I’m doing quite well on the Half Marathon training so far except for how hard it is to get that 4th run of the week in due to both motivation and lack of opportunity. I’ve had two weeks with just 3 runs and I don’t think it’s really hindered my long runs at all so I’m going with it. If I can get a 4th run in great, if not, it’s not the end. I try to make sure that my 4th run that I miss is one of my smaller ones though so that my net miles at the end of the week is not too far off the mark.
Last weekend was my 9 miler and I thought that If I could push it to 10 miles I would attempt it. The entire run I felt great and thought it would really be possible but by miles 8-9 my legs were totally dead. I was dragging by then. Also, I got a phone call from my sister which I skipped, and then a text message saying “CALL ME”. I usually don’t answer the phone on my run unless it’s a total emergency and my husband knows that so if it were an emergency he would cut to the chase and text me “emerg”. So anyways, after mile 7.5 I took a 1 minute walk break where I texted my sister back and asked “is this emrgncyahlhdlsahf?’ and I got no response so then I called her and she said “oh nothing, just wanted to chat about..” Grrrrr, so although it was a mini emergency, it was not something that I would have stopped my run over but my legs were dead anyways so at 9 miles I circled back home and called it a day. It ruined my mojo, but I think I wouldn’t have stretched it to 10 anyways since my legs were so tired.
Last night was my 10 miler which I was supposed to do on Saturday but Thursday and Friday night, our 1 year old had us up all night, and Friday it was a stretch from 3am to 5am. I’m usually operating on very little sleep and do just fine but on Saturday it had caught up to me and I was over tired and I knew the moment I opened my eyes in the morning that it was not going to happen. I like my long runs to be at around 4pm so most of it is in daylight and then the last part of my run is at dusk (well now it’s all daylight), also this gives me the day to hydrate and prepare and get the family things done first. By 3:00 I decided I would take a nap at a last ditch effort to prepare for my run. I woke up at 4:30 to my toddler throwing up exorcist style so I bargained with my husband to change his plans on Sunday to allow for my long run and like the wonderful supportive husband that he is, he complied.
And so a Sunday long run. It was gruelling for the first 5 miles. It took me 5 miles to warm up to my 10 mile run and right from the beginning my mind was telling me that I wouldn’t get past 3 miles. For some reason my right shin was hurting and I suspect it may have been due to my using flip flops for the first time since Fall earlier in the day. At mile 5 the pain was gone and happily continued on, my last mile being hard once again but not harder then my first 5, go figure. I started off my run with a gu and I think it’s the most vile thing ever made so I will not be having any more of those. Usually I use Shot Bloks but have found them big and annoying to chew on my one minute breaks so I decided to give a gu a shot and I totally hate the texture so I’ll go back to chewing half a Shot Blok per 1 minute walk break. Having a bad long run was probably a good thing in the end because I learned that even if a long run sucks right from the start, I can keep myself going and end up finishing it no worse for wear. But I tell yah, I was struggling with some major mental battles that first half. I think I had a bad long run coming to me since all of my prior long runs have been really great.
This morning I woke up to swollen feet. I noticed that my socks were itching my ankles (featherweight running socks to bed -yes I’m a strange person that must sleep with socks on at all times) and when I checked what was causing the itch I noticed my feet were a bit swollen and I had a red mark where my socks were digging in. I never have had that happen before but I think it’s just due to the recovery phase and I probably should do an ice bath next time after my long run. I made the mistake of having a warm bath after my run last night and although it felt really nice and relaxing I think it kept the blood pooling in my legs.
Next run: 10 miles again on Saturday or Sunday.
