Marathon Monday: Week 13

I am getting really worn out, I am starting to feel the effects of marathon training.  I feel like I am always running, planning a run, or recovering from a run.  It is purely mental, because I truly do have more free time than it seems, but overall I am just TIRED of the training schedule, but I am so close I am going to keep pushing through - 5 more weeks!

Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: 9 miles
Thursday: 5 miles (with stroller)
Friday: 1 mile (Fun Run - Color Run)
Saturday: 18 miles (personal distance record)
   Total for the Week: 37 miles (new weekly high mileage, woohoo)

Source

Saturday's long run wasn't great, but it was better than I expected.  I went to the local running store and got a new fuel to try - honey stinger fruit chews.  I had heard many people with sensitive GI tracts had luck with them, so I decided to try them out. The taste wasn't too bad - not sure they are the answer for me, but they weren't too bad.   I had some stomach cramping around mile 4 but kept running, I wanted to get to 6 miles before taking the fruit chews.  Instead, I felt strong enough to run until mile 9.  At that time I had to stop and use the restroom so I decided to fuel then (I took 4 fruit chews with about 3-4 ounces of water).

I had planned on taking Imodium simultaneously with my fuel and see if that helps, but the packet I had was empty (whoops).  So, I went with it.... I managed to go 5 miles after fueling without needing the restroom (pretty good for me).   And, the miles were the fastest of the day! After the bathroom break at mile 14, I took 3 more chews and headed back out - it was hard to get back into it, I struggled getting back into stride.  I had a familiar twinge in my back around mile 15 and feared a repeat lat strain issue, so I walked a few steps (less than a tenth of a mile) but I struggled to get back into the groove when I started running again so I did walk a bit of mile 16 (probably less than a quarter mile).  After that walk break, I decided to suck it up mentally and push it. I only managed to make it 3.5 miles before needing a bathroom break, but again... given my previous experience, not bad.

After that bathroom break, I headed out for the last half mile and decided to sprint the last quarter mile to come in just under 3 hours. I didn't ever feel like I was hitting a wall, the miles were relatively pain free, and if not for my stomach I feel like I could have gone a few more miles.  And, in honestly my stomach wasn't nearly as big of a deal as it was two weeks ago so I am counting this as a success.

Still smiling after 18 miles - cheesy thumbs up and all.

Proof I did it!

One thing I am not happy about - my splits were all over the darn place!  For my own reference I will list them here, feel free to skip over this part! :)

Next week is a cut-back week - my Saturday run will only be 16 miles, but its a 16 mile trail run, so its probably going to be harder than my 18 this weekend.  Crazy me - I signed up for this race purely because its a points race for the local track club.  I did the single loop last year, and have heard the 3 loop is really not that enjoyable, but here I am planning to run it next weekend!

My plan for this week is to focus on my nutrition - I haven't been eating the right things, and I am sure thats part of why my body is dragging.  Because I am so tired, its been easy to fall back on easy, quick foods and those typically aren't the healthiest foods.  This week, I am planning to have more homemade meals and hope that makes a difference for me.  Oh, and the diet pop - gotta cut down on that too (again, consumption has increased because I am just so exhausted).

Anyone have any miraculous solutions to combat the cravings for incredibly unhealthy food?  It's ridiculous!