Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Understanding why the long run is also an "endurance run"

A typical Friday night means that we make dinner and relax on the couch catching up with The Office, 30 Rock and The Apprentice.  It's about the most t.v. we watch at any given time, but usually Friday rolls around and I am a bit brain dead and in need of some r n' r before Saturday's long run.  We switched it up a little this weekend though, and went to a friend's oyster roast, which was a lot of fun.  We've been a bit antisocial lately, between working and training, so it was great to see everyone and spend some time with them.  However, all that meant that Saturday I was feeling  a little beat and pretty tired.  A little more tired than I wanted to feel knowing I had to run 10 miles.

And boy did that run feel long.  By about mile 7, I was done.  Tired, felt like I couldn't pick up my feet anymore, tired.  I have this bad tendency to not want to take gels, and I fought the first one but counted down the minutes to the second one in the hope that it would perk me up (it was a Hammer Gel espresso flavor - 50mgs of caffeine!) and I was still dragging tail.  Needless to say, by the time we made it back to the car, I was done.  I don't remember the last time I felt that tired.  I've had a string of really good runs lately though, so I figure I was about due for one that was a little crappy.  E was great through the whole thing - encouraging me when I was having trouble encouraging myself.

In other news, I decided on a training plan for the marathon.  Maybe I'm cheap, but I didn't want to pay for one, and thought I would try the Chicago Marathon training plan which looks pretty do-able, and is pretty on base with what I've been doing, with the addition of one extra run a week.  I also broke down and bought protein powder, trying my first serving last night.  I mixed it with a glass of almond milk and it was so filling!  I had it with a small meal after my run, and I really could have done with just the beverage.  Having never used it, I didn't know what to get, and just chose this one at the grocery store.

9 comments:

  1. Nice run and way to push while you are tired

    I like the Apprentice, but seriously, I never seen a group of people who love to throw each other underneath the bus on a regular basis. I liked Poppy but she made the mistake of singling out the wrong person in the board room, of course the best part was the cheating scandal in the first 5 minutes of the show.

    Protein Powder, most it is all the same, I buy mine at Costco, honestly, whatever taste best to you is the one to get, I have tasted some freaking nasty stuff over the years

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  2. We can be pretty antisocial too. We're working on it (sort of) but we just love our home and each other's company so much that sometimes we just forget to go out. ;) I'm glad you made it through the run, even if it was hard work. I'm assuming they only get easier? Hopefully!

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  3. Friday night date with the TV? Sign me up! Nice run - how much was the protein powder?

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  4. Megan, I got the jar that was $10.99 at the local grocery store. Still pricey, but nowhere near what I have seen online and in healthfood stores.

    Big Daddy, I know, these kids are so freaking whiny and cutthroat. I enjoyed the "arts and crafts" element of the girls' design. Was like being in highschool.

    Stephanie, long runs are supposed to get better...I think! :) At least a better runner's high!

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  5. you just made my mouth water when you wrote oyster roast, holy cow, I love 'em!!

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  6. ur friday night sounds a lot like my thursday nite :)

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  7. Your Friday is like our Friday. We are SPENT by the week end. Love the Hammer products. Have you tried the Recoverite drink for after a long run? You take it right away and I swear I feel better than if I'd just had other stuff. Magic.

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  8. have you tried eating like 1/2 a pbj sandwich on your runs? helps me

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  9. Alma, I haven't tried Recoverite; I will have to pick some up. We usually use Cytomax.

    Tricia, I haven't, but that is a great idea!

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