I’m not sure what I’m going to do with myself when we’re done with this marathon. I’m busy every second of the day between work, training, fundraising and trying to be social. On my lunch break, I’m constantly calling people or companies to see about donations, I’m setting up websites, posting events on facebook and other social sites, and writing thank you letters. I’m worried I’m going to go stir crazy after this is done.
Saturdays run was really tough. I tried to eat what I did last week – a Publix sub for lunch, pasta, chicken and veggies for dinner, drank a glass of wine and chugged lots of water and electrolytes. I took melatonin to help me sleep. I felt good in the morning: well rested and hydrated. The weather today was horrible though. at 6am we started our run, with the moon still high in the sky and stars out everywhere. That was pretty cool since the moon is almost full. Being up so early is very peaceful, I wish I could do that on a regular basis. The air was so thick and heavy, fog could be seen covering open fields and hills through the first 5 miles of our run. Michelle is still having serious knee pain, so she did not come to practice this morning. I was trying to prepare myself for 3 hours of alone time, but instead, Dinah ran with me. She gave me good tips about running faster. To run faster, you don’t need to take bigger steps, you just move the bottom part of your legs quicker. She said it shouldn’t be much more effort on your muscles. For going uphill, take smaller, quicker steps. For going downhill, lean into it and allow your body to fall forward. Downhill is time for your cardio and muscles to rest a little. Stairs are a terrible idea for hill training – running up a parking garage is much better.
Dinah has been sick for the past week – vomiting, high fever and stuck in bed. So while I was sad that she has been feeling so poorly, I was thankful she was not pushing me too hard today. In fact, she was fine with doing walk/run intervals for the latter half of our run. By mile 10, it was blazing hot outside. Between the humidity, the heat and the sun beating down on us, today was a real struggle. When we reached Kilarney Station, both of my feet were severely blistered. I’m getting blisters all over my feet nowadays – the ball, the side of my heel and the back of my heel. The bottom of my feet, specifically the outer arch of my foot, are in intense pain beginning around mile 8. Recovery from foot pain is taking me several days.
I was relieved when we got to mile 12 and I started to feel a chilly breeze, “finally, it’s getting cooler”. Dinah gave me the weirdest look when I said that. Apparently, it’s a really bad sign when you start to get chills while running. Soon after, I felt like I’d hit my ‘wall’… I had goose bumps and it was taking all of my mental energy to keep going, because I felt like laying down and crying. After pushing through that point for a little bit, things got better and I felt ok. My hands were so swollen by the end of our run, even my wrists were swollen. Since I don’t sweat very much at all, I don’t know whether I’m drinking too many electrolytes or not enough. I don’t feel like I’m sweating them all out, but everyone keeps telling me the swelling and cold chills are because I haven’t had enough. My brother suggested I try drinking less electrolytes this coming week and focus on water. He also suggested chugging pedia-lite the day before our run. I’ve used it to help with hangovers, so I might as well try it for running, right?
(before and after)
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