After my first blog, last night I started thinking "what am am going to talk about tomorrow?" and then I made myself stop because I want to write each day as it happens. I had planned on getting up early this morning to go for a run before work, but I couldn't fall asleep last night, so when my alarm went off I simply ignored it and reset it for the appropriate work wake-up time. This is the thing about training and training schedules you become a compulsive rescheduler | internal bargainer. What this means in its simplest explanation and form is that the week starts by looking at the weather, evaluating how you feel and then factoring in time to hang out with friends, going grocery shopping, doing laundry etc. Sounds fun right?! Thus normal things such as buying food and socializing become secondary in some ways to when "the run" is scheduled. For me what works the best is the FIRST method (which if you want you can look up), but basically what it is is 3 days running a week including one speedwork day, one tempo run and a long run on the weekend. This is supplemented by two days of cross-training. I usually do either a spinning class and/or pilates/weight training depending on how I am feeling. This is where it gets slightly complicated because there are times when you are just beat and the last thing that you want to do is anything at all, other then sit on the couch and relax. What happens is you bargain with yourself about what you can actually so. For a long time I tried to stay to a strict schedule, but found myself wanting to take a break (and get a beer). It wasn't that I ever doubted my commitment to running because that has pretty much been unwavering since the beginning. Through various parts of my life running remains my constant. I have run through relationships, moves in jobs and living situations, changes in seasons - all in the hope to experience the breeze on my face or a 1/2 mile of feeling completly free.
Maybe it's also helpful for me the mention a little more about how my training has been going so far. My plan is to run the Shires Marathon from Bennington VT to Manchester VT on May 15th, 2011. I picked this race because I have family in Bennington so I would be able to see them, eat my pre-raced dinner and also run in the environment that I love the most (a rural area). I approached my training, because there is so much of it, in month-by-month blocks, meaning that I never looked past one month at a time. I did this for some obvious reasons, the biggest being that I didn't want to share the shit out of myself. The focus of each week for me ends up being the ever-daunting-sometimes-awesome (when they are over) weekend long run. I think that I have been running double digit long runs for close to 2 months at this point. The nice thing about them (yes there is something nice about them) is that when I have a week where the run is long (for example this past week was a 15.3 mile run) the next week takes a step down, which is necessary to rest and pull it together for the next one. Two week ago I ran a 30K (one of my proudest running accomplishments to date) and after that run my left knee has been bothering me a bit. After dealing with the first impulse thoughts of "i'm out" i have been training 4 days a week. It has been hard for me to accept that sometimes I have to shift my expectations of myself. I just expect my body to be on the same page as my mind. I felt a little overwhelmed that most training plans were saying that it was really important to run two 20 milers prior to a marathon, but am thankful to everyone else on the internet for saying that 16-18 is just as good. Who knows?! Either I destroy myself pushing to get a 20 miler in or try and recover and get another 18-20 miler in next weekend and start my taper the week after. Maybe part of training to run a marathon is also figuring out solutions to what actually happens when you train?
My other focus (and interest) has also been trying eat fairly clean (i.e unprocessed foods / whole grains / lots of veggies) because if I am going to expect my body to perform at a certain level then I have to fuel it (this is not the say that I have given up dark chocolate and other treats - just as my disclaimer). I was also starting to feel a little tired and wondered if I was missing something in my vegetarian diet. Overall, I think that I am doing pretty good minus the fact that I think I could live off of beer pizza (maybe that will be another blog with photos and a recipe) even though I don't. On top of having a slightly ridiculous running schedule to think about, I also try to eat every two hours during the work day (so I am not only thinking about training but when my next snack is and if I am drinking enough water). Running has made me very aware of my body and how I feel day-to-day. The days that I feel my best are the ones where I eat the smartest (and sleep a full night). Cross your fingers and toes tonight is one of them.
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