The Honeymoon is Over
The first couple of weeks of my marathon training felt a little too good to be true. The miles came fast and easy; I couldn't believe I was running 30 miles a week without pain. I felt hungry all the time, and despite how much I ate, I still lost a pound or two. I looked forward to my runs, and felt odd urges on my days off to get a few more miles in.
Running energy and motivation, like anything else in life, is cyclical, and valleys follow peaks. Late last week into the weekend I was clearly in the trough. I had that tough bike ride on Thursday, my easy 'round-the-block run on Saturday was not at all easy, and I completely punted on my long run on Sunday, opting instead to do a slow 4 miler with Jeff along the ship canal. My appetite and weight have stabilized, too, and I realize that higher mileage alone is not going to get me to my goal race weight. I'm actually going to have to watch my diet.
Nothing worthwhile really comes easily, I realize, and if this training weren't hard, then it wouldn't be an accomplishment to run a sub 3:40 marathon. So, I managed to get out on the road early yesterday and finish my long run for the week. It was slower than weeks before (8:50 miles going out and 8:40 miles coming back), and my knees started to feel it around the 10 mile point, but I finished the 13 miles. One more tough week, and then it's a break in mileage just in time for the holiday weekend.
The first couple of weeks of my marathon training felt a little too good to be true. The miles came fast and easy; I couldn't believe I was running 30 miles a week without pain. I felt hungry all the time, and despite how much I ate, I still lost a pound or two. I looked forward to my runs, and felt odd urges on my days off to get a few more miles in.
Running energy and motivation, like anything else in life, is cyclical, and valleys follow peaks. Late last week into the weekend I was clearly in the trough. I had that tough bike ride on Thursday, my easy 'round-the-block run on Saturday was not at all easy, and I completely punted on my long run on Sunday, opting instead to do a slow 4 miler with Jeff along the ship canal. My appetite and weight have stabilized, too, and I realize that higher mileage alone is not going to get me to my goal race weight. I'm actually going to have to watch my diet.
Nothing worthwhile really comes easily, I realize, and if this training weren't hard, then it wouldn't be an accomplishment to run a sub 3:40 marathon. So, I managed to get out on the road early yesterday and finish my long run for the week. It was slower than weeks before (8:50 miles going out and 8:40 miles coming back), and my knees started to feel it around the 10 mile point, but I finished the 13 miles. One more tough week, and then it's a break in mileage just in time for the holiday weekend.
posted by Tricia at 9:33 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home