Week/Weekend Recap
I recently read a blog recap of someone's race and really can relate to a few things said:
"I understand the obsession and the desire to feel the cleansing purity of physical pain, the desire to challenge the body on good days and bad, and the joy and freedom of performing one of the most basic acts the human body can do, and of fine tuning that experience into harmony"...(and then talking about SkinnyRunner), "She has a very healthy outlook about the number on the clock, which is ultimately meaningless compared to the sensations of the day and the emotional experience of the journey." (Clock referring to your race time)
I'm realizing that 50 miles sounds crazy to almost everyone, other than people who already run 50 miles or aspire to run 50 miles.
I'm okay with that.
I feel like I'm a different breed of 'runner'. Still iffy about using that term, haha. I kind of fizzle on desire for most short runs, having an easier time copping out midway than I do on a long run. I know I have to be in it for the long haul, and I love that feeling. After all, what else am I going to do with my Saturdays besides run for hours to consume the time?
I love this (above). It's how I feel about any run longer than 10 miles, haha.
So this last week went like this: Monday - ran, Tuesday - ran, Wednesday - ran (three days in a row because the weather CLAIMED it was going to rain on Thursday and it was nice on Wednesday..so I swapped my normal day 'off'. Thursday - cashed in my free one day pass to Vida and took a spinning class that left me thinking I was better of taking a nap :) It was rough...in mostly a good way, but left my legs even more tired.
On Friday I went to Sports Authority and acquired some adidas compression socks, a shirt or two, and a Nathan's handheld bottle to help with refilling. The camelbak is a little tougher for that. Then I went to Pacers by my house to get some new shoes. Didn't go as planned. I've been wearing Brooks Ravenna and Ravenna 2's since I started running. Well, turns out my shoes wore down at the wrong time to buy another pair of Ravs. They are about to come out with the new shoe, so the sure wasn't going to have that kind for weeks. WEEKS. That's too long to keep running on shoes that are already hurting you. The guy there offered to watch me run again and pull some different shoes for me to try. I tried on a different pair of Brooks, a New Balance pair, and the Saucony Hurricane 14 which just came out. I ended up getting the Saucs. And an awesome pair on Zensah compression sleeves. Yay coupons at SA and Pacers!
That's the compression socks and new shoes!
Hot pink Zensah!
Shoes, bottle, sleeves, hot pink shirt to match!
I might have gotten a little carried away and painted my toes hot pink...thought it would make me run faster or something...
Then I went to grab some healthy grub to cook.
That's turkey andouille sausage, bell pepper, squash, healthy tomato sauce, and whole wheat/grain pasta!
It was actually pretty delicious!
Saturday, though exhausted still, I woke up and made my way over to Bethesda to get in 10 miles before Helen and Genny got to the trail, and I would run 6 miles with them. I wasn't feeling it at all in the beginning. I just felt so drained, I couldn't find a place to tap into any motivation or energy. I ate a ThinkThin bar and that's it...bad idea. A mile into the run I had to make a McDonalds pit stop. Then I dragged my feet for a few more miles and just sulked in my bad mood.
At about 4 miles into my run I found a semi groove and toughed it out for 8 miles before the ladies got there. The six miles with them were rough but I'm so, so glad I had them there to silently push me. We ran 90% of the 6 miles, with me stopping to eat my gels then sprinting to catch up to them running ahead. Or me stopping to walk when I thought I was going to ralph the watermelon chomps. The shoes rubbed a bit towards the end of the run, but I'm hoping I just need to break them in and not tie them so tight. I'll see how they hold up on other runs and decide if I need to just cut my losses and find a different shoe. We ate some yummy Potbellys and then I went home, where I found out my compression shorts came in the mail!
Ladies night ensued, and I wore the compression shorts to bed and I don't know if it was the shorts, the alcohol, or the exhaustion, but I slept much better than I usually do after a long run. Usually my muscles and joints are so unhappy that I can't find a way to get comfortable.
This week will be continuing the weekday short runs, and then an 18 mile run this weekend with the same plan with the ladies. 10 miles on my own, then 8 with them.
"No matter how bad it gets, it will indeed get worse, but it will indeed also get better."
"I understand the obsession and the desire to feel the cleansing purity of physical pain, the desire to challenge the body on good days and bad, and the joy and freedom of performing one of the most basic acts the human body can do, and of fine tuning that experience into harmony"...(and then talking about SkinnyRunner), "She has a very healthy outlook about the number on the clock, which is ultimately meaningless compared to the sensations of the day and the emotional experience of the journey." (Clock referring to your race time)
I'm realizing that 50 miles sounds crazy to almost everyone, other than people who already run 50 miles or aspire to run 50 miles.
I'm okay with that.
I feel like I'm a different breed of 'runner'. Still iffy about using that term, haha. I kind of fizzle on desire for most short runs, having an easier time copping out midway than I do on a long run. I know I have to be in it for the long haul, and I love that feeling. After all, what else am I going to do with my Saturdays besides run for hours to consume the time?
I love this (above). It's how I feel about any run longer than 10 miles, haha.
So this last week went like this: Monday - ran, Tuesday - ran, Wednesday - ran (three days in a row because the weather CLAIMED it was going to rain on Thursday and it was nice on Wednesday..so I swapped my normal day 'off'. Thursday - cashed in my free one day pass to Vida and took a spinning class that left me thinking I was better of taking a nap :) It was rough...in mostly a good way, but left my legs even more tired.
On Friday I went to Sports Authority and acquired some adidas compression socks, a shirt or two, and a Nathan's handheld bottle to help with refilling. The camelbak is a little tougher for that. Then I went to Pacers by my house to get some new shoes. Didn't go as planned. I've been wearing Brooks Ravenna and Ravenna 2's since I started running. Well, turns out my shoes wore down at the wrong time to buy another pair of Ravs. They are about to come out with the new shoe, so the sure wasn't going to have that kind for weeks. WEEKS. That's too long to keep running on shoes that are already hurting you. The guy there offered to watch me run again and pull some different shoes for me to try. I tried on a different pair of Brooks, a New Balance pair, and the Saucony Hurricane 14 which just came out. I ended up getting the Saucs. And an awesome pair on Zensah compression sleeves. Yay coupons at SA and Pacers!
That's the compression socks and new shoes!
Hot pink Zensah!
Shoes, bottle, sleeves, hot pink shirt to match!
I might have gotten a little carried away and painted my toes hot pink...thought it would make me run faster or something...
Then I went to grab some healthy grub to cook.
That's turkey andouille sausage, bell pepper, squash, healthy tomato sauce, and whole wheat/grain pasta!
It was actually pretty delicious!
Saturday, though exhausted still, I woke up and made my way over to Bethesda to get in 10 miles before Helen and Genny got to the trail, and I would run 6 miles with them. I wasn't feeling it at all in the beginning. I just felt so drained, I couldn't find a place to tap into any motivation or energy. I ate a ThinkThin bar and that's it...bad idea. A mile into the run I had to make a McDonalds pit stop. Then I dragged my feet for a few more miles and just sulked in my bad mood.
At about 4 miles into my run I found a semi groove and toughed it out for 8 miles before the ladies got there. The six miles with them were rough but I'm so, so glad I had them there to silently push me. We ran 90% of the 6 miles, with me stopping to eat my gels then sprinting to catch up to them running ahead. Or me stopping to walk when I thought I was going to ralph the watermelon chomps. The shoes rubbed a bit towards the end of the run, but I'm hoping I just need to break them in and not tie them so tight. I'll see how they hold up on other runs and decide if I need to just cut my losses and find a different shoe. We ate some yummy Potbellys and then I went home, where I found out my compression shorts came in the mail!
Ladies night ensued, and I wore the compression shorts to bed and I don't know if it was the shorts, the alcohol, or the exhaustion, but I slept much better than I usually do after a long run. Usually my muscles and joints are so unhappy that I can't find a way to get comfortable.
This week will be continuing the weekday short runs, and then an 18 mile run this weekend with the same plan with the ladies. 10 miles on my own, then 8 with them.
"No matter how bad it gets, it will indeed get worse, but it will indeed also get better."
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