Eat Drink Run Woman

I am happy to report I’ve run 23 tearless miles since my last post (although I may have muttered a few “damn”s,” “ouch”es and “how many more f’ing miles do I have to run?”)

I was determined to get in a redemption run on Monday, and when I saw the skies clear from grey to blue I knew there was no excuse for backing out.  I decided to run a portion of the course I skipped the day before; although it was longer than I wanted to go (about 10 miles), I gave myself the option to walk should things get tough.  I averaged a 9:20 pace for the first five miles heading down around Lake Union, then slowed to a 9:50 pace as I ran back up.  I experienced the typical aches and pains, but nothing too drastic.  As I neared the 8-mile mark I decided I’d be ready to walk after 9 miles.

I hit that mark just as I reached Greenlake.  Normally that would spur me on to finish strong (I was about a mile and a half from home), but I welcomed a leisurely stroll.  I figured if I happened to see anyone I knew and they asked why I wasn’t running, I’d point to my Garmin to show them I really was a studette and had just run 9 miles.  I’d also tell them I had just run a marathon, let’s see — how long ago?  HOLY CRAP!  It had been only two weeks since I had run a freakin’ marathon!  No WONDER I was sore.  Sheesh!

I started adding up the miles since Skagit Flats and was shocked to realize I’d run almost 50 (it would have been closer to 60 had I finished Sunday’s run as intended).  Some recovery!  Upon returning home I consulted my “Advanced Marathoning” book to see what it recommended as a plan for marathons five weeks apart.  Sure enough — I was overly ambitious.  While I had scheduled two rather long runs — Sunday’s 20-miler and an 18-miler for tomorrow — the longest run Pfitz calls for is 15 miles, and that’s not until late next week.  He may be hardcore, but he obviously emphasizes recovery.

I’ve since retooled my plan and will only be running 12-13 miles tomorrow.  I even bagged today’s 5-mile recovery run since I walked to my running store on the other side of the lake (about 3 miles).  I’m no longer aiming to BQ at Royal Victoria either (although I may try to beat my North Olympic time).

Perhaps all I needed was a good cry to knock some sense into me.