Spirit of the Marathon

At work today, I was thinking about my marathon in New Orleans and feeling really nostalgic for the training and the overall experience. It's so funny- I disliked how training consumed my life and now that it's over, I can't wait for my foot to heal and my cough to go away so I can be consumed by it again.

I went on halhigdon.com and printed off his 12 week spring training plan. This will take me right up through my road trip to Seattle, so the last week of training could be pretty interesting! If Xiaobin (my road trip buddy) and I can discipline ourselves to do it, we will be running through some pretty beautiful turf. The route I have planned takes us into Wichita, KS; Boulder, CO; Park City, UT; and Portland, OR. I'm hoping that I will get myself into a good training routine that will carry through to our drive so I can capitalize on all the gorgeous scenery :) 

Today I ran three miles at an easy pace (10:00 min/mi) and felt REALLY good! I had a hard yoga class yesterday so I could really feel the muscles in my abdomen, back, and shoulders working as I ran. The training plan calls for some strength training as well on Thursdays so I did about 15 minutes of core/weight work. It might not sound like much, and that's because it wasn't much at all! But after months and months of NOT strength training, the little that I did was well enough. I love this feeling though... I love walking away from a workout and feeling it in my entire body. That bit of soreness makes me feel strong in a way because I can feel all these muscles really being engaged for the first time in a long time. I kind of forgot they were there! 

I had a long day at work and felt tired at the idea of making dinner, so I stopped at Panera on my way home (Jamie if you're reading, this is my second Panera in as many days...). I enjoyed my yummy asiago bagel and chicken noodle soup and watched a terrific documentary- Sprit of the Marathon. HOLY SMOKES it had me almost in tears within the first three minutes. The filmmakers follow six runners, at various levels of competitiveness, training for the Chicago marathon. Two of the runners were elite marathoners Deena Kastor and Daniel Njenga. The other four were local Chicagoans, a few of whom were running their first 26.2. The trials and tribulations, moments of brilliance and aguish, were shared by all six athletes. They all had their own dreams for the race itself, but also marveled at how preparation for the marathon had truly changed their lives. It's such a corny thing and maybe I'm just feeling sappy because I literally just finished the documentary 20 minutes ago but... I can really sympathize with that feeling. There are people, and then there are marathoners. Yeah there is another tremendous leap between marathoners and elite marathoners, but to be a completer of the 26.2 feels to me like a rite in itself. I know I will never run a 2:20 marathon (probably never a 1:10 1/2M either! sheesh...), but I know that I will improve as a runner and continuing to train and discipline myself will help me to improve as a person. 

Boy, oh boy.

I just need to be better about not talking about running all the time... I know it gets annoying because it annoys me when other people do it! The only other thing I think about these days is the late-2000s financial crisis (I'm working on about four different papers pertaining to it right now) and no one wants to hear about that either... Will reading more celebrity gossip make me a more interesting/bearable person? 8)

 

study break

It's been a crazy, crazy week. I cannot believe that it is already Wednesday. I drove back to Mobile this afternoon and I have this icky feeling in my stomach... I hate being here when my awesome family is hanging out with baby Lily without me. But I definitely had to come home. I had already missed three days of work and two classes and my cats were basically starving to death, so it's good that I'm back.

This is week one of my epic FOUR WEEK taper. It was supposed to be three weeks long, but I knew I wouldn't be able to get my 20-miler in this coming weekend so it was either four weeks of tapering or two weeks of tapering. Most people thought that I ought to train on the conservative side, this being my first jaunt into marathoning. This week is pretty shot for me, because of family time and Friday's Mardi Gras Ball and more family time, but I did manage a spin class tonight and I am planning a 10-mile run with Hans while he's here this weekend. I figure I kind of owe it to him, seeing as he was flying all this way to run a 1/2M in St. Pete. (We decided against making the trip so that we can spend time with my family. Priorities!)

Spin was kind of rough tonight. I don't know if I'm still fatigued from my run on Saturday, or just feeling shitty because of all the bad food I've eaten since this weekend (I was POOPED after being up all night at the hospital on Sunday and indulged in a Baconator on Monday... my first fast food of the new year!). After class, a bunch of people came up to me and asked how my marathon training was going. My first thought was, "Damn! I need to stop telling people about this! Now they all have expectations!" but really, it was kinda neat. Except for one of the guys I chatted with who is a very experienced long distance runner and cyclist and has run something like 30 marathons. He asked me how my 20-miler went and I have to say... I was pretty embarrassed to tell him. IT TOOK ME FIVE HOURS. He started doing the math out loud for what kind of pace I was running and I started making excuses "it was hilly, I had a cold/flu-thing, my legs were already tired, etc." All in all, not a very uplifting conversation. But he was nice about it and tried to be encouraging and I know it will motivate me to know that I have people that I am kind of sort of accountable to. I'm the kind of person who likes to keep goals a secret because I hate to let people down almost as badly as I hate to let myself down. Maybe it's time for me to nut up a bit.

Anyway, back to studying :-/

Eating "healthy"??

Eeek! I've been slacking! Time management has been tough on me lately. Last week, I missed one of my short runs because I was preparing for my sister's baby shower (totally worth it, obv) and I have yet to establish a routine for handling my night classes. Aaaahhhh I really need to figure that one out. I hate rushing to do my homework an hour before class!! And next week isn't going to be any better because I have a conference in Ft. Lauderdale and a Mardi Gras Ball AND THEN I'm driving to St. Pete to run the inaugural Rock 'n' Roll 1/2M. I'm not complaining about any of this stuff because I know next week is going to be really fun and exciting (FLO RIDA is playing the post-race show!!!), but stuff like doing the dishes and blogging tend to slip between the cracks.

This morning, I want to talk a little bit about food. I've been making a real effort to clean up my diet this year. I cut cream & sugar from my coffee (hahaha- baby steps!), cut fast food (I love a good Baconator at 9:30pm after my Managerial Accounting class...), and decided to be make better choices in general. I have used marathon training as an excuse to eat whatever the hell I want and I think it has gotten a little out of control!

Exhibit A: Giant plate of greasy, amazing lasagna from Cousin Vinny's in Daphne

So I'm eating healthier for a few days and I realize... wow I really feel like garbage! I was getting through my workouts but I didn't have as much energy as usual and one night I thought I was going to need to leave class early. I was sitting in Financial Management and I had a bad headache and felt nauseous and I realized... I couldn't stop thinking about salty food. So I proceeded to Jimmy John's and ordered the usual: #5 light mayo w/ salt & vinegar chips. The #5 is The Vito, my favorite sandwich in the whole wide world. It comes pre-loaded with lots of sodium, but I like to stuff it with the salt & vinegar chips for the extra crunch ;)

I love you, Jimmy John's

I ate the sandwich and felt way, way better. My friend Jamie wrote a post the other day that touched on how runners should be more mindful of their sodium levels because sodium is essential to remaining hydrated. I also read about how you can flood your body with water to stay hydrated in a workout, but without also consuming sodium your electrolyte levels will get all out of whack. There's probably a much more eloquent way to say that but I'm over it. 

So I think my idea of eating healthy would be great if I wasn't in the tail end of marathon training. But right now, maybe I should be listening to my body and giving in to some of these cravings...