Happy Monday everyone!! I hope you had a great weekend, with time to relax and spend time with those that you love. I enjoyed every minute of mine and was especially happy to have some down time “scheduled” in the weekend plan. Here’s a glimpse into my weekend:
When we opened our Date Night Card for the month, we found a very traditional Dinner & A Movie plan. Since we rarely make time for the movies, this was actually great! We caught an early showing of This Means War and then headed over to World Peace Café for dinner.
Saturday started with a group run (more on this below), followed by beer brewing and preparation of some mini Buffalo Tarts (based on this recipe from the fabulous Kristina (aka Spabettie). The Buffalo Tarts were a treat for a game night event at a friend’s house!
And finally, new flowers on the kitchen table after a grocery shopping trek on Sunday after church. Flowers just make me smile. =)
Question for You: How was your weekend? Do flowers in the kitchen make you smile?
Running Confessions
I’ve been a little quiet about my marathon training recently. Before my 50K at the beginning of the month, I realized I was over-trained and cut back a lot of the non-running and biking workouts I had added to my plate. I was having fun trying out new HIIT workouts and starting to up my strength training, all while ramping up my cycling and running volume. It was too much and my body let me know it.
Since then, I think I have refrained from posting much about it, because I needed to remove myself from the pressure of public workouts. I usually love sharing about that stuff, but I recognized that part of my overtraining was getting caught up in the “look what I did” mentality. Even good peer pressure and accountability can get skewed sometimes. I think I’ve moved past this for now, so I’m ready to confess the craziness that has been my running recently.
Post-50K Running
I had some knee pain during the 50K, which my amazing sports chiro helped resolve very quickly. Unfortunately, there were enough other issues that my running for the past three weeks has been seriously lacking…
Week of Feb 6:
- 3M Run
- 6.1M Trail Run (Team 65 Roses)
- 14.7M Run
Of course, with the knee pain gone, the pain in my foot came back and I hobbled home on Saturday, short of my planned 16 mile plan. I also took Sunday off, knowing I needed to rest and get back in to see the doc. I wish I had asked him to check on my foot during the last visit, just in case…
Week of Feb 13:
- 8M Run
- 13.5M Run
My regular doctor was on vacation, so I saw a different sports chiro who attempted to help my foot issue. It was better, but I was still feeling the pain and decided hobbling through was not smart. I called Kirk to pick me up on this weekend’s long run – defeated. I realized that not only was my body physically hurting, but I just didn’t feel my normal self endurance-wise while running. I admitted (to myself) that I was not recovered from the 50K. I was relieved that my normal sports chiro would be back in the office on Thursday to see me.
Week of Feb 20:
- 5M Fartlek
- 8M Run
- 15M Run (Team 65 Roses)
This week was tricky. I am within 2 weeks to the marathon – I should be in taper mode. BUT, I haven’t run even run 15 miles since the 50K and I’m freaking out. My experiment of running a 50K four weeks before a marathon is not seeming very smart. I’m starting to feel a little more normal on my runs, but is running 15M the week before a marathon smart? Will my body remember how to run over 20 miles, when the last run over that distance was 4 weeks before the race (I like a 2 week taper)?
My 15 miler on Saturday actually felt pretty good. My training pace felt almost normal and it went by pretty quickly. I felt some stiffness in my knees at the end (no foot pain at all), but I already have an appointment with my sports chiro for Tuesday for some last minute preparations.
(source)
Am I Ready?
I have no idea! =) I know I have the mileage base, but I also know I’m not fully recovered yet. Honestly, I wish I had 6 weeks between the 50K & the marathon. My 4 week test scenario seems very short right now. I haven’t hit 30 miles a week since the race, definitely under my 40 mile/week preference for marathon training. BUT, I listened to my body (reluctantly) and did what I could handle.
I guess we’ll see what happens on Sunday at the New Orleans Marathon.
Question for You: Anything to confess/share today in your life? Have you ever found a positive (like accountability) turned into a negative for a time?
