Training Highs and Lows

     Oh man, training for a marathon has really tested me.  Over the last few days I had a horrible hill workout, fell 11 miles short on my long run, redeemed myself on my next hill workout, only to feel a twinge in my leg that kept me from running for four days, which felt like an eternity to me.  

     How do you handle those days?  For me, I think it's karma because I just had my annual physical and was pretty happy that my resting heart rate was as low as 38 during my ECG.  The first words out of my doctor's mouth when he came into the exam room was, "Are you running a lot?"  I have to admit that it was a HUGE ego boost to see that a lot of my hard work has paid off.  Then, a few days later, I was kicking butt on my hill workout and was cruising through my last cool-down mile when I felt something I haven't felt in a long time.  A strained muscle.  I quickly slowed down and started walking, then changed and went to work.  It didn't really bother me the rest of the day so I didn't think much about it.  But the next day I started to attempt an easy recovery run and got through about 1/2 a mile before I knew something was not right.  

     Rest is really a foreign concept to me.  I don't mean sleep and naps.  I mean days without running.  This last week really put me to the test.  The 1/2 mile experiment was on a Thursday, so I iced my leg, took Friday off and iced it again.  Saturday I tested it again and got about a 1/3 of a mile before I realized this was not going to just go away.  In hindsight, it couldn't have happened on a better week.  This past week of training was a cut-back week with a long run of 13 miles on Sunday (which I missed).  And my training schedule has shifted a bit, with Mondays being my new off-day, so I got an extra day of rest.  Also, I really mean just rest from running.  On Thursday, Friday and Sunday, I still rode the stationary bike or used the elliptical machine to keep my blood pumping.  But that was almost as unpleasant to me as not being able to run.  I'm not much of a cross-trainer.

     The real test came this Tuesday, with five easy miles.  I started out slow, about three minutes slower than my usual pace.  By the last mile, I was running closer to my easy pace and felt fine.  As happy as I was to finish, I was still a little nervous about how I'd feel the rest of the day.  Fortunately, I felt great and the next day I got through a solid tempo run without any pain followed by a easy recovery day on Thursday.  

     Now, I feel like the worst is behind me but I'm still probably going to adjust my plan just a bit.  I am supposed to run 20 miles this Sunday.  But since I missed my 13-miler last week as well as falling 11 miles short on my 18-miler two weeks ago, 18 is the goal and anything over that is gravy.  I can tell you one thing, I'm not setting an alarm.  This time I'll be well-rested.  

8 Miles of Hell

     Wow.  Blogging is a LOT tougher than running.  At least for me.  Sorry for the long delay between posts!

     Alright, SA RnR runners, just about 9 1/2 weeks to go!  How's your training going?!  This week I had an 8-mile hill workout for Tuesday and knew it was going to be an inside affair because of the rain and that fact that my 19-month old doesn't go to daycare.  So I tried to find a good hill workout for the treadmill and found a few from an old Running Times article.  I chose the pyramid workout, maybe because it had the word "fun" in the description.  Yeah, I'm gonna disagree with that.  

     Considering I've NEVER run at higher than a 6% incline on the treadmill, a person with more common sense (or less of a death wish), would have adjusted accordingly.  Not me.  Somehow I think I have an innate desire to learn things the hard way and to suffer as much as possible before the lesson is complete.  My warm-up mile was fine.  The first set was pretty tough and I think I looked away from the clock for about 5 seconds.  Again, I thought I'd be tough and shoot for the 2-minute recovery jogs.  When the second set came along, the life flashbacks began.  By the time I hit 7%, I was appreciating the fact that I have a living will.  

     So, yeah, that didn't last too long.  I stopped and took a break for about 5 minutes and realized that I'd barely covered two miles.  I made some major adjustments to the routine and cranked out the full 8 miles, feeling like much less of a tough runner but pleased that I finished.  

     I guess my advice, once again, is to take it easy when trying something new.  I know I can run eight miles.  But maybe not at 7% or 8% incline.  Maybe one day.  What kind of hill workouts do you do on the treadmill?  

Keep on runnin!

Natural Nail Polish

     I'VE GOT BLACK TOENAILS!!  I know, I get excited about weird things.  And don't worry, I'm not posting pics.  Not all 10 are black, just two on my right foot.  For years I've seen articles pop up every now and then about runners getting black toe nails, having them fall off or some runners who just don't have nails anymore.  I never really thought I'd want to be part of that club but somehow now I feel like I really belong.

     There are many ailments and issues that runners get.  Chafing, bloody nipples (hope it's just us guys), blisters or the occasional bug in the mouth while running are just a few.  But to me, the black toenails have been the Holy Grail.  The true mark of a dedicated runner.  And something that I've never been able to get. So a couple of days ago, after a long run, I looked down after feeling a little pain and there it was:  my first black nail!  

     My wife already gets on me about the appearance of my feet, always telling me that I should get a pedicure since I wear sandals 12 months of the year.  Well now there's not much a pedicurist can do to cover that.  But I don't mind.  I'll walk around proudly and if anyone asks, tell them I got it from running.  And I'll say it with a smile.