Monday, November 22, 2010

What A Week!

No, I didn't race this weekend Jamoosh!  But I did have a great weekend of finishing up my final longs run before heading into my first week of taper!  Aaaaa!

My deepest apologies for not updating my blog at all last week.  It was one of those weeks where I had time for nothing and tons to do!  It made for the week to go by fast, but my list of things to do didn't ever seem to get shorter.  *sigh*  The good news is, I got two long runs in and felt pretty good.  My legs were still very angry after last weekend's half.  My quads were tight and a complete mess, and every run felt like a chore.  I had also lost some motivation to do any type of running.  Each time I laced up and headed out, I was not greeted by my usual calmness that accompanies me when I start running.  Instead, I felt dread and couldn't wait for the run to be over.  Each year, around this time, burn out seems to set in.  I'm over my training, I'm over running for certain paces and distances and I just want to quit running.  Which is a stark contrast to how my year usually is.  But this week I found it hard to find running enjoyable and slogged through all my miles.

Since I didn't get in the planned added miles after the half, that long run was a monkey on back that still needed to get done.  Thursday I woke up and it was cold, wet and rainy.  Ugh.  But I had to get in that final long run.  So the hubbs and I bundled up and hit the Coyote Creek trail to take a stab at it.  I wanted to go long, but the whole time I was giving myself outs.  If I wasn't feeling it, I would quit.  If something started to hurt, I would quit.  Surprisingly though, I made it through all 21 miles and felt instant relief.  I even managed miles 16-21 at faster that MP going up a pretty good grade to the car.  It was the confidence booster I really needed.
21.01 miles: 2:56 - 8:23/mi pace
It was slightly slower than I wanted to go, but the first few miles my legs were like lead.  And being able to finish stronger was exactly what I needed.  Glad that was over!

Friday I took a rest day to recover and on Saturday, after a long, long, long baby shower I came home and ran a quick 7 on the dreadmill.  My knees were angry at me, though.  I had worn heels for the entire day and spent much of the baby shower on my feet.  I haven't worn heels in months, and my knees quickly told me I was an idiot for trying to look fashionable.  I should have stuck with flats, and just worn a button that says: "I'm in marathon training!  No heels for me!"  Sunday came and I still had that final good long run to tackle.  Yes, I had just ran 21 a few days before but my calendar had 16 for Sunday so I sucked it up and headed out into the COLD!  Seriously, it was 40 when I went out (I know all you East Coasters, I'm a baby!), the wind was hollowing and rain was sprinkling the whole time.  Since it was such crappy weather, I did out and backs along the long road near my house.  It was boring, cold and miserable, but gosh darn it!  I got it done!  16 miles finished to send me into taper!
16 miles: 2:08:08 - 8:00/mi pace
Right on target for marathon pace.  I couldn't believe I managed to keep that pace the whole time.  I think running the same out and back multiple times helps.  I knew the road and the inclines and was able to pick it up and recover when I could.  Again, a run I needed to send me into a good taper.  I finished the week with 55 miles ;)

Speaking of taper - I HATE IT!  I know everyone says this, but it is NOT my friend.  I don't do well with long tapers, so for this week I'm scaling back a bit.  Not too much, though.  I have a recovery run, some tempo runs and one more longer run to get in.  And then next week will be full on recovery and scale back.  I'm running a 10K on Thanksgiving and I'm not sure what my plan will be.  I could use it as a tempo run or practice hitting MP miles again, but we'll see.  It's going to be wet and cold again - I'm sure good practice for CIM.

I know I also promised to update you on what the doctor found.  I did have to go back in to see her last Friday and I got some good news and some news to work on.  Turns out, I was pretty anemic.  My iron levels were in the toilet and my electrolytes were way off, too.  Not too sure what could have caused it, but probably all of my training didn't help.  I normally eat pretty dang healthy.  I'm almost vegetarian, but I know for myself, I need animal protein to stay strong and try to eat chicken at least 3 times a week.  But my doc thought the lack of red meat probably didn't help.  She decided that we try and tweak my diet a bit before we start worrying.  She gave me an iron supplement and the advice to go home and eat red meat for a couple of weeks.  Also to increase my intake of dark greens.  Easy enough.  It's been going pretty well.  My energy levels are better, not 100% and my stomach is still a mess, but it's progress.  I also know that I lost about 14 pounds since I quit my job.  She thought that this could have also contributed.  I am by no means over weight, but I didn't necessarily need to loose the weight.  I think that now that I work from home, I'm more active.  I don't sit at my computer all day and I don't snack.  I also cut out alcohol for the most part which I think contributed to the weight loss.  All things to think about and tweaking my diet should help.  I find out next week if it's working or if we need to explore other options.

I'm hosting 13 at my house for Thanksgiving.  Including my crazy out-laws.  To say I'm a bit overwhelmed is an understatement.  I think my alcohol intake will go up!  The out-law's craziness is too crazy to go into here, but let's just say, these aren't your normal peeps.  Ah, the joys of getting married. Ha!  So, if I don't update again this week, my apologies in advance.  I will be consumed with shopping, cleaning (something that my MIL always notices!) and generally stressing to make sure everything is done.  On Friday the hubbs and I are heading to Tahoe to go snowboarding, so that will definitely help keep me a bit more sane on Thursday!

Congrats to all the racers this weekend!  Especially all you Philly peeps!  Yayyyy!
I'm off to catch up with all of you!  Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Monday and Happy Running peeps!

21 comments:

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

How do you run all those long miles so close together...and so fast?

Glad to hear you got not too bad news from the dr. Eat well and get your body built back up for the holiday. Try not to stress too much!

Emz said...

Excellent miles and PACE.

YAY YOU!!!

Anonymous said...

You are a machine. I demand your husband check you for metal parts.

Teamarcia said...

Hooray for the taper you running machine! 14 lbs? Are you kidding? Can you come tweak my diet too? Although I am not hosting, know that I'll be sharing your in-law pain on T'giving. Hang in there!

Unknown said...

You ran 16 miles in 2 hours! Holy fast legs!! That is super impressive!!!!

ajh said...

Have a great THanksgiving. I would be stressed for sure. WE are a small number but both kids will be here! Yeah!

Denise said...

hun, where did you lose 14 lbs from??? i wonder if that's why you're feeling the way you are! geesh, eat up, girl!

i eat barely any poultry and zero red meat. haven't eatten it since i was a little girl. it grosses me out. but i'm so loaded up with dark greens that my iron levels are through the roof. hopefully it's just a diet adjustment and you'll be back on track. and clearly you need to add booze back into the mix.

teacherwoman said...

It's it weird how the mind can have such an affect on a run... even when the body is going strong, sometimes the mind just keeps looking for reasons to quit. It's weird.

I rarely eat red meat, maybe a hamburger here and there (probably only two times a month) and usually only chicken. I sometimes think that if I ate more read meat I would feel more better. Last week I made a big batch of meaty spaghetti sauce and ate off of it for almost a week... it really helped. I didn't feel so sluggish last week.

MCM Mama said...

Great job on the running, but I totslly hear you on burnout.

Hope the diet tweaks do the trick! Oh, and that 14 pounds you lost? Pretty sure I found them. ;o)

Laura said...

Wow...awesome job. I feel like a slug next to you.

Ewa said...

Happy Thanksgiving. Try not to stress out over it.

ShutUpandRun said...

Those are some fast miles, girl.

I am glad you got some answers re: why you've been feeling like crap. Maybe tweaking the diet will do the trick. Sounds like you're on top of it.

Marlene said...

Woohoo, congrats on the final long run! Way to get 'er done.

Glad you got some answers from your doc and are taking steps to getting better!!

Have an awesome T-giving!!!

Anonymous said...

I knew it- iron!

Good luck with the dinner- lots and lots and lots of wine girlfriend!!!!

Pining for Pinterest said...

Good luck on the Thanksgiving dinner! I totally understand the thing about the in-laws ;)

Katie said...

i'm interested in how you feel after the diet tweaks + a few more weeks. i don't eat red meat anymore but sometimes worry i am missing out. although i eat tofu like a champ. RAWR.

try and enjoy the taper, it'll go quick! xoxox!

Page said...

Awesome job killing it out there! And good luck with Thanksgiving!

Christy Ashley said...

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You were a huge inspiration to me! Thanks for all the advice along the way! Can't wait for #2! Maybe we'll run a race together!

Hope you made it through Thanksgiving ok! Happy shopping!

Christina said...

That's good you have more energy with the iron supplements.

Your alcohol consumption comment struck home...I don't drink a whole lot but I have a couple glasses of wine a week. If I want to lose weight, I need to cut that out. Thanks for the reminder that has a lot of calories.

Anonymous said...

awesome, just awesome

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