Why, weekend, why?

I’ve been kicking ass on the weekday runs, even on the somewhat longer Wednesday run, which has been 9 miles for the past two weeks. Tonight we ran our new favorite 5 mile loop, mostly on dirt roads with some rolling hills, with an uphill for the final mile into town. When we first ran this route two months ago, I couldn’t run the entire thing. Now I’m flying through it, hammering up the hills (well, hammering for ME) and finishing strong.

And I’m thrilled about this, but my weekend running SUCKS.

I’m trying to chalk up Saturday’s debacle to me just having an off day. My stomach was not right. My heel was screaming in pain after the first two hours. My knees hurt. My head hurt. I felt like shit. I could barely walk the final few miles to the car. Walking, people. Not exactly the feel good workout one wants to have a month from marathon day.

I also don’t know if I was in the best frame of mind that day. The morning started out with a heap of frustration, about three hours of sleep, and a bad attitude on my part. It was not a pretty picture.

And now that I think about it, on the way back to the house after dropping off a car at our destination for the ride home), we saw a bear along the highway. Which is kind of weird, since we saw one on the first of last month, too. Maybe bears are bad omens.

This is a 33 mile week, and I’m fairly confident I can make it through the 14 miler on Saturday. But next week? It’s the hell week: 40 miles with a 20 miler on the weekend. And I know I’ve been here before, and I just keep telling myself what I know my good buddy Em would tell me. And that is, even though I’m going to feel like shit next week and wonder how I’m going to do this come race day, I will be under totally different conditions for the marathon. I’ll have a few weeks of taper. I’ll be rested, refreshed and ready to go. I’ll have the excitement of the other racers and fans to get me pumped. The 26.2 miles I’ll take on that day will not be preceded by 20 more miles earlier that week.

And I need to KEEP telling myself this, because right now, if you asked my honest opinion, I’d say there’s no way I could run a marathon tomorrow.


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2 comments

  1. Hi Amy,
    I don’t envy you the marathon training. I had a fleeting period of life where I really thought I’d show my manliness by running one, but that passed. I realize that my strength (if I have any of that for running) lies in 10k or less, and I’ve learned to feel OK about that.

    I know marathon training is different to the shorter distances, but do you think you might be over-training? When I train for a 10k (or the recent 14k I did), I only run 3 days a week, and do weights one day a week. It’s very effective. I do two long runs a week, one day of sprints and/or hills, and then a good all-over gym workout. Working the upper body helps out a lot, and building leg strength is helpful when it comes to hills.

    I do read a bit about marathon and half marathon training, though, and I do understand that you need to put in more distance in training than you would for a 10k, but maybe you should try longer rest cycles? Just an idea. I don’t recommend messing with what works for you, especially close to a race, but maybe you can try it in the off-season…

    Hope you do well!
    Brian

    #1 BrianNo Gravatar

  2. B,

    I have wondered if I’m doing TOO well on the weekday runs. This week I dialed it back a little and we ran slower. I don’t know if it will make a difference on Saturday, but we’ll see. I’m planning on really taking it slow during the 40 mile week.

    I don’t think I could do a marathon with less than four days of running a week, though. I haven’t done much on the other three days, other than taking the dog for a walk.

    #2 inwonohNo Gravatar

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