I’m Back!

Please forgive the long break in updates, folks. Student teaching demanded nothing less than my entire life, especially towards the end there. The good news is that, as of this past Friday, I’m finished student teaching forever (YAY!). I celebrated its terminus with another 20-miler and then slept until about an hour ago.

Those of you who have checked out my training schedule have probably noticed the huge decrease in weekly mileage. I’ve dropped from 73 to 61 miles in 2 weeks. I did this partly to recover from my homemade marathon (which actually didn’t wear me out too much). Mostly, though, it’s because the race I’m training for won’t roll around until mid-July, and keeping up 73-mile weeks until July– without injury– just didn’t seem feasible. I’m going to work my way back up to mid-70-mile weeks over the next month, hold it there for a month, and then taper for my big race.

I know that I’ve been hinting at this race for a while now. I’ll be able to tell you all more about it in the next post. For now, just know that it’s like nothing I’ve done before.

Peak Distance

Tomorrow I’m scheduled for a (‘nother) 20 mile run. I ran this distance last Friday, but I’m hoping for better results.

I was not so well prepared for last Friday’s run. I had taught all day, so I’d had little time during the day to eat or to drink much water. The usual fatigue of a full workweek also weighed on me. I went out with the intent of a slow, slow long run to end the week.

I was surprised, then, when I found myself feeling pretty good for the first 10 miles. At mile 11, when I stopped for a water break, my legs bounced and jittered with the lovely energy that marks a good run. for the next 5 miles, they felt okay. Then, my lack of preparation kicked in.

My runner friend has a saying I enjoy, which seems to apt for this situation. Every runner knows the moment in a strenuous run when your body just crumples, and you curve your back forward and suddenly your legs feel incredibly heavy. My friend likes that say that that’s when “he put the refrigerator on your back.” Let’s pause a moment and just visualize having a refrigerator strapped to your back and trying to run. That’s pretty much what it feels like, right?

At mile 16, he put the refrigerator on my back.

My form went to hell; my back bent forward and my feet were barely clearing the ground. My muscles suddenly became stiff. I stopped sweating and couldn’t form spit anymore. I knew that 20 miles was a lot to ask of my body, especially with such poor preparation. Those last four miles were many times harder than the first 16. They sucked. But I successfully made it home after 20 miles.

So really, 20 miles should be old hat by now, right? And I’m better prepared. Tomorrow’s run should be a cinch.

Right?

Spring Break Tie-Breaker Tongue-Twister

So, Spring Break was not as restful as I thought. In the midst of all of my obligations, however, I managed to stay on top of my mileage. I finished a 63-mile week, which is what I ran through most of the cross-country season. This week I’ll be bumping it up to 68 miles, though– the most miles I’ve ever run in a week.

Speaking of records, I ran my longest distance– ever– this past Friday. My formula had me scheduled for 17.5 miles, which would tie my longest distance run up to that point. But who can settle with a tie?

The conditions were perfect for a cross-country runner. Our unseasonable warmth had given way to a (very seasonable) cold rainstorm. I was about 13 miles into my run and passing by my old high school track. And this is when I decided that, no, a tie was not good enough. I’ve tied enough PRs. So I stopped by the track to run half a mile, putting the run’s total distance a little over 18.

I returned home less beaten up than I would have expected. Sure, I was sore, and stiff, and soaked, and chilled. But not in the agony that I used to experience on my weekly long run. Certainly not in the agony I would usually experience after 18 miles. This formula I’ve cobbled together, unscientific though it may be, seems to have gotten me in better shape than ever.