Well, that was interesting.
I just completed my first Marathon Paced run, ever. I’d been both dreading and looking forward to it all week. This would be my first reading of where I stand in the midst of my training, so it was important for me to give myself the best possible scenario as far as sleeping and eating beforehand.
Which makes you wonder why I’d accept a last-minute invitation to my friend Yvonne’s for dinner where I was self-forced to drink 3 glasses of wine plus a touch of Sambuca before joyfully (drunkly) plopping into bed. I did manage to be asleep by midnight, so the sleeping part was a success, but I could have done without the boozy carb-load.
I was also psyched about the forecast (woo! supposed to be 67 degrees at 7am, can’t wait!!) That turned out to be bogus. When I left the house at 6:30 it was 77 w/heat index so any extra weather induced speed wasn’t happening in my neighborhood. Pooh.
I got my handheld, filled my gel-flask with a couple gels and a bit of water, slapped a visor on my head and left for my MP adventure.
During the 3 warmup miles, I took the occasion to finally use, for the very first time, a porta-potty in the park. It was all I imagined and less. Seriously, I have never seen one filled so precariously high. Disgusting.
As you can imagine from the prelude, I was whining for most of the run, thinking woulda, shoulda, coulda and “damn, this is harder than I thought it’d be”. It was pretty disconcerting, to be honest. At one point, I told myself, “there’s no whining in Marathon Training” which shut my addled brain up for about a mile, but then it was back to it’s bitching and moaning and numerous decisions to downgrade my goal.
When I got tired of that, I made silent remarks to the many overflowing packs of Team In Training people who haven’t figured out that we all SHARE the bike path, bikers and runners, so staying on the right side like the signs tell you to (and as would common sense if a person had a clue), is the right thing to do. I was this close to plunging my elbow into one of those charitable white t-shirts.
I really shouldn’t have had that wine last night.
Despite all the grouchy inner chatter, I managed to complete the stupid run at the correct pace, 8:22 (I needed 8:23) and that included stopping to refill my bottle once and stopping to pick up some car keys a runner in front of me dropped, and then getting them back to her.
Now that I’m back home and looking at my logs and thinking about it more, I’m not ready to switch my goal just yet. My friend Joe, who is speedy as hell (3:09 marathon) and who did Pfitzinger too, said it wasn’t till the VO2max work came into play that his pace felt more doable, so I’m going to resist comparing myself to a couple speedy gal-pals in my Women’s BQ thread who report their MP runs are “comfortable” - their paces are more aggressive than mine to begin with. Besides, whenever I read about someone doing an MP run in the Marathon Training forum, “comfortable” is not a common adjective, so I’m not downgrading yet.
On an all-together different bummer note, I initially chose Steamtown because a couple RW forum friends were doing it, then I kind of talked my other forum buddies, Matt and Joye into doing it, too. The first two girls have already dropped out due to injury and now Matt has a strained calf that the doc says he has to stay off of until he can manage stairs comfortably (which I’m hoping with all hope will only be a week or so, at the most). If that’s not enough, Joye is having physical troubles as well. So here’s to Matt and Joye, please be healthy and get there with me, I’m rooting for us to get this thing done together and celebrate our first marathon with all the excitement and wonder we’ll have left in us. Be well, both of you!
Tags: mp run, pfitz 18/55
August 10th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Girl, your MP is right where it should be. I would not worry. We’re right in the thick of things so this isn’t going to be EASY. Just stay the course, you’re fine.
Now if I could just get my own sleep deprived, my leg’s gonna fall off ass out the door to do the same…
August 10th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Well I read the post before I commented this time. But forgot what I was goign to say. Just remember its better to make your mistakes now while training rather then race day. I cannt see you have too much wine night before race. But if it works stick with it.
August 10th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Dogpound, bless you. I just came back from breakfast and feel better about it though it sure helped to read your words. You’re right, it’s not supposed to be easy, otherwise marathons wouldn’t be a big deal. It’s me and peer pressure, 29 years after high school and I’m still sucking myself into it.
Get a nap if you can, girlie, and attack your MP delight with a clear head, you’re sure to have a much better attitude than me.
Bruce, hah! Yeah, the gel flask worked great but the vino…not so much.
August 10th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Holy crap, that’s a lot of injured runners you’re schmoozing with - yikes. Hope these folks feel better.
On another note, I bought an Amphipod Handheld this week and took it out on it’s maiden voyage this morning on the Sunday LR - I agree with you, the thing rocks, thanks for your blog review!
August 10th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Progman, very cool on the handheld! Glad to see you’re another fan of the thing. They’re just so darn handy (literally and figuratively).
August 10th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
I just got back from the clinic, had enough of not ailment not feeling any better after a week. The diagnosis is just messed up ligaments. She told me 1-2 weeks of rest. Just what I didn’t want to hear. So……….I’m starting my training behind schedule. Pisses me off! Oh well, not much you can do about it. Maybe I’ll just wake up some day this week and feel incredibly great???? I can only hope. At least I got some nice strong painkillers out of the deal!!!!!
August 10th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Flo,
Been there, done that. I’ve had the occasional crap day in training when I wondered if I was being too ambitious. I got over it, and so will you.
Hope you don’t run out of Steamtown friends completely! Even if they don”t run alongside you, it’s a big plus to have buddies in the race. Perhaps some new “Team In Motion” members will step up. C’mon lurkers, we know you’re out there!
August 10th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
OH no, Heidi!!! Not another one! And you didn’t even get to start yet. Sigh. I feel so bad for you. The main thing is to track down the origin, whether it’s shoes or overuse, so when it’s all gone, it stays gone. Keep up the chin, girl, better now than later in the training cycle!
Jim, thanks for the “been there, done that.” It definitely makes me feel better in that misery love company way, lol.
Matt and Joye will be running Steamtown, they’re just having slight commas in training, everything will be fine. And we can add Dogpound to the mix, she’s the latest fellow Steamtowner around here, so I’m going to be surrounded by fabulous friends if it kills me, dammit!
August 12th, 2008 at 5:04 am
Hi Flo,
It helps to hear that you go through the same thoughts and feelings and well STUFF that a lot of us go through. I also like how you said “commas in their training.” I’m having a couple of commas right now and a semi colon. I’m hoping that those won’t turn into a period. So I’m taking it easy for a week or two. It’s going to derail the training plan, but I’ve learned over time to use training plans as guides not a shackles. My running buds say that injuries do heal up, and sometimes we are better for having the rest. They also think I’m a trooper. Ha! Got them fooled! Anyway, I’m enjoying reading your progress and I’m always in awe of your talent.
August 12th, 2008 at 6:14 am
Pokey, not you too! Wow, this is a hard time for so many wonderful running folk. I’m so sorry to hear you’re in injury-land as well!!
What’s going on with you, girl? Sending out buckets and buckets of healing vibes and an end to any punctuation in your training, just long flowing sentences from here on in!