Unorthodox training

I’ve been slacking a bit with this blog, so I’m playing catch up now. Today’s post is all
about what you SHOULD NOT do while training for a marathon. Last week was a bit of
a doosey for me and I strayed a bit off my normal, healthy training plan.

Last Thursday was St. Patty’s Day and of course I had to partake in the celebrations.
Nick and I met up with some friends for dinner and dinner ended up turning into a few
more rounds of drinks than planned and a much later bedtime. (I usually turn in at 10PM,
Thursday it was closer to 1AM). YIKES.

After very little sleep and too many adult beverages, work on Friday was a bit of a
struggle. I looked forward to a relaxing Friday night and LOTS of sleep and good food.
Too bad fate had other plans. Needless to say, I was up most of the night Friday night
too, but all for a good reason this time.

So now it’s Saturday morning, I’m running on about 8 hours of sleep since Wednesday
night and I decide to stop in at the WORST FAST FOOD chain ever. Those who know
me know I don’t eat FAST FOOD unless it’s Subway or Penn Station (I’m a sucker
for their fries!), so this is totally out of the norm. I scraff down my hot cakes and hash
browns. I’m feeling guilty because A) I missed my 18-mile training run & B) I just put
nasty, greasy FAST FOOD in my body. Nick offers to run 18-miles with me and I agree
with a little hesitation.

The first 2 miles I feel like hurling up all that FAST FOOD, then the feeling subsides and
I ease into a nice pace. Everything is going great – the weather’s cool, but sunny and the
birds are chirping. I’m feeling fantastic despite my crappy diet & minimal sleep from the
past two days.

As I approach the 15 mile mark, my cheeriness starts to subside. I stare down that
hypothetical WALL. I can’t feel my legs and my brain is telling me “STOP, YOU
CRAZY WOMAN! I NEED REST AND NOURISHMENT AND YOU’RE TRYING
TO RUN 18 MILES!” So, I slow down, walk a bit, speed up, slow down, drink some
Gatorade. Nick attempts to talk me out of it, and slowly it begins to work. He distracts
me with random conversation and finally we close in on the last 2 miles. At a ½ mile to
go, I can see the red caboose that marks the end of the run. I fling my arms in the air as I
finish.

Ugh. That was rough. Never again will slack so much while training. I learned my lesson
big time.

Tomorrow is a 20-miler and I’m feeling good about it. I’ve eaten & slept properly – I’ll
let you know how it goes!