Feb 21, 2009

Tough week

Not the best week of training. Battling a sinus infection never makes anything easy. The first of which is sleeping. The second of which is running, b/c I'm so damn tired! Finally got some meds on Wednesday night. By Thursday I was feeling a bit better, but not well enough to complete my workout. I hate when that happens. It really bugs the shit out of me. Here it is Saturday, and I'm still thinking about it. Ah, well. At least today's run felt a lot better. Tomorrow's long run could be interesting. 15 miles, and the sleet/freezing rain is falling right now. Hopefully it lets up soon and doesn't turn the roads into a sheet of ice.

I am happy to say that the entire week hasn't been bad. When I went to the doc to get my Z-pak, I found out my blood pressure is finally back to normal. And seeing as I hadn't actually taken it in months (I know, bad, bad, bad), doc said he saw no need to put me back on it for now. Sweet.

And my weight is already nearly at what I thought my race-day weight should be. Perhaps I underestimated. Looks like I won't have any trouble at all maintaining this weight, at a minimum. But I expect I'll lose several more before race day. Hopefully I still feel strong & fit, like I do now. I actually feel like I'm in the best shape of my life, and that I have room to improve. I love it.

But like with all things, one step at a time. Can't get ahead of myself.

Feb 16, 2009

11 weeks to go...

I'm now officially signed up to run the Flying Pig Marathon, in Cincinnati, on May 3rd. It'll be my first full marathon. My first of many, I hope. I'm excited, and scared. 26.2 miles. At once. Ugh.

I've been training now for 6 weeks, and it's been going pretty well. Some days I feel really good, others, my legs feel like concrete pillars. Today, I'm somewhere in between, leaning towards pillars. Good thing it's my off day.

From here on out, my long runs take me into territory I've never been in, namely, more than 14.5 miles. And even some of my more recent long runs, which have ranged from 8-14.5 miles, seem more like runs of attrition than training runs. Don't get me wrong, I love going out for these runs, but by the end, I'm beat. Some of it has to do with all the mileage necessary to train for a marathon, I'm sure. And on race day, I'll be both excited and properly tapered. Still, I'm back to testing both my physical limits and my mental limits too. Odds are that this is a good thing. I'm 100% certain they will both be put to the most severe, athletic test I've ever attempted. I'm already in fear of the wall I'll hit at some point past mile 20. Hell, I can only hope it's after mile 20. Any sooner than that, and I'll be in a world of hurt.

Nonetheless, fear & anxiety aside, I'm stoked for May 3rd, so I continue to train. I actually enjoy the training a lot. Every day is a challenge right now. And not always b/c of the individual workout itself, but to get through the miles AFTER having gone through everything leading up to that workout. Take this Sunday for example. 15-mile long run. Can I do that? Sure. What I don't know is how those final 2 miles will feel like to end a 42-mile week. I suspect they'll suck like few other miles I've run before. I'll curse the pain in my glutes, the fatigue in my quads, but I'll be smiling the whole way b/c I'll know I'm so close to home and getting to stop. Pleasure & pain, all at once. And then once I'm inside, taking a shower, thinking about what to make for dinner, they'll have been absolutely glorious. But not because I'm done with the miles, but because I did them.

Feb 5, 2009

OK, enough is enough...

I don't mind running outside in the winter. In fact, I prefer it. But some of the days we've had here in Cincy have just been plain stupid. It's not even the snow that's the problem, but the ice that came with it. And as much as I hate running indoors, I've had to do it 3 times over the past 2 weeks. And today, when I got to work, it was -3 @ 9am. Ugh. But I just can't stand running on a treadmill again today, so at 1pm, I'm heading out for my 70-minute run. Temp is supposed to be around 19 then, with a wind-chill of around 8. Thankfully, it warms up starting tomorrow. Hopefully we're done with the deep-freeze days for the season. I'll settle for "pleasantly cold". And no more goddamn ice!