Taking Care of Myself

With two weeks to go until the Big Night my mind has turned to the things I need to do in preparaton.

Munchies:

Knowing that I'll need to eat through the night to keep me going, I headed out to Real Food to buy a selection of snack bars. As I have a number of food intolerances I need to trial them before the night to be sure they don't cause me any problems. Now I just need to resist replacing lunch with them as they look so tasty!


Wobbley bits:

I had been hoping that my training would help me lose weight. In a way, it has, I'm half a stone lighter (about 3kg) but it isn't as much as I had hoped for. Now I know that there will be women of all shapes and sizes with all their wobbley bits proudly on show but it doesn't make me feel any more confident about getting my stomach out when wearing my decorated bra. If only I'd thought to add sit ups in to my training routine months ago! On the plus side, I can see my waist again, there is a definite change in my silhouette between hips and chest.


Feet:

The most important part of my prep. My feet have carried me about 200 miles during my training and I'm expecting them to continue on and carry me the 26.2 miles on the night. Last time my feet really suffered. I had huge blisters and I lost toenails on both feet. This year I'm aiming to reduce this as much as possible. I'm having regular foot soaks, scrubs and slapping on the moisturiser. Less rough skin means less chance of blisters. I also have a couple of sessions planned at the foot spa where tiny toothless fish nibble away the dead skin leaving your feet silky and soft.


Nutrition:

I'm beginning the planning for my meals in the week up to the marathon. Ah, carb loading, that means I get to eat crumpets and toast all week right? Apparently not! I have meals of wholemeal pasta, quinoa, cous cous and potatoes, full of veggies and protein to build up my carb levels before the race. As I can't eat the meal they provide on the night (damn you citrus intolerance!) I'm taking along two tubs of pasta with duck sauce (the most awesome pasta sauce in the world). The first will be before the race, more carbs, less sauce. The second will be for after with a good extra dollop of awesome sauce to help muscle repair.


Hydration:

It goes without saying that you need to be hydrated before any endurance exercise. However, it is even more vital when you suffer from a condition that is controlled by keeping fluid and salt levels up. Let them drop and at best, I'll feel a bit woozy, at worst I could have a seizure. I drink plenty of fluids but I'm attempting to add an extra litre of (non-tea) fluids a day to ensure there is no dehydration on the night.


Sleep:

I've been sleeping really badly at the minute. Today my aim is to give the bedroom a thorough clean, get rid of any trace of dust which can trigger my allergies and breathing problems in my sleep. I might also resort to the herbal sleeping tablets to ensure I'm well rested for the night.


Most of all though I'm just trying really hard to not be too excited.