Marathon des Alpes Maritimes here we come

I've almost made it through training and I'm finally feeling that I may be able to run this thing. I've had so many doubts along the way but then I always have doubts no matter what race I am doing.

Just under 3 weeks to go...

My training has been 18 weeks and I'v been doing the 80/20 level 2 marathon plan (Mat Fitzgerald). I was nervous at the beginning as I started with a dodgy hip which developed after the 80km Eco Trail in Paris. That race was a killer because of the weather ( mud, mud and more mud). All that pulling my legs out of the gooey bog was really hard on my body. Lots of people told me that at 57, I shouldn't be so ambitious but I did it and survived and am even thinking of doing another one, in better weather I hope.

I am happy to say that my hip is kind of feeling better and I thank my osteopath for that. I had a session yesterday with her, which involved an hour of massage, pulling, twisting and pressing here,  there and everywhere. I am hoping that in a day or two I'll feel like a new woman.

My main dilemma at the moment is how am I going to keep hydrated. The marathon apparently will only be giving out cups of water so PANIC. I can never drink from a cup whilst running. I could stop but then I know that I will it find it hard to get going again. I don't sweat much so I overheat quite quickly. Lots of people say that carrying fluids is for beginners, but to be honest my main aim is to finish. So if that means carrying a water belt, then that is what I'll do.

Last Sunday I had to do a 26km marathon simulation which meant running the whole way at my planned marathon pace. Trouble was, I am very undecided at what pace to run. My heart wants to beat my previous marathon time of 4:12 but then the Marathon des Alpes Maritimes has a lot more hills so my head and legs are telling me that I am 4 years older. I ended up running at around 5:40/km and I was pooped at the end and many times I wanted to sit on the side of the road and have a wee lie down. I actually only managed 24km. I had a water belt with 2x300ml bottles of Tailwind and I drank it all and yet still felt thirsty. That is something that I really need to work on. I'm going to hydrate, hydrate and hydrate over the next couple of weeks.

We had masses of rain and flooding yesterday so no running today and plus my osteopath said to take 48hours off. When I have a day off, I almost get withdrawal symptoms. Talk about being obsessive.

4 more runs and then it is taper week. I'll report back then and let you know if I feel like a new woman :).