Four weeks today until the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon. The marathon that was going to be my first but (barring injury, etc.) will be my second. As time goes by, I am more and more glad that I ended up doing Ottawa in May, for a number of reasons. I'm less nervous about the distance (but still nervous enough). It gives me some confidence that I can actually do it. It gave me a BQ so there's not so much riding on Scotiabank. And so on.
An unexpected benefit is that knowing I've covered the distance once, even though still nervous, I have more confidence that I can do it than would probably be the case had I worked up to Marathon #1 through the heat of summer. As I was lamenting last time, the sun, heat and humidity combination just isn't doing it for me. Yes, I am a Weather Weinie (watch for different complaints when it starts to get really cold). I will give myself points for getting out and doing the long runs, but some of them have been absolutely brutal.
It doesn't help that sometimes the rest of life intervenes and a weekend long run has to be fit around that. With the periodic result that it gets pushed into the afternoon instead of the morning. Of course, not too late in the afternoon because there is stuff that needs to get done in the evening, meaning that sometimes it means running through some of the worst heat of the day. A couple of weeks ago I did 34 km, starting at about 1:00 p.m., and it was tough. Very tough. The distance alone is challenging enough; the distance in the sun/heat really took it out of me. And it wasn't even particularly hot or extremely humid! But you start moving fast at those temperatures, particularly through unshaded sections of the route, and it's like the temperature and humidity both sharply increase.
To paraphrase a cliche, take me out of the oven, I'm done. And I'm done with having to manage the whole heat/humidity thing. With the having to carry extra water and pay extra attention to drinking it. With the worrying about adequate sunblock (surprise: sometimes it turns out to not be adequate). With trying to find running clothes that keep things as cool as possible ("cool" being very relative, here) while not exposing "virgin" skin to the sun (by now it may be clear that I burn easily).
Anyway, I guess that particular rant is over! By now it is dark-ish at 6:00 a.m., we've only had a few humid days in the last couple of weeks, the nights are much cooler and so by definition are the early mornings, and running conditions in general have improved. It's really just the weekend long runs, which end up hot even if they start cool, that are hard to live with. Like this morning - DH and I went out about 8:15 a.m., at which point it was around 15 C, and it felt quite nice. By the time I was finished, about 11:30, it was up to 23 C with a slightly higher humidex and some fairly intense sun. Would have loved some cloud cover, but it just wasn't happening.
Now that the weather is out of the way, how is the actual running?
Not bad. In some ways I feel that I was better trained for Ottawa, and at this point I'm expecting to have a slower time. Part of that is my right hip, which I am still treating with ART, stretching, and the infamous IT foam roller. It's not nearly "bad" enough to stop running. But it is rather touchy and gets treated with great care. There's a mild on and off again issue on the inside of my right knee that my ART person thinks is tied in with the hip. Again, nothing so major that I need to stop, but stuff that I have to keep watching and working on. My left hip (knock wood) has been fine, and I strongly suspect that some of my issues are the result of imbalances that are being corrected. So among all the ART, stretching, strengthening, foam rolling, I am also trying to run with careful attention to form.
Also, unlike pre-Ottawa, there have been more mid-week interruptions. A few days off to rest my hip when I overdid too much running/elliptical in a row and needed a break (I find that doing more stationary cycling really helps keep things loose, and therefore have changed my cross-training routines). A few days off after I slipped on the stairs to our basement and whacked the heck out of my tailbone. A couple of days just skipped altogether because DH and I were busy with other things, had late nights, and just needed the extra rest.
On the "better than pre-Ottawa" side, I have managed one 30 km LSD, two 34 km LSDs, and I have my last 30+ km LSD scheduled for next weekend. Then the taper starts. And in some ways I am more relaxed and less subject to mileage tracking fatigue. Like today. My LSD schedule has been a little mixed up due to various events (note: we had four weddings this summer, three of which involved travel and/or visiting relatives that had to be accommodated), and I just wasn't sure how much to do today. So, I decided to just run for three hours and see what that turned out to be, which was 34.3 km. Probably longer than I would have done if I had been setting a distance, but since the last two weeks have been kind of light on the mid-week portions, probably a good distance in the overall plan.
So, like Ottawa, I really don't know what to expect when the race starts that morning. Much will depend, as always, on the weather. It should be cooler although with luck there won't be major rain. It could be as windy as last year. It could be a perfect day. After today's run, part of me was thinking "8 more? Who am I kidding?". Then again, I can remember doing 32 km before Ottawa, my longest run, and thinking "10 more?!?!?" I keep trying to remind myself that, all things being equal, I will have tapered, and rested, and been careful about my diet, and will also have the benefit of some race day adrenaline, and of being in a crowd of people doing the same distance. Never underestimate the power of a little company on a long run.
Mostly, I would like to enjoy this run. Not be in agony during the last 10 km, but maintain a steadier pace. If that means a slightly longer time, that's okay. With Boston 2008 already on the horizon, and Boston 2009 not an issue (I would like to do Vancouver, and they're too close together), this should be a run just to run, a run to get more experience. Yes, I'd love to have a good time - who am I trying to kid? But I don't have the same internal tension as before.
The unfortunate thing is that the friend who was also supposed to train for this marathon has had too much going on since Around the Bay in March - ill, then moving (i.e.: reduced training time). So he is currently planning to do the half. As is my DH, as are other people we know. And another woman I know is planning to do the full. So, although I doubt we'll all meet up on that day, it will be great fun to compare notes later.
In the meantime, I am not sorry that tomorrow is Labour Day, a day off work, the housework is pretty much done, and we have no major plans. That means: sleeping in and some extra rest after today's long run. Normally we would go to the gym and do some light cross training, but not tomorrow. I'll do some stretching and IT foam rolling, no doubt, and maybe a few weights at home if I really get my act together, but I am looking forward to a day of doing not much of anything. With a house, a yard, a full-time job, two cats, and training for a marathon, those days are few and far between.
An unexpected benefit is that knowing I've covered the distance once, even though still nervous, I have more confidence that I can do it than would probably be the case had I worked up to Marathon #1 through the heat of summer. As I was lamenting last time, the sun, heat and humidity combination just isn't doing it for me. Yes, I am a Weather Weinie (watch for different complaints when it starts to get really cold). I will give myself points for getting out and doing the long runs, but some of them have been absolutely brutal.
It doesn't help that sometimes the rest of life intervenes and a weekend long run has to be fit around that. With the periodic result that it gets pushed into the afternoon instead of the morning. Of course, not too late in the afternoon because there is stuff that needs to get done in the evening, meaning that sometimes it means running through some of the worst heat of the day. A couple of weeks ago I did 34 km, starting at about 1:00 p.m., and it was tough. Very tough. The distance alone is challenging enough; the distance in the sun/heat really took it out of me. And it wasn't even particularly hot or extremely humid! But you start moving fast at those temperatures, particularly through unshaded sections of the route, and it's like the temperature and humidity both sharply increase.
To paraphrase a cliche, take me out of the oven, I'm done. And I'm done with having to manage the whole heat/humidity thing. With the having to carry extra water and pay extra attention to drinking it. With the worrying about adequate sunblock (surprise: sometimes it turns out to not be adequate). With trying to find running clothes that keep things as cool as possible ("cool" being very relative, here) while not exposing "virgin" skin to the sun (by now it may be clear that I burn easily).
Anyway, I guess that particular rant is over! By now it is dark-ish at 6:00 a.m., we've only had a few humid days in the last couple of weeks, the nights are much cooler and so by definition are the early mornings, and running conditions in general have improved. It's really just the weekend long runs, which end up hot even if they start cool, that are hard to live with. Like this morning - DH and I went out about 8:15 a.m., at which point it was around 15 C, and it felt quite nice. By the time I was finished, about 11:30, it was up to 23 C with a slightly higher humidex and some fairly intense sun. Would have loved some cloud cover, but it just wasn't happening.
Now that the weather is out of the way, how is the actual running?
Not bad. In some ways I feel that I was better trained for Ottawa, and at this point I'm expecting to have a slower time. Part of that is my right hip, which I am still treating with ART, stretching, and the infamous IT foam roller. It's not nearly "bad" enough to stop running. But it is rather touchy and gets treated with great care. There's a mild on and off again issue on the inside of my right knee that my ART person thinks is tied in with the hip. Again, nothing so major that I need to stop, but stuff that I have to keep watching and working on. My left hip (knock wood) has been fine, and I strongly suspect that some of my issues are the result of imbalances that are being corrected. So among all the ART, stretching, strengthening, foam rolling, I am also trying to run with careful attention to form.
Also, unlike pre-Ottawa, there have been more mid-week interruptions. A few days off to rest my hip when I overdid too much running/elliptical in a row and needed a break (I find that doing more stationary cycling really helps keep things loose, and therefore have changed my cross-training routines). A few days off after I slipped on the stairs to our basement and whacked the heck out of my tailbone. A couple of days just skipped altogether because DH and I were busy with other things, had late nights, and just needed the extra rest.
On the "better than pre-Ottawa" side, I have managed one 30 km LSD, two 34 km LSDs, and I have my last 30+ km LSD scheduled for next weekend. Then the taper starts. And in some ways I am more relaxed and less subject to mileage tracking fatigue. Like today. My LSD schedule has been a little mixed up due to various events (note: we had four weddings this summer, three of which involved travel and/or visiting relatives that had to be accommodated), and I just wasn't sure how much to do today. So, I decided to just run for three hours and see what that turned out to be, which was 34.3 km. Probably longer than I would have done if I had been setting a distance, but since the last two weeks have been kind of light on the mid-week portions, probably a good distance in the overall plan.
So, like Ottawa, I really don't know what to expect when the race starts that morning. Much will depend, as always, on the weather. It should be cooler although with luck there won't be major rain. It could be as windy as last year. It could be a perfect day. After today's run, part of me was thinking "8 more? Who am I kidding?". Then again, I can remember doing 32 km before Ottawa, my longest run, and thinking "10 more?!?!?" I keep trying to remind myself that, all things being equal, I will have tapered, and rested, and been careful about my diet, and will also have the benefit of some race day adrenaline, and of being in a crowd of people doing the same distance. Never underestimate the power of a little company on a long run.
Mostly, I would like to enjoy this run. Not be in agony during the last 10 km, but maintain a steadier pace. If that means a slightly longer time, that's okay. With Boston 2008 already on the horizon, and Boston 2009 not an issue (I would like to do Vancouver, and they're too close together), this should be a run just to run, a run to get more experience. Yes, I'd love to have a good time - who am I trying to kid? But I don't have the same internal tension as before.
The unfortunate thing is that the friend who was also supposed to train for this marathon has had too much going on since Around the Bay in March - ill, then moving (i.e.: reduced training time). So he is currently planning to do the half. As is my DH, as are other people we know. And another woman I know is planning to do the full. So, although I doubt we'll all meet up on that day, it will be great fun to compare notes later.
In the meantime, I am not sorry that tomorrow is Labour Day, a day off work, the housework is pretty much done, and we have no major plans. That means: sleeping in and some extra rest after today's long run. Normally we would go to the gym and do some light cross training, but not tomorrow. I'll do some stretching and IT foam rolling, no doubt, and maybe a few weights at home if I really get my act together, but I am looking forward to a day of doing not much of anything. With a house, a yard, a full-time job, two cats, and training for a marathon, those days are few and far between.
posted by Jogger Barbie | 3:35 PM
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