Let's run a marathon (Recap Week 3 of 16)

First things first: Instead of saying what actual week it is, I am now changing these recaps to say “week 3,” “week 4,” etc. It took me almost a month to figure this out? What can I say, I’m special! Also, I was too busy eating Super Bowl food and tweeting about the commercials to get this post up yesterday…Now that I got that out of the way, let’s recap week 3.

How I’m feeling this week:
Better! The last couple weeks I was feeling pretty exhausted, but this week I feel better. Less fatigued, less hungry, and a bit less pain. I also got up early on both Tuesday AND Thursday to run before work. That’s huge for me. I also believe that each week will be different. I could have crazy, busy weeks with work, or could have a more relaxing week. I could also just not be into it. We’ll see how it goes as I creep further in the mileage.

What I ran this week:

• Tuesday 1/30: 4.00 miles, 51:22 (12:47 average pace), road (including lots of hills)
  
• Thursday 2/2: 5.00 miles, 54:40 (10:55 average pace), track (flat)
  
• Sunday 2/6: 8.02 miles, 1:24:42 (10:31 average pace), road (part of the marathon course with Autumn, including hills and dodging Sunday brunchers in the Strip District)

TOTAL: 17.02 miles, 3:10:43  (on par with my training schedule)

How I cross-trained this week:
60 minutes hot vinyasa yoga

What I ate this week:
I probably had too many glasses of wine this week, and ate too much Super Bowl food yesterday, but that’s life! I finished up my Sports Beans, continued to have my Nuun tablets and chocolate milk post-run, and was reunited with my love of Gu. I took Gu before our 8-mile run on Sunday, but once I hit double digits I will start to take it mid-run for the extra energy. Here’s a pic of my pre-run eats from that run:

{Water, half a bagel with Peanut Butter (chocolate!) and an un-pictured banana.}

Roadblocks this week:
None, really. I had a lot going on after work this week, but was able to get my miles in. (Thursday I ran 5 instead of 6, but I am not trying to be perfect). I also LOVED having a rest day Saturday. I could get up leisurely and drink coffee rather than having to rush to get a run in.

Goals for the week ahead:
Keep it up. And finish the Super Bowl food today so I can eat healthy the rest of the week. 🙂 Also, drink LOTS of water Friday and Saturday so I feel hydrated for Sunday’s 9 miles. I was feeling a bit dehydrated in my long run.

This week’s running topic: Injuries & Prevention
I’ve been dealing with shin splints since I played tennis in high school; I suppose I am just prone to them. Two years ago, when I was training for my first half marathon, I experienced them again. Some rest, ice and new shoes did the trick, and I was able to continue my training. When I began week 1 of my marathon training this year, the pain came back, along with some foot pain which I experienced last year training for my second half marathon. I am going to take the same approach, but throw RICE in the mix. (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.) This tried and true method has probably been around for quite some time. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about it:

• REST: a key part of repair. Without rest, continual strain is placed on the area, leading to increased inflammation, pain, and possible further injury. Also, most soft tissue injuries will take far longer to heal
• ICE: excellent at reducing the inflammatory response and pain. Proper usage of ice can reduce the destruction over-response which can result from inflammation. A good method is ice 20 minutes of each hour. Me? I am icing for about 20 minutes on each shin, and each part of the foot, about every other day.
• COMPRESSION: aims to reduce the edematous swelling that results from the inflammatory process. I purchased compression socks, which is new to me. I bought them from Runner’s Warehouse and they are to help support and compress lower leg muscles to control swelling, while also absorbing shock to help prevent damage to soft tissues.
• ELEVATION: aims to reduce swelling by increasing venous return of blood to the systemic circulation.

So basically, while icing and wearing compression socks, I elevate my legs on a pillow on my couch or bed. RICE-ing all at once. So far, things are good and my pain is limited. All I need to do now is purchase new shoes and I should be good to go. And here’s a tip: If you want to save a couple bucks on products for injury prevention (foam roller, compression socks or shorts, shoes, etc.), go on a popular running blog. They usually have ads on the side where they get a portion of each click on each ad. I clicked on Skinny Runner’s Running Warehouse ad on her blog and saved a few bucks on my socks. Also, for more on running injuries, check out my friend Russell’s running blog, where he documented his foot injury on his road to running his first marathon in Vegas this past November.

My final tip: DON’T over-train. When your training plan calls for a rest day, take it. Do cross train, but don’t overdo it. And please, PLEASE, if you are training for the half marathon and you are not used to running distances, don’t be running 10 miles already. It’s only February 6. You’ll get there. Just follow your plan and you won’t get hurt. End rant.

Past recaps:
Week 2
Week 1
Pre-training post with my training schedule