A few weeks back, one of the two friends that I have been planning on running the marathon with called me up and said that he wouldn't be running due to an ongoing hip injury. He said that he would still come up to Nova Scotia and cheer us on, but that there was definitely no way he could run.
The first thing I did was ask him to RICE it for a week or two and try and run and see if it got any better. I had just come off of a very similar type of issue and this strategy worked well enough for me return to training relatively hard.
He rested up and ran 20 a week ago today. He gave me a call right after to thank me for gently pushing him to give this a try before making a rash decision. We were back on!
However, we had decided on Nova Scotia primarily because of his interest in attempting to qualify for Boston. Most marathons are either in the spring or fall and the timing just worked well for a summer vacation. Plus, its cooler in Nova Scotia. But now, after not being able to properly train, he believed he had no chance to put up a qualifying time in 3 weeks.
So, I did some research, and found this:
www.madmarathon.com
It is two weeks sooner, but also 600 miles (4 times) closer. No offense to Nova Scotia, and road trips are badass, but we're going to be running a marathon. The following two days, I imagine, are going to be lost in a haze anyway.
Plus now we can plan an even more badass trip on the week that we are already scheduled vacation. We'll probably backpack the White Mountains, but those details are for a different blog.
So, here we are. I just finished my first and last 20 mile run. I only ran over 30 miles maybe three times. I am banged up and starting to question my ability to have a long career as a distance runner.
All this is true, but I am confident that I will accomplish my one and only goal here: finish and survive a marathon. And at that point, I will probably reflect on all the pain and suffering, all the hard work, and all the trash I talked about distance running and realize that in fact I loved every minute of it.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
1:54:21
I would do that. I would PR after feeling like junk for several weeks before. Actually, this proves two things to me:
1. Tapering is just as important as anything else. It allows your body adequate time to recover/repair/rejuvenate and makes you feel great on race day.
2. Experience is power. I knew exactly how I would feel if I kept up with the pace I was at. I had a pretty good feel for when my knees would start to nag. I also knew exactly what to do pre-race to stack the odds in my favor.
This just proves that I have so much more in me in terms of lowering my finish times. Imagine if I had done speed work!
I'm excited to see what I can do in my next one in October.
1. Tapering is just as important as anything else. It allows your body adequate time to recover/repair/rejuvenate and makes you feel great on race day.
2. Experience is power. I knew exactly how I would feel if I kept up with the pace I was at. I had a pretty good feel for when my knees would start to nag. I also knew exactly what to do pre-race to stack the odds in my favor.
This just proves that I have so much more in me in terms of lowering my finish times. Imagine if I had done speed work!
I'm excited to see what I can do in my next one in October.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Uncle!
OK. I get it. I'll stop. I'll listen now. I'm a beginner marathoner and I should be doing beginner marathoner training.
I got hurt again on my long run last week. Yea, the one below. Actually, I think I hurt myself the prior week, but thought it was just innocent soreness, so I just ran through it. I did feel like junk all week so we had actually already decided to cut it down to 13.5.
Its pain in the back of my knee, on both of the tendons on the outside. About 10 miles into the 13.5, I started feeling a shooting pain on every third step. It continued until eventually all 3 of the friends I was running with demanded we stop because my form was all screwed up and I was yelping every few seconds.
Since then it has gotten a bit better but it is still bad enough that I have needed to take Ibuprofen to help with the pain even when I'm not running.
The best part is that I'm now 1 week away from a 1/2 marathon and I'm junk. All my friends are peaking right now and I'm junk. I hate it.
But I'll get through it. All you can do is RICE constantly, reassess your training, and give it your best without making things worse. Thats a fine line and much easier said than done.
I got hurt again on my long run last week. Yea, the one below. Actually, I think I hurt myself the prior week, but thought it was just innocent soreness, so I just ran through it. I did feel like junk all week so we had actually already decided to cut it down to 13.5.
Its pain in the back of my knee, on both of the tendons on the outside. About 10 miles into the 13.5, I started feeling a shooting pain on every third step. It continued until eventually all 3 of the friends I was running with demanded we stop because my form was all screwed up and I was yelping every few seconds.
Since then it has gotten a bit better but it is still bad enough that I have needed to take Ibuprofen to help with the pain even when I'm not running.
The best part is that I'm now 1 week away from a 1/2 marathon and I'm junk. All my friends are peaking right now and I'm junk. I hate it.
But I'll get through it. All you can do is RICE constantly, reassess your training, and give it your best without making things worse. Thats a fine line and much easier said than done.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Great Info about Hitting the Wall
Taken from Wikipedia
Athletes engaged in exercise over a long period of time produce energy via two mechanisms, both facilitated by oxygen:
via fat metabolism and
via breakdown of glycogen into glucose, followed by glycolysis.
How much energy comes from either source depends on the intensity of the exercise. During intense exercise that approaches one's VO2 max, most of the energy comes from glycogen.
A typical untrained individual on an average diet is able to store about 380 grams of glycogen, or 1500 kcal, in the body, though much of that amount is spread throughout the muscular system and may not be available for any specific type of exercise.[2] Intense cycling or running can easily consume 600-800 or more kcal per hour. Unless glycogen stores are replenished during exercise, glycogen stores in such an individual will be depleted after less than 2 hours of continuous cycling or 15 miles (24 km) of running. Training and carbohydrate loading can raise these reserves as high as 880 g (3600 kcal), correspondingly raising the potential for uninterrupted exercise.
Athletes engaged in exercise over a long period of time produce energy via two mechanisms, both facilitated by oxygen:
via fat metabolism and
via breakdown of glycogen into glucose, followed by glycolysis.
How much energy comes from either source depends on the intensity of the exercise. During intense exercise that approaches one's VO2 max, most of the energy comes from glycogen.
A typical untrained individual on an average diet is able to store about 380 grams of glycogen, or 1500 kcal, in the body, though much of that amount is spread throughout the muscular system and may not be available for any specific type of exercise.[2] Intense cycling or running can easily consume 600-800 or more kcal per hour. Unless glycogen stores are replenished during exercise, glycogen stores in such an individual will be depleted after less than 2 hours of continuous cycling or 15 miles (24 km) of running. Training and carbohydrate loading can raise these reserves as high as 880 g (3600 kcal), correspondingly raising the potential for uninterrupted exercise.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Tips for Novice Runners, from a Barely-Intermediate Runner
1. The faster you run, the faster you get hurt.
2. The faster you increase your miles, the faster you get hurt.
3. Frozen veggies make great cheap ice packs. Wrap them tight with an ace bandage as often as possible.
4. Long runs are not negotiable.
5. Mid-week long runs are crucial for progress- both physical and mental.
6. Buy expensive, well-cushioned shoes.
7. Fellas- band aids work fine for avoiding nipple chafing. Under Armour does the same for avoiding thigh chafing.
8. Look up and follow a reputable training plan. Make little tweaks here and there, but try to stick as close to the plan as possible. I personally buy in to Hal Higdon's plans.
9. Don't over-carb-load. Definitely eat carbs, but if you eat too much, you'll feel bloated all day. Eat the same the night before a race as you do before all long runs. Also, carb-loading is pretty much unnecessary for anything less than a half marathon.
10. Do your long runs in the morning. having to do a 3 hour run sucks if you start at 2pm. And you spend all day beforehand groaning over the impending doom. I always do it that way, but it sucks.
Bonus:
2. The faster you increase your miles, the faster you get hurt.
3. Frozen veggies make great cheap ice packs. Wrap them tight with an ace bandage as often as possible.
4. Long runs are not negotiable.
5. Mid-week long runs are crucial for progress- both physical and mental.
6. Buy expensive, well-cushioned shoes.
7. Fellas- band aids work fine for avoiding nipple chafing. Under Armour does the same for avoiding thigh chafing.
8. Look up and follow a reputable training plan. Make little tweaks here and there, but try to stick as close to the plan as possible. I personally buy in to Hal Higdon's plans.
9. Don't over-carb-load. Definitely eat carbs, but if you eat too much, you'll feel bloated all day. Eat the same the night before a race as you do before all long runs. Also, carb-loading is pretty much unnecessary for anything less than a half marathon.
10. Do your long runs in the morning. having to do a 3 hour run sucks if you start at 2pm. And you spend all day beforehand groaning over the impending doom. I always do it that way, but it sucks.
Bonus:
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