Luckily, I had asked for the following day off work to recover. I had also planned on volunteering at the girls school with the WATCH D.O.G.S. This program encourages dads to get involved in their kid's schools. They had me moving all over the place, on my feet most of the day, this was good for my recovery to keep moving and not sit too much. If I had been at work, I would have been immobile much of the day.
I had made it through the day well enough. My wife, who ran the half with me, got back to her normal running routine the Tuesday following our half. I was impressed because I still didn't feel ready. I had sustained very minor injuries. I wouldn't even call them injuries. But my nipples. Dear Lord, my nipples! They hurt! Sore from the chafing that occurs when they are unprotected and the shirt rubs up and down, left and right all over those things. The only advice I had was to wear a dry-fit, moisture wicking shirt. That wasn't working. I had purchased some Glide. I had used it before the race, but the race was too long, and the Glide didn't last. I had experimented with band-aids during some long runs, but the sweat usually leads to those things pealing off.
 |
| Not Bad for Nipples. Great for other areas. |
The second minor injury I had was my toenail. It felt bruised. But didn't appear so. Turned out as the week went on, the bruise began to appear. Its called Black Toe and I'll save you from the picture. I had to google it to find out what to do. It lead me to Jeff Galloway's site. Jeff is another highly regarded long distance running coach who has made a name for himself for coaching the back of the pack runners. He has some great systems to learn how to haul long distances if you are used to sitting much of the day and haven't lead an active lifestyle. My favorite advice on his site has to do with Running Clothing for the weather. I picked up some great tips for what to wear when its cold outside.
Ultimately, there was not much I could do about the toe, except favor it, and get some new shoes and/or socks.
I did return to running on Wednesday of that first week after the Half. I ran 3 miles. It stung a little, but it wasn't too bad. After that run, my legs loosened up and I began feeling normal again. I got two more runs in that week, 3 miles, and 2 miles. Then on Sunday, I did 8. It sounded good at the time. Since I had no real direction, I wasn't sure what I should be doing. After a 12 week program preparing for a big race like the Dallas Half-Marathon, I desired to have a plan again. Since my recovery lasted only 3-4 days, I decided to begin considering the Marathon again. I could perhaps parlay my training for the half and turn it into Full-Marathon Training and be ready in time for the Cowtown Marathon, which would take place on March 1. That gave me 10 weeks to prepare and get my workouts in. Noticing that Hal Higdon's Novice 1 Marathon Plan is an 18 week plan and by walking back 10 weeks, he had "Half Marathon" in his plan, this sounded like it could work. So, I sat at my computer one evening and wrote down every distance I'd have to run on every day between Christmas and March 1. It all fit. I could do this, I told myself.
Maybe. Maybe I could do this.
I was feeling good and strong and healthy. The toe pain had largely subsided and with the holidays coming up, it would be kinda hard to get some workouts in, and sure enough, I wasn't able to run much that week. I hit the gym a few times on the elliptical, because the treadmills were used, but I did get a 7 mile run in the day after Christmas and a 3 mile run in the day after that. With a break on Sunday, I did 10 on the Monday after Christmas.
Christmas was good to me this year for running gear. I got several gift cards and several other items of note. I got some cold running gear. (Long pants and long sleeved shirt) I got gift cards to Run On!, Academy, and Luke's Locker. I also got...
 |
| My Nipples thanked Santa |
I am now a believer and proponent of Nip Guards. These things work. And I don't run anything 5 miles or more without them. They are small, but they stay on and they protect very well.
 |
Gaiam Restore Hot/Cold Foot Massage Roller |
Throughout the past few months, many friends supported me as I talked about my goals, what I had accomplished and what I wanted to do. People in the neighborhood, work, and of course, at church. It was at church that I was able to talk running with some people who had run marathons. One of whom, was planning on running the Cowtown. When I mentioned I might do it too, I was invited along for a 15 mile run the next weekend. This scared me. I wasn't sure I could do 15, I had only done 13.1 once and had been off my constant training cycle for a few weeks between recovering from the Half and the week of Christmas. But 15 was the mileage for the next long run, so I decided to give it a go.
Keeping an eye on the weather, I knew I'd need some more equipment. I got myself to Luke's Locker with my Gift Card and scouted out a few items. First, some gloves. It was cold, and having lost my gloves during the Turkey Trot was a bummer, but it was time to invest again. I got a pair of Asics Gloves and a water bottle.
 |
| Keeping hands warm is a good idea. |
 |
| Quenching my thirst |
The gloves needed to be able to touch an iPhone. In order to do that, they use special fabric on the fingertips. This has really helped. The water bottle has a little clip to wear on your shorts or belt. I was too cheap at the time to buy the full water belt as I didn't see the need yet.
Saturday rolled around and I drove to my friend's house so we could meet up with others near Lake Grapevine. This run was good for the first 11 miles, then I got a text from my daughter about my dog choking. I had to take the call and walk for a little bit. It appears my youngest had been eating an apple and fed the core to the dog. My wife was running her 6 mile run and I wasn't home. Once I determined that my dog would live, I got back to running, but the walking had taken its toll. I had about 3 or 4 miles to go and it was starting to hurt. I was also no longer with my running partners. They had kept running.
Then the Thirst hit. Oh, dear! The thirst. The one water bottle wasn't enough. I had filled it up before we started, and topped it off twice along the way, but I was out again with 3 to go. Looking for another fountain to fill it up at, I came across the Grapevine running club's station where they had put water or Gatorade out for their players. I filled the bottle up with the blue drink (whatever it was and kept going) I was so thirsty I didn't care. I struggled through the last miles with low energy, but made it. My longest run yet, 15 miles. Maybe I CAN do this marathon thing!
The recovery was a little rough. I got home and realized I had gotten dehydrated as I cramped up several times. It also sounds bad, but the tip I read is that your urine should look like lemonade, not apple juice. That would explain my thirst. I would need a new plan for hydrating.
 |
| Tablets for your water |
I picked up some nuun tablets. These disolve in your water and make it flavored water. The good thing about these is that it makes your water taste good and therefore you tend to drink more. And then your hydrated. I use these on my long runs now.
The week after the 15 miler was one of the coldest to date. I also felt like I was coming down with something. And sure enough, I got the flu. Even though I had my flu shot. That kept me from running for a five days. But I was back on it by January 13 with my midweek runs. I did have to skip a 16 mile long run, which concerned me, but the next long run would be only 13 miles. Since the Marathon was still 6-7 weeks out, I wasn't overly worried about it, there is still much racing to be done.
After the 13, I finally got to get some new running shoes. I still had my gift card to Run On! They were very helpful and I picked out some brooks.
 |
| I was ready to run like a champion |
After my mid week runs, I had to travel to Baltimore. So I spent some time trying to find a good route for my 18 miles since 18 miles was on the schedule for the Saturday I would be there. It turned out, the weather and scheduling prohibited my running while I was there, I ran the 18 after I got back. I ran it at about 1 in the afternoon. After church. This was a departure from my normal routine. As you know, I usually run in the morning, there isn't a lot in my stomach, other than gu. So I planned on eating a small amount of food before this run, but no meals.
It was a sunny, windy day. Temp was in the upper 50's and I had to find a new route. I determined that I could run to the wal-mart and keep running. There were some trails in Highland Village but I had never run them. I found they were great....for hill training. 2 very big hills. Big ones. I made it with a focus on my water and nuun tablets and gu, I was able to make it and stay mostly hydrated stopping at Corner Bakery and Barnes and Noble for extra water. Then I hit mile 15 when we were in new mileage territory. I started feeling hungry. I already knew I was thirsty. I got close to home and when I finished, I called my wife to meet me with a banana and some water. It was that bad. I had taken my body farther than I ever had. I had to learn about extra nutrients and my body for super long runs. My knees really bothered me for the first time too. I didn't know if it was the hills or the length of the run.
The next long run was 14 miles. But I had to take my wife's car to the shop to have the a/c looked at. So my plan was to take it to the firestone and then run home. But by doing so, I would be about 6 miles short of my prescribed distance. So I ran 3 miles out and back, then ran home. I always seem to enjoy finding new trails and running in new areas. It keeps the mind fresh.
The next week would be the week with the most mileage on my plan. Midweek runs of 5, 10, and 5 and the week's long run at 20 miles. The 10 mile long run was a little hard to squeeze in before work, but we got it done. I left the house at 5AM and got back a little after 6:30. Still got to work by 8:15.
For the 20 miler on Saturday, I got back with my running buddy and we were going to meet up and run in Fort Worth along the Trinity Trails. This is a system of trails along the Trinity River which extends from just south of the stock yards, all the way down past Colonial. We met up and got started early. I had learned from my earlier runs and decided to eat a banana before I start. I had also decided to give salt tablets a try and take those before and during my run to prevent cramping.
This run went well too. I have found that running with friends is much easier and relaxing than running by oneself. I enjoy the conversation and it keeps my mind off other things and makes the time go by faster.
The food, salt tablets, nuun, and gu all helped. It was all falling into place. I didn't cramp. I wasn't dehydrated. I didn't crash like after the 18. If I could do 20, surely I could do 26. This would be the longest run we do before the Cowtown marathon. We ran it in 3:13 which means that even if we ran the last 6 miles in 10 minutes/mile, we would still finish in under 4:15. This was my new goal and all I could think about over the next few weeks.
The training plan was downhill after this. The intent is to rest the muscles and have them in tip top shape the day of the marathon. I had 3 weeks to go. And I believe I'd be ready. With long runs remaining of 12, and 8, and no mid week runs longer than 8, I knew the hardest was behind me. I just needed to taper off and rest up because the Cowtown was still ahead for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment