Um, yeah, this marathon training stuff is harder than I thought it would be. OK, it's not like I thought it would be easy, but I wasn't expecting this kind of trouble. I was sure something might come up, but somehow I was naive enough to believe it wouldn't be too bad.
The first 10 miles were pretty uneventful this morning, and then my intestinal problems started up. Not good. I was in a lot of pain and stopped at least 3 times to visit the restroom. Thankfully, our route along the Jordan River Parkway today had lots of bathrooms :).
Then, to top it off, I got a blister on my right foot 2nd toe. I've never had trouble with blisters before - my shoes fit well and they have only about 150 miles on them. I used the same shoes last weekend for my 16 miles w/o incident. The only difference was the socks. Last weekend I wore my double layer socks; this weekend I wore a pair of Team in Training socks that I have worn for other long workouts. I just have to hope that it's the socks; I will try a double layer pair next weekend for the long day and hope it helps.
My legs actually were tired but not too bad at the end, surprisingly. They felt better than after the 16 miles last weekend.
Total time 3:14:36 for 18 miles, not including 2 of the restroom breaks; I paused my iPod because I really wanted to know my average pace when I was actually moving. Average pace was 10:51 per mile. For the first 10 miles I'd say I did about a 10:30 pace quite comfortably, but then when the intestinal distress hit, all bets were off and I had to slow down. Still, 10:51 is pretty good given all of that. My average heart rate was 136, solidly in the range recommended for long slow distance days.
After today, I'm kind of dreading the remaining long days on my schedule. If I can't find something to help with the intestinal problems, I think this will be my first and ONLY marathon. It's just not worth it to feel this way.
4 comments:
You probably have already tried this - but I was going to ask if you've tried yogurt? I have a fruit and yogurt smoothie almost every morning, made with the organic active-cultures plain yogurt (Stonyfield or Stonybook or something - it also has fiber) and that seems to keep everything running well. I started that when G. was having a lot of gastro-intestinal issues and pain and cramping - his doctor recommended it, and though I didn't have any problems, I did it, too. It helped G a lot. A serving or two a day.
A couple of comments:
1. What you eat makes a big difference between having a pleasant long walk (I've had many) and not having one.
2. Blisters: try ninja socks (the ones with the separate toes). They work like a charm, as does some well placed runner's lube.
3. Also, remember the pace; just 10-15 seconds slower per mile can make the distance much more pleasant.
I have no recommendations since I have trouble completing a 5K. :) But just know that I think you are amazing for even trying to do this! Keep up the good work.
Be careful with the yogurt, the active cultures often make the intestines more active.
The socks mentioned in the previous comment are called Injinji socks, they can be found at www.injinji.com or REI stores or website. I use them and love them, have never ever had a blister. But if you know the double layered socks work for you, keep using those. Hope you find solutions soon!
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