Training Fatigue

I never thought I'd say these words, but right now, I am in the thicket of marathon training.  26.2 miles.  Something I thought I would never do.  Something most people in my life told me I was not capable of.

Guess what?  Marathon training has been going well.  It's weird to think that I used to train for 13.1 miles, because now that seems like a reasonable training run.  The dreaded 20 milers are being completed, and the pain lessens with every run.  I log weekly mileages of 35-40 miles, and as time consuming as training has been, I think I've been pretty successful at integrating it into my schedule.

But with my marathon less than a month away, I am really looking forward to taper.  My muscles don't seem to be recovering between runs anymore; instead of getting stronger, I feel weaker every time I lace up my shoes.  My legs feel like wet noodles all the time.  I've been cutting some runs short because I have become genuinely afraid that I won't be able to make it home.

Exhaustion has permeated my every day life too.  I struggle with taking the stairs at work because I am so weak.  I have accidentally fallen asleep at a grotesquely early hour every night these past weeks, yet still slept through my alarm in the morning.  And I've completely lost my appetite.  A lot of foods make me nauseous, and those that don't still sound repulsive.

My classmates have remarked that the food issue, and not the running issue, might be the primary cause of my extreme fatigue.  We spend a lot of time together, and they have remarked that I don't seem to eat a lot, especially for how much I have been exercising.

It actually makes a lot of sense.  I've been eating (I think) the same amount as before, but running twice as much.  In reality, I've probably been eating less because my appetite has been so suppressed. I've started making a conscious effort to eat a little bit all the time, and seeing if that will help me salvage my training.

Going for a Sub-26: Madison Aruna 5k Recap

Location: Madison, WI

Date/Time: Saturday, October 1, 2016; 8:30 am

Size: 156

Weather: high 40s, slightly windy, cloudy

Course: Road race with rolling hills throughout

Charity: Aruna Project

Time: 24:45

Rank: Overall: 28/156; Age Group (F20-29): 4/23, 5th female

Madison is pretty :)

Taking a Break during Marathon Training

Training for the Madison Marathon is in full gear, and I've been more strict about my workout schedule than ever.  20-25 miles a week, with one day of cross training, one day of yoga, and one long run.  Until this week.

I've been going through some massive personal changes - mostly good ones, but they're throwing me for a loop nevertheless.  The idea of sticking to my training schedule completely overwhelmed me, and this week, I really had to evaluate the reasons I run.  Do I run because I want to achieve something, or do I run because it feels good to me?

For me, it is the latter.

And since marathon training right now is causing me stress and anxiety, I am taking a break.  Probably for a week, maybe for two.  I did go for a slow run in the rain yesterday, which matched my Eeyore-mood (I also got my first high-five from a stranger), but I did it because I needed to clear my head, not because I was trying to hit paces or build up fitness.

So here I am, taking a break from marathon training, and I refuse to let myself feel guilty about it.  Life is more important than that.

Rochester Regional Flower City Half Marathon Recap

Location: Rochester, NY

Date/Time: April 24, 2016

Size: 2112

Weather: Low 40s, cloudy

Course: Road race with rolling hills throughout, larger hills from miles 8-10

Time: 1:58:48

Rank: Overall: 785/2112; Age Group (20-24F): 45/146

Yoga is magical

Summer has been great.  I'm sleeping twice as much, have made some awesome meals, and my hair is no longer graying prematurely.  I've been upping my mileage since I have way more time now, but with increased miles, comes more injury.

My IT band was bothering me yesterday.  This really freaked me out because I've never had pain there before and I didn't know how to deal with it.  After forgetting my  shoes and my sports bra, I ended up missing that window of time after work when it's just cool enough to run, but still light enough that cars could see me on the side of the road.  Whoops.  Accidental rest day happened.

I noticed that my leg was still bothering me even as I was lounging around and it became clear that this IT band was not going to get better on its own.  So I found a yoga tutorial for runners on YouTube, put on some meditative music, and got to work.

I was so stiff.  I could hardly bend over, much less touch my toes.  It was like several hundred miles, pressure at school, stress from work, and grad school applications had all been building up inside me all year and turned me into a petrified statue of tension.  But by the end of that 20 minutes, not only was the IT band pain gone, I was so refreshed, mentally, emotionally and physically.  I felt like I had just had a cathartic talk with a friend, gotten a massage, and woke up after a 4 hour nap, all at the same time.

Yoga, man.  It's magic.

Sick, Freezing, and...Fast?: Friday Knight 5k Recap

Location: Geneseo, NY

Date/Time: October 16, 2015

Size: 51

Weather: High 30s, windy, freezing rain

Course: Steep hills

Time: 26:06 (short course?)

Rank: Overall: 32/51

Ramon Rocha 5k Recap

Location: Geneseo, NY

Date/Time: September 12, 2015

Size: 151

Weather: 40s, rainy

Course: Road race with a slight hill at the start, and steep hill at mile 2

Charity: ARC of Livingston County

Time: 26:26

Rank: Overall: 25/151; Age Group: 2/20