0:59:54
Km 15 - L. Marzio	1:30:47	6,03	0:30:02	6,00	1:29:57
Km 21,097 - L. Vittoria	2:10:42	6,11	0:39:55	6,32	2:09:51
Km 25 - Foro Italico	2:33:46	6,09	0:23:04	5,54	2:32:55
Km 30 - L. Thaon di Revel	3:05:21	6,10	0:31:35	6,18	3:04:31
Km 35 - Largo Argentina	3:35:53	6,10	0:30:32	6,06	3:35:03
Km 40 - Via Petroselli	4:06:56	6,10	0:31:03	6,12	4:06:05
Arrivo	4:19:42	6,09	0:12:46	5,48	4:18:51