Week 9 - I have my work cut out for me.

Two months of training down, roughly 2 and a half months to go. I am happy to report that for the first time in this whole training debacle, I ran 4x this week (which, according to the training schedule I am following, I am supposed to do...EVERY WEEK). Meh. Better late than never!

Meanwhile, one of the training books I read talked about needing an ironclad motivation for running the marathon (or half in my case, although I imagine it is not such a serious thing as running the full thing - KATE, ahem!). My initial motivation was to be able to say I did it, I ran a half marathon. Well, that's not entirely ironclad - I can easily talk myself out of that one (I am still young(ish) - plenty of time to do it! I can just do it next year!). However, my real motivation turned into running it with my dad, considering he said he'd do it with me, and since then has bought the plane tix and everything to fly out here (from AZ). Well, no talking myself out of it now! Except...here's the email I got from him on Sunday:

Registered today! Ran half marathon in Flagstaff yesterday. Beautiful clear warm day. Started at 6900 feet and first 8 miles went to 7600 feet , then back to finish. Time was 2:20. Only have sore toes today. Start training tomorrow for GR.
Love, Dad

OK - does anyone have any suggestions for how I can possibly get out of this thing now??? That is SUPER impressive - a killer time considering the elevation and the climbing almost 1000 ft over 2/3 of the race. HOLY CRAP. I was estimating I'd run the half somewhere in between 2:15 and 2:30, hopefully. At sea level. On flat asphalt.

Way to go Dad! See you at the finish line...

In other news, ever since I'd started ramping up my mileage, I feel absolutely shitty. Worn down, legs having a hard time recovering from runs, even wussed out of doing the full trail at mtn biking because I was just plain tired. I was trying to figure out what the problem was, and I think I understand it now. Here's a snipit from the active.com newsletter I received this week:

Daily workouts accompanied by a low-carb diet cause a day-to-day decrease in muscle glycogen. Chronically low muscle glycogen stores can trip up even the fittest runner, especially those training every day. Heavy or sore legs, nagging injuries, feeling rundown or running out of gas during long runs can all indicate insufficient recovery after a run.

Understand that I am not low-carbing it by any means. However, I think I might not be eating properly in general. In other words, not eating enough of the right types of foods at the right times (this is freaking complicated!!!). Furthermore,

Activities such as socializing, stretching or showering often delay when runners eat after a workout. And runners trying to lose weight while ramping up their mileage or intensity often skip post-run or race meals. But eating after a workout should be one of your top priorities.During the so-called "carbohydrate window," the first 60 minutes following exercise, muscles convert carbohydrate-rich foods and beverages into glycogen up to three times faster than at other times. (The most effective period is 15 to 30 minutes after exercise.) Make immediate post-workout meals a part of your routine to avoid fatigue throughout the day and injuries during runs.

Now that I think about it, I usually stretch, shower, and eat after a run: in that order. Meaning I don’t eat until an hour or so after running. Maybe I should stretch and THEN eat before showering!

And finally, one surprising, but quite lovely little tidbit:

Chocolate milk (with its 1:4 protein/carb ratio) continues to earn top status as the perfect post-exercise recovery drink, according to a study in Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism.

yep, I am so ALL OVER IT!

And now, on with the recap:

Monday: ran a nice and gentle 5k with Leanne in Hville. It was good for both of us - even with her whining and worrying beforehand that she'd be "too slow" and "hold me back". Frankly, I needed an easy run. My legs were still sore and stiff from the long run on Sat from Week 8 (here is where I started feeling lousy, and it lasted much of the week), and I was feeling run down, not sleeping well (my legs felt achy and I just couldn't get them to relax). It was good having her pace me at 10-11min/mi pace. And I appreciated the company since I was feeling quite unmotivated to run in the first place (re: feeling like crap). So THANKS LEANNE!!!

Tuesday: off

Wednesday: mountain biking with Leanne. Did the first two parts in 26 min, including stopping at the top of Ginormo hill for a much needed break. This is the second time in a row that I got a huge cramp in my side after climbing that hill. I think the problem is I am so focused to get up the fucker, I forget to BREATHE. So once I get to the top I am all gasping for air - hence the cramp. Need to work on that. And again, feeling lousy. We should have gone on to do parts 3 and 4, but I wussed out, citing exhaustion. But WTF? As Bill put it, "you drive all the way out there, ride for less than half an hour, put your bike away and drive home??? that's dumb."

he's right. DUMB. Pissed off at myself for not doing all 4 parts. Not gonna let that happen again.

Promise.

Thursday: ran 4 mi. nothing of note today except I was still feeling worn down. Gotta push thru.

Friday: off

Saturday: long run day. was supposed to be 7 mi. only did 6. But before you criticize me (re: K8) - listen - storms were a plenty on Sat; it had rained all night. But according to my training books, you can't use the weather as an excuse not to run, especially on long run days. Those are "no skip" days. no matter what (except for bleeding profusely or some other such emergency I would hope, althought not sure about that). 7 am there appeared to be a break in the storm front, so I hightailed it out on the road. a mile in, it DOWNPOURED. then, just as suddenly as it started, it stopped (after about 10 min). I kept going (and no, I didn't stop while it was raining). 5 min later Bill and the kids pull up to rescue me - I waved them on; after all, it had stopped raining and I was only 20 min into the run.

The middle 3 mi were fine, although my legs were tight from being cold and wet. So I just stayed slow and steady. The last 2 mi though - it started lightning and thunderstorming, and I thought to myself, "self (MEG!), NOW would be a good time for Bill to pick you up!! Better move your ass!!!"

So I did. Practically sprinted the last mile back to the house. By then it was really lightning out. And just as I turned into my development, the sky opened up and it POURED. It could have been worse. I could have been on mile 2 when that happened. I didn't mind the rain so much, it was the getting killed by a massive electical current that I was mostly worried about. Alls well that ends well. Except I had to shorten the run and didn't get in the 7th mi. I still say, SUCCESS!

And to finish things off, once I got in the house, Bill handed me a tall glass of? You got it: CHOCOLATE MILK! YAY!!! And I changed out of my wet clothes and ate breakfast within 15 min of finishing the run. Let's see if these changes help with my energy level and recovery...

Sunday: ran a short recovery run in Niles in the heat and humidity. Why you might ask? Well I had good motivation. My inlaw's pool, which I jumped into with all my clothes on (sans the sneaks and IPod luckily) after the run. NICE!


All in all a good training week. And my legs didn't feel so tired over the weekend, and I feel somewhat better energy-wise. Hopefully paying more attention to what I eat, and when I eat it will solve these problems.

Final tally: 3 + 4 + 6 + 2.5 mi running + 4 mi biking = 19.5 mi total (just a half mi shy of my goal - NOT BAD!!!).