Monday, September 16, 2013

Teacup Training:

I refuse to call this past week Wineglass marathon training- because..well...there wasn't training. So we will call it teacup training because I pretty much drank tea and laid in bed all week.

I mentioned Friday that I have been struggling with illness all week. It was definitely frustrating and I know I will have some residual effects to deal with but I will get through it.

Please let this serve as a reminder to take care of yourselves, it's definitely that time of year and I know I am not the only one out there training for a big race. Be proactive and try and help save yourself the time, hassle and frustration of being sidelined with illness. You know all those things you have been told as a kid, wash your hands, get your vitamin C, don't play with sick kids.. all that jazz. They may not be 100%, but any little bit helps.

I'll show you my 40 mile couple miles less than planned week....

Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday: 4 miles easy
Saturday:
Sunday: 11.6 miles total, 35 minutes pilates

Total Running Miles: 15.6 miles
Total Cross Training Time: 35 Minutes

Yes, I did run on Friday, after having sub-100 temp in the morning and afternoon....4 easy miles was something I mentally needed more than anything. My fever did spike again that night, but a double dose of NyQuil sure helped take care of that.

Saturday I opted to sleep in for a while before packing and heading on the road. We went to Buffalo first to pick up our friend Mark, and then the 5 of us (John, his twin brother and his girlfriend, and Mark) set off for Erie, PA. I wasn't feeling fabulous all day, but it was definitely better than the rest of the week.

We may have played on the playground for a while at packet pickup.
Nothing like 5 adults running around on the jungle gym and swings :)

 After packet pickup and some other shenanagins throughout the day we settled into our Bed & Breakfast we were staying at.  I took another round of NyQuil Satuday night because I knew I needed some more solid sleep and a little more cold medicine working in my favor. Apparently I had a heavy pour because in the morning I was told these stories of all the funny things I was saying while sleeping. Sweet, I'm sure I have said funny things all week now and John just won't tell me. Oh well.
View from the B&B we stayed at

Sunday was the Erie Marathon. John's brother was running this as his 4th marathon and a PR attempt (which he did get), and Mark was running it was a training run for a 50 mile race he will be running next month. We spent the morning cheering, running, making chalk signs and having a great time at the race. Just like going to IM Cuse a few weeks before Musselman gave me inspirational boost, this race is doing the same for Wineglass for me.

I did run, technically twice while we were there. I ran 7 with John which was definitely a good thing to be able to do. I ran a little less than 2 solo while running back on course trying to find Mark, and then ran the last 2.5+ of his "race/training run" with him.

I believe whatever was causing my body to be over dramatic (come one, 100+ for 5 days just screams drama queen), is finally gone. I haven't been over 100 since Friday night, thank goodness for that. I'm definitely still kicking the thing, breathing is altered and definitely don't have my normal energy but I am on the upswing.

Where do I go from here?
Well I have been talking to a few different people, as well as consulting a few of my books. What I see as being my best option is to push back some of my runs a few days. So that 22 miler that was supposed to happen yesterday (Sunday), is now going to be happening Tuesday (Yeah, this ought to be an interesting long run after work). I pulled out some of the fluff runs next week and kind of scrunched in a few things. Next week (2 weeks out) I will resume my originally scheduled taper plan, so this week is really the only one altered.

In the spirit of full disclosure, yes I am concerned. Yes I know I am a strong runner and I know that a week shouldn't change much. But I also know how my body feels. It's not telling me anything or whispering anything to me- I just know that my breathing is still altered from being sick, my body is all sorts of tied up after laying around in bed for a week, and that I missed some key workouts. With all that, I know that I have some ground to cover this week, you bet I am going to do what I can- as for it being enough, we will see. This is my last real week of training before a 2 week taper. Nothing I do after this week will really help me on race day anyways, so this is the time to make it count. No I can't make up the 40+ miles I was short last week,  BUT  I can put what I do have into making this a kick ass week.

I am a runner, I am an athlete and I have overcome MUCH more than a damn week long feverfest. At this point I either have it or I don't. I have lofty goals and I know its going to take work to get there. I'm not expecting October 6th to be sunshine, daisies and puppies- it's going to be grueling. I'm going to have to push myself further than I ever have, I am going to hurt, I am going to want to stop, I am going to want to cry (either good or bad or both), BUT I won't spend those 3+ hours dwelling on this craptastic week. I will think about all those amazing runs I had that built my confidence and my endurance. I will think about those PR's I have broken on this journey to hopefully a marathon PR. I will think about the awesome support I have in my life.



Do you talk in your sleep? Any funny stories?

What did you do this weekend?

15 comments:

  1. Glad to hear you are feeling better and the fever has stayed away. I can't take NyQuill it makes me have weird crazy dreams. I would rather suffer and be sick than go thru those awful dreams.

    I am sure you will do just fine at your race!

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  2. I have been put under anesthesia so many times I don't even WANT to know what I've said during my drowsy period. Yikes. I am always scared waking up and the nurse knows my entire life story. I really think your idea of kind of pushing runs back to this week is a good idea. I think you'll just know whether or not you're ready to run when the time comes... You can never plan how a run is going to go regardless whether you're sick or not, so just go for your plan and see how you feel! Like you said, your body cannot speak to you but you just will know whether or not it's a good idea. It's more of just running smart, I guess!

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  3. Glad you're feeling better. Don't beat yourself up over this one week. I know that every week matters, but you really have been putting in the training, and I think you will see the results during your race!

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  4. Yayy so happy you are feeling better!!!

    You have been doing an amazing job with your training girly and I have faith you will kill your race! Keep your head up high and stay positive... YOU GIT THIS!! : )

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  5. Honestly, I think you have the marathon either way. Yes, it will take you a couple days to get over being sick, it always does. 5 days of being sick, it'll probably take at least this week for your workouts to fully recover (somehow my body always bounces back before my workouts- especially if the sickness involves my stomach or alters my appetite, probably due to fueling and hydration issues there).

    Being sick sucks! I was sick this past week, and while I agree with your disclaimer about hand washing and Vitamin C... you and I are both athletes and are taking care of ourselves. Sometimes these things just *happen*. One thing- when I did my 14 on Saturday, it wasn't my best ever but I was thankful I could even do it. Being sick makes you appreciate being able to run at all!

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  6. I can't even imagine done a long run after work but I know that you are going to rock it. I'm glad you aren't sick anymore and seriously what ever was going on with your body was nuts.

    I did absolutely nothing and relaxed with Tim this weekend. It was fantastic...well Friday we had plans but then the rest of the weekend was spent being lazy.

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  7. Ugh- what a rough week! I love that last paragraph- you can't do anything about being sick, so now you can move on and focus on all the amazing training you did get in this cycle. Hope you feel 100% by your 22 miler tomorrow!

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  8. Glad you are starting to feel better!...good luck with your 22miles tomorrow night

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  9. Glad you're feeling better! And I KNOW you will still kick butt in that race girl!!!

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  10. Glad to hear that you are feeling better. Last week was the week of illnesses, ugh.

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  11. Glad you are on the other side of the craptastic week. That sucks! But like you said, focusing on it won't do anything for you. You've done a fab job with training so far. Almost there!

    I sometimes talk in my sleep. One night I sat up in bed, woke my husband up, looked straight at him with open eyes and said "clouds are the pillows of thought" and then fell right back to sleep. Don't remember it at all but totally freaked my hubs out. He thought I was possessed!

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  12. Glad you are feeling better but yes, that whole "feverfest" would have me concerned too. Do what you can and keep listening to your body.

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  13. Breathing issues when you're sick (or ever) is no fun, especially when you need to run! I hope you feel better soon!

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  14. I don't talk as much in my sleep now as I did when I was a kid but when you're under the influence of NyQuil all bets are off. As you're well aware. So what were some of those funny things you were saying? :)

    I think you handled the week smart and you still got in plenty of miles IMO. I know you're training for something bigger though. I love your attitude about the October race.

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  15. Hope you're feeling better! I think I've gotten sick and lost a week during every single marathon training cycle. It happens and it doesn't have to affect your performance. As long as you get in that last long run, I wouldn't worry about making up any of the other mileage. Your body need the R&R more than it needs more mileage. You've just got to trust all the other good training you'd done!

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