Food=Miles

Larabars. 

Under the Larabars, Honey Stingers. 

Under the Honey Stingers, Gu in Vanilla, Triberry, and Jet Blackberry. 

I think I have enough to get through the monster six week stretch of super marathon training in October/November.  

I'm not sure that I am ready for all the mileage that this box suggests.  I'm really quite tired.  I've been training fairly nonstop since Jan. 10.  I think I took only one week off after my marathon in May.  I still have like 9.5 weeks to go.  Typing 9.5 weeks makes it seem surmountable; I know that it is, but I am just so very tired.  I think I need to take an extra rest day soon.  

The fact that I will end up consuming all that disgusts me and impresses me simultaneously. 

In fact, It doesn't feel sane to choose to train for and run a marathon.  People are always impressed by the actual marathon. The marathon is a piece of cake compared with the 18 weeks of training.  

Did I mention I'm tired of training?  

Milestone (Emphasis on Mile)

Last year I ran 753 miles and change.  That was an improvement upon 2009's mileage which was 704 and change.

Today is September 17, 2011.  My year-to-date mileage after this morning seven mile run is 755 and change.

There are still over 100 days remaining in the year.

I'm in such a good mood.

Crash

I had to run 11 miles this morning. It felt a lot harder than it should have.

I have narrowed it down to a few problems:

1. Not drinking enough water during the day.
2. Not eating enough to fuel my runs during the week. And not eating the right stuff.
3. Running my long run too damned fast.

Since I am back at work, I am reluctant to drink water the way that I should because I can't just go to the bathroom any time I want.

I need to eat more calories--running shouldn't feel this labored--especially a mere 11.

I have no idea how to slow down.

Last time I trained for a marathon, I noticed a pattern. I would have a tough long run and then the next week went smoothly. I wonder if I am falling into that pattern again. If so, next weekend should go smoothly.

Four weeks down; fourteen weeks to go!

I like numbers.

I really like numbers when they reveal some sort of improvement. Observe:

Summer Vacation 2010: 72.09 miles.

Summer Vacation 2011: 222.23 miles.

2010 Overall Mileage: 753.93 miles.

2011 Projected Mileage: 1100ish miles.

Interpret and Evaluate

This is my year so far. I'll close the week off tomorrow with a 12 or 13 mile run, putting the final bar on the graph up around 33 or 34 miles--just a wee bit shy of my best week.

My half-marathon training (the bars to the right of the red) is so much better than my marathon training (the bars to the left). Even with the stomach flu, calf strains, and rest time needed to recover from rock climbing, I put in a variety of workouts. When I was healthy, I ran more miles and more variety of workouts.

I may be most proud of the fact that only one week is without miles.

The training for the SF Half doesn't feel like I am training. I have no idea what has led to this feeling. It just doesn't feel like work. It could be because I am not training for a marathon. It could be because I essentially registered for this race because I wanted to force myself to continue running through the hot summer months. I'm often surprised when I remind myself that I have a race in two weeks.

I think that I am going to register for the California International Marathon.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Perspective

Summer training has proved to be challenging. Teaching, traveling, and participating in the fellowship of the word processor has eaten up my time and my energy. Spending all day in a classroom at UC Merced seems to be affecting my fluid intake. I just don't think that I am getting enough water for what I need. I'm spending quite a bit of mental energy writing. I have a five page paper due tomorrow, and I'm not sure that the two pages I've already composed are going in the right direction.

I took too many rest days this week. Or perhaps, I was wise to take them. I'll never really know for sure. My weekly mileage this week was only 18 miles. Eleven of those miles I ran this morning.

Disappointing.

My overalls goal was to increase my weekly miles because I felt like I ran too few miles for my marathon training. I wanted to make 30 mpw my new normal. I still do. I just find the heat to be a formidable opponent.

Instead of wallowing in the mire, I thought that I would see how many miles I ran last summer. I wanted a bit of perspective.

From June to this time in July last year, I ran a total of 21.87 miles.

During the same time period this year, I ran a total of 94.12 miles.

Clear progress.

I may not be hitting the 30 mpw that I want, but I am getting there.

Dwell

Lululemon Athletica used an Emily Dickinson quote as a status update today.

Dwell in possibility.

Upon reading that I dwelled on the word dwell. I do this often. I enjoy the fact that the word pedantic sounds pedantic. I love the fact that the word hoi polloi sounds foreign and, therefore. out of reach of the hoi polloi. A dwelling is a home; to dwell can mean to inhabit or live in a place. But we most often use it in that sense. We used it to mean to think upon a subject at length--usually something negative. The thinking is so exhaustive that it is akin to living in that thought pattern. Taking residence. In negativity.

I like the idea of taking residence in possibility.

I'm trying to dwell in the possibility that I can train better.

I may be on my way.

This week I logged over 24 miles. My long run was only 7.3 miles. I ran six out of seven days. I also did the INFERNAL ab workout from the Nike Training Club app. (I need a pre-beginner level!)

I realize that 24 miles a week isn't that spectacular, but when I look back over my marathon training, I can only count four weeks in which I logged more miles. One of those weeks was the marathon.

I deserved the time I earned with that training.

Why did I only run (on average) four days a week to train for my marathon? Because I dwelled in fear.

My half-marathon training plan that I am following for the SF 1st Half Marathon calls for six days of running with strength training following short easy runs.

I ran the six days this week and it wasn't what I feared it would be. For nearly four years, I've followed a pattern of resting (or light cross-training) the day before and after a long run. I didn't think that you were allowed to run the day after a long run. Hal Higdon says I can and I should. Even though my long run was only 7.3 miles today, I am looking forward to an easy run tomorrow. I won't have a rest day until Thursday.

I hope that this round of training will amp my mileage up to where it needs to be. I'd like 30 mpw to be my new normal. I love the fact that I have the power to change my normal. I like dwelling in that possibility.

I also like dwelling in a good nap. The sort of nap where you curl around your body's exhaustion satiated with the knowledge that you are repairing the fatigue and the ache. Six days of running after a week of total rest meant a superb nap.

I just now need to dwell on the possibility that I can run in the heat once it arrives. That's a challenge.

To Do: Write Running To Do List

I'm a huge fan of making to do lists. Items in my to do lists often have sub-to do lists. When I discovered the iProcrastinate application for my MacBook Pro, it was one of those rare moments when the universe delivered EXACTLY what I needed EXACTLY when I needed it.

This translates well to running. I love "writing" training plans. Writing isn't the correct term. The process inevitably goes like this: google various training plans, email friend in Jersey for his advice, select a plan, modify, modify, modify, and map out each day in a calendar. Often the information in handwritten calendar gets inputted into my iProcrastinate application (when did software become apps?) under the RUNNING Category.* My favorite part is after each workout I log the workout in my training log and then cross it off the calendar. Somehow I got in the habit of using emoticons when I cross off workouts. :) for a good workout or one that I am glad to get over with and :( for ones that just irritated me. Somehow emoticons have accomplished complete infiltration; I even need them to remind myself that this was positive or this was not positive. (Steve Martin used emoticons in one of his short pieces for The New Yorker called "Times Roman Font Announces Shortage of Periods." It is a must read.)

Unfortunately, I never consulted a calendar and counted the weeks until July 31, 2011. July 31 seemed like a lifetime in the future. I was confident if I registered for the San Francisco Marathon's First Half Marathon on July 31 that I would have PLENTY of time to train properly in the hopes of shaving 5 minutes off my half-marathon personal best. And normally 12 weeks would be plenty of time to train, but I didn't factor in the marathon recovery period.

Nice.

I took six rest days post marathon but went out for a run this morning. I kept it short at only four miles. The first two miles were significantly tougher than I would have anticipated, but I soldiered on and the final two miles were significantly better and faster. Last night I read in one of the various running books strewn about my house that I should follow a reverse taper post-marathon before diving back in.

Ugh. This complicates the half-marathon plan that I painstakingly modified yesterday morning.

I'm sure that the book is probably right. I should take it easy this week and the next. I should do a lot of things that I don't. I'll just try listening to my body. I usually err on the side of caution when it comes to unscheduled rest days anyway.

But with my goal of increasing my miles per week, I could find myself in trouble.

________________

*Categories in my iProcrastinate app include no less than three separate categories just for my job, one for my kid, one for me, and one for running because running is bigger than just me.