training

10 Weeks Until TC Marathon

Marathon training is slowly taking over my life, and eight weeks into the work, I thought it would be good idea to set a time aside at the end of the week to recap my workouts. I’ve been really putting in the effort this cycle, and I want to celebrate my accomplishments but also look at the lessons learned and apply those in the upcoming training week. It probably would have made sense to start writing recaps at the beginning of my training, but I guess I just didn’t think of it, and because it’s never too late, we are starting here, at week eight of training.

First, let’s talk about the race – the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. I live in Chicago, home to one of the acclaimed majors, which I’ve run, but decided to tackle my third marathon in another state. This was partly because Chicago’s lottery opens in November, and at that time, I was still easing back into running after nearly a year off recovering from a hip surgery, so I couldn’t commit to the marathon. The other part is that I really wanted to run the Twin Cities Marathon. I am from South Dakota and grew up in a devoted Minnesota Twins family, so we made many trips to The Cities as kids. In college, we often took random trips there to shop or go to concerts, and now my brother lives there and it’s a good meeting spot for us and our South Dakota family.

When I started getting healthier and stronger and I realized that I could definitely do another marathon, I did not hesitate in registering for the TC race. Because many Chicago runners have to find alternative races in they can’t get into our city’s marathon, many have run the TC Marathon, and they ALWAYS have great things to say about it. Some of my family will be there, and it promises to be a gorgeous race. Plus, it’s the week before Chicago, so I can run there and then be home to cheer on friends and teammates.

Anyway, let’s look at this week’s training:

Weeks to Marathon: 10
Miles: 38.7
Goals: This was a cutback week, so my goal was to bring down my mileage (from 43 the week before) and concentrate on rest and recovery. This meant lots of naps between runs and work, and a full rest day in which I barely left my apartment, but they helped. I am still tired at the end of this week, but it’s not the same kind of desperate exhaustion that I felt last week.

Monday: Shakeout – 5 miles – Nothing special here, just doing the easy miles. One thing that I did really great this week was slowing down my easier runs. I’ve been known to go too hard on recovery days, so putting my watch on the HR setting and keep it in the green has helped me slow down a bit.

Tuesday: Tempo with a friend 6 (2 WU, 3 tempo, 2 CD) – I did these with a CES friend around mid-day. We tried to keep them between 8:45-8:30, and it was a struggle, but we got them in. It was nice to have someone push me on these tempo runs and make me want to go faster.

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: Neighborhood Group Run – 9 miles – This was supposed to be six but it turned into 9, and I was OK with it. Because I was committed to cutting back, this longer run meant that I needed to adjust the rest of the week’s runs, but it was worth it to run with some pretty fast badass women.

Friday: Fartleks – 3.6 miles – I did half of these at a mini track (.10 distance) and the other half on the street. At one point, I saw 5:45 on my watch, which seems impossible but also not. This was also the workout in which I joined the #SportsBraSquad. I did some strength work after that made my glutes hurt for days.

Saturday: Easy miles with Neighborhood Running Group – 3 miles – I went slooooooww, but I knew that my legs needed it.

Sunday: Long Run with Training Team – 11 miles – I woke up for this workout hating running and wanting to quit, but I did not. I made myself eat a bagel, get in my car and drive, and keep running that first painful mile, But, by mile five or so, I was feeling great. This ended up being a great run. I did try to experiment with salt tabs, but I didn’t take it with another water and got a mouth full of salt. Something to try for next week.

Next week’s goals: I’m increasing my mileage and a bit worried about fitting runs in with two jobs and a final. My goal this week is time management and making sure I get enough rest.

It Hurts

Image result for running hurts quotes

Often, when you are running, you experience pain. Sometimes it’s sharp,
maybe in your knee or calf. The body likely needs rest, stretching, or
examination by a doctor. That’s the kind of hurt that shouldn’t be ignored nor one you should push through.

There is another kind of pain, though. It’s achier, and it lingers. It is
harder to find the source of this ailment, meaning there is no quick fix. All
you can do is keep going and hope to forget about it long enough that it dissipates.

Running hurts. That is a fact. Yes, there are times when we are injured, but
there are also times when your body is just going to hurt. This is a kind of
pain that we all experience, no matter how long we’ve been running or how fast we are. We have an off day, our calves are tight, or we ate something that our stomachs don’t agree with.

It’s important part to know what is injured pain and what is just running
pain. A few years ago, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I went out for a run to shake my legs out from a Turkey Trot. I noticed pain in my right hip, a sensation that I knew almost immediately was more than wear on the body. Of course, I was in denial about it and didn’t get it check out for months later, but I could tell it was the type of hurt that would likely need medical attention. Eventually, I learned that it was a labral tear, and I had to have surgery to repair it.

Today, though, I had some pain in my left glute. This was different that my hip pain. It was more of a soreness. I knew that I just kept going, the issue would likely work itself out and I would feel better. Five miles later, the pain was lingering but definitely better. Some active foam rolling and I should be good.

We have these kinds of pains in life as well. Hurt that is deep and
unrelenting, that has followed us from year to year, that needs to be addressed with therapy and inner self-work before one can heal. And, hurt that is part of life’s normal ups and downs.

Right now, I am in graduate school. Something is always due, and I doubt if
I am actually retaining enough information to be a competent counselor. Also, money is tight. I left a good paying job with benefits to pursue my master’s, and while I stopped earning a steady income, the world didn’t stop demanding money from me. I work two jobs to pay my bills, which is barely enough and leaves me little time to do that homework let alone have a social life. These days can be really hard, and the finish line is so far from my peripheral that I am not entirely sure it is there. However, this is part of the process. Graduate school is not easy, and nearly everyone I know who has done it has had some excruciating days. But, this hurt is part of the process, and it’s different from the one a year ago when I was extremely unhappy in my career and knew I needed to change. That unhappiness needed to be addressed, which is why I quit my job and enrolled in school. This one, though, needs to be endured by acknowledging it, learning from it, and continuing on.

It’s not always easy to understand the differences in pain, in life or
running, and sometimes we’ll keep going when we shouldn’t or quit before we should. Those aren’t mistakes, rather lessons to help us better understand ourselves. (Note: Be very careful about continuing on when you are experiencing emotional or physical pain. It’s OK to consult a professional while deciding to continue, and remember your health should be the number one priority.) When something is really wrong, quitting or stopping is necessary, but it can also feel like an out when you are experiencing the just because pain. It’s tempting, for sure, but it might not be the right answer. It’s up to you to determine what is best.

Enduring pain, when it is the just because kind, is part of the process. Nothing with great accomplishment is easy, and so we must put up
with the trials to get to the finish line. However, that strength is in us. You
can’t ignore the pain, but you can not dwell on it. Rather, find that strength
and rise above it. Eventually it will disappear, you’ll see that finish line,
and overcoming the hurt will be one of the highlights.