I haven't posted since the Marine Corps Marathon and now that I'm in full swing training for Antarctica, it is probably time to get back to this blog.
Part of the reason I haven't posted is because this is a running blog and during November and December I did a lot of everything, except running. I survived finals, successfully defended my Masters and escaped to Europe for a week long vacation with my boyfriend.
Chris and I at Munich's Hofbrauhaus
There were also the holidays, a nasty cold and a stomach virus that prevented me from eating for three days (and kept me eating only toast and bananas for a few days after that). Some of these things were good (Germany! Prague!), others were bad (stomach virus) but all negatively impacted my running. Importantly, I'd been able to maintain a reasonable base after the marathon, running 5 miles several times a week, including tough hill workouts, but my long runs had been lacking.
Scheduled | Actual | Excuse |
10 | 5 | Ice stom in Pittsburgh left me with 6 degree temps and dangerously icy sidewalks. Every time I planted my foot it felt like I was running on a treadmill set just too fast. I bagged the run instead of risking injury from a fall. |
8 | 0 | I was in Germany. Thanks to the awesome beer, brats and pretzels I had adequate stores of carbohydrates, however, there was 5 inches of snow and I was on vacation. "I just ran a marathon, I'll be ok missing a short recovery run." |
12 | 0 | Sick after the 10 hour flight. Why must sick people fly? Spent several days in bed with chest and head congestion. Not happy, but I'll make it up next week. |
14 | 10 | Stomach virus/flu. Didn't eat Friday-Sunday. Ate applesauce, bananas and toast on Monday. Like an idiot (or someone really dedicated?) I tried to run 14 miles on Tuesday. I made it to 10. The slowest 10 I've ever run. |
Net result: 0/4 long runs completed. This has never happened. Ever. So here lies the problem. What happens when an overachiever falls behind (I'll be the one to say it: WAY behind) on her goal? Based on my experience, a combination of freaking out and pushing ahead like crazy. After not being able to run 14 miles, I decided that I had lost all my fitness and conditioning from the past two years of running and if I didn't kick things into gear immediately then I'd never be ready for Antarctica. Hi, My Name is Kat and I'm Neurotic.
The next few days looked like this:
Wednesday | 4 mile trail run with snow, 30 mph wind gusts and steep hills |
Thursday | 6 mile tempo run, some on trails |
Friday | 6.5 mile recovery run, some on trails |
Saturday | Rest |
This left my now-dreaded long run for Sunday. I was going to try to repeat the 14 miles that have been plaguing me. Or at least have felt like they've been plaguing me. I go out to North Park, my favorite five mile loop, with Chris and meet Jen, who is planning to run 8. I plan to run SLOW. Psychologically, I NEED to finish this run. If I need to run as slow as I ran my 10 miles, that is fine with me. Our first five mile are 9:37 to 9:47 pace. Usually on a good training day, I'll run my long runs at 10 min/mile pace. We are running too fast. I verbalize that we should slow down. We do, a little, maybe 5 seconds a mile, and although I feel good at mile 8 when we split from Jen, I am terrified I won't be able to keep this pace. Chris and I trudge along, and the second his toe crosses the 14 mile mark, he is done, but I felt good enough to finish the last loop around the lake to make the run a solid 15 miles. Not only did I run 15 miles, my last mile was my fastest mile and overall, this was one of the fastest long runs I've had to date. One heck of a comeback run to cap off a 40 mile week.
So I learned a few things:
If I miss some runs, I'll be okay. The rest may have even done me well.
Nutrition is key. I know I flopped on my 14-turned-10 miler because I hadn't eaten in days. Before my successful 15 miler I ate very well and I don't doubt that had something to do with my performance.
Running with a partner is the way to do runs. I run faster and it feels easier. Awesome.
Kat - You are AWESOME!! Congrats on a great week and good luck getting back into the swing of things with school this week!