Sidelined...

Training is an interesting thing. I forgot how, well, hard it can be. My last two long runs have been excruciating, going from 10 miles to 12 miles. Speed is hard to find. Last Saturday I did my 12 mile run on my favorite trail, and after mile 8 my legs just couldn't power through. I actually took some --gasp!--walk breaks!

I rarely take walk breaks. I think they leave a bitter taste in my mouth because of my first marathon training program 9 years ago. I was a relative newbie at that time, and was in the 15 minute mile group. Our program was a run/walk program and we would run 2 minutes, walk 3 minutes. The plan was to do this for the entire marathon. So, every Sunday for 6 months our group met in Shoreline Park for long runs. One member of the group would set his watch for the walk breaks, and eventually we had Pavlovian responses any time we heard a beep (run? walk? drink water?). When it came to the actual marathon, I did the run walk for the first 18 miles. But honestly, it did not feel good so I ran the last 8 miles with minimal walk breaks. I think the constant starting and stopping was very jarring on my body and the experience was not enjoyable, save for the facts that I was in Hawaii and I completed a marathon. So, after that race I secretly vowed to myself to never take a walk break again. Or do a marathon again. of course, I broke both vows.

Anyways, with last Saturday's run I was extremely puzzled as to why the long runs are hard. I mean, I did 3 --albeit far from PRs---half marathons in 2010 with little or no training. I have enough confidence in my body's abilities to know that if I roll out of bed most likely I could run 13 miles.

But, why is it so hard now?

Then my friend Diane reminded me that training is supposed to be hard. I have diligently followed a training plan for 6 weeks where I have run 4 times a week, so my body isn't the super freshest when it comes to the long runs. The point of training isn't to have a great long training run. It is to push your body so you can have a great race run.

Plus, I have learned the hard way that preparation is key. I am kind of not the smartest when it comes to training. The Tuesday before my 12 mile run I was so preoccupied in ensuring I brought my garmin to my first mermaid track run of the season, that I forgot to bring socks. So, I foolishly ran without socks and got a blister the size of a tennis ball on my foot. And I foolishly forgot to put glide on my feet before the 12 mile run, which made the blister angry like the Hulk. And I foolishly ate half a psycho donut the night before the run. And I foolishly went to bed at 12:30 the night before the run. And I foolishly forgot Gu for the run.

Yeah, I am not that smart.

But, it helped me learn the things I shouldn't do before a race. So, mentally I was preparing myself for the training 10k race that would be the Saturday after the 12 mile run. The race that I foolishly thought was still open for registration online. But it wasn't so I figured I would chance it and do race day registration.

Unfortunately, the Monday before the race i woke up with a throat that felt like it was being stabbed with an ice pick.

Awesome. I caught my hubby's cold.

So instead of prepping for the 10k last week, I was sidelined to the couch coughing and sneezing and trying to not be down on myself for not training I was . Yesterday was the 10k, and I knew it wouldn't help my recovery if I raced.

The funny thing is, when you hit a bump in the road after you find your groove, it always seems so daunting to get back on track. But I am determined to accept the reality that, yes I lost a week of training, but I still have 4 weeks of good solid training to go before the half marathon.

I think I should be back to normal by tomorrow, so...
Let's do this thing.

writer's (and runner's) block...

I think I have tried 10 times to start a post but keep getting stuck. Perhaps it is a metaphor for my training right now. I am six weeks into my half marathon training program and I think Sunday's 10 mile run ranked in the top 5 of worst.runs.EVER. I did not find my groove. I even added some fun new songs to my long run playlist (Ke$ha following Tchaikovsky with a little Bye Bye Birdie for good measure? Genius!). But alas, my legs were just not moving the way they usually do. I felt like I was running through tar. Then the rain came. I wanted to just turn around, call it a day and be happy with 6 miles. However, that kind of mentality defeats the purpose of training.

So, I finished the run begrudgingly. No post-run, king of the world euphoria. I decided to make the most out of a yucky run and do all the things you are supposed to do to recover after long runs. I drank chocolate milk. I ice bathed. I foam rollered. I adviled. But the lackluster run was weighing on my shoulders, so I decided to e-mail my tri-coach (our training group starts the season today. Yea!):

Hi coach,
Are you ready for the neurosis to begin?

So I am halfway through my half marathon training program. I had a really really yucky long run yesterday. It was a 10 miler and I felt like I was running through tar. I couldn't get under a 12 minute mile.

A couple things:

My last long run since yesterday was 2 weeks prior (last week was 5k race pace).

Last week was a busy work week and my workouts weren't as diligent (did a light spin monday, 4Xhill repeats Tuesday, easy 3 mile run on Wednesday, nothing Thursday and Friday, slow as molasses 3 miler on Saturday, long run Sunday)

I ran on the sidewalk yesterday (too lazy to drive to a trail)

I even took an ice bath and foam rollered after the run and slept in compression socks

I fell off the wagon nutrition wise last week,

So, I will go back to logging on Loseit and will email it to you. But any advice or thoughts on what a bad long run means?

to which she wrote back:

Bummer for your run....you might not like what I'm going to say.

Training is HARD, it's supposed to kinda suck sometimes. If you didn't have that crappy run, you wouldn't be ready for whatever gets thrown at you race day. If every training run ran like buttah...how would you be prepared to battle all of the things you can't control on race day.

AT LEAST, you can look back and see some things you can change for the future right?? Nutrition, so elemental right?? You have to eat enough and eat right or you are fighting a losing battle.

Buck up buckaroo....rest today and let's make it happen tomorrow night. Let that run go and know you are a better runner because of it. Make the changes you need to, get the runs in and try not to think about it too much.

So...I am letting that run go. And as I posted on FB last week, to (sorta) quote Big Lebowski: "Sometimes you eat the long run. Sometimes the long run eats you."