Livejourwho?
So after the RunTex 20 Miler, I didn't run for 2 full weeks. I tried to run at two Wednesday workouts in a row, and I couldn't, for some hard-to-pinpoint pain in my left leg. I was getting very frustrated.. I hadn't run in two weeks and I really hadn't done any cross-training, because of flu and bronchitis. I was feeling very behind and uncertain about the marathon.
Er.. not that I'm any more confident about it now. But we finally determined that my IT band was causing the pain in my leg, and I got that worked on Friday afternoon. I was supposed to run 21 miles on Sunday, but I just couldn't see that happening, given that I'd been sick and not running. Plus, Sunday looked like the weather was going to be cold and rainy. So I decided to just strike out on my own on Saturday.
I didn't test out running with my worked-on IT band after I left the PT Friday night, so I had no idea how it was gonna feel. I decided to go out on my own and run, since it was entirely possible I'd go 1/4 of a mile and be forced to quit because it hurt. Actually, I invited tripam, with lots of caveats and take-our-own-cars, but she was having pains of her own, and opted not to join.
So I got to the Town Lake Trail around 7:20am and started my run. It felt okay. I gave myself permission to go Very Very VERY slow, and just go until stopping felt right. And run slow I did. Really slow. But I did a nice powershuffle and smiled at dogs and enjoyed the really freakin' cold and windy weather (it got much nicer once the sun finally came out, but it never got Warm). I did one 7 mile loop and ended up back where I started, having to make a decision. I went out intending to do another 7 mile loop, figuring I had a few miles to decide for sure. Before I knew it, I had done another 7 mile loop. That's not true. It wasn't "before I knew it". Running by yourself is hard, at least for me. At this point yet another decision was necessary. I had been under the impression that the 7 mile loop was actually around 7.5, so I figured I'd gone about 15 miles at this point. I thought I'd do a short 4 (there's two distances of loops that are 4.something), then a 3 mile. I set out to do that. I got to the turnaround for the 3 mile, and realized that 2 3-mile loops would actually be just about perfect, putting me right at 21 miles. So I happily turned around to do a 3 mile loop instead. Very happily.. I was starting to go even slower, and any time I stopped to walk (to drink or to eat), my legs, particularly my left hamstring/ITband started aching.
I finished the 3 mile loop and hit the split feature on my watch. Then I turned to run the 3 mile loop again the other way (variety!) and ate a gu as I walked over the Mopac footbridge. Once I got to the other side of the bridge, I started running again ("running"). I got about .05 miles before I realized.. oh. When I hit split, my watch said 46 minutes. It took me 46 minutes to go 3 miles. That's probably an indication that I'm too tired to do another 3 miles. That's not running anymore, that's barely walking fast. So I turned back around and "ran" back to the bridge to do a lot of stretching, then hit Barton Springs to soak in the cold water.
While I was stretching, I looked at the sign at the stretching rock. It told me the distances I'd just run... 6.9 miles for the Riverside loop, 2.9 miles for the Pfluger bridge loop. So I'd done waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay less distance than I thought I'd done. I was pretty irrationally devastated. It was dumb. When I saw Matt at Barton Springs, I was all sullen and grumpy and didn't want to join them for breakfast (uh, also I was in the water in the only pair of shorts I'd brought, and didn't relish eating breakfast in wet shorts).
Then I got home and googled up a map of the TLT that told me that the 7 mile loop was actually 7.12, and the 3 mile loop was actually 3.46 or something. And those couple extra percentages made me feel a lot better. Silly. And also I realized that doing 17 miles after taking 2 weeks off and having been sick and congested and coughing and all of that.. it was ridiculous to be so hard on myself.
It was one of the toughest mental runs I've ever had, though. I was the only one keeping me going. I kept having to set little landmarks for myself. "Run to that bridge. Run to that tree." I had nobody to talk to or motivate, no reason to keep going. I've grown very used to that, and being without it for 17 miles was hard.
But I feel a little better now. I won't get in an over-20 run before Freescale, but I think I may still be in to actually do the marathon. My legs/body were just as sore yesterday as after I did the 20 miler.. it was a very rough run for me. And very slow.. same time as it took me to do 20 miles, except I did almost 3 miles less. I'm feeling better today, but I want to get to the PT early in the week to have him work on my IT band, so that I don't end up having to sit out a Wednesday workout again.
I need to decide soon about Freescale.. price goes up on the 29th. I did sign up for 3M, and I'm going to do my damnedest not to care that my time will be less than I want. I'm not training for 3M. I'll get a good time for a half marathon sometime when I'm TRAINING for a half marathon. Right now the goal is just to cross the finish line at my first marathon. And that's good enough for me.
And as a final note... Damn, I'm lucky. Check out the legs on this guy.
Er.. not that I'm any more confident about it now. But we finally determined that my IT band was causing the pain in my leg, and I got that worked on Friday afternoon. I was supposed to run 21 miles on Sunday, but I just couldn't see that happening, given that I'd been sick and not running. Plus, Sunday looked like the weather was going to be cold and rainy. So I decided to just strike out on my own on Saturday.
I didn't test out running with my worked-on IT band after I left the PT Friday night, so I had no idea how it was gonna feel. I decided to go out on my own and run, since it was entirely possible I'd go 1/4 of a mile and be forced to quit because it hurt. Actually, I invited tripam, with lots of caveats and take-our-own-cars, but she was having pains of her own, and opted not to join.
So I got to the Town Lake Trail around 7:20am and started my run. It felt okay. I gave myself permission to go Very Very VERY slow, and just go until stopping felt right. And run slow I did. Really slow. But I did a nice powershuffle and smiled at dogs and enjoyed the really freakin' cold and windy weather (it got much nicer once the sun finally came out, but it never got Warm). I did one 7 mile loop and ended up back where I started, having to make a decision. I went out intending to do another 7 mile loop, figuring I had a few miles to decide for sure. Before I knew it, I had done another 7 mile loop. That's not true. It wasn't "before I knew it". Running by yourself is hard, at least for me. At this point yet another decision was necessary. I had been under the impression that the 7 mile loop was actually around 7.5, so I figured I'd gone about 15 miles at this point. I thought I'd do a short 4 (there's two distances of loops that are 4.something), then a 3 mile. I set out to do that. I got to the turnaround for the 3 mile, and realized that 2 3-mile loops would actually be just about perfect, putting me right at 21 miles. So I happily turned around to do a 3 mile loop instead. Very happily.. I was starting to go even slower, and any time I stopped to walk (to drink or to eat), my legs, particularly my left hamstring/ITband started aching.
I finished the 3 mile loop and hit the split feature on my watch. Then I turned to run the 3 mile loop again the other way (variety!) and ate a gu as I walked over the Mopac footbridge. Once I got to the other side of the bridge, I started running again ("running"). I got about .05 miles before I realized.. oh. When I hit split, my watch said 46 minutes. It took me 46 minutes to go 3 miles. That's probably an indication that I'm too tired to do another 3 miles. That's not running anymore, that's barely walking fast. So I turned back around and "ran" back to the bridge to do a lot of stretching, then hit Barton Springs to soak in the cold water.
While I was stretching, I looked at the sign at the stretching rock. It told me the distances I'd just run... 6.9 miles for the Riverside loop, 2.9 miles for the Pfluger bridge loop. So I'd done waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay less distance than I thought I'd done. I was pretty irrationally devastated. It was dumb. When I saw Matt at Barton Springs, I was all sullen and grumpy and didn't want to join them for breakfast (uh, also I was in the water in the only pair of shorts I'd brought, and didn't relish eating breakfast in wet shorts).
Then I got home and googled up a map of the TLT that told me that the 7 mile loop was actually 7.12, and the 3 mile loop was actually 3.46 or something. And those couple extra percentages made me feel a lot better. Silly. And also I realized that doing 17 miles after taking 2 weeks off and having been sick and congested and coughing and all of that.. it was ridiculous to be so hard on myself.
It was one of the toughest mental runs I've ever had, though. I was the only one keeping me going. I kept having to set little landmarks for myself. "Run to that bridge. Run to that tree." I had nobody to talk to or motivate, no reason to keep going. I've grown very used to that, and being without it for 17 miles was hard.
But I feel a little better now. I won't get in an over-20 run before Freescale, but I think I may still be in to actually do the marathon. My legs/body were just as sore yesterday as after I did the 20 miler.. it was a very rough run for me. And very slow.. same time as it took me to do 20 miles, except I did almost 3 miles less. I'm feeling better today, but I want to get to the PT early in the week to have him work on my IT band, so that I don't end up having to sit out a Wednesday workout again.
I need to decide soon about Freescale.. price goes up on the 29th. I did sign up for 3M, and I'm going to do my damnedest not to care that my time will be less than I want. I'm not training for 3M. I'll get a good time for a half marathon sometime when I'm TRAINING for a half marathon. Right now the goal is just to cross the finish line at my first marathon. And that's good enough for me.
And as a final note... Damn, I'm lucky. Check out the legs on this guy.