If someone had told me before I started this whole process that my Saturdays would be consist of 6:30am alarms, grueling runs through hilly terrain, soaking in cold tubs of iced water, and conking out at 4pm in the afternoon for a much-needed nap, you can bet I would have been suspicious about the "training" required for a marathon.
But, I've discovered that joining a marathon team is like joining a cult: everyone is so nice, friendly, and supportive in the beginning, and you only suspect they're all high off the endorphines from the endurance runs. So you decide join in, and nothing seems amiss...at first. You discover that you can run further and harder than ever before, and you grow addicted to the camaraderie the team provides.
And then, you look around one day, and you find yourself running 14 miles every other weekend, investing in those ridiculous looking fuel belts, and heatedly arguing that Shot Blocks are far superior to GU...all the while suppressing the urge to shout "Go Team!" at any passing recreationalist.
That's when you realize you've become one of them.
Luckily, you have grown addicted to those ice baths, which shock you back into the reality of training for a marathon: it is an event which requires unprecedented psychological strength. The cult-like culture of Team in Training comes in handy as both the mileage and physical strain increase. Team spirit keeps training sessions fun and lively; it's a necessity as the sheer task of the marathon itself can be mentally overwhelming.
Once you've run for over an hour or two, your mind starts to kick in and ask pestering questions, like "Who in their right mind goes out to run hills at 7 am on a Saturday?" and "That slight burning in my lungs must be a bad sign...stop running, stop now!"
When these moments happen, you turn to your fellow cult member and say "I've hit a wall..." and immediately, they'll pick you up with some words of encouragement. Some people pay thousands of dollars for that kind of mental boost!
Moreover, the training advice I've received from teammates and coaches stems from tried-and-true experience. Quickly, I've learned that the body runs on fuel, and when it runs out, you run into problems. Remember the old adage A sound mind in a sound body? Truer words were never spoken.
Water has become an absolute essential; whereas I used to drink it begrudgingly (knowing I'd get dehydrated if I didn't), I now suck it down as if it were liquid crack. Eating before and fueling during a long run - also essential. You've never loved GU so much until you've "bonked" at the start of a hill at the Stanford Dish. And having your shoes fitted correctly? Do it, or else say hello to the world of moleskin.
There aren't any shortcuts you can take in this process. Personally, I'm of the opinion that you either follow the advice of the resident gurus, or you suffer the consequences. And if you decide to risk it, you'll learn the hard way how difficult it is to manage a 12-mile run without the use of power gels, shoe inserts, or (God-forbid) a fuel belt.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
DOMS and Calves
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. Let me tell you, it's the worst and/or best part of training. Although I've been training pretty hard with the team, and despite the fact that the runs are only going to get tougher as we log more mileage, I haven't given up my rock climbing activities. But, the caveat to this routine is DOMS.
Last night, I climbed pretty hard at the gym. My forearms felt like molten lead after about an hour...something Coach Jess likes to call being "pumped out" - though it feels more like worn out. I was proud that I climbed so hard, but felt the effects this morning.
Coupled with DOMS from climbing (my upper back is a nest of knots), I've been battling what I thought were shin splints. However, after visiting SMI this morning, I've been informed that my calves are just extremely tight, and the muscles hidden under the initial calf muscles are the source of the pain. I then experienced what I like to call "Leg Lamaze" - controlled breathing while you get a deep tissue therapist to work out the tightness in your inner calves. For an hour, I endured what can only be described as teeth-gritting, tingly-toed deep tissue massage. The therapist worked out the muscles in back and in front of the calf region, and I did all I could not to flail about and yelp in surprised agony.
The good news is, I just need to stretch more. The bad news is, I have to stretch alot more. We're talking two to three times a day.
Catch me at work. I'll be the one with her shoes off, hunched near her desk in some awkward position, pretending to be checking the power strip for the computer.
Last night, I climbed pretty hard at the gym. My forearms felt like molten lead after about an hour...something Coach Jess likes to call being "pumped out" - though it feels more like worn out. I was proud that I climbed so hard, but felt the effects this morning.
Coupled with DOMS from climbing (my upper back is a nest of knots), I've been battling what I thought were shin splints. However, after visiting SMI this morning, I've been informed that my calves are just extremely tight, and the muscles hidden under the initial calf muscles are the source of the pain. I then experienced what I like to call "Leg Lamaze" - controlled breathing while you get a deep tissue therapist to work out the tightness in your inner calves. For an hour, I endured what can only be described as teeth-gritting, tingly-toed deep tissue massage. The therapist worked out the muscles in back and in front of the calf region, and I did all I could not to flail about and yelp in surprised agony.
The good news is, I just need to stretch more. The bad news is, I have to stretch alot more. We're talking two to three times a day.
Catch me at work. I'll be the one with her shoes off, hunched near her desk in some awkward position, pretending to be checking the power strip for the computer.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Happiness Is Napping
I have a new appreciation for naps. These past few weeks, it has been getting progressively harder to get enough rest. My body seems more tired than usual, and I think it's just one of the effects of training. Our coaches told us to expect to need more rest than usual, but this is just getting ridiculous! I am not sleepy, but my body is not rested. My energy has gone down during the day; I feel so mellow, and all I can think about are naps. I've become somewhat obsessed with them, actually. I skipped lunch the other day to nap in one of the plush chairs at work. I slept for my whole lunch hour, which wouldn't seem too absurd, except for the fact that I slept so deeply I was dreaming! In the middle of the day! I have promised myself that I will go to bed earlier, but I've been thwarted by the motives of JK Rowling and her last Harry Potter installation.... Hence, these days, I've been taking more time to catch some extra shut-eye in the afternoons or mid-mornings.
I think the exhaustion is due to the rise in our training intensity. Last week, the training picked up during our track workouts: we did 800 x 400 repeat intervals, pacing ourselves so we ran consistently during each set. In layman's terms, we ran two laps (800) comfortably, then rested for a minute, then ran 1 lap (400) a little harder, making sure the time was the same if not less than the first lap we ran in the 800. Then we rested for another minute and started all over again! We did this three times, and I was proud to find out that I have near-perfect pacing - I completed each lap to the precise second of each preceding. (It felt surreal, but I wasn't surprised. The body has muscle memory that it taps into, and I'm sure that's what happened: my legs and arms just remembered how to move in the exact rhythm for a specific pace.)
However, then we had a 2-mile time trial to complete after these intervals. Granted, the intervals weren't hard, but it was the first time we had used them our track workouts. So, we started the time trial, and let me tell you: running around a track will mess with your mind. Great for the knees and other joints, but so boring. I got to my fourth lap and thought "Oh man, this is rough...and that grass looks so inviting...I could really use a nap..." It's not so much the running, but the mental struggle to keep going in circles!!
I suppose it's a great lesson in overcoming the negative thoughts that will attack me in the marathon (around mile 18, from what I hear) but I have a long way to go in combating my own thoughts.... I suppose the feeling of futility affected my end time, which turned out to be much slower than the intervals I seemed to complete so easily only 1/2 hour earlier. But, I guess that's why it's called "training"!
I recently learned that my schedule is going to get much more hectic. I was cast in a production of Chekhov's The Three Sisters, and the show goes up in September. This allows me about a month to prep, and rehearsals are every night from 7-10! In addition to my marathon training and this show, I've also been trying to keep up with my rock climbing...but those fall mats are pretty comfortable, and I often find myself dozing off without realizing...
On the bright side, I've been much more productive at work, so perhaps the napping is paying off. It definitely gives me a mental break and recharges me during the afternoons. Now, if I could just find a way to nap while running...
I think the exhaustion is due to the rise in our training intensity. Last week, the training picked up during our track workouts: we did 800 x 400 repeat intervals, pacing ourselves so we ran consistently during each set. In layman's terms, we ran two laps (800) comfortably, then rested for a minute, then ran 1 lap (400) a little harder, making sure the time was the same if not less than the first lap we ran in the 800. Then we rested for another minute and started all over again! We did this three times, and I was proud to find out that I have near-perfect pacing - I completed each lap to the precise second of each preceding. (It felt surreal, but I wasn't surprised. The body has muscle memory that it taps into, and I'm sure that's what happened: my legs and arms just remembered how to move in the exact rhythm for a specific pace.)
However, then we had a 2-mile time trial to complete after these intervals. Granted, the intervals weren't hard, but it was the first time we had used them our track workouts. So, we started the time trial, and let me tell you: running around a track will mess with your mind. Great for the knees and other joints, but so boring. I got to my fourth lap and thought "Oh man, this is rough...and that grass looks so inviting...I could really use a nap..." It's not so much the running, but the mental struggle to keep going in circles!!
I suppose it's a great lesson in overcoming the negative thoughts that will attack me in the marathon (around mile 18, from what I hear) but I have a long way to go in combating my own thoughts.... I suppose the feeling of futility affected my end time, which turned out to be much slower than the intervals I seemed to complete so easily only 1/2 hour earlier. But, I guess that's why it's called "training"!
I recently learned that my schedule is going to get much more hectic. I was cast in a production of Chekhov's The Three Sisters, and the show goes up in September. This allows me about a month to prep, and rehearsals are every night from 7-10! In addition to my marathon training and this show, I've also been trying to keep up with my rock climbing...but those fall mats are pretty comfortable, and I often find myself dozing off without realizing...
On the bright side, I've been much more productive at work, so perhaps the napping is paying off. It definitely gives me a mental break and recharges me during the afternoons. Now, if I could just find a way to nap while running...
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Owie Post-Maui
Today was a long run up in Woodside, along Edgewood Road. The Team met at 7am to do a 10-mile run, and the ensuing experience was pretty rough...
There were a few lessons I learned today, the first of which should have been obvious at 6:45 this morning: I did not get enough sleep this week. There is a reason the training schedule makes you rest on Fridays, and I should have taken that a little more seriously! It is incredible how quickly your energy runs out after your breakfast fuel has been utilized.
Secondly, I did not drink enough water the day before, leaving me running through the woods, wishing I could get my legs to go helter-skelter-ing up and down the hilly dirt trail. My sympathies go out to Sisyphus and his rock. My legs felt like lead, and on the run out, I kept thinking "...these downhills are still going to be here on the way back...but they're going to be uphills...!"
Lastly, and though this may seem minute, I didn't consider the chafing that would happen over the course of a two-point-five hour run. Hence, I am currently sporting some slightly uncomfortable spots where the skin has rubbed off...marathon battle scars, I call 'em.
However, I think alot of this past week's training was more intense than the "training" I did in Maui. Which also taught me that taking more than two days off from your training can work degenerative wonders on your aerobic system! I've made a mental note to try my hardest during these coming weeks to push myself little by little, to put some metaphorical money in the physical bank, so that by marathon time, I'll be absolutely ready to face those long 26 miles.
The best part of the run today was seeing the honorees, Doug and Roger, cheering us on through the morning. At mile 8, I will admit, I had second-thoughts about the mileage...and the race itself. I thought "Well, I've still got time to train, I don't have to finish this 10 mile today..." -but I knew that if I didn't do the last 2 miles, I would somehow have been disappointed in myself, that I would be starting down the path to quitting. Then I saw Doug and Roger smiling at us; they had been out here all morning, despite their condition, and so I thought "It's only 2 more miles...I can do 2 more miles."
And that seemed to give me all the energy I needed to finish.
It felt great, getting to the end of those miles, knowing that I finished it, that I didn't quit, and so we went out to celebrate with a huge breakfast.
...and I believe I learned the greatest lesson of the day during the meal at the Woodside Bakery:
Run to eat!
There were a few lessons I learned today, the first of which should have been obvious at 6:45 this morning: I did not get enough sleep this week. There is a reason the training schedule makes you rest on Fridays, and I should have taken that a little more seriously! It is incredible how quickly your energy runs out after your breakfast fuel has been utilized.
Secondly, I did not drink enough water the day before, leaving me running through the woods, wishing I could get my legs to go helter-skelter-ing up and down the hilly dirt trail. My sympathies go out to Sisyphus and his rock. My legs felt like lead, and on the run out, I kept thinking "...these downhills are still going to be here on the way back...but they're going to be uphills...!"
Lastly, and though this may seem minute, I didn't consider the chafing that would happen over the course of a two-point-five hour run. Hence, I am currently sporting some slightly uncomfortable spots where the skin has rubbed off...marathon battle scars, I call 'em.
However, I think alot of this past week's training was more intense than the "training" I did in Maui. Which also taught me that taking more than two days off from your training can work degenerative wonders on your aerobic system! I've made a mental note to try my hardest during these coming weeks to push myself little by little, to put some metaphorical money in the physical bank, so that by marathon time, I'll be absolutely ready to face those long 26 miles.
The best part of the run today was seeing the honorees, Doug and Roger, cheering us on through the morning. At mile 8, I will admit, I had second-thoughts about the mileage...and the race itself. I thought "Well, I've still got time to train, I don't have to finish this 10 mile today..." -but I knew that if I didn't do the last 2 miles, I would somehow have been disappointed in myself, that I would be starting down the path to quitting. Then I saw Doug and Roger smiling at us; they had been out here all morning, despite their condition, and so I thought "It's only 2 more miles...I can do 2 more miles."
And that seemed to give me all the energy I needed to finish.
It felt great, getting to the end of those miles, knowing that I finished it, that I didn't quit, and so we went out to celebrate with a huge breakfast.
...and I believe I learned the greatest lesson of the day during the meal at the Woodside Bakery:
Run to eat!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Maui Vacation
Well, this Fourth of July has been pretty eventful: the family is spending time together in Maui, and I have been trying to keep up with my running schedule amidst the flurry of delayed flights, lost luggage, kayaking, snorkeling, poolside sunbathing, tennis matches, and delicious dinners on the town. I managed to achieve a pretty terrific sunburn the first day here, so the following two days were spent in the tiny basement gym of our condo complex. (I have discovered that running with a team is much more enjoyable than running on a treadmill, staring at a blank wall!)
This morning, I ventured down the road early, so as to avoid the heat that settles in around 9am. I was surprised to find that the humidity, though low compared to the East Coast, still got to me after about 20 minutes. (I was glad for the handkerchief I had tied around my head!)
I have to say that I have also been overwhelmed by the generosity of my friends and family over the past week. I have received many donations online, and a massive amount of moral support from across the country. It truly is inspiring to see how many people are willing to give to this cause, and it keeps me running in good spirits.
I ran my first 8 mile run last Saturday with the team in Half Moon Bay, and even as I write this, I feel as though it was no large feat. 5 minutes before we started, I was not sure how I would feel at the end of the run...and now, a week later, I think to myself "8 miles? That's nothing! Bring on the 15 miler!" The run itself was gorgeous - the weather was cool at 8am, and the sky stayed overcast for most of the morning. We ran alongside the coast, and had a nice little tailwind for the first half of the run. Turning around, we were met with that same little "tailwind" which turned into a bothersome headwind around the last 2 miles.... However, I managed to complete the run at about a 10:20 pace, while running an interval of 6 minutes on, 1.5 minutes walking. I felt pretty great about it, seeing as how I usually run a 12:00 min/mile pace on my weekday runs!
I am excited to run even further, and hope that the slight flare up in my right shin will dissipate over the next few weeks, as the mileage increases...
As always, if you'd like to donate to the cause, the link is listed on the bottom of my main page...
Thanks for reading, and stay posted!
This morning, I ventured down the road early, so as to avoid the heat that settles in around 9am. I was surprised to find that the humidity, though low compared to the East Coast, still got to me after about 20 minutes. (I was glad for the handkerchief I had tied around my head!)
I have to say that I have also been overwhelmed by the generosity of my friends and family over the past week. I have received many donations online, and a massive amount of moral support from across the country. It truly is inspiring to see how many people are willing to give to this cause, and it keeps me running in good spirits.
I ran my first 8 mile run last Saturday with the team in Half Moon Bay, and even as I write this, I feel as though it was no large feat. 5 minutes before we started, I was not sure how I would feel at the end of the run...and now, a week later, I think to myself "8 miles? That's nothing! Bring on the 15 miler!" The run itself was gorgeous - the weather was cool at 8am, and the sky stayed overcast for most of the morning. We ran alongside the coast, and had a nice little tailwind for the first half of the run. Turning around, we were met with that same little "tailwind" which turned into a bothersome headwind around the last 2 miles.... However, I managed to complete the run at about a 10:20 pace, while running an interval of 6 minutes on, 1.5 minutes walking. I felt pretty great about it, seeing as how I usually run a 12:00 min/mile pace on my weekday runs!
I am excited to run even further, and hope that the slight flare up in my right shin will dissipate over the next few weeks, as the mileage increases...
As always, if you'd like to donate to the cause, the link is listed on the bottom of my main page...
Thanks for reading, and stay posted!
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