New Marathon Personal Best! 3:20:23

I am starting to see the results of my training as I posted a new personal best at the Calgary Marathon beating my previous time by almost 20 minutes! I ran across the finish line at 3:20:23, less than 10 minutes shy of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. I could have qualified if I had not worn the new pair of running shoes obtained by my new sponsor Strides Running Room only 2 weeks previous. New Zealand sized blisters appeared at the 21k marker and almost forced me to stop running for the day, but I decided to endure the pain and keep going. If it was not for the blisters, it would be the sore knees that eventually slowed me down to a 5:05 pace for the last 4-6km. My legs were starting to burn with lactate build up, and my Patellar Tendon started to act up due to the non broken in runners.

All in all it was an amazing finish, as I started to tear up, and I know if I had the proper runners, I would have posted a sub 3:20 marathon! I have signed up for the Royal Victoria Marathon in hopes of qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

The next few months will test my endurance and perseverance, and I am very much looking forward to all my training, and events in the near future!

For the first couple months of training, my energy levels have been low. Im not sure if this is due to the increased physical activity, or not being able to get enough sleep. Regardless of what it was I decided to put more emphasis on nutrition as I seemed to be run down after the longer training sessions. I set up an appointment with Kelly Drager (my nutritionist) to inquire about some vitamins and supplements specific for training that I recently read about in "Ironstruck... The Ironman Triathlon Journey". Jack vanDyk gave each member of the DRIVEN5 this book as inspiration and a basic guide into the world of Ironman, it is a great read. On my lengthly list for discussion with Kelly was, Coconut oil (many benefits, particularly weight loss, increased immunity and proper digestion -, anti oxidants, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, Pantothenic Acid (an energy producer, and used for cold water swims - and some Branch chain amino acids, L'carnatine for energy and recovery.

Based on my conversation with Kelly, she felt that between the vitamin's im taking (Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Multi Vitamin, Glucosamine, 5HTP, Omega 3-6-9) and my current diet, I am getting enough antioxidants and branch chain amino acids. What we did decide to try out was the Coconut oil for a month, and a recovery drink such as Endurox or Accelorade.

It has been a couple months since my inquiries with Kelly and since purchasing the recovery drink, I have noticed increased energy levels and my recovery time has improved immensely. I favor the Endurox brand over Accelorade, as Accelorade doesn't seem to fully dissolve in the water bottle. I also prefer the tropical fruit taste of Endurox. The effects of the coconut oil are more difficult to directly attribute to increased energy levels. It is recommended to be used for a full month before noticing any of its effects.