I Wanna Bite Nature’s Head Off

Have I mentioned yet how unfair it is to be a girl?  In addition to nature making us slower runners (even though I take comfort in knowing that I’m faster than the vast majority of the male population), it also makes women hungrier after exercise than it does men.  While men get to enjoy the fruits of their labors, us women are trying to restrain ourselves from eating everything in our homes down to the moldy cheese – Bridget Jones style.

Evidently, nature wants women’s bodies to be plump and fertile so when we increase our level of activity, we have a strong internal drive to make up all those calories burned with pasta, bread, and all sorts of simple-sugar yummy goodness.  As many times as I try to tell my body that it doesn’t have a shot in hell in conceiving any time soon, it responds “Shut up and eat something.”

Currently I am downing more food and putting up with stronger urges than my pregnant sister.  I also admit that I am a little territorial over my food.  When my visiting mother exclaimed “Are you eating again?!  You’re not going to be hungry for dinner!,” I felt more defensive than our old horse Shady who used to pin her ears back and kick anyone who dared to come near her during mealtime – including her own offspring Moonshine (Dad named that one.)

Yes – I wanna bite nature’s head off.  Fortunately though, in this case, I actually can!  Instead of suffering through hunger pains, I choose to eat frequently – about every two to three hours – and only allow myself healthy choices to come near these jaws of life.  In fact, when I pack my lunch before work in the morning, it may appear as if I am packing for a picnic – banana, morning granola bar, organic crunchy peanut butter and organic grape jam on sprouted Ezekiel 4:9 bread (complete protein) or a toasted turkey sandwich with apples on a whole-wheat sub roll, bag of baby carrots, peach, and a afternoon granola bar are all typical finds in my daily lunch pail.

When you work all day and run all night, fitting in dinner is often a challenge.  I rarely eat dinner before 9 pm and often times eat after 10 pm.  Thus, there is no time to grill any salmon or whip up any other kind of elaborate concoction.  Instead, I often eat salads.  In fact, I’m so lazy that I typically buy the pre-washed organic lettuce and shredded carrots to minimize the amount of rinsing and cutting I have to do.  One of my favorite salads this summer which I sorta came up with was to take a black bean and avocado dip (try http://www.rachelcooks.com/2011/07/01/black-bean-and-avocado-dip-or-salad/ and sub extra virgin olive oil (an anti-inflammatory) for veggie oil) and instead of scarfing down the dip with tortilla chips, I spoon out a little every night and put it over organic romaine lettuce.

I’m also a huge fan of making a healthy pot of soup on the weekends that I can eat off of all week or freeze in individual containers that can be quickly dethawed and heated in the microwave.  A lesson I learned from my Grandma – soups are great because you can combine your meat, vegetables, and starches all in one meal.  On Sunday, I did a little twist on the recipe my Grandma taught me by throwing in heirloom tomatoes, squash, and basil – all fresh from my little garden.  Consistent with The Grams, I also added chicken breast, corn, butterbeans (aka lima beans which I learned in college when I couldn’t find “butterbeans” in the Harris Teeter), carrots, and wholegrain macaroni noodles – all cooked in chicken broth.

What comes after lunch and dinner?  Well, dessert – sometimes.  Until this past Thursday night when I enjoyed “The Elvis” at Peculiar Rabbit almost as much as his Christmas album, I hadn’t had a real dessert since I ate two chocolate chip cookies straight from the oven during July 4^th vacation.  Dessert is really supposed to be a treat – reserved for special occasions (like Birthdays!) and not part of a daily diet like my dog believes.  And when you are busting your butt to get in better shape, you don’t want to throw away an hour’s worth of pain and sweat for a cookie in your boxed lunch at work (even if it is from Dean & Deluca!).  Instead, if I need a little pick-me-up after a long day or just a little something sweet before bed, I opt for a small piece of dark chocolate or a mini York Peppermint Pattie – Hits the spot and guilt-free (as long as you stick with just one!).

Banana nut chocolate chip bread, peanut butter ice cream, salted caramel, candied bacon and whipped cream- "The Elvis" could raise the man himself from the dead! 

After upping my mileage and my cravings these past few weeks, I can tell you that it really isn’t fun to always feel hungry.  Sometimes I just want to go lay in to a pizza buffet like a 300-pound football player and eat myself sick just so I can crush my hunger.  However, I am choosing to focus my drive on fruits, vegetables, and grains to try to get a little payback on nature – one sliced carrot at a time.

MCM Training Week Eleven: 65 Miles

Solid week, complete with my first 20-miler...a sign that it's gonna be game day before I know it!

This Week’s Beer Choice: Heist Brewery’s I2PA (Charlotte, NC)

Keep It Simple Stupid

It is a common mistake of some people with multiple degrees from fancy colleges and well-paying careers that keep them chained to their office desks well past dinner hour that we should pity those “less fortunate” that never made it to college but instead put in a honest day’s work for a minimum-wage salary.  However, not only do I feel that it is arrogant and elitist of a person to believe that all people should have the same values as him and that somehow a person’s life has not be successful just because he did not receive a college diploma nor ever bought a shiny, new Merecedes, but I also think sometimes that the guy who works 40 hours a week for a modest salary and spends his Sundays in his trailer drinking Budweiser while watching the race or some football may actually have it right and outsmarted us all.

I remember a college professor at UNC-Chapel Hill describing the poverty in Eastern North Carolina that he witnessed while driving to the coast shortly after he first moved to the state to teach.  He said it reminded him of the Appalachia region.  However, being from Eastern North Carolina, I can say that, generally speaking, you do not see the unabashed materialism that plagues places like South Charlotte or South of Broad in Charleston, SC.  And while those in their South Charlotte mini McMansions choose to wear everything they have (or pretend to have) on their Nordstrom-bought sleeves, a millionaire in Eastern North Carolina may very likely be living in an old, 1200 sq foot, brick ranch alongside a busy highway.

While I may come across as being critical of others, I fully admit that I too get caught up with the “need” for material things.  I do not go to the mall every weekend and spend $100 on a shirt or $300 on a pair of shoes.  Oh no – I “need” much more expensive things.  I “needed” that new shiny, stainless-steel refrigerator.  And I “need” my bathrooms renovated, solid-surface countertops in the kitchen, and new – or rather old, restored heart-of-pine flooring because the glossy, cherry wood floors that I have now are “too modern.”  Yes – I am guilty of wanting material things too.

But the threat of material things is that before too long, you will find that the things own you and not the other way around.  Shiny cars and big houses need care and attention like a kindergartener.  And we can drive ourselves crazy trying to fill all the “needs” in our life.

One of my favorite things about running is that it is probably the simplest sport there is.  While there are plenty of books and theories out there about how to run (and I certainly enjoy reading all of them!), you do not really need to be “taught” how to run.  It’s instinctual. 

I remember one early morning when I was a young girl – probably around twelve or thirteen – waking up early and deciding to just go for a run.  There was no reason.  It was not planned.  I was not a runner, and I’m not sure when I had last run before.  But something inside me that morning got me out of bed and out running.

I love that memory, because it reminds me how natural it is for us humans to run.  It also reminds me that not every run needs to be planned – or run with a Garmin watch to tell me exactly how far I’ve run and how fast I’m going.  No – most of the time, it’s best to run by feel.  Feel like running far?  Run far.  Feel like running fast?  How about sprint to that next stop sign. 

Yes – running is simple.  Life can be too.  As I struggle to check things off my to-do list and fill all the “needs” of my life, I try to re-evaluate what is actually necessary.  Half of the time I realize that I really don’t “need” something like I thought.  And while I am not there yet, I am certainly trying to get back to my Eastern North Carolina roots and remember the appreciation for a simple life.  Because when I think of the guy watching football and drinking Budweiser on a Sunday, I am a little envious of the days he gets to leave work at 5:00 pm, the modest home he will probably pay off long before the couple with the jumbo mortgage, and the relaxing Sunday he has that doesn’t involve a million chores and errands.  Yes, I think I could live that simple life – minus the Budweiser.

MCM Training Week Ten: 68 Miles

Another solid week…For the most part, my body feels good.  My most notable run this week was a threshold run where I ran 15 minutes at marathon pace, 15 minutes at half-marathon pace, and lastly 15 minutes at 10K pace with 1 minute of easy jogging in between each.  My long run this week was only 16 miles, but it contained some time at marathon pace and the remaining miles were ran at a moderate level.

This Week’s Beer Choice: Triple C Brewing Company’s Baby Maker Double IPA (Charlotte, NC)

This is Marathon Training.

While most people my age spend their Sundays recovering from the bar hopping and all-night boozing that filled their Saturday nights (and often early Sunday mornings), a marathon-hopeful will most likely be recovering from another stamina challenge:  the Sunday Long Run.

Yup.  You know you are in the midst of marathon training when your Sunday morning long runs start kicking your butt so hard that the remainder of your day is filled with your Sunday afternoon long naps.  I often think of Humpty Dumpty in those first few hours after a long run…my body is so wrecked that I am literally in survival mode, trying to put together the pieces again.

This week’s Sunday long run, which happened to be in my parents’ hometown, brought back so many memories of the worst of last year’s marathon training.  For starters, the heat and humidity of Eastern North Carolina in August is unbearable.  Even after making sure to get an early start Sunday morning after I got sick from dehydration after a challenging (and disappointing) run Friday night (even my post-run Carolina Brewery IPA from my ole college town, Chapel Hill, didn’t taste as good as it should), I struggled through the heat as I tried to maintain 18 miles at a hard 7:30 mile pace.  While I only ran roughly eight miles around City Lake, Rocky Mount’s man-made lake that was completed in 1933 by the WPA, I may as well have swum in it.  Walking back into my parents’ home, I had sweat dripping – not just from my body – but literally from my running shorts! 

As I peeled my running clothes off my body like I used to struggle out of my wet, summer swim team suit as a little girl, I almost knocked myself out with the smell of my own stench.  Yes – the smell of ammonia is one that the marathon trainee gets to know well.  However, the smell is not coming from some cleaning supplies lying around the bathroom floor, but instead from her own body as amino acids are broken down as fuel after all glycogen stores have been depleted. 

While it is argued that breaking down your amino acids, the building blocks of protein, should be avoided, I am in the camp of those (including some elite marathoners who choose to intentionally train on empty) that believe as long as you immediately restore your protein, there are benefits to running on depleted glycogen stores.  Some people – like the elites I am referring to – believe that running on empty will condition their body to more efficiently burn fat (which is typically burned more during easier activities such as walking or slow running) rather than glycogen (which is needed for high-intensity exercise), thereby increasing their fuel source during a marathon.  While I am not 100% convinced that running on depleted stores of glycogen will increase one’s fat-burning ability, I do believe that it is important to teach yourself to run hard when you have nothing left.  No matter how much pasta you eat before or Gatorade you chug during, you will never have enough glycogen stores to outlast a marathon.  So, in my book (or I guess you should say blog), you better learn to hit that wall now and keep on running.

In addition to the brutal heat, I also had flashbacks to accidently startling people as I passed by them during my later miles.  Even though I like to think my footsteps are light, I think there are other reasons why my presence may scare them…my appearance.  No one is ever going to win a beauty contest after putting in 18-miles, especially me, but with our bulging veins, eyes and hungered, haggard look, it is not surprising that people make room for us to run by.  To top it off, the humidity of this time of year can do wonders for our hair.  Who needs to spend hours teasing and waste a can of hairspray when they could just go running?

My Biggest Ponytail Ever - Post Long Run 2012

A quote from Uta Pippig, 1994 Boston and ING New York City Marathon winner, that I read in Kara Goucher’s Running for Women seems to sum it up.  “A woman naturally thinks about how she looks, and the marathon beats you up so much that you look terrible at the end.  You do not happily go before the cameras.  You just primp yourself as best you can and tell yourself, well, what can I do about it?”

Yes – between the brutal, sweaty long runs, the chafing, the big hair, the black toenails (or no toenails), and the oh-so-attractive running shorts and racerback tan lines, I am feeling all the effects of marathon training this week. However, as I lie in my bed on a Sunday afternoon with aching legs, I am comforted by a thought:  Every time a runner breaks her body down on a Sunday long-run while training for a marathon, the body will build itself back – But when it does, it will be stronger.

MCM Training Week Nine: 63 Miles 

This Week’s Beer Choice: Carolina Brewery Flagship IPA (Chapel Hill, NC)

Goal Time!

Ok – Here goes…Of all the blogs I have written thus far, this particular blog I debated sharing the most.  No – It does not contain secrets of past relationships or stories of silly nights out on the town.  Instead, it contains something that may be even more personal – my fall marathon goal time.

Last fall while training for my first marathon, I was even more evasive about my race-day plans.  I often shied away from the pace question or diverted the issue with a “Let’s just hope I finish!” response. 

While my coyness on the pace subject may seem odd, there were a couple of reasons for my behavior.  First, I am a firm believer in one running her own marathon – Thus, I didn’t want any feedback or judgment on my planned pace that would taint my own thoughts about the race.  Secondly, I wasn’t sure if I would succeed, and I didn’t want to feel stupid for trying or egotistical for even thinking there was a chance. 

So, why am I so publicly sharing my goal now?  Well, for starters, people don’t really care.  Talking about egotistical – It is egotistical to think that if you blow up during a race and don’t even come close to your goal time that people will be talking about you, labeling you, scrutinizing you.  The truth of the matter is that your race failure is hardly a blip in anyone’s life.

Of greater significance, I am sharing my race goal because it is so intricately weaved in to my weekly training and daily thoughts.  Studies show that a man thinks about sex 19 times a day on average.  I probably think about my marathon goal (or more accurately – reaching my marathon goal) that many times a day.  In the car on the way to work, eating lunch, reading at night before I fall asleep – my marathon goal is always at the back of my mind.  And while it may seem slightly obsessive, it is important to visualize any goal and to make yourself believe you have the ability to achieve it. 

It is also important to know your race pace so that it can properly be integrated in to your training.  The more time a runner spends running at a specific pace, the more efficient that runner’s body will become at running at that pace.  And the more race-specific training runs a runner does as she approaches the big day, the better she will be prepared for the race.  Thus, when a race-specific training run (which are more frequent later in the training period) calls for a certain number of miles at marathon pace, a runner needs to know what she expects that pace to be.

At the beginning of every training period, it’s essential to have a goal in my mind.  However, I have learned that goals are never set-in-stone declarations but instead something that may change – even multiple times – over the course of training.  For example, as I get closer to marathon day, and especially after I run the Marine Corps Half Marathon in Camp Lejeune, I will have a better idea of the probability of achieving my marathon goal in D.C.  It is quite possible that in the last month of training my race-pace will be revised.

In addition to creating flexible goals, I also like to have multiple goals.  Even for the MCM, as long as I improve on the time from my first marathon (3:16:11), it should be a success.  I like to think of it as my “safety goal.”  That way, as long as I don’t completely derail, I should hopefully still have something to feel good about.  On the other extreme, I have a stretch goal – one that is not even on the table this fall (or any time soon), but yet is encouragement to me that if I continue to work hard, I can hope to one day get there.  At work, written on a sticky note and pinned to my cubicle is the following:  “2:43 (6:13 Pace); 1:15 (5:43 Pace).” These are the full and half marathon qualifying times for the 2016 Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials.

Trainer/writer Brad Hudson wrote in his book Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon (which I use for my training plans) “I’m fond of saying that the best goal setters achieve their race time goals only half the time.  If you always achieve your race time goals, you are surely setting them too low.”

Hudson’s quote gives me comfort because I am honestly more than a little nervous about my fall marathon – I’m scared.  I’m worried I won’t meet my goal, and the race will be a complete flop.  However, if I already knew I could run a marathon in my goal time, then why would I even try?  And we set lofty goals we may never achieve, but by pushing ourselves to get there, we will become stronger, faster runners than we would have otherwise become.

At this point you may think I am forgetting something or worse – avoiding the issue.  So, here it is:  This fall at the Marine Corps Marathon in D.C., my goal is to break three hours by running 6:50 miles. 

MCM Training Week Eight: 57 Miles 

For the record, I meant to run 55 miles this week to stay in line with the 10% rule (Don’t increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% of the total miles you ran the previous week), but evidently I’m an accountant who can’t count.  Regardless, this week was solid but nothing special.  I felt like I maybe took it a little too easy, but next week’s training plan looks to be crazy difficult. 

This Week’s Beer Choice: Mother Earth’s Second Wind Pale Ale (Kinston, NC)

I came across a six pack of this beer at the local beer shop Salud, (http://www.saludbeershop.com/) and I thought the name and print on the can were hilarious.  Does it help your run further?  I guess you may have to try it to find out!

It’s Starting to Feel a Lot Like Football Season

I love those first few semi-cool mornings when there is a break from the summer heat and I feel a small reassurance that the seasons will indeed change and the oppressive heat will eventually be replaced by lower temperatures and autumn leaves.  With the same warm, fuzzy feelings that a kid has about Christmas, when I think of fall approaching I have visions of jeans, boots, beer, and my favorite spectator sport: Football.

Growing up in Eastern North Carolina in a family full of die-hard ECU Pirate fans, I remember fall being synonymous with football season.  As a little girl, I used to love the excitement of waking up on Saturday mornings in October and coming downstairs to find my dad already listening to some pre-game radio show while my mom was making deviled eggs, potato salad, cookies and all sorts of other traditional tailgate food.  And a couple hours later, while my parents loaded up the car with all our pirate paraphernalia, I would be icing a Pee-Dee tattoo on my cheek to complete my ECU cheerleader’s costume.

With my two sisters - Dare (left) and Darla (center)

My father and I would talk in detail about the season strategies, the new players, and our predictions for the outcome of each game on the schedule.  I would become obsessed and study each program, religiously watch the weekly coach’s show, listen to Jeff Charles, aka “The Voice of the Pirates,” and treat each game as if it were the most important one of my life.

Now that I’m older and maybe have dealt with too many losing seasons of both ECU and UNC (my alma mater), I care less about how the team does on the field but more about the tradition, the socialization, and the excuse to relax, drink beer, and watch some sports.  In this time of my life as a runner, I am also starting to think of fall as another type of season:  Marathon Season.

We runners have been sweating, chafing, and trudging through the dog days of summer, but I am starting to feel the promise of a time when easy runs will naturally become quicker and I’ll be able to fly through some speed work.  Similar to the excitement I still have about football season, I am starting to feel some butterflies about a couple of approaching races.

This past week, I picked out and signed up for the Marine Corps Half-Marathon in Camp Lejeune that I will run as training 5 weeks before the Marine Corps Marathon.  I have already started devising some sort of game plan in my head for both the half and the full, and I have been researching the courses and past performances to see what I will be up against.

As the Carolina Panthers have begun some seriously hot practices at training camp in Spartanburg, SC this week, I have run my body hard till I have had chills from dehydration.  Still – even through the heat – I can feel a different kind of tingle that is a reminder that game day will be here before I know it.  And I still feel the same optimism that I had as a kid watching Jeff Blake, David Garrard, and Scott Harley when I thought my beloved ECU Pirates would finally arrive and win a national championship. 

My prediction this year?  I think it’s going to be a good season.

MCM Training Week Seven: 50 Miles 

Overall, it was a solid week of training.  Thankfully, the discomfort in my right foot is now completely gone.  Between a 15-mile run on a Wednesday night after a long day of work and an extremely hot 10-mile run with a little over 5 miles at a hard 10K pace, there were some challenges.  However, I absolutely believe that it is important to force myself to complete some difficult runs.  That way – a marathon in sub-60-degree weather may almost feel like a breeze in comparison (or so I can hope!).

This Week’s Beer Choice: Bell’s Oberon Ale

This wheat ale pleasantly surprised me.  I picked up a bottle in my make-your-own six pack at Harris Teeter after being persuaded by another beer lover perusing the store’s selection.  I put off drinking it because I was afraid it was going to be too sweet, but it actually turned out to be a great ale with only a moderate fruity taste.

Never Too Old to Rock ‘N Run

“Well, you are another year older.” – Unlike my mother, I could have thought of a million reasons why my 10K time as part of a company relay team at the 2011 Kiawah Island Triathlon was two minutes slower than the year before that had nothing to do with my age…. For example, that I spent the majority of that summer drinking IPAs while painting the interior of my recently purchased condo in Charleston instead of out walking my dog or jogging the Ravenel Bridge.

I think it’s fair to say I’ve proven to myself (and my mother) that my running didn’t peak at age 25.  Fortunately, running is a sport where the Olympians aren’t some thirteen-year-old girls that haven’t yet hit puberty.  In fact, Kara Goucher who, at age 34, represented the U.S.A. in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London actually gave birth to her son two years earlier.  I love that a 34-year-old mother(!) can still train hard and beat out much younger girls to earn a coveted spot on the American Olympic team.

In addition to my speed work on the pavement this week, I did a little speed reading as I breezed through Dean Karnazes “Ultra Marathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner.”  Karnazes, who has become a celebrity in the running community as a result of his 2004 win at the famed Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley and his various escapades such as running a marathon to the South Pole and, as mentioned in the August 2013 edition of Runner’s World magazine, across the whole United States.  While I found Karnazes dedication and shear strength to be inspiring, what touched me most about his book is his story about how (and when) he began his journey to ultramarathoner legend.  At age 30 exactly (it was his birthday), Karnazes realized there was a void in his life and career that he eventually succeeded in filling through long-distance running…which, he began promptly doing the night of his birthday after boozing it up for hours at a bar. 

Like Karnazes, I recognize that I would not be running and training if there was not something missing in my life.  You see – I have always been an over-achiever.  I thrived in school because I was motivated, and I loved that I could work hard and score a high grade as a direct result of my efforts (strikingly similar to a fast time in a race).   While a professor may hand out the assignments and tests, you really worked for yourself in college.  There was no “working for the man.”  I didn’t have to “give away” part of my test score or work an obscene amount of hours and cross my fingers it would pay off.  You got what you earned.  Period.

While living in Charleston, I remember going on a date with a guy who was a med student at MUSC.  As first dates go, it was really more of an interview and I inquired about how he ending up researching psychotic disorders and sticking his finger up guys’ butts.  He told me that he always wanted to do something “cool” for a living...He first wanted to be a pilot for the Air Force but he failed the sight exam.  Thus, he decided to be a doctor instead.  As someone who felt that my only options for a living were the very practical, dull ones (even though I know some people who seriously get jazzed about tax provisions), I remember feeling jealous that he was pursuing a livelihood that he would actually find to be fun.

I often ask my little niece what she wants to be when she grows up (lately it’s been an artist).  Then I ask her what she thinks I should be when I grow up.  “Aunt Paula, you are grown up.” 

Am I?  Last month I wanted to be a CIA agent (I watched Zero Dark Thirty) and last year I wanted to be a politician (The Iron Lady).  I even told my own boss that I was planning on running in the Olympics.  It may seem silly and I may be joking (partially), but very few (if anyone) gets somewhere in life by thinking small.  While I may never kick ass in Pakistan, Parliament, or the Olympics, I will keep pushing and I will keep running because unless you try, you will never know how far you can go…And also because I really (REALLY!) don’t think I peaked at 25.  

MCM Training Week Six: 50 Miles 

After coming off a tough week, this past week’s training was far better than I could ever hope.  My long run may have been my best ever training run (now that’s a bold statement!).  On Sunday, I ran an 18-mile fartlek (Yes – it’s a funny word and has brought countless jokes to the sport of running for years.  However, since I’ve already discussed fingers up butts, I think I’m done in the crude department this week.) It was a day when my body seemed on it’s A-game, and I finished the long run feeling like I could have easily (used relatively) ran another eight. 

While the South Charlotte trail where I ran was not the perfect location due to a portion temporarily closed, several muddy spots as a result from all the rain, and the fact that I may or may not have hid in a greenway bathroom stall to avoid speaking to an ex-boyfriend’s mother, it was shaded and provided some mileage off the pavement.  The run called for twelve 30-second bursts of speed at 3K-5K effort throughout the workout.  Even though the additional speed made the otherwise easy long run of 8:00 – 8:30 minute miles more difficult, I loved this training run!  The speed play made the workout more fun (running fast is fun!), and, in a strange way, the short changes in pace gave my muscles a break from maintaining the same effort for 18 miles.  The last 30-second interval was done a little over 17 miles in…A few seconds after upping the pace I heard my watch beep (completely unplanned) which meant I could get a read on how fast I was running…When I slowed, I glanced at my watch: 4:57 mile pace.  While you do have to take a Garmin with a grain of salt, I still knew that I was moving swiftly.  A little bit of fast – but relatively comfortable – running (even just 30 seconds) after logging some serious miles can do wonders for your confidence, and if you haven’t figured it out yet…Building your confidence is half of the goal of marathon training.

I got a request for details on what I eat before and after a long run so here goes… Saturday night I had chips & salsa (salt helps retain water), two springs rolls and a spicy tuna avocado roll (“LG” roll from Miyagi’s in Charlotte http://miyagisnoda.com/), and three Bell’s Two Hearted Ales.  Before my run Sunday morning, I had two slices of Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted bread toasted with jam, a banana, a small glass of chocolate soy milk, and two cups of coffee.  During my run, I had one Gatorade (NOT low-cal).  Immediately post-run, I had about two cups of chocolate soy milk.  About an hour after my run, I had a veggie burrito (whole-wheat tortilla, brown rice, black beans, guacamole, chunky sausa, corn, and lettuce.  No meat and no cheese.) with another Bell’s Two Hearted.

This Week’s Beer Choice: Bell’s Two Hearted Ale

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Running

“Things could be worse.” – That’s been my motto this week. 

Between blood blisters, a stolen wallet, getting my new shoes caked in mud during a 16 miler in the rain, and having mayonnaise (would could be grosser than mayonnaise??) splattered on my face, dress, and bare legs at a cocktail party by some gentleman fixing his burger, it’s not been a good week…

I’ve also been frustrated by the perpetual presence of stress in my right foot. I have been battling with my body to safely get in some quality running (or just any running!) these past several days.  The good news is that I’m 99% certain that I do not have a stress fracture – nor do I believe I have the beginnings of one (See – I said things could be worse.)  Instead, I’m quite sure I have injured a tendon on the outer side of my foot.  No clue which one – I took Astronomy as my science in college.  Like runner’s knee though, I have taken the approach that I may continue to run – just cut back on mileage, closely monitor the foot to make sure it is not getting worse, and ice the crap out of it.

Now that I am a few weeks in to preparing for my big race, I am starting to get all the typical aches and pains of marathon training.  Being paranoid about injuries, I internally push the panic button each time I feel a twinge.  Then I remember how I felt after my first few long runs at the beginning of my debut marathon training – pure, all-over pain.  It wasn’t like I got back from running and my knees hurt or my feet hurt.  Instead, I got back and my soles ached, my toes throbbed, my knees felt as if a three hundred pound football player bashed them in, and I could barely stand up straight.  I would wonder “How did I just run 16 miles if my walk is now a shuffle that should belong to a ninety-five-year-old great-grandma in a rest home?”

After taking several days off to rest my right foot, I tested the waters with an easy three miler…well, it was easy until I decided to take off my shoes and run barefoot down the paved streets of my neighborhood.  Fortunately I live in a hood where mannequins and mirrors are considered yard art, so a person running barefoot down the sidewalk seems normal in comparison.  I would probably need to run barefoot while wearing an animal costume to get any second looks. 

While my running sans shoes was not out of place, the blood blisters that appeared (especially one large one) on my feet certainly were…Great.  Now I have two bum feet.  Could things get any worse?  Yes – I would remind myself.  Things could definitely be worse.

A few days later I tried a different approach with my barefoot practice – About three miles in to an easy run, I randomly decided to jump off the sidewalk and in to a grassy field where my neighbors often play softball.  The grass was wet and the ground a little muddy from the continuous rainfall that we have been receiving in Charlotte.  I slipped off my shoes and sat them on a picnic table and began to run 3 miles (almost perfect lengths of .25 mile laps) around my new grass track.  As I completed each lap, I would do strides – picking up my pace from easy running to near 70% effort for about 10 seconds then back to easy. 

In short – my grassy three miler was great.  “Why have I never run barefoot out here before?”  I thought.  It’s funny how my right-foot road block opened up a whole new training opportunity that was right around the corner from my house but until this week never noticed.  While a set back in training, work, or just in life often leaves us feeling defeated, it sometimes is a hidden opportunity to help us think outside of the box (or off the pavement in my case) and brainstorm new ideas that we may not have otherwise thought.

This week, as I set out on one of my runs (or maybe hobbles is more accurate) with my blisters, inflamed tendon and all my other aches and pains, I made a mental note to capture the moment…Hopefully when I reach my goal, I will look back and remember the hot, humid long runs, the threshold workouts where I thought I would die, and that tough week when, with a stressed foot and mud on my shoes and mayonnaise on my face, I found a way to keep running. 

MCM Training Week Five: 40 Miles 

This Week’s Beer Choice: 21^st Amendment’s Brew Free or Die IPA