Right up there with "Early to bed, early to rise" and "An apple a day," amirite?
This last week passed in a total haze, and at one point (maybe when I started writing up this post?) I was trying to think back to what the heck I did all week and literally all I could come up with was this kind of fuzzy montage of running and lifting and karate and OMG sooooo much laundry and oh yeah also there is the day job and the hours spent driving around the Bay Area as a result. Screw you, living expenses.
Oh and sleeping. Or lying in bed exhausted and cursing my brain for refusing to turn off. Or slumping on the couch thinking how I really should get ready for bed except I'm too tired to get off the couch.
But in any case, I was trying to mentally sum up my week and I kept coming up with "gym, run, laundry," so I guess what I'm saying is that although I can't really get down with the T what with my love of not having skin cancer & all, my life these days is otherwise a lot like living on the Jersey Shore, except with more running and going to like an actual job or whatever. It's weird because this is quite far from the highest training load I've ever had in my life but I can't actually remember a time I was marathon training and felt this exhausted and crappy all the time.
You guys, I counted up these numbers and I have to say I was pretty pissed at how wee the total seemed, because given how I feel that "total miles" number should be *at least*, like, 75.
- * 39.5 total miles
* 17.5 easy
* 2 speed
* 20 long
* 3:00:00 strength work
Monday 3/28: a.m. strength work / p.m. karate
Tuesday 3/29: 2 warm up, 2 x (3 x 300m @ 6:25 / jog 100m) / jog 300m, 1.5 cool down = 5.2 total. This was my first non-easy run since the Oakland Half, and I did not, not, not feel ready to start doing speed work again, so I was thankful that this workout was short. Given the fact that it was just some short, fast intervals and not that many of them, I'm guessing the purpose had more to do with leg turnover/ neurological stuff than VO2 max. I hit them all between 6:08 and 6:34 (& my last one was actually the fastest), but man, I'm glad it was only six because I felt CRAPTASTIC.
Wednesday 3/30: a.m. strength work / p.m. karate.
Thursday 3/31: 7.5 easy. And by "easy," I mean craptastic. Like two miles in I was like, "This run is bullshit."
Friday 4/1: a.m. strength work / PT / p.m. 20 long. Long story short, I kind of had to do this run on Friday instead of Sunday, because next weekend we're out of town wine tasting and sorry but there is no way a 20 mile long run is happening in Paso Robles, so I need to do it Friday before we leave. And doing a 20 miler this past Sunday and then ANOTHER 20 the following Friday seems like an epically bad idea, so I just shifted them both to Fridays (which means working on the weekends but whatever).
I probably don't need to say it, but this run, like all others this week, was complete and total balls. #its20miles #whatdidyouexpect #seriouslywhat
Saturday 4/2: Rest. I think I slept for like 10 hours which is not a thing I do.
Sunday 4/3: 7.5 easy, after sleeping for close to 12 hours. And again, by easy, I mean utter balls.
- Does your running every feel epically shit-tastic for weeks on end?
- Do you ever find yourself thinking mid-run, "Seriously, this run is like seeing a person I don't like at three social engagements in a row and I just can't with it anymore?" or "This run can go straight to hell?"
- How did you stop wanting to kick running in the balls, all day every day?
Asking for a friend.
Sounds like you're in the thick of things now. 40 miles/week is no joke - especially since you're technically still making a comeback. Be kind to yourself! Maybe focus on something good, like that you're almost done with the marathon training cycle and you're still more or less healthy? If that doesn't work - there's only a couple more weeks until taper, right?
ReplyDeleteIf I reach way back into my marathon training memory, I seem to recall that the weeks with 20 milers feel like crap. For me, it's only later when I look at the training log and see the numbers that I am impressed with myself.
ReplyDeleteI'm absolutely going through this now- I ran 20 last weekend also, at the end of my highest mileage week in about a year and a half (also stress fracture). I'm still exhausted. My marathon is 3 weeks out, which is too far to feel 'real' but close enough that I'm worried I'll feel this exhausted on race day. This is why tapers exist (so I'm told). I've been watching motivational YouTube things to make it through another high(er) mileage week this week before starting to taper next week...it's all going to work out! "Trust the process" and all that...
ReplyDelete"Does your running every feel epically shit-tastic for weeks on end?"
ReplyDeleteYes. ;)
I've never watched jersey shores but it's nice to know that there are some standards in place. Clean laundry is next to godliness.
ReplyDelete:-/ is everything ok? Sleep, diet, work stress getting in the way? If you're feeling like crap before you even get to the long run... random question, when was the last time you were tested for anemia? (Cuz the last time I felt quite that fatigued during an easy run, I was pregnant, which is kind of like anemia in terms of that whole all-your-oxygen-goes-somewhere-else way.)
ReplyDeleteKeep up your good spirit dear!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ovbal.com/
Honestly, that doesn't sound quite normal. I do think 20 milers are always hard, but the shorter things shouldn't be so exhausting. I'd talk to your doctor.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how much it costs to live in SF. Crazy!!! Even though Spokane sucks, I think I will stay here and enjoy my cheap living. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhen I get really burnt out or over train I tend to have lots of shitty weeks in a row. Or sometimes I just get really mental and think that they are all bad until I do some comparing and then just realize it was all in my head. That happens to me a lot.