thursday 7 august...

when i woke up this morning and took my first steps i felt like an old man. my legs where stiff and sore and my achilles is feeling particularly tight. time to rest up and allow my fitness to pull me through the next few days. i face the internal struggle of satisfying the animal inside that likes to get out and run for endless hours at a time and the voice of reason which is telling me to rest up.

i will attempt to restrain the beast and give in to the voice. i'll save the beast for saturday.

personal stats:
weight: 163lb and holding
feeling: restless
sleep: 6-7hr ok
legs: stiff and sore

today's exercise:
morning thoughts - the beast wants miles but the voice is telling me to rest up. i'll compromise and probably go for something in the middle.

today's diet:
breakfast: bacon, eggs, blue cheese, raisins + black coffee
snack: almonds, carrots
lunch: chicken stirfry w/ salad and rice, apple juice
snack: blueberry muffin, banana + black coffee
snack: oatmeal soaked in apple juice
dinner: some yummy stewed meat dish w/ mashed swede
dessert (i'm running 90k in 2 days so thought why not): chocolate pudding w/ icrecream and custard

while i considered not eating dessert the family were all seated together for a meal and i thought with a big run less than two days away i could use the additional carbohydrates to resupply my depleted muscles. i'm not much of a dessert eater (or chocolate for that matter) but thoroughly enjoyed it as i love ice cream and custard. i do have some food weaknesses but generally when i am focused on a goal i have the motivation and control to make good choices. after the run this weekend which i am planning on being my last long distance ultra run for some time i am going to focus instead on improving my performance at the shorter distances from the marathon down. to achieve these goals i will have to train hard, log the miles and be focused on my nutrition and weight management goals.

while i am excited about the run this weekend i am really looking forward to seeing if i can achieve my athletic potential. of course i will trying to achieve this as an average 36 year old male balancing all my other demands in life - husband, father of many, worker etc....

my wife has given me a vo2max/lactate threshold test for my birthday which i am excited about also. hopefully it will provide some useful information that i can use in my next phase of training.