What's been going on in Two Oceans Marathon training land! I'm still feeling confident. My goals still include: running at least 40 miles a week; eating less processed foods and more raw foods; drinking less of the alcohol; and getting enough sleep (which means kicking the animals out of the bed). The first two weeks of January I was successful in getting 40 miles in. It wasn't easy, but I felt stronger than I have in a really long time. I even had a couple of runs up the Williamsburg Bridge (the bridges in NYC are our urban mountains) where I totally zoned out and didn't even realize I'd run uphill until I was heading down the other side. Brilliant!
I wasn't as successful in the third week. I felt kind of cranky and tired. It happens. On Saturday it snowed and I fell on the ice while fighting with Oscar over some delicious-looking garbage he found (because I wanted to keep him from eating it, not because I wanted to eat it). On Sunday I was so sore from falling down that I felt as though I'd been in a car accident. I even had what felt like whip lash. (Someone call whine-one-one, I need a whaaambulance.) Monday, I took ibuprofen and iced my back all day. Now I know what people are talking about when they talk about icing stuff. It really helped! I ended up taking three days off in a row, which meant I lost my Saturday long run and now I'm behind this week
In the meantime, I finished reading Ultramarathonman: Confessions of an All-Night Runner by Dean Karnazes. I will probably write more about this book. But for now let's just say that I really thought I would not like the guy. Maybe it was the title. Or maybe it was the whole "sexiest man in sports" award by Sports Illustrated (don't they know this award belongs to Johnny Depp?). Obviously he's not Scott Jurek, my favorite "ultramarathonman". But despite all these reasons to be put off by him, I found his story really interesting. This book is definitely not a book that you would read for insights into how to be a great runner; there are no details about what he wears, eats (other than the stories about stopping at gas stations or ordering pizzas mid run) or even how he trains. He jumps right to the big events that have shaped his now-running career. Also, there are no stories about other runners. While I'm writing this I'm starting to feel like he is an asshole. But wait! What I found interesting about him was his brief insights into why he runs. Even though he is obsessive compulsive about it, I could relate to his use of running as therapy (I even used to say, when I lived in the mountains, that running on the trails was my version of going to church). I could relate to the thought that the "runner doesn't need much" as I am a really low maintenance runner when it comes to gear (often I don't even wear socks). And mostly, I related to the feeling that if you can complete a long distance race you can do anything. After surviving the "meltdown/euphoria" cycle that comes with participating in a marathon, there is a period of time when I feel pretty much invincible, and when I feel I could also get the "sexiest man in sports" award (but only if I wanted it).
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