Training update

I hope I'm prepared for the 'steep incline'!

It is just over three weeks until I venture up to Beijing to run the Great Wall half marathon. I'm starting to get a little nervous about the whole thing and lots of questions are running through my mind - Am I fit enough? Can I cope with all the hills and steps? Will I cope with the heat? How do I make sure I drink enough? What time should I aim for? Why am I doing this?

Lots of steep, steady inclines on uneven ground.

I've been training pretty hard and on most days, I feel fit and ready to take on the challenge. I think that half the challenge of the run will be not physical but mental - the idea of running about 9km on the Wall, followed by another12 km on the flat is a little daunting. The weather will be a huge factor, it is likely to be very hot in Beijing and particularly on the Wall because it is so exposed and it will be difficult to find relief from the shade. I had a little scare on Monday when I ran at the gym. I stupidly had a Starbucks fruit slushie and a chocolate muffin before I ran - not good when you have a sore tummy and your body doesn't really tolerate wheat products anyway. But, I still ran and managed to complete 12km, despite feeling queasy. When I got home, I soon discovered that I was dehydrated - I was dizzy, didn't want to eat anything, felt extremely fatigued and generally felt very ill. This continued all of the day and I even had to have a sleep at school just to get through the afternoon. So, I have learnt my lesson for keeping myself hydrated when running, particularly in the heat.

It just goes forever!

Am I prepared? I hope so! Despite the fact that I haven't done any really long distances (longest is about 12km), I think I will be okay. I have spent a lot of time running up and down the stairs in my apartment building and have recently starting including more hills on my indoor runs (there are no hills outside in Wuxi). In my mind, I've broken the run into several sections and I will try to talk to someone who has completed the run before to get clarification - There is the run uphill to the Wall, the run along the Wall and then through the local villages, which is on the flat. So, I'm hoping that I can get through the distance with some mental fitness as well as the physical side of it.

I hope it's a little bit more even than this!

The training experience has been amazingly motivating so far and I've learnt lots of lessons about my body, my willpower and my determination to achieve a goal. After this run, I'm going to aim towards completing the Shanghai half marathon in November, and apply the things I've learnt. What have I learnt? I've learnt that I need to listen to my body and what it's telling me to do - I've discovered the importance of rest. I've learnt that I need to be more disciplined with my diet - I need to say 'No!' to dinner and drinks out more often. I've learnt that I can find 'the zone' when running for longer periods of time and that 'the zone' is a good place to be after a long day at work! I've learnt that long distances are not really for me (other than to achieve my goals) - my body has been quite sore and I just get so bored! I've learnt that keeping a training diary is extremely motivating and enjoyable. So, now I have three weeks to go - a week of running in the sand in the Phillippines, a week of training hard here in Wuxi and a week of tapering leading up the race. Bring it on!