Marathon Training Week Four Recap
This week was not good. No, scratch that. This week was fine, my attitude about this week was not good. We actually had semi-decent weather (re: windchills above zero), and I had time in my schedule to get all my workouts in without too much effort. Monday I had an easy three planned. I was all ready to head to the TM when my BRF posted a picture of her outdoor run, complete with icicles on her eyelashes. I knew then I had to go outside. It was chilly, but I ran fast. Kept an 8:40 pace! I should have felt really good about this, but I kept bitching about the cold. Seriously, it's been cold forever, I've run when it's been colder, I don't know why I had such a bad attitude about the weather today, but it clouded the run, and set a bad tone for the rest of the week.
Tuesday was the birthday of one of my staff, so I stopped on my way in and got donuts for everyone in the office to share. I knew I had 5 miles on the schedule today, so I managed to hold off on eating any during our morning staff meeting. But, I have a very weak level of resistance to sweets, and in addition to the donuts I brought, someone else had brought cookies, and someone else had brought candies, and...well, you get the point...it was a veritable sugar fest in our office and I indulged completely. I didn't have high hopes for my run after that, but the windchill was in double digits (19-heat wave!) and the sun was shining. I decided to do an out an back rather than my normal 5-mile loop on campus. That might not have been the right call as the tail wind I had going out turned into a brutal head wind coming back. I powered through and manged to keep the pace I was going for, sub 9:30 for each mile. Again, I was so focused on how cold it was that I didn't even celebrate the fact that I had just eaten my weight in donuts and managed not to puke it all up in the middle of my run! Bad attitude strikes again.
Wednesday, TRX day, today had to be better, right? Wrong. I had a last minute lunch meeting thrown at me. I know, boo hoo, a lunch meeting...but seriously, this week was just messing with my mojo left and right! So, I had to skip TRX and settle for the "express toning" class instead. It was okay, but my hopes for a good battery recharge with a killer workout were dashed.
Thursday had a 6 mile interval run on the plan. But a busy morning full of meetings and sub-zero windchills meant that I wasn't getting it done during my work hours. So, I headed to the indoor dome track at 7:30. I really don't like exercising at night, so this run was kind of doomed from the start. When I got there it was FREEZING inside! Granted, I know it's not really heated in there, so I dressed for the temps, but it was so freaking cold, I just wanted to pack it up and go home! There were a ton of people on the track, including a bunch of chatty teenage girls running 3-4 wide that made things worse. I had found out earlier that some women from the local Mom's Run This Town group were going to be there, and figured maybe if I could connect with someone other than my own bad attitude it would be okay. After about 3 miles I hadn't noticed any other "mom" type people on the track and was kind of over it. But then I suddenly saw two women running just in front of me that seemed like they could be from the group. I sped up and asked, "Are you from Mom's Run This Town?" and they said "Yes!" I was right, connecting with them was all I needed to get a few more miles in. I hit 5 and a half and decided to call it a night. I was ready for bed!
Another Friday swim day, another Friday of not wanting to swim. Man, it's been impossible to get myself motivated for swimming. I really don't know why either. I like swimming, I always feel great once I'm in the water, but man, getting myself poolside is like torture! But, I did get there, my workout was nothing to write home about, I managed 1800 yards when all was said and done. I am considering hooking up with a local masters group for a workout here and there. Thinking this might be what I need to get into a swimming groove.
Finally, it's Saturday, long run day. New fuel day. New attitude day! Yes, I started Saturday with the thought that I was going to be excited about my run, that all the negativity of the week was over, I was going to have a great run and then work at a cool event the rest of the afternoon! I stuck with that theory until mile 4 of the 12 I had planned. That's when the headwind hit me, that's when I tried the first taste of my new fuel (more on that later), that's when I realized that the 6 mile trail I had planned my out and back on was closed at mile 4.5. That's when my attitude went in the crapper. I guess should have known that I was going to have issues from the moment I got dressed. I forgot my base layer shirt. Like it was an omen for things to come "you aren't even dressed properly, how are you going to run 12 miles". For some reason, I brought two top layers. The windchill was 5, so I knew that one layer wasn't going to cut it, so I put on both jackets. I felt a little stiff, but figured I'd deal with it. I actually was happy for the extra warmth when I started as the wind bit a little harder than I thought it was going to. I set off for what I believed would be a nice flat run in a straight line, and that's what I had for 4 miles. Then I tried the fuel I brought along for the day...Cherry Cola Honey Stinger chews.
I was excited to try these since they are all natural and contain caffeine (from white tea), and I definitely needed a bit of a boost. The flavor wasn't necessarily bad, it's just that the cola taste lingered long after I ate them, which wasn't necessarily pleasant. They were a little easier to chew than last week's Gu Chomps, but it still felt awkward trying to chew them while breathing hard. I drank a lot of water to try to wash away the cola aftertaste. I didn't feel any instantaneous energy boost, but I did almost immediately feel kind of sick to my stomach. I don't know if it was the chews, or the large amount of water I consumed, but I knew right away that the rest of this run was going have problems. I kept running, hoping my gut would settle down and that the energy would kick in soon. Neither happened. In fact, I started to think that I was going to need to find a porta potty. That is when I noticed that the trail in front of me was ending. I was only 4 and a half miles in. Bummer. I didn't have a back up plan for my route, I was just supposed to run 6 miles in a straight line and back. Now what?!?
Given my directional ineptitude, I had no choice but to turn around and head back the way I came. I figured if I even made 9 miles before needing to get to a bathroom that it was going to be a victory of epic proportions. As soon as I reversed course, the wind hit me like a ton of bricks. My legs were so heavy. I looked down at my watch and saw I was still running at about a 10:10/mile pace, but I felt like I was crawling. This did not do wonders for my mental state. At this point I was just willing myself to get back to campus without calling my husband to come pick me up. My stomach was gurgling, my music decided to keep cutting in and out and my nose was running like a faucet. I was a mess. I finally made it back to where the trail I was on connects with the trail to campus, about a mile and a half from my office. I decided to try to take another chance on the chews since I figured I couldn't feel much worse, and I really needed something to help get me back. This time I only took a small sip of water with them and just lived with the sickeningly sweet cola taste lingering around. And although my stomach still felt gross, I did notice a small burst of energy this time. Enough that I hit the 9 mile mark and thought to myself "hey, maybe I can get to 12". But, like the rest of the morning had gone, that positivity only lasted another 1/2 mile before my mind and body decided they had had enough. I turned around and headed back to my office. I hit the door at exactly 10 miles. I decided that getting to double digits was a small victory considering what a horrible run it had been. Then I proceeded to the bathroom, where I'll spare you the details.
I had to work the rest of the day at our annual indoor Triathlon. I was in such a bad mood that I kind of thought of bailing on it since I didn't think being around people having awesome endurance sport victories was a good idea. But I am glad I stuck it out. It really does inspire me to see people of all ages, shapes and abilities embracing the sport I love. It reminded me why I'm doing this, because I believe in the body's ability to do amazing things. I told myself that one bad run is not going to define my training, or my journey to the finish line. I even had a few people ask me why I wasn't doing the triathlon and when I told them I had a long run on my marathon plan today instead, they told me how impressed they were....THEM, people who had just done a triathlon were impressed by MY crappy 10-mile run. So, I closed the chapter on Week Four. Next week is a new beginning, and it was already looking more promising than the last!
Given my directional ineptitude, I had no choice but to turn around and head back the way I came. I figured if I even made 9 miles before needing to get to a bathroom that it was going to be a victory of epic proportions. As soon as I reversed course, the wind hit me like a ton of bricks. My legs were so heavy. I looked down at my watch and saw I was still running at about a 10:10/mile pace, but I felt like I was crawling. This did not do wonders for my mental state. At this point I was just willing myself to get back to campus without calling my husband to come pick me up. My stomach was gurgling, my music decided to keep cutting in and out and my nose was running like a faucet. I was a mess. I finally made it back to where the trail I was on connects with the trail to campus, about a mile and a half from my office. I decided to try to take another chance on the chews since I figured I couldn't feel much worse, and I really needed something to help get me back. This time I only took a small sip of water with them and just lived with the sickeningly sweet cola taste lingering around. And although my stomach still felt gross, I did notice a small burst of energy this time. Enough that I hit the 9 mile mark and thought to myself "hey, maybe I can get to 12". But, like the rest of the morning had gone, that positivity only lasted another 1/2 mile before my mind and body decided they had had enough. I turned around and headed back to my office. I hit the door at exactly 10 miles. I decided that getting to double digits was a small victory considering what a horrible run it had been. Then I proceeded to the bathroom, where I'll spare you the details.
I had to work the rest of the day at our annual indoor Triathlon. I was in such a bad mood that I kind of thought of bailing on it since I didn't think being around people having awesome endurance sport victories was a good idea. But I am glad I stuck it out. It really does inspire me to see people of all ages, shapes and abilities embracing the sport I love. It reminded me why I'm doing this, because I believe in the body's ability to do amazing things. I told myself that one bad run is not going to define my training, or my journey to the finish line. I even had a few people ask me why I wasn't doing the triathlon and when I told them I had a long run on my marathon plan today instead, they told me how impressed they were....THEM, people who had just done a triathlon were impressed by MY crappy 10-mile run. So, I closed the chapter on Week Four. Next week is a new beginning, and it was already looking more promising than the last!
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