day 14:

last long run today....

personal stats:
weight: ?
feeling: great
sleep: 4hr (poor)
legs: great

today's exercise:
run: 2h30' long (21 miles w/ last 7.5 miles at marathon pace ~6:30mpm) - awesome run!

today's diet:
pre-run: banana, dates, sports drink + black coffee
during run: 800ml sports drink
post-run: 2 bananas, apple, orange, sultanas
breakfast: eggs, bacon, blue cheese + berries + black coffee
lunch: roast pork w/ salad and blue cheese
snack: walnuts, raisins
dinner: chicken vindaloo w/ veggies
snack: apple

today's summary:
one of the best runs i have ever head! just a banana, a couple of dates and a black coffee 90 minutes before starting and i was ready to go. i planned on running with a friend through the first 14 miles and then try and pick it up to marathon pace over the final 7+ miles. starting the run i immediately felt good. the legs felt loose and the effort felt easy. i only carried 800ml of sports drink in my fuel belt so i was expecting some trouble later in the run (but it never came).

after running an easy 14 miles in about 1:40 i could feel myself chomping at the bit to put the hammer down and when we finally hit a flat stretch i told my mate i would meet him back at the car and took off. i ran well over the final 7.5 miles (sub 50min) averaging a pace slightly quicker than goal race pace which really built up the confidence. think i will need to re-evaluate my goals in line with today's outcome.

the last long run is safely in the bank and with only two weeks left to taper i'm feeling ready to go.

over the next two weeks i plan on following the primal diet as closely as possible eliminating all excess carbohydrates until the final day or two when i will try and increase my carb intake with additional fruits and veggies. i've never followed a tradional depletion/carb reload phase popular amongst marathon runners in the past so i will be interested to see how it goes come race day. basically this means that i won't be worried about focusing on post-run nutrition and glycogen replacement but will instead allow my muscles to deplete their glycogen reserves over the next 10-12 days before refuleing them prior to the race. trying to maintain the intensity will prove more difficult as the week progresses.

yesterday was a real eye opener for me and it made me realise how little emphasis i need to place on carbohydrates to provide the energy i need to be able to train hard and maintain the volume that i would like to be able to put in when training for ultra endurance. after this 30 day challenge i plan on taking it even further and see what i can achieve at the longer distances (40-100+ miles).