Sunday evening and the end of another good week of running.

DH and I ended up not running last weekend - our schedule got a little messed up and it was the running that got sacrificed. Although it wasn't such a sacrifice, really, given how much we'd run in the several weeks before. A weekend off actually seemed like a good idea and I think my mid-week running was better for it.

So - about 10.5 km on Monday, 15 km on Wednesday, about 12 km on Friday, and I think about 22 or 23 km today. Friday I didn't bother with my lap counter but was running at a pretty good pace, for an hour, so it would have been 12 km, give or take a couple of laps. Today I ran for two hours, again without my lap counter, and based on the way it felt would have done at least 22 km or perhaps even close to 23 km.

Today's run was a little frustrating, actually. I had a strong first hour, felt very good, and then stopped for a water break. The water wasn't overly cold, I didn't gulp it, etc. But with the very first sip, I felt my stomach cramp up, and that never really went away for the remainder of the run. So I added a few minutes to make sure that I had a full two hours of running/jogging, ignoring the walking breaks to try and get my stomach to settle down.

This water-drinking problem is really bugging me - time to do some research. DH drinks more often and doesn't have any issues. Of course, he's also capable of eating much more than I do before a run and remaining comfortable. If I tried that, I'd be dropping out within the first 5 km, feeling absolutely miserable.

DH, incidentally, did not have a great run today. His arch support was moving around and causing him some problems, and he was a bit tired. But he kept at it, walked when too tired to run, and every mile prepares us for the next big run.

Something I've recently started investigating is iron deficiency in distance runners.

I tried to give blood on Thursday night and was turned down because my hemoglobin was too low. In a way this wasn't a total surprise - I don't eat red meat or poultry, only a little fish or seafood - and to some extent I've been anemic most of my life. Interestingly enough, whenever I've had bloodwork done, the iron storage has always been okay, and the issue has only been the hemoglobin. Anyway, I mentioned this to my running buddy and it turns out that distance runners are known to often have problems with anemia and/or iron storage.

Obviously for me, there's no real question. I had a physical in December, and didn't hear anything back from my doctor, but that's probably because my hemoglobin was borderline or low, but my storage was okay. However, I'm going to write a letter requesting a copy of the results because I'm curious. And I doubt that I'm seriously anemic or iron deficient. In the interim, though, I've started taking iron supplements.

At this point, I am wondering about DH. He eats much like I do, consumes a little more fish, and has recently increased his distances. He's mentioned being tired or having "not great" runs, and I wonder if he's a little iron deficient. I hope he'll go and get tested. He's also trying my iron supplements but I think should have some numbers to work with before doing that long-term.

So six weeks from the big 30 km run, that's the state of our running world. I have tomorrow planned as a "don't break a sweat" day - some time walking on the treadmill, on an incline, then a few weights and the usual lower-body and abs exercises. DH and I impulsively went to an aerobics class on Saturday, and worked out every day Monday-Friday, and so I think a very low-energy, low-impact day is in order. I'd rather do that then skip the gym entirely.

Then I plan to run on Tuesday, Thursday and again on Sunday. Sunday should be another long run, something over two hours, and this time tracking the distance. My longest run so far has been 26 km - it would be nice to do that again, perhaps even 27 km. We'll see what the energy level is like after another thrilling week at the office...