It is the night of Tuesday, July 23rd. Since Sunday, I have been in Carlisle, Pennsylvania for a weeklong teacher workshop studying the underground railroad. I feel that its affect on my running has been quite negative.
I arrived on Sunday at around 1:30 PM after 7 hours of driving. We had a dinner activity planned to start the workshop that night, so I felt that I should run in the afternoon. The problem with this was twofold. First, I was scheduled to do a Q2 that day ... a 12-14 mile long run. Second, I ran in the middle of the afternoon on one of the hottest days of the year. The temperature was at least 95, there was high humidity, and I was running wide, busy roads that acted like ovens. I quickly got dehydrated, and even after two breaks for water, I had to stop after about an hour. I was disappointed with myself but felt I could make up for it.
On Monday I was kicking myself for not getting up early and running, because I ended up having similar scheduling issues. I wanted to go out with some of the teachers in the evening (this is one of the reasons I signed up for these trips in the first place), so once again I tried to run in the afternoon. The heat killed me once again, and I ended up running for about 40 minutes. I was extremely disappointed with how I felt.
After going out Monday night, I woke up this morning with a hangover. Suffice to say I didn't run in the morning. We didn't return back to campus until 8:30, and by then I was exhausted. I ended up going out for 30 minutes just to feel active.
It's this week that I'm beginning to realize just how much of a commitment it is to train for a marathon. I'm way, way under my mileage for the week, and I haven't completed my quality workouts. This isn't anybody's fault but my own. I chose on both Sunday and Monday to run in the heat of day so I could go have beers and be social with teachers in the evening. I chose to stay out late on Monday and drink enough to get hungover so that I couldn't get up in time Tuesday morning.
The rest of the week doesn't look promising for running either. I have very very full schedules. I'm also struggling with the monotony of the surroundings. Carlisle is flat, boring, and hot. I've been running on my own. And I didn't bring my iPod (again, my fault). I could rationalize the lethargy I am feeling by saying this is a week where I should be enjoying myself and I shouldn't let running get in the way. But that contradicts everything I've been trying to accomplish over the past few months.
Onward.
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2 comments:
I too am realizing how big of a commitment a marathon is. In school we always had time to run and drink and do homework because we were disgusting civilians with nothing else to do.(that's the marine talking)Now that I have a schedule, and I wake up at 4:30 or 5 everyday, its tough to find the motivation to run after a long day. Plus the base is only so big, and I've run everywhere-twice.
This is the time you show your discipline, your commitment and your resolve.
Brian, you still have a lot of time before the marathon, and you have a ton of miles in the bank. If you're too hard on yourself, you'll burn out. Don't stress! Accept the fact that this is a busy week for you, and don't let the training control your life. It's important to work in a few easy training weeks because short rest periods are actually good for your body. I'm confident that you'll be back on schedule next week!
Marathon training is hard, but don't lose sight of your goal because there's no better feeling than crossing the finish line after 26.2 miles! :)
P.S. Glad to see that the WrightSocks helped! I own 12 pairs!! :-P
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