Bonking the long run

Today, I bonked. I failed. I was taken out of commission by the naysayer that lives within my head.

I was on tap to do a 14 mile long run this morning. Normally, even though I am incredibly slow, I don't mind long runs. In fact, I kind of like them! I get into a groove, I get into a mindset, and I just keep going. Today, I just couldn't keep going. I knew within the first mile that this run was going to be tough, and it was all downhill from there. I kept having these very negative thoughts about running and my ability to run. I couldn't shake them. This negativity seemed to be battering me from all sides. I just kept circling variations on the following: I'm too slow. This is too long. My feet are going to go numb at any moment. My calves are going to cramp. Why is it so warm? What kind of runner are you. I can't do this.

My 14 mile run turned into a 6.5 mile walk. A brisk walk, but a walk nonetheless

I was defeated not my my body, which was not crampy or numb or dehydrated or underfueled. By all rights, this should have been a great run. I was defeated instead by my head and my heart, which is more discouraging than physical ailments

However, I am a runner. I am a marathoner. I just have to figure out how to shake this training slump I seem to have drifted into in the past few weeks, and I will be more confident in shouting those two things from the rooftops. Any tips on how to shake off runner's malaise and/or negative thoughts?

Back in the swing of things

September royally sucked training wise. Between two weeks off for the knee sprain and a week and a half off due to plague like illness I clocked in 18 miles THE ENTIRE MONTH. By the end of the month I was fretting about all of the runs that I had missed, and whether this would mean I would have to bow out of the marathon.

I'm pleased to say that October has been much better training wise! Three weeks ago I went for my first long run in over a month, and was able to complete 7 miles before my brain got the best of me. I was supposed to run a 10 miler, but I psyched myself out and was only able to complete 7 miles.

Two weeks ago I ran a 15 miler. That's right 15 miles! That is longest distance I have ever run. Let me tell you, it felt great. I was exhausted and sore afterwards, but the entire run felt amazing. The weather was cool, I had a new route, and I had a new Garmin toy to play with.

My 15 miler is also when I tried out my new Asics, and I am pleased to say that I have found a pair of shoes that does not make my feet go numb! 4th times a charm running shoe wise, but I'm glad that the food numbness is gone. Having to cope with tingling and lack of sensitivity in my left foot during every single run was getting on my nerves (heh).

This past Sunday I ran an 18 miler. The first 15 miles were glorious, and I was in love with running and Boston. Because it was such a quintessential fall day I ran through the Arboretum. It was so picturesque. The leaves were bright on the trees and crunchy under foot. I saw blue jays and a giant hawk. My route also took me to the Esplanade, and since it was Head of the Charles this weekend, I was able to see a ton of rowers.

However, things took a sudden turn for the worse after mile 15. My left IT Band seized up completely and I had a sharp stabbing pain in my left hip. I ended up having to walk/hobble the final 3 miles home. This was particularly disappointing given how great the run felt for the first 15 miles. I was keeping around an 11 minute mile pace, the day was gorgeous, I felt great, and then BAM. Hobbled.

I'm getting back on the horse tomorrow morning with a short 3-4 miler. Here's hoping the hip is back in business so that I can get in some tempo work and rock my 20 miler on Saturday!

11 mile long run of crampy pain.

I had such high hopes for my 11-miler on Saturday. I was coming off of a great 10 miler in Brooklyn, I was meeting up for the first time with an area running group, and I was eager to show off my mad (slow) running skills. However, somewhere along the way it all went horribly awry.

The day started off like gangbusters, I met with the group bright and early at 8am. They were all truly fabulous and friendly, which seemed to bode well for the run. We started off at a brisk pace, but probably no faster than where I want my marathon race pace to be. It was all going fine until about mile 3. Mile 3 is when the pain hit. My calves had apparently decided that 3 miles into a long run was a great time to seize up and cramp.

So with both of my calves resembling hard balls of excruciating fury, I decided it was probably a good idea to stop and stretch. I thought this would help matters, but no such luck. I started off again, trailing behind the group, and running at about an 11 minute mile pace. I trudged along, but my calves were getting no better. In fact their tightness was cutting off the circulation to the rest of my leg. By mile 4 both of my feet had gone numb and tingly from lack of circulation.

By this point, the group was out of sight, however one intrepid member kept running back to check on me, make sure I was okay, and tell me the route. At this point I could have cried. Not only because I was in pain, but because it was just so freaking thoughtful of her and of the rest of the group to check up on me and make sure I wasn't writhing on the ground in agony.

I eventually made it back to the meet-up location, having slogged my way through the remaining 7 miles. So I got my 11 miles in, but it was painful and disheartening and slow (even for me). I have been running long enough that I know that it’s not easy, and that it’s not lacking in pain, but this was just a bit too much. The only thing that got me through was repeating to myself: “you can do this, only x number of miles left. Come on Diane, you can do this.” I don’t want or need my runs to be effortless. In fact, I would like to push myself to go farther and faster, I just don’t know how I’m going to complete 26.2 if my long runs are this hard.

A Weekend of travel, celebrating and running

This weekend was my dear friend Beth's engagement party, which necessitated a trip to Brooklyn (the arm, it was twisted). I took the bus down Friday night, and was able to do a little catch-up with Beth (whom I do not see nearly as often as I would like to), watch Stomp the Yard, and have a refreshing glass of wine. All-in-all a pretty nice way to end the work week.


Saturday was scheduled to be my 10 mile long run, and I must say that I was a bit nervous about it. However, unlike the nasty 3-miler from earlier in the week, this run went brilliantly. My route took me through various sections of Brooklyn, including Park Slope and Prospect Park. The roughly 3.3 miles around Prospect Park was by far my favorite part of the run. In general, I love running in parks and green spaces. There’s just something about pushing yourself while communing with nature that is invigorating, especially when you’re a city girl who doesn’t see much of nature outside of the parks. I ended up finishing the 10 miles in 1:50, which is a bit over where I would like to be pace-wise. However, I have been consistently shaving seconds off of my pace on long runs, thereby giving me hope that it wasn't a mistake to register for the 4:15 pace group!

This was, in fact, the best run of my training thus far. I don't know if it was the fact that I had ready access to water, the fact that I'm trying my hand at mid-run refueling (the jury is still out on sports beans), or the fact that I was exploring a new place while running, but whatever it is this run left me feeling great about my training. Something direly needed in order to keep up morale after the last few weeks of bonking at the end of long runs.