I am SO sore. Like, fatigued sore, which is followed by the other kind of sore all over my body yesterday. I didn't run yesterday but did an hour on the bike and elliptical.
I decided not to run because I felt the need for a "rest" day from running. By that I mean I was feeling mysterious leg pain I wasn't willing to explore by further aggravating it. After a helpful conversation with a gym-going friend, I have concluded that the issue is running on our little suspended track along the periphery of our basketball courts. My IT band injury first became apparent when I ran a 4-mile trail stretch along the side of a hill--the same sort of scenario of repeatedly doing this lopsided stride. She recommended sticking to the dreaded treadmill unless it's just a short warm-up jog.
Anyway. So today I HAD to run, despite feeling even less up to it than I did yesterday. I want to listen to my body and be less obsessive about getting my miles in than I was the last time around, but I also know it's a slippery slope to start letting every ache and pain count as an excuse not to run. Two days in a row of not running would indubitably sap my training momentum.
Having voiced all my complaints, I will now proceed to the exciting things about today: 1) I ran 2 out of my planned 3-miler at a 10 min./mile pace. Intentionally slow to accommodate the day's wussiness. I had convinced myself it was ok to quit at 2. But then I remembered how I once told myself "almost there" at the halfway point of a 26.2-mile race. The last mile seemed like a walk in the park. Since when did I quit with an f*ing MILE to go? So I ran the last mile, starting at a 9 min./mile pace (which I find much more challenging on the treadmill than in real life) and kicking it into somewhere between an 8.5 and 8 minute mile for the second half of the mile. I don't know if progressively speeding up at the end of each run is an odd practice, but it seems reflective of racing to me so I do it. 2) We had a really awkward substitute yogi today in yoga who totally kicked our asses. Like I said, I started out exhausted and sore. Somehow, though, he lulled me into bending and flexing beyond anything I usually do, even on a "good" yoga day. My butt muscles are toast.
Reflecting on the badass-ness of my workout today (all things considered), I am feeling much more appreciation for the pain I feel in my everything. It's well-earned!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The best thing about running:
Metabolism. All early-morning grogginess flies out the window when I catch a glimpse of the faint ab lines running along the sides of my stomach. I strike a pose. And another. One more, with an emphasis on my bulging thigh muscles.
It's not just generally being in way better shape than normal that gets me going, it's also the novelty of waking up hungry. The quintessential American lifestyle feeds us before we're hungry, full of things that just kinda sit there--or at least, that's how it feels. Frequently when I'm not exercising, I eat for stimulation--because I'm tired or bored. Then, hunger is more of an overall depleted feeling than the stomach-growling sensation that makes you feel like your body's working as it should.
Along with actually feeling hungry comes a much better idea of what kind of fuel my body craves, rather than just the kinds of tastes it craves. And hunger really is the best chef--food tastes remarkably better when you're hungry!
It's not just generally being in way better shape than normal that gets me going, it's also the novelty of waking up hungry. The quintessential American lifestyle feeds us before we're hungry, full of things that just kinda sit there--or at least, that's how it feels. Frequently when I'm not exercising, I eat for stimulation--because I'm tired or bored. Then, hunger is more of an overall depleted feeling than the stomach-growling sensation that makes you feel like your body's working as it should.
Along with actually feeling hungry comes a much better idea of what kind of fuel my body craves, rather than just the kinds of tastes it craves. And hunger really is the best chef--food tastes remarkably better when you're hungry!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Week 2, day 1
Today I went to the gym, got on the treadmill, ran three miles, biked for ten minutes, stretched, then went home. My plan had been to bike 30 minutes, but I have had some persistent pain up the back of my right leg on the bike. I decided to give it a rest and start fresh tomorrow. It's too early in the process for that sort of thing.
On the plus side, I ran the three miles at a solid pace and it felt much easier on my lungs than the runs I did last week at the same pace.
I've decided to use the 18-week training schedule at the back of my marathon book, Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide by Hal Higdon, which I bought at Runner's Soul. I'm still working on adapting it to my 12-week timeline.
On the plus side, I ran the three miles at a solid pace and it felt much easier on my lungs than the runs I did last week at the same pace.
I've decided to use the 18-week training schedule at the back of my marathon book, Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide by Hal Higdon, which I bought at Runner's Soul. I'm still working on adapting it to my 12-week timeline.
My strange nutritional adventure
I have been a naughty vegetarian (i.e. one who eats some meats with some frequency) for about 2.5 years. I love to cook and I eat fairly well, but not well enough to sustain a marathon training program.
Every tiny little issue you may have never noticed about your physical life becomes a giant crisis when you're running all the time. That slightly creaky left hip becomes seven different injuries on the left side of your body. And an inadequate diet leaves you completely drained of energy and potentially covered with mystery bruises.
Leading up to my first marathon, I was finding it hard to simply eat enough food, and was losing weight for the entire duration of my training. I like losing weight and would like to lose some more, but this was the kind of weight loss where I was looking and feeling kind of gross. (Sidebar: I received the most praise for my slimmer physique when I was feeling least healthy. I'll let you draw your own conclusions as to what that says about our culture.)
It is a firm goal of mine for this not to be the case again. My analysis of the issue, based on lots of reading on the topic, is that I felt it hard to eat because I was anemic for a long period of time--a cause for appetite loss--and the problem would have been solved by eating better foods, not necessarily more.
A common recommendation I've found, which seems easy to follow without becoming fanatical, is to eat a 1:1:1 ratio of protein, fat, and carbs coming from a wide variety of mostly-whole-food sources. The variety ensures that you get all kinds of vitamins and nutrients without having to think about it too much. Whole foods contain more good stuff by volume than processed foods, allowing you to meet your nutritional needs without consuming excess junk or calories.
So there's the reader's digest version of my plan. A tiny detail I've yet to mention is that I'm doing a vegan experiment this time. The theory is that I'll cease to eat cheese and drink milk (the only dairy products I consume a significant amount of), neither of which provide me nutrition I can't get elsewhere, and thereby pay more attention to what my body actually needs.
My previous marathon-training diet followed my long-time vegetarian error: filling the fat and protein-shaped hole in my stomach with cheese and bread or pasta made with white flour. Although I probably got enough protein and (too much) fat from this default, it's no good as a staple. So the vegan deal is a way to force myself to get creative and eat better.
So far, it's gone very well. I've snacked on dry grape nuts (which I don't expect anyone to salivate over, but I like), spanish peanuts, fruit and carrots. For meals, I've had delicious tofu & veggie stir fry over brown rice made for me by a friend, curry vegetable soup I made in about 15 minutes, toast with avocado, and soymilk/banana/peanut butter smoothies. These are much more exciting and delicious foods than I normally eat, which makes me look forward to meals and cooking.
I've also cut down to 2 cups of coffee a day. I don't want to 'fess up to the amount I was previously drinking, but I will say that the significant reduction has only had positive benefits in my energy level, athletic performance and mood.
Every tiny little issue you may have never noticed about your physical life becomes a giant crisis when you're running all the time. That slightly creaky left hip becomes seven different injuries on the left side of your body. And an inadequate diet leaves you completely drained of energy and potentially covered with mystery bruises.
Leading up to my first marathon, I was finding it hard to simply eat enough food, and was losing weight for the entire duration of my training. I like losing weight and would like to lose some more, but this was the kind of weight loss where I was looking and feeling kind of gross. (Sidebar: I received the most praise for my slimmer physique when I was feeling least healthy. I'll let you draw your own conclusions as to what that says about our culture.)
It is a firm goal of mine for this not to be the case again. My analysis of the issue, based on lots of reading on the topic, is that I felt it hard to eat because I was anemic for a long period of time--a cause for appetite loss--and the problem would have been solved by eating better foods, not necessarily more.
A common recommendation I've found, which seems easy to follow without becoming fanatical, is to eat a 1:1:1 ratio of protein, fat, and carbs coming from a wide variety of mostly-whole-food sources. The variety ensures that you get all kinds of vitamins and nutrients without having to think about it too much. Whole foods contain more good stuff by volume than processed foods, allowing you to meet your nutritional needs without consuming excess junk or calories.
So there's the reader's digest version of my plan. A tiny detail I've yet to mention is that I'm doing a vegan experiment this time. The theory is that I'll cease to eat cheese and drink milk (the only dairy products I consume a significant amount of), neither of which provide me nutrition I can't get elsewhere, and thereby pay more attention to what my body actually needs.
My previous marathon-training diet followed my long-time vegetarian error: filling the fat and protein-shaped hole in my stomach with cheese and bread or pasta made with white flour. Although I probably got enough protein and (too much) fat from this default, it's no good as a staple. So the vegan deal is a way to force myself to get creative and eat better.
So far, it's gone very well. I've snacked on dry grape nuts (which I don't expect anyone to salivate over, but I like), spanish peanuts, fruit and carrots. For meals, I've had delicious tofu & veggie stir fry over brown rice made for me by a friend, curry vegetable soup I made in about 15 minutes, toast with avocado, and soymilk/banana/peanut butter smoothies. These are much more exciting and delicious foods than I normally eat, which makes me look forward to meals and cooking.
I've also cut down to 2 cups of coffee a day. I don't want to 'fess up to the amount I was previously drinking, but I will say that the significant reduction has only had positive benefits in my energy level, athletic performance and mood.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Take Two
I have officially begun training for marathon #2: the Windermere Marathon. I am terrified of starting off too intensely and re-injuring myself. I am either imagining or can feel a hint of pain in my outer knee reminiscent of my IT band injury.
But you have to start somewhere, and I've set my goal at about 3 miles a day, 5 days a week and a 6-mile "long run" tomorrow. Workouts will be harder and easier depending on what I add onto the 3 miles. Easy days will be yoga days, hard days will tack on 30 minutes of some other form of cardio. I've read that cross-training for the first few weeks is a good way of increasing fitness without as much risk for injury from increasing mileage too fast.
So. For the next few weeks, my increase in running will be 5-10% per week, and will be my transition from cross-training to mostly running. (For each running mile I add on, I'll drop a mile of biking, rowing, eliptical, or whatever cardio I'd been substituting). At least at first, that will mean adding 1/4 mile to each run on average, although I'll probably target the "hard days" for mileage increases and leave yoga days at 3 miles, and adding a mile per week to the long run.
Given that the last time I was running, I was averaging 40-45 miles per week, it's taking some self-discipline to keep my mileage so low. I keep reminding myself that I won't be running at all if I am injured, and I have ple-e-enty of time to get in shape. I'm also consoling myself with speed work--the hope is to qualify for Boston, which means running just over an 8:20 minute mile. I've run much shorter races at that speed with no problem and completed a half marathon with an 8:49 mile time in late October 2008. I think I can do it.
But you have to start somewhere, and I've set my goal at about 3 miles a day, 5 days a week and a 6-mile "long run" tomorrow. Workouts will be harder and easier depending on what I add onto the 3 miles. Easy days will be yoga days, hard days will tack on 30 minutes of some other form of cardio. I've read that cross-training for the first few weeks is a good way of increasing fitness without as much risk for injury from increasing mileage too fast.
So. For the next few weeks, my increase in running will be 5-10% per week, and will be my transition from cross-training to mostly running. (For each running mile I add on, I'll drop a mile of biking, rowing, eliptical, or whatever cardio I'd been substituting). At least at first, that will mean adding 1/4 mile to each run on average, although I'll probably target the "hard days" for mileage increases and leave yoga days at 3 miles, and adding a mile per week to the long run.
Given that the last time I was running, I was averaging 40-45 miles per week, it's taking some self-discipline to keep my mileage so low. I keep reminding myself that I won't be running at all if I am injured, and I have ple-e-enty of time to get in shape. I'm also consoling myself with speed work--the hope is to qualify for Boston, which means running just over an 8:20 minute mile. I've run much shorter races at that speed with no problem and completed a half marathon with an 8:49 mile time in late October 2008. I think I can do it.
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