11.26.2005

Marathon Training Hurts

I have begun to feel the difference between the miles I used to run and the miles I am running now - marathon training miles. I am not accustomed to it. It is more difficult; more up and down. Some days I feel good and others I feel stressed. Thankfully the weather is still sunny and encouraging.
I notice more pains from greater wear and tear: left adductor, right calf, occasionally an ankle. The pains dissapear when I warm up but it now takes about two miles to get to that point. My times are slowing over the shorter distances.
I have been putting so many miles on my shoes that I attribute some on my problems there. My #2 shoes now have 414 miles - they have gone to the lawn only shelf. My #1s have 242 miles. Today, finally, after a two week wait my new shoes came in and I can look forward to some better cushioning. Thank goodness. Tomorrow will be 17 testing miles.
I can imagine a day sometime soon when I will not look forward to the scheduled run. I look forward to tomorrow's 17 if not for just the new shoes. The 5-day/week intermediate regimen is hard. I just completed my first 42 mile week. Next week will be about the same with a few twists.
I go out of town Wednesday for two nights which will make the training more creative. When I return I'll be running a half marathon race on Saturday.
Meanwhile the house screams for maintenance as do other people and things. There's only so much that can be done. Right now I made a commitment to the marathon and I have another two months of training to go.

8 comments:

Jon (was) in Michigan said...

The best thing is to let the house completely fall apart. That's what I did. When you are done with the race, it will give you something to do while you recover. :)

Hang in there, David. I know its hard not to back off but, now more that ever, is the time to make sure you are listening to your body, especially when it asks for an extra rest day.

Joe said...

David, a very helpful post. I've noticed a similar dynamic but could not articulate it as well as you.

Interestingly, I just discovered (alarmingly) that my current shoes had over 400 miles on them (my trigger point too) and I wondered if that had something to do with some of the discomfort. I ordered a new pair Saturday.

Thanks for the insight

D said...

Ah the little aches and pains! You are doing great. The house work will be anxiously waiting for you after your marathon.

a.maria said...

wow 5x/week training schedule?! you crazy. (but impressive crazy)

everyone seems to get little spurts of the training blehs... but just think how much more prepared you'll be come race day!!!

have a safe trip and a great week!

jeanne said...

You know the main perk of these long runs, right? You get to blog and brag about them the next day!!

You rock, man.

House schmouse. It all be there awaiting you.

Jack said...

That's some pretty impressive mileage, my wife would kill me if I was running 42 miles a week or more. On the other side you will be much better prepared than I ever was. Keep it up, don't let that lazy little voice inside your head get the best of you. The training should hurt so the marathon doesn't!

Jank said...

Jon (as usual) is right on. Listen to the little bits before they become big bits. The only real important thing is hitting a couple of really big runs before the race - cutting from, say, 6's to 5's or 4's during the week is a great way to save some wear and tear if you don't want to add rest.

Unknown said...

i feel everything to wrote, d. looks like we're dealing with some of the same issues. running healthy, the time issues, relationships and events that take a hit because of running...

hang tough, like you said, only two more months. =)