There are two things I wish for more than anything for my next marathon.
- I want to train and run my race injury-free. I don’t want niggles, no pangs, no nothin’ during this training cycle. So far I’ve been lucky but have been on the receiving end of niggles and pangs. Hopefully I’m getting these out of the way before the big dance.
- I want to have fun. The first long distance race always sucks. And that can be said for any distance. My first 10-miler sucked. My first marathon was unspeakable. For Marine Corps, I just want HAPPY.
Last week’s training wasn’t great. I was tired and sore from the Rock Hall half, running alone seemed extremely un-fun, and my first couple runs of the week were less than stellar. Read on for all the details:
Marine Corps Marathon Training: Week 8
Monday — yoga for runners
A much needed yoga day, that’s for sure. I was sore all of the place from my race the day before. Who knew racing could still take it out of me? It’s been so long since I’ve raced, I guess I kinda forgot what it felt like to really exert myself!
Tuesday — 5.88 miles
I ran with Eugenia on Tuesday. I was supposed to do hills and I likely could have but I was still recovering from Sunday. I wanted to take it easy a bit. Unfortunately Eugenia wasn’t having a great run. It was hot and humid (again) so it’s likely she was borderline dehydrated. We cut the run a little short to stop for water.
Wednesday — 4.91 miles
Ask any runner how they feel about ending on a wonky number and it’s downright unsettling! 5.88 miles on Tuesday was bad enough, but somehow I ended up with 4.91 miles on Wednesday. Blasphemous! Wednesday was a hot mess. I took my pups but she just wasn’t having it. I took her home, ran a couple miles solo, then picked up my son for a mile.
After breakfast I planned on rounding out the day for an even 6, so I took the kids to the park (Little Bee in the stroller, Boo on his bike) but before we could even get a mile in, we got stuck in a downpour. Needless to say, Wednesday was not an awesome run.
Thursday — 8.42 miles
I met my friend Carole for a few miles on Thursday and it turned out to be a fantastic run. We ran just over 7 miles together, and then I came home to run the rest with Boo. I felt good for the most part after this run, aside from some slight dehydration. These last two weeks or so the humidity has been just destroying my runs.
I’ve also been having some foot issues lately. I decided to run in my Mizunos for Thursday’s run and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. Granted it felt like wearing high heels again after wearing 3 mm drop (or less) shoes for all my runs, but during the run it felt great. My calves were surprisingly sore on Friday, though. I never thought going from zero drop to high drop would be hard to do, but it is!
Saturday — 16 miles
Saturday started off great. I met up with a great group. We were running 10-16 miles and meeting for breakfast afterward. I felt really good for the first half of the run. My coach wanted me to do some race pace for the end of the run, and I had every intention of doing so. I ran a little faster than I had been lately toward the beginning of my run but I was never past conversation pace and I felt really good. I kibitzed with friends and enjoyed the scenery.
We started splitting off from one another about 5 miles in. By the time we got to our halfway mark (for the 16 milers), I was tired but not uncomfortably so. As soon as we made the turn, though, the fatigue set in. I’m fairly certain it was lack of fluids despite having been guzzling water the entire run. The way back was a struggle for me. I couldn’t keep my head in the game. At one point, my big toe on my left foot started tingling and felt like it was going numb. I’m not entirely sure why but it might have been the new socks I was wearing, or that it was hot and humid and my feet swelled too much. Not sure.
Seen on my run…
With 4 miles left, we were out of the comfort of the shade and into the blazing sun. I could feel the sun beating down on my back. I couldn’t keep myself cool enough and I couldn’t guzzle water fast enough. I stopped every half mile or so to complain to myself, to drink water, or to refocus my efforts. I can usually push through the last mile or two with no problem but this time around was really tough. I finally ended up ditching my shirt and cranking my music with about a mile left. It helped, for sure.
I thought I was the only one on the struggle bus with the last few miles, but at breakfast when I brought up how tough it was, it turns out everyone else had a really tough last few miles as well. It made me feel better because for a while I thought I was punking out. It was reassuring others were having a rough time as well. My new mantra for all the hot and humid days of marathon training is simple: one foot in front of the other.
Later in the afternoon, several hours after my run, in fact, I noticed I had a huge dent in my forehead. Turns out I had been wearing my sunglasses on my head during breakfast and they left a nice little mark. Under normal — hydrated — circumstances, the indent would have lasted moments only. Unfortunately this was a bit of a wakeup call that I needed to be taking in more fluids. Lesson learned.
I never did run MP like I was supposed to. In fact, I slowed down by about 45 seconds per mile. Oops.
Overall, week 8 was all right. It started off not awesome, but ended up being pretty good. If nothing else, I felt like a badass for not dying in the heat and humidity on Saturday.
Week 9 will be another tough week. With school starting, early morning wakeups, and juggling life, we’ll see how this week pans out. I’m planning on meeting some friends for early morning runs so hopefully I can get my act together and all my miles in. Halfway there!
xo
TALK TO ME!
Has your heat and humidity let up yet?
Have you ever had a run where you thought you were the only one having a tough time?
P.S. Don’t forget to enter to win a FREE ENTRY to the If Girls Ran the World Virtual Run in October!
Linking up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs for Tuesdays on the Run, and HoHo Runs and MissSippi Piddlin’ for the Weekly Wrap. Also linking up with Nicole, Annmarie, Jen, and Michelle for Wild Workout Wednesday.
