One of Those Days

I’ve been asked by many people training for their first marathon a lot of questions. A very common one is “Why is it that I can have some days that I feel great for 15 miles and other days when I am just struggling to get through 4?”. My typical response is that maybe you were not recovered from your last run, didn’t eat right, didn’t get enough sleep, under hydrated, or just mentally exhausted. It happens to all of us at one time or another. So to Double-D I’ll say again “It happens to all of us” and today was my day.

I ducked work early a couple hours to get the 8-mile run I mentioned yesterday. It was going to be 2 loops at the Highbanks wooded trail. We’ve got a dusting of snow and it is about 32 degrees. Perfect day for an hour easy run through the woods. I quickly changed clothes in the back of the car, like all of us runners know how to do (discretely and quickly). Although I would not recommend the “car change” outside of a school, a grown man naked outside of a school usually brings some unwarranted attention from the law. I felt good but had a GU since I hadn’t eaten an appropriate lunch. I figured the machine may need the fuel.

You can probably guess what happened. I was cruising for about 10 minutes and then I was just sluggish. Now in April or May, I tough this out but it’s January 9th so I said screw it. I slowed to a walk for a bit and then decided to cut the first loop short. I probably ran a total of 3 miles with ½ of it walking. During my waltz in the woods, I go into diagnosis mode and start thinking of what could be wrong. I wasn’t hung-over and I had plenty of water. I’ve had 2 rest days this week so it’s not as if the legs are stressed or anything. I’m going to blame this on nutrition. I’ve been worried about my escalating weight and skimped on dinner last night and breakfast this morning. I’ve really been trying to watch the calories this week. I also had a bit of a swim workout this morning that had lots of kick drills and I put in a decent effort at spinning last night. I think I just needed more fuel for the engine. At least that is what I’m hoping. We’ll see tomorrow as the 3 Stooges and I try to cover 18 miles…

By the way, quick props for my buddy Nemo and his earth shattering 3:38 at a 21-mile trail run last week. Not sure I would broadcast a 10:22 pace but he says it was very hilly. Um…right.

One last thing, my buddy Feebs is in taper mode for the Rock-n-Roll marathon in AZ on the 18th. Try to relax buddy, but don’t dry up. Keep some hard tempo and at least 10 this weekend. I’m sending good vibes your way. You deserve a good result.

Stats
3 miles (no timing, failed to complete planned run, loser)
163.5 lbs