Week #11 recap (Heavy Week)

Weekly Mileage: 43.55

Monday Rest Day

Tuesday was my first run since the Self Marathon I ran on Saturday, I was feeling pretty rested and fresh going into the run. During the run I could feel a fatigue in my leg muscles but no real soreness or issues. I was hoping to get in about 7 miles but listened to my body and felt like it would be best if I cut it a little short. I ended up with 5.72 miles at a 9:15 pace.

Wednesday I could not get myself out of bed, I have been very short on sleep lately. I usually get between 5-6 hours and then can catch up with a nice 8-9 hour night on one of the weekend nights but because of our schedules and the length of my long runs lately I haven't had that "catch up" day in a few weeks. I thought maybe I could fit it in at night but that didn't work out either. I wasn't to upset as I thought it might be best to take this weeks runs a little lighter as I had some serious mileage coming up for the weekend.

Thursday I got out early (4am) and wanted to get a few miles in with a little more speed, I've noticed I can only stretch certain muscles at slower speeds but when I run faster I am able to get a deeper stretch. I got in 2.80 miles at a 7:59 pace before having to stop because of some stomach issues.

Friday Rest Day

Saturday was my long run day and the first opportunity for me to rack up some miles for my fund raiser (see the make a difference tab for details) The plan was to run a 6 mile loop around my neighborhood then head North to my friend Ian's house (12 miles away) then meet up with him and he would run back with me to my house for a total of 30 miles.

I started early and ran the 6 miles around my neighborhood feeling pretty good but sweating like crazy (think the humidity was extra high) I stopped at my house to refill my water bottles and change my shirt before heading out to Ian's. The next 12 miles were pretty difficult as it felt very long I think because I have run that route before but never with 6 miles already under my belt so I was feeling tired in spots I wasn't used to feeling tired in.

I arrived at Ian's house feeling pretty exhausted and not super excited about having 12 miles left. I ate some potatoes (thank you Mindy) and refilled my water bottles again before heading out with Ian by my side. Around 20 miles I really started to struggle I found it difficult to drink and run at the same time and it was getting warmer and warmer outside. I had to walk every time I needed a drink and by about mile 24 or so I was out of fluids again. I had to stop by a convenience store to buy more and filled up the water bottles again before continuing on.

Unfortunately things didn't get any easier by about mile 26 I had to keep stopping and walking in between running spurts and got to the point where I just didn't think I could run anymore (physically or mentally) I was expecting to feel pretty decent as last weekends 26 miles went relatively well, but I think the miles back to back really were wearing on me. I asked to borrow Ian's phone and decided to call Beth to meet me where the path met up with Sunnyside about a mile or so ahead. I called her twice and of course she didn't answer. This made me frustrated and I used that frustration to start running again.

Once I got to Sunnyside I got caught at a few crosswalks and realized it was so painful to be still I had to keep moving, not moving was more painful than moving. I pushed it a little harder and realized the faster I ran the less my legs hurt (cardio and energy wise) it was hard to run but I had to keep pushing to get it over with and keep the pain out of my legs. I ran mile 28 (which includes some hills) at a 9:30 pace and only stopped to walk the last big hill on Sunnyside heading up East to 122nd. After that hill I ran the rest of the way and even did a loop in the Church parking lot across from my house to make sure I would hit 30 miles before getting home.

All in all I averaged a pace of 9:56 which is much better than I thought with the intermittent walking mixed in there. I am very glad Beth did not answer her phone and that Ian was there to make sure I survived. I was in pretty bad shape when I got home I usually don't take ibuprofen because it can keep your body from going through its own recovery and rebuilding phases but I couldn't shovel them in my mouth fast enough when I walked in the door, I was pretty afraid of how I was going to feel when the adrenaline and movement stopped. I took a bath and quick shower and Beth let me lay on the couch for a 1/2 hour or so until the pills could kick in. After that I began to feel better and by night time was in relatively decent shape.

Sunday I had an opportunity to pile up a few more miles if I got out the door early before Church. I woke up sore but feeling pretty good and decided to use the run as a stretch since I was to sore or stiff to really stretch out on Saturday. I took off and felt better than I could have hoped for after about 200 yards, I was sore but not in pain and could tell the run was doing me good (I have really noticed when you are very sore from exercise the best thing to help you recover crazy as it may seem is... how would all the drinkers out there say it? oh yes "a little hair from the dog that bit you")

I was planning to get 10 miles in and felt pretty good through the first 4 but after that I could tell the run was starting to move out of a good stretch and into something that was going to continue to break down muscle fibers and make me even more sore or worse injured (plus I still have to go to work tomorrow) so I called it a day and we raised $475 for Compassion Internationals Water For Life Program. Thanks again to everyone that supported me (financially or in many other ways)