The first few weeks of marathon training have been extremely difficult. Due to typical Minnesota weather, we’ve had to cancel runs, or cut them short, which has seriously set us back.
I don’t mind running in snow, and while I *do* mind running in cold, I’ll still do it. But I don’t like running in blizzards with 2 inches of ice beneath the snow, and a temperature of 13 degrees below zero (not counting the windchill). That’s what the past few weeks have been, and it has been so frustrating!!!
But we’ve stuck to the schedule, which, with 20/20 hindsight was not the best idea. This past Sunday, we were slated for a 12-mile run, so that’s what we did. (According to the GPS, it was actually 11.56, so we were a little short). It was one of the hardest runs I’ve had in a long time. Most of the difficulty was the distance—we had run 10 miles 2 weeks earlier and that was it—but a lot of the difficulty was also due to the condition of the paths. We did an “out-and-back” to the Bunny, and the paths were completely packed with snow. In some places, it was quite treacherous, but in most, it was just difficulty to push off and land with stability. I was completely and utterly wiped out at the end of the run. We all felt like we had run about 16 miles, not 11.5.
So, Val and I have revised the schedule, particularly the long runs. It still doesn’t seem quite right, but I can’t quite articulate why. I almost feel like we are doing enough, or too much…?? I don’t know. On one hand, it seems like we’re not spending enough time at the high end of the mileage chart (18 miles or so), but then again, we’re not supposed to run 20 miles every weekend, right? Maybe I’ll email Cory and ask her what she thinks…it seems like we are just jumping around a lot with the mileage, not building up. I wonder what the official RR schedule is. Although they are only going up to 20 miles…
The other thing about marathon training this year is that I’m not as obsessed with it this year as I was last year. It could be due to all the weather issues we’ve had, maybe it’s due to school? No matter the reason, I find it to be an interesting observation. I’ve already broken my “no alcohol during marathon training” vow, too. At first it was just two Grainbelt Premiums, which wasn’t really breaking the vow. But then I had a White Russian, and then the next day I had a Finnegan’s, so yeah, I’ve officially broken it.
I felt really bad about it, until Abe gave me a little talking-to. He said, “do you really think not drinking at all will affect your time at Grandma’s?” I said, “no,” and he said, “Well get over it then.” (Abe, that was a summation of the conversation.) He’s right—the only reason I decided not to drink alcohol during training was because I did it last year, and it seemed to fit with the deprivation/sacrifice mindset that I had last year. I don’t have that mindset this year, and honestly, it kind of worries me. I don’t think I’m less committed, but my attitude is a little different. Maybe the fear is gone? I was pretty afraid of this whole marathon thing last year…I don’t know. I just have a different perspective this year, and that includes a beer on Sundays with pizza.
posted by Lola @ 11:41 AM
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