Race week started with an amplified attack of pre race nerves, fatigue, aches and pains. Cue anxiety attack! I’ve invested a lot of time in and energy into this training block and my expectations are weighing heavily on my mind. I’ve been using the Hanson’s marathon method and like anyone, was a bit sceptical as the longest run is only 28km! (I confess that I did squeeze a 32km on the last long run just out of curiosity). The idea is to accumulate fatigue during the week with speed, strength, and tempo runs so that Sunday’s long run replicates the seconds half of the marathon rather than the first. The weekly mileage reaches around 100km and so fits into my work/life, but don’t be fooled it’s not easy doing 16km tempos at 5am! Some reassuring words from Gene, Wade, and Brad bring me back to the world of sane thinking and when I get to Napier I feel a lot more relaxedj and decide to just put my trust in the science knowing that I’ve ticked every box and haven’t missed a train...