So why the heck am I already back up and running some of you may be pondering. Well my next A race is Steelhead Half Ironman in August and official training for Steelhead started March 19th.
Obviously the called for training schedule was modified so that I could run Boston hard.
But with nearly a week off for taper before Boston and pretty much a week off afterwards it's time to get back to work.
I know that some camps recommend a day off for every mile raced, but I think that may be a little off base. And while I may be getting a bit of friendly scolding here on my blog for getting back into my swing too quickly I am getting just as much flack at the bagel shop for not doing enough post race. Ask any of the under 3 crowd at the bagel shop what I should have been doing Tuesday after the marathon and they would tell you that I should have been out running.
What did I do Tuesday after the marathon? Work and rest. I did absolutely nothing for 4 days after Boston (except putting in some quality time at work, watching movies, sleeping a lot, oh and blogging). Saturday I only ran 1.5 miles. Sunday was an easy 40 minute jog. Monday should have been an easy swim. (2000 yards is not a very long swim workout for me. I have swam over 3,000 yards after taking months off.) Yesterday was Tuesday and Tuesday's I run on the track. Granted I could probably have taken it a bit easier but I was not pushing that hard.
I have been running for a long time and I know my body pretty well. This is why Monday's post swim crap was really scary. Nothing like that has ever happened to me. I've never hit the proverbial wall, ever.
So what happened and why the heck did I go to the track yesterday after that?
Here's my thoughts:
I usually swim in the morning. I usually eat a large dinner. I usually am extremely hydrated. I usually take a gel pre swim and swig some water.
Mondays swim was done around 2pm. I ate lunch at 11am-ish. I may have been drinking less water than normal. I didn't take a gel before swimming. I forgot to eat breakfast.
So my best educated guess is that I was dehydrated combined with low on carbs. And I usually get a bit dizzy first time back in the pool so those three things added together caused the undesired resulting sickness.
Was I nervous about going to the track yesterday? Hellz yeah. But I could either sit and worry or go and see what happened. I chose the latter. I made sure to eat a hearty breakfast yesterday morning, a big carbed up lunch and as an extra precaution I took a gel before the workout. Added to that I made sure to stop and swig some gatorade after each interval.
Other than the sickness on Monday I didn't see any real reason why I shouldn't do the track workout. My legs are pretty recovered from Boston. No residual soreness. I am walking normal and some of the things that were ailing me pre Boston are actually not ailing me now. So I figured I'd go and see how it went knowing I could always take it easy and pace someone slower if my legs weren't up to the task. And I had friends there if something scary were to happen again.
I did a thorough warm up with 2.25 miles easy and felt pretty good. The 800s were not forced at all, they felt like a decent tempo day. The 200s hurt but 200s always hurt for me, I'm not a sprinter. :) Today I have some soreness in my quads and a bit in the calves. Nothing painful, just feels like I did a track workout yesterday.
So don't worry about me folks :) I feel fine! Actually I felt pretty damn good during the track workout yesterday and the haze from Mondays swim is completely gone. (I honestly think that now that Boston is over and I took a few days off, the marathon just becomes part of my base for training to come. I didn't plan a major break and I don't intend to take one unless I am injured. I am really starting to think that your body is capable of adapting to whatever you throw at it. I never would have thought that I could run 3 20+ mile runs in the span of a month before this year but now I know I can and that my body will adapt and it will bounce back stronger.)
So my plan for the next few weeks is to take things as they come. Nothing too hard but a lot of long slow distance in all three disciplines. Lots of aerobic base building. Will I run hard at the track next Tuesday? It's highly possible. But I know my limits on the track, trust me. And I don't think one hard/fast day a week is going to undermine anything I am trying to do.
What am I trying to do? I am trying to be the best I can be come August 5th. And on August 6th? I will have 70.3 in my base training bank for Chicago and JFK ;)
I guess it is a scary thing when people start to weigh in on what you are doing. No one likes criticism that's for sure. When I started this blog the only ones reading were mostly non-athletes. So nothing I did was really questioned. I knew best ;) I know I don't have to justify anything to anyone but thank you to those that question what I am doing because it forces me to stop and really evaluate whether the choices I am making are what's right for me. So far I think they are!
16 comments:
Check out the Marathon Maniacs website, check out Rob's blog, or Olga's. Check out my hubby (no, wait, don't do that!). These runners run two marathons in two days, they run a marathon one week and an ultra the next, they just keep moving forward. From watching these nuts, I mean, Maniacs, I've come to the same conclusion you have - they have a base and barring injury, can just keep going. One friend, who is a Maniac, never does long runs - she just runs a marathon every couple weeks to keep her base up. Yep, sometimes they get injured, but funny thing is, so do the rest of us. Go for it Elizabeth! As long as you are paying attention to yourself, you'll be good.
I am not sure who ever came up with that day of rest for every mile raced rule, but it is a bit silly if you ask me. I think recovery varies from person to person. Good luck with the Steelhead training.
.....relax....everything is okay.
Like I said, you know your body best. If you are feeling this strong now you are going to tear up Steelhead.
You don't have to justify anything, just tell us to go suck Blogger Donkey Balls. :0
LOL Eric. You weren't the only one with concerns :) Thanks for making me stop and think twice! I know I don't always know best! And I promise to take it easier until next Tuesday at the track!
You go girl! See you at the track.
Again I hope it turns out to be nothing. It is really tough when you are constantly nervous about training.
Tenet nosce...
Hmmm... I feel quite the same way. I feel like a total novice and an accidental tri-wannabe in the company of ironmen and ironwomen. BUT... we gotta be what we are... and we gotta enjoy doing it. I agree with eric, you don't have to justify anything to anyone. God Speed!
"I know that some camps recommend a day off for every mile raced."
I believe it's "don't do any hard workouts for every mile raced."
So going out for a recovery run is fine, but hammering a speed workout would not be.
I guess I would question the placement of this type of workout at this point in your training cycle. To me, 200s seem like something to make you sharp as your key races approach. But you're talking about endurance races that are 3 months away. Keep in mind I'm "just" a runner.
Fair enough Zeke ;)
I honestly plan on doing some 5ks, 5 milers, and 10ks along the way so I want to keep my speedy muscles up to par.
The 200s weren't my plan of action. They were what everyone else on the track was doing as they are racing Wildflower in 2 weeks. I just went with the flow.
I don't think they will hurt anything. They may help with the memorial weekend 5 miler where I have to defend last years age group win even.
In all of my marathon training plans there has always been one track workout a week every week so I don't see why I can't do that in tri training too. I may be wrong, but it has worked for me so far.
It is also just a bit of stubborness on my part. I look forward to my track workouts every week, so I have a hard time missing them.
Track workouts are fine for tri-training, too. They still help improve your speed as well as your running economy on the slower longer stuff.
Here's the rub about training triathlon coming from any other sport -we're tempted to keep up what we've been doing in our primary sport, plus add the same type and amount of training for the other two. The body as a whole can only handle so much even though you're training different muscles. An example might be that a marathon runner could handle 3 or more weekly 'hard' workouts before becoming a triathlete - 1 speed, a couple tempos, and 1 long. But now he must consider doing speed, tempo, and long for cycling and swimming, too. Doubtful that the same body that successfully trained as a runner can now handle 9 'hard' workouts in the same period of time he previously was doing only 3. But maybe 4 or 5 given the different modes and challenging your body to get stronger could work. Therefore, you mix-n-match those 9 workouts with recovery days in between over a longer period of time - say two or three weeks, depending on your body and its ability to recover. Over a period of probably years, you will gradually adapt to being able to do all those 9 workouts in a shorter period of time. It's not too unlike the progression most of us follow in running from doing 5Ks to 10Ks to marathoning, over time we're able to handle more and more
So, in the end, those of us making suggestions about your training are familiar with what you're trying to do and have been there and tried that. We may not know what else you're doing, but just want to make sure you have all the information and knowledge you need to make your goals.
It is difficult, but also extremely helpful, to put your training and ideas out there for critique. It also helps us think about and modify what we think about training when we know what others are doing or can do as compared to our own experience.
Sorry my responses are long, it's hard to explain important training principles concisely
I also don't like like the "one day off rest for every mile run" rule. And whoever came up with that certainly didn't take ultrarunners into account. Sure Scott Jurek is on a different level than most of us - but tell him that rule when he runs the 100 mile Western States and 2 weeks later wins the 135 miles Badwater. Obiviously that rule doesn't fit everyone. Maybe newer runners...
I think when you put yourself out there in blogland, sometimes people have critiques which are not intended to sound harsh but we may take them as such because while advice can useful & thought-provoking, it can at times be hard to take. You will figure it out!
I am continually amazed at what our bodies can adapt to. You go, girl. [And keep on going.]
And you got back here before I could even leave a comment on your blog (RE: Who is (are) your biggest supporter(s)? And why?). You're even fast on blogger!
{Pass it along to a few others, if you'd like.}
The best advice I can give you is get thee on your bike and head to my house so I'm not lonely on a long ride. :) hee hee J/K! Glad to hear you're feeling better.
Glad you're feeling better! No one knows you like YOU, and sometimes people just want to share opinions. I got a lot of flack for having 5 20+ milers for my marathon training but I knew that was something I wanted to do and my M turned out exactly as I wanted it.
Keep up the kick butt running! (and swimming) (and biking)
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