Running Updates

I still have not committed to the marathon, in case you were wondering. Though, I did impulsively enter myself into the New York Marathon lottery. But, seriously, I have slim chances of getting into that. But the lottery cut off was June 1st, so I totally HAD to enter it. See? I had no choice! Okay, I'm totally impulsive and illogical. But I still consider myself totally uncommitted.

I have, however, been picking up my mileage. For 3 weeks I have been running 3x a week. For you runners, this probably does not sound like a lot to you. Let me explain: I enjoy running and I consider myself a runner to some degree, but I am always humbled and amazed when I talk to people who run every day. Wow. My personal preference -- running 3x a week -- or less. Beyond that, my body really doesn't seem to like me very much. I feel fatigued & worn out and I get overuse injuries. Maybe I'd go to 4 for training, if I needed to and I felt like I could hack it, but usually I don't really hack it. And when I meet you people, I think, "How do you people do it?!" It's totally impressive. I just consider myself not physically made of the same metal. As Annie would say, "Anything you can do, I can do.... sometimes."

Again, as I mentioned previously, I'm still not sure I'm doing a marathon. I'm just trying to run more consistently to see if my body can handle it and to see if I actually have enough dedication & desire to do it. I've run half's before and I thought THAT was a long ways. Twice that?!!"What am I thinking!?!?" crosses my mind right after, "That would be cool." So I'm just experimenting right now.

Here's what my test results tell me so far:

1) Dedication may be there. I actually ran three times each week. That seems to be promising, right? And my mileage wasn't so bad either. 3-4 milers on my easy days and then a 5-6 miler on the weekend for a long run. I feel good with the frequency and the mileage. I might have hope of getting up to 26.2 big ones by October or November, if I keep this up.

However, there are a few causes for concern.

1) I didn't do much cross training. I did some mild weight training and core strengthening, but I didn't exercise at all on my off days. I would need to if I was really going to train for a marathon. Am I really willing to work out this much?

2)The inside of my right ankle is getting sore. I don't think it's achille's tendonitis and I don't think it's plantar fasciitis, but it's something like that. And while a doctor might be able to tell me, I don't have a PCP out here yet and would probably be a good month away from getting a new patient appt. I don't have that much time. And it will likely get worse if I don't take care of it properly, thus ruining marathon aspirations for this fall.

3) I'm already seeing the not so fun side of higher mileage. This one's just a small bummer, but I made the mistake of running my 4 miler yesterday and my 6.2 today rather than giving myself a day in between to rest. And I feel totally ill! I'm clammy, nauseous and I have a headache. Sometimes, the feel good you get from running doesn't always feel good right after. I know, I know. No pain, no gain.

Where does this leave me? Well, the biggest issue is going to be my ankle, for sure. I think I'll try taping it to give it some support and maybe get some inserts for my running shoes for some cushioning. We'll see if that helps ease the pain.

As for my weight training? Well, I'm a sucker for a soft couch when I see one, so my plan is to take my workout gear with me to work and go to the gym before I set my foot in the door and even SEE the couch. It sounds like a good plan, right?

And the sickness? I think I'm just gonna have to suck it up. High mileage doesn't always feel good to my insides. And to be honest, I've had way worse than nausea before and still kept it up. I might like to whine about it a little, but I'll take the tradeoffs for the satisfaction of having pulled through.

You just have to want things bad enough sometimes. And I think I want it, but when I'm at mile 20 will I really want it? I'm not quite sure. I know I'll hurt, but exactly how broken are we talking? :)