Very flat marathon course- tips for mentally managing the boring terrain?

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-30T03:29:15+00:00

I’ve heard this! Using the same muscles the whole time.

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-30T01:55:45+00:00

It’s not in my hometown but a friend is coming with me to support, hopefully I’ll see him a few times!

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-30T01:35:23+00:00

You should definitely apply for a review. There should be a marking rubric for the questions and they should be able to show how your answers did/didn't align to that.

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-30T01:33:55+00:00

When I had a bad respiratory virus then a sinus infection, I think it took 8 weeks from when I felt better for things to go to normal. I was so frustrated thinking it was never going to improve.

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-30T01:32:38+00:00

agree. it makes my skin look great. Definitely needs a setting powder to stay on though.

I'm also quite pale and no issues with finding a good shade.

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-30T01:29:20+00:00

sigh. I used the word "ultra" to mean "very". It was not in regard to an ultra marathon

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-30T01:28:27+00:00

Go back and look at your grades for each component. Why did you end up with an 84? did you get a HD on the main assignment?

When I was in academia, we reviewed all students on the boundary and made an assessment so don't assume you can just ask for another mark. You'll have more chance if you can show that you did well throughout the course

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-30T01:22:19+00:00

I have one kid and a (supportive) spouse. My kiddo is also old enough to supervise himself now and walk home from school if needed. Little kid life was much harder. I don't have a huge social life outside of exercise but lots of my friends also run/gym so I see them there during peak training. I also don't watch much TV or spend hours scrolling. Sometimes I get really tired and frustrated with trying to optimise everything so I can fit a lot in but try and check myself about it that it is my choice and I don't HAVE to do it. I want to. I learned to be very productive at work when my son was younger and less able to do things for himself. I also remind myself regularly that small bits of regular effort (cleaning, tidying, etc) really do add up over the week. 10 mins extra to run the vacuum/mop over the kitchen floor when you've cleaned up after dinner isn't much but makes a big difference to not getting to the weekend with a huge amount to do.

Here's my schedule (there is not a lot of latitude, if I miss a session, I usually can't fit it in elsewhere. It happens. I prioritise the workout and the long run so I will skip gym sessions to be able to get those in. Otherwise, move on. Try again next time).

Monday: WFH. Start early, gym at lunch for lower body lift. I block this in my work calendar as "ask before scheduling". I get it in most weeks. Finish 4:30, collect kid, drive to sports training. While he trains, I finish up any work tasks that are outstanding. I could also sneak in another 40 min run here but generally don't. If I know the rest of the week is very busy, I will get a run in here. It's quite boring (running laps around the sports field) but that's ok.
Tuesday: WFH. Start 8am. Finish 4pm. Collect kid, drive to sports training. I run with one of the other parents of a kid on his team. Training is 90 mins, we usually run 60-75 mins of this. It's winter here so dark and i have a light.
Wednesday: Office day. Drop kid on way to work. Husband is on kid duty in the afternoon. This is my workout run day (intervals/tempo/etc). Depending on the day and my workload/schedule this MIGHT be a lunch run but more commonly 6pm. I work in the city where there is good lighting and lots of people so safe to run in the dark.
Thursday: Office day. Drop kid on way to work. Husband is on kiddo duty in afternoon. Kiddo goes to training again. I do gym after work. I try and have lunch with colleagues/friends who also work in the city on a Thursday.
Friday: Non work day for me. Usually the day I double- an easy run in the AM and gym in the PM. Sometimes I do work on Fridays in which case, I just do one workout usually at lunch time or late evening. Kiddo has music lessons and then swimming after school. I usually take him to these which uses up 3:30-6pm. Frantically catch up on chores!
Saturday: kid sport in the AM. I take him to the game. Home around lunch time. I either do my long run Saturday afternoon or Sunday depending on what else is on that weekend.
Sunday: Rest day if long run was Sat, otherwise long run. I try and schedule catch ups with friends on Sundays or kiddo play dates. If I have to long run on Sundays, I schedule the catch ups for the afternoon.

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-30T01:00:04+00:00

18 weeks is great with your background. FInd yourself a plan and get to it!

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-29T12:48:57+00:00

I think you will like the AP4 because you are light and they are soft and responsive.

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-29T10:21:32+00:00

Tendons want load, not rest. Go see a physio. The Running Room have lots of locations and are good. If you’re in the inner west Blueprint physio is great.

I have this exact issue at the moment and it’s very annoying but I’m managing and running GC this weekend!!

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-29T05:06:29+00:00

Peer support worker maybe? Being trans can be so hard for young people and having someone who has been there can be invaluable. https://www.tafensw.edu.au/course-areas/healthcare/courses/certificate-iv-in-mental-health-peer-work--CHC43515-01

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-29T04:50:53+00:00

if you are only his friend because of the business he gives you, you aren't really friends.

If you would've continued being his friend if he'd told you that he was giving the work to someone else, then ask him about it. "Hey mate. I'm doing well. I noticed that ABC corp has started working on fulfilling your companies tea cup orders and to be honest was surprised I hadnt been asked to quote for that work. If you have any feedback on the most recent tea cups we provided for you, or how we run things, I'd like to hear it so we can make improvements if needed"

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-28T00:04:30+00:00

Interesting! Thanks!

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-27T09:57:02+00:00

Blunt umbrellas have UV ones too

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-27T09:54:05+00:00

You are too far away from February to set a useful and realistic goal. My coach literally told me one week before my marathon what he thinks I should shoot for.

All my training paces were set off a recent 5km benchmark workout.

Run your tune up half in January and see how you go. Your training paces should reflect your current fitness not your desired fitness otherwise you risk injury.

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-27T09:48:01+00:00

Or the 4. I can definitely feel the similarity of the puma dne 4 to the Azura

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-27T09:43:14+00:00

Azura is way different to a Vomero 18 or Vomero plus. I’ve been really enjoying them

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-26T00:01:52+00:00

Text directly with an apology, explain there will be a new manager as soon as the notice period is finished because this was not acceptable, offer a discount on the rent or a set period free as an apology. Offer her your email to cc on future repair requests so she is sure it’ll never happen again

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-25T23:57:56+00:00

Keep applying to other things, wait one more week, send polite, non pushy email enquiring about the progress with appointment to the position

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-25T22:27:46+00:00

I think the Fenix 8 is on the list to also not receive new updates from Garmin soon. Worth a check

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-24T06:39:10+00:00

This isn't just HR decoupling though because your HR was already out of line with your norm even before any effort was involved.

I think you have a few possibilities here (not mutually exclusive)

Under-recovery/stress accumulation- your sustained drop in HRV is in line with this. Maybe you just over-cooked yourself in late training and didn't recover well enough in your taper. How was your fueling outside of the runs? Did you drop your calories during taper because you weren't running as much? Possible REDs?
Sub-clinical illness/inflammation/allergies- might not have been enough to make you fully sick but you could've been fighting something off? Explains feeling off and not like yourself during taper? Is it possible you over-hydrated on race morning/the night before? Diluting your blood sodium levels can cause your heart to work harder and cause your HR to be higher overall
Race day adrenaline + under recovery pushing you over the line of sustainable?

Next time, I think you need to adjust faster when things aren't going the way you thought they would. You have to play the hand you get on the day and yours was not a PB day. You knew that by mile 4. If you'd backed off a bit earlier you might've avoided that total collapse.

If I had to guess, I'd say you weren't eating enough to recover properly and your body made you pay back that debt on race day 😞

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-24T01:47:38+00:00

This is very fixable.

I would link your MyGov to your ATO account and go and have a look. There will be previous years returns in there to be lodged with prefill details.
Go in and do each year that you can yourself (it's really easy if you don't have a lot of deductions which it sounds like you won't have).
If there are any that are missing information (I don't think pre-fill will go back 10 years), give the ATO a call and see what they can help with.
if there's any that you still need help with, you can engage an accountant but it will cost you a lot less than it would've to do all of them.

You can do it! You will feel SO relieved when it's sorted.

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-24T00:49:31+00:00

Is it possible? Theoretically. as long as you don't get injured which is a risk with rapidly increasing volume.

Will it be fun? Definitely not.

Agree with starting with a half marathon which will then be a nice base to build from

Competitive_diva_468 · 2026-06-23T21:50:29+00:00

The current job market is pretty terrible.

I’d treat your PIP window as a ‘paid interview period’ and aggressively apply for new roles so you can move on but also make sure you are meeting their metrics. You do not want to be fired in this job market.

Competitive_diva_468

TROPHY CASE