Still In

Turns out I was getting all worried for no reason.

Several people who've gone the marathon distance listened to my woes and patiently explained to me that laying off for a week, even missing my 18-mile workout, won't hurt me. I should be fine, even if I only get a single 20-mile run in before race day.

They also said it's perfectly normal to panic in my situation, although they may have just been trying to humor me.

So I was up before dawn this morning, running 4 miles long before the rains came along. It felt good, even when I was running straight into the wind.

And I'm gonna quit thinking about quitting. At least for now.

Sick Time

The odds were against me--almost everyone I know has suffered a touch of flu or bad cold that's been floating around.

Linda had bronchitis and a sinus infection. Andrew's had a bad cold. People at work have had the flu.

So it really wasn't that much of a surprise to me that I felt bad Thursday morning. Bit of a fuzzy head, scratchy throat, touch of nausea, general achy feeling. Of course I had my usual breakfast and headed to work.

Each hour I felt worse until I finally went home at noon, drank TheraFlu, slept, drank more TheraFlu, and slept some more.

I didn't feel great Friday but went to work anyway. No, I'm not a Type A person, but I was in the last week before a big deadline and there's work on this project that nobody else can do. So I was there.

Saturday I was feeling less bad, but a trip to the grocery store for Italian bread and white wine for making shrimp scampi wore me out. This morning I actually had an appetite for the first time since Wednesday. I'm still pretty tired, though.

Here's the thing: Saturday was supposed to be an 18-mile run. I didn't run a step. I haven't run a step since Tuesday's 9-mile run in the wind. I haven't had the energy.

Tomorrow begins a cutback week, with 13 miles on Saturday. The following Saturday is 20 miles, then 14 the next week and 22 the week after that. I'm hoping that will be enough training to get me over the finish line in May.

Or maybe it's time to quit.

Very Blustery Day

I'm not Winnie the Pooh, but I dealt with an extremely blustery day today. The schedule said 9 miles on Tuesday, and it was really nice to do the Tuesday run actually on a Tuesday.

The wind was coming from the south at 17 mph or so, with gusts (according to the National Weather Service) in the neighborhood of 30 mph. That's quite a neighborhood, and I was running straight into it for a couple miles (I'm guessing) along Koke Mill Road.

Heading straight into the wind wasn't really easy, but it was fine compared to what I endured on Saturday. Today's run was almost all flat as a pancake, and that's exactly what I wanted today. Besides, once I had the chance to turn around and run north, the wind literally pushed me along. That felt nice.

No grouchy ankles, no tired and cranky legs, just a nice, easy 9 mile run. That was definitely a nice change of pace.

Oh, and instead of taking water along or looking for a public drinking fountain, I took along some cash and stopped at Walgreen's for a bottle of water to wash down my Carb BOOM. That store was right about at the 6 mile mark. Strategic planning.

Crank It Out

So Sunday the ankles were pretty sore but I got them stretched out by evening. Then the right one was stiff again this morning.

I worked on it while I was working, popped a couple of Advil, and went out for the scheduled 4 miles. It was sore and tight for at least the first mile and a half but slowly stretched out a bit. I was never truly comfortable, but I got the mileage in.

Tomorrow is 9 miles. We'll see how it goes, but I really am a little tired.

Well, That Was Difficult

Running 17 miles today was simply the most difficult running workout I've ever had. I quit.

Okay, I'm not quitting but geeeeeeeeeez this was hard.

I was up at 5 for instant oatmeal with peanut butter in it, a banana, water and Gatorade. I packed three Carb BOOM packets in my gear bag and got to 6th and Madison early enough to run a couple of miles before the Half Wits had their practice run on the Lincoln Memorial course.

I got going and about three blocks into my run I encountered Mary and Emily, so I ran with them. I know we were going faster than I should have, but who's gonna tell those two to slow down? Not me.

And things weren't bad on the half marathon course until around 8.5 miles (about 10.8 for me). I even ran up the Lincoln Street hill without much problem. Then we hit Oak Ridge Cemetery, and I walked up that hill. From that point on, I wimped out on the hills.

But things didn't get better. We hit the 12 mile mark (14.3 for me) and the only thing that kept me going was not wanting to fall too far behind the women I was running with. After we crossed the finish line, I set out for another mile and a half, and it was slow going. Then it was walking, running, walking, running.

Sheeesh.

Once I got done, I was so drained that I plopped into the back seat of my car and dug around for a dry T-shirt to change into. The morning had stayed cold but 17 miles meant that I had soaked my shirts with sweat. So I struggled out of the running shirts and into a T-shirt. Then I dug out a dry long-sleeved T-shirt to go over the other one. Then I hauled myself to a standing position by the car to pull on my heavy ISU hooded sweatshirt.

That's when the Mormon missionaries decided to start talking to me. Why me, God? I commiserated with them a bit over the fact that I had hauled my 51-year-old fat body through 17 miles and they were quite impressed. Then I begged them to just let me go home--I could chat with Mormon missionaries another day.

They were nice about it.

I had no calf cramps during the run, but my legs feel tired and a bit tight. What's weird is that my ankles don't feel outrageously sore the way I expected them to feel after 17 miles. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Nooner

Running on streets during daylight was a real shock to my system when I started with Abe's Army in 2005. I had been running, and before that I had been walking, in a lot of predawn hours when nobody could see me.

After I got going with Abe's Army, I eventually started running at noon. Working for LRS gives me access to health club facilities, including locker room and shower, so changing into running clothes and back to work clothes was no issue at all. Running by myself in full view of people was a bit of an issue.

But now it's no big deal at all. That's good, because today I left my desk around 10:30 to change and head out for an 8-mile run. EIGHT MILES! Yikes!

I've never attempted a run like that during a work day before. That's longer than what my Saturday long runs used to be. So how do you manage 8 miles at, um, lunch time?

Weeks ago I had a discussion with my manager about my training and the need I would have to disappear for a couple hours at a time. I said that I would either make up the extra time or take paid time off, so that wasn't an issue. His concern? He wanted to make sure somebody knew where I was in case something came up that needed to be dealt with. So I put the long run on my calendar in Outlook which is accessible to everyone, and I make sure the administrative assistant is aware of my bizarre plans.

And I stressed over food. I had oatmeal with peanut butter and a soy shake at 7 am, and then I ate a banana around 9. Plus I drank a lot of water this morning and slugged down some Gatorade.

The run itself was pretty nice. The temperature was around 40 with a wind out of the north that felt pretty cold when I was running into it. But the conditions were really the best they've been in weeks. I kinda looped through Washington Park, out on some side streets, and finished feeling pretty good. I chatted with older ladies I saw out walking their dogs and just tried to enjoy being out.

Quite a change from those early Abe's Army days.

I also stretched thoroughly after running. That's another advantage of having access to the LRS health club.

Tomorrow I have to do 4 miles. I wonder if THAT's going to be an adventure . . . . and I hope not.

You Can Go Your Own Way

Thursday evening and Saturday morning I was running on my own, even though the HalfWits were running both times. Do I suddenly dislike group runs? Do I think I'm better than the HalfWits.

Not at all. I know I have to do some hard-core running by myself in the weeks that are coming up, and I want to start getting used to the concept. Besides, the forecast for Saturday morning was rain, and the idea of driving into Springfield to run in the rain and then drive back was far too depressing.

So I ran on my own. I ran the 8-mile route east on Walnut to the I-55 frontage road and back. Then I did my usual 3-mile run for a total of 11 miles. I've never gone that far my myself and I was really dreading it.

But I dragged my butt out of bed at 5 for a yummy breakfast of banana, toast with peanut butter, and Gatorade. I dressed, got my two bottles of Gatorade ready for the run, and grabbed five pieces of Starburst candy since I had no Gu or Carb Boom.

And it was not a bad run at all. I had the usual difficulties in the construction zone on Walnut and the narrow shoulders on the road between Gordon Drive and the lake area, but I had no physical problems. No cramps, no unusual fatigue in light of the fact that I had no Carb Boom

What really got my attention was the feeling I had once I had completed the 8-mile loop and started in on the final 3-mile loop. I felt energized, almost as if I had convinced myself that I was just starting a 3-mile run, as if I hadn't already run 8 miles.

Wild.

At the end, I was glad to have logged an 11-mile run on my own. In just a few weeks, I have to go twice that far. I'm dreading that one as well.

Terrible

I feel terrible tonight.

I did a hill workout with the HalfWits, after a three-mile warmup of my own. During the warmup and during the hill workout, I felt pretty slow and still a little stiff.

But, wow, that was nothing compared to how I felt by the time I drove home. Really stiff and also sore in places that running usually doesn't affect.

I ate and stretched and took some Advil (aka "Vitamin I") and I feel better than I did when I first got home. But I still feel terrible.

I sure hope things get better as I keep training.

On the positive side, though, a couple people who've run marathons have told me that it's quite normal to feel extremely hungry all the time after hitting the long runs. I've been hungry ever since the 15 mile run on Saturday. But at least that's normal.

Maybe I should ask them about feeling so bad so many days later.

Owie

Owie. That's what I kept thinking at noon today, running 3 miles on owie ankles.

All day yesterday I was dealing with pain, especially in my ankles. I couldn't decide whether to try to get up early today to run and then lift at noon, so I just let it go. If I woke up early and things felt right, I would run early. Otherwise, it would be a noontime run.

Yeah, I woke up about 20 minutes late. So it was a noontime run. Even then, the ankles were complainin'. I didn't listen to them.

It's almost 9:30 now. I walked the dogs after work and drank some cheap red wine with dinner, and the ankles feel just fine now. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Look Ma, No Cramps!

It's kind of sad when the highlight of my Saturday is a run free of calf cramps, but there it is. Okay, the real highlight was watching Illinois State put Northern Iowa away and advance to the MVC tournament title game. But a 15-mile run with no calf cramps was pretty sweet.

At 5 am yesterday I had a banana, a slice of multi-grain toast with peanut butter, and Gatorade. I also brought TWO packets of Carb Boom gel along for the run. That's good, because we were down to just water at the last water stop.

And I felt strangely tired and a little stiff around the 9 or 10 mile mark. I don't know what was up with that, and I was very stiff for the rest of my Saturday. And of course the ankles were stiff, sore, and angry this morning. But I'm working on them.

I took the dogs through the park and got some flexibility about halfway through, which was nice. And they're starting to feel a little more like ankles right now instead of just massive pain points.

Next week is a cutback run of 11 miles. That will be nice. I'm trying not to dwell on my accomplishment so far because I've got so far to go, but it's kind of neat to think about the fact that I've now finished runs of 14 and 15 miles. Wow.

Five AM

Yeah, I've logged some early-morning runs already. But this morning I actually got out the door before 5 am, something I haven't managed before.

That was important today because I was aiming for more than seven miles, and at my pace that means I was going to be running for over an hour. Ten minutes over an hour. And then I needed to get ready for work.

So I got out the door, I ran into a strong headwind, and I logged 7.4 miles before work. At noon, when the snow was falling so hard that it was difficult to see, I was really glad I had gotten out the door before 5.

I ate a few strawberries as soon as I got out of bed, but that was obviously not enough. Somewhere around the 4 mile mark I really felt a drop in my energy. The rest of the run was more of a struggle. It's not like I was crawling or anything, but it was more effort.

Of course, right about then I had turned north and was running straight into the wind again. I'm not entirely sure that the wind didn't have as much impact as the lack of pre-run nutrition.

Maybe next time I'll suck down some raw eggs, just like Rocky. Or not.

Weather Watchin'

At 11 this morning a cold wind was blowing and there was a stinging drizzle or light rain. I just wimped out--I did NOT want to deal with that stuff today.

Besides, my right ankle was still a little stiff and weak. So I did a 5k on a treadmill. Yippee.

We've been under a flood watch today, but the heavy rain never fell here. We've also been under a winter storm advisory.

Now the forecast is for snow to begin around 6 am and continue all day Tuesday. So I'm thinking about a 4:30 alarm so I can get 7.5 miles in. Whose idea was it to train for a May marathon, anyway?

Miles

I have now run 14 miles in a workout. That's the good news. The bad news is that I got some calf cramps in the last mile and a half or so.

And today I've been dealing with some ankle pain. But that's not news at all, is it?

I began the day Saturday with a 5 am bowl of oatneal and five strawberries. I mixed up some gatorade and drove to Panera.

The three-mile run was fine and so was most of the 11-miler with the group. I drank Accelorade at the trail head, which is like 2.5-3 miles from Panera. I sucked down my Carb-Boom and drank water at the halfway point.

On the second trip through the trail, all the Accelerade was gone. I had water only and wondered if that was going to be bad news for me. I don't know if the lack of sports drink brought on the cramps, but I doubt that it did anything to hold them off. Also, once I got done running and drank down my gatorade, my legs felt fine.

And I have to admit--I felt strong all the way. I was worried that I'd be getting all tired or weak in the last couple miles, because in the past I've struggled once I've gone beyond 11 miles. But Saturday I really felt fine. Except for the cramps.

Next Saturday is 15. I've got to make sure to do the CarbBoom twice during the run, and maybe a few more calories for breakfast.

But all in all, it was a good ending for a grim week. Weather crap just kept coming along--snow, slush, yuck--and all I can say is that I got my miles in.

Oh, and I found out that this blog is public--it's not the private, invitation-only bog I thought it was. So I'm turning the comments on. Feel free to leave a comment if you wish.