Chasing the dream - 4 weeks till Boston - "Run with caution"

The countdown continues.  Today marks four weeks until the 115th Boston Marathon - four weeks until I will be running one of the most prestigious marathons in the world.  Four weeks is a psychologically significant point in the training schedule for me.  It means my preparation time is now mere weeks instead of months, and only two of those four weeks can be used for building on strength and speed before the taper begins.  Runners are tempted to push hard to include challenging workouts into the final weeks before the taper, which prompts a reminder to add another very important, and often overlooked, element to the training schedule: caution.

Curb your enthusiasm!

It's easy to get swept up in the excitement (and anxiety) of race preparations.  We stress over whether we're doing enough to be ready for the big day, and we forget to think about whether we're doing too much.  As the weeks dwindle away, the need to BE CAREFUL becomes more and more important.  Why?  Because as the days remaining until race day diminish, so too does the window of time available to heal an injury.  Many injuries that involve torn muscles can take 6 to 8 weeks of rest to recover; and injuries that involve a stress fractured bone can take 8 to 12 weeks of rest - sometimes more.

Experienced runners will tell you that ramping up distance too aggressively is a dangerous thing to do, and can result in an injury. I was well aware of the risk associated with adding distance too quickly, however, I didn't make the  connection between "distance" and "elevation" (hills), and how increasing elevation too aggressively can have an equally damaging outcome as increasing distance too aggressively.  I learned that today.

I've been experiencing some pain in my groin over the last few weeks.  I thought nothing of it, assuming that this was just another "training pain" stemming from muscle fatigue.  On Friday, the groin pain worsened during my evening run, and I sensed that the pain could be more than simple muscle fatigue.

I went to my physiotherapist this morning to have the groin pain assessed.  As my physiotherapist tested my adductors and abductors for strength and pain, I explained my recent training regiment with her.  Her assessment is what she called a "pre-fracture" in my pelvis.  A "pre-fracture" is her way of describing what happens to the bone before it actually fractures.  It seems the increase in downhill running, which is very high impact running, has stressed my pelvis and left it in a more delicate state.

Luckily I seem to have caught the problem before it progressed into a full blown injury, but it has certainly planted a fear in my heart.  My lesson this week: moderation is important for ALL aspects of your training.  From distance to hills to weights: it's imperative to give the body time to ramp-up.  Training too little should not worry runners as much as training too much.  You can always make it to the start line under-prepared, but you likely won't even see the start line if you over-prepare and end up with an injury.

Chasing the dream - 5 weeks till Boston

When I opened my blog today to see that my last Boston Marathon post was three weeks ago, my first reaction was, "did I lose a post somewhere in cyberspace?".  Then I yawned....and that explained what happened to my last post: it got sucked into the same vortex that the rest of my life gets sucked into when I'm clocking big miles.

Dealing with training related fatigue

Wow, I can't believe it's now five weeks until the Boston Marathon.  The only thing that makes it completely believable is the feeling that seems to hang over my head almost every day - like a dark cloud with a really bright silver lining.  The side effect of a 6-day per week training schedule is fatigue, and the side effects of fatigue are anxiety and doubt.  If I hadn't been through the entire marathon training cycle before, then I would likely be wanting off the marathon train right about now.

If you are currently (or planning to) train for a marathon, don't be surprised if anxiety and doubt creep up on your shortly after fatigue settles in.  This is where a sense of discipline trumps one's love for running as the foundation of marathon success.  Two of my five runs last week were only completed (and started) because I talked myself out of the desire to chill in my PJ's instead of lacing up my running shoes. 

As I mentioned before: if I wasn't familiar with this process, I might be feeling hopeless right now; but I know that the fatigue is normal - not only because the same thing happened to me last year when I was running high mileage, but also because I've heard and read similar stories from other distance runners.  As I slogged through the 30 km hilly distance on Sunday, I searched my mind and soul for anything that could inspire me to keep going in spite of the deep spiritual and emotional fatigue I was feeling.  Fending off negative thoughts is an important key to finishing and *enjoying* long runs.  If you can master your mind, you can master distances that you never believed you were capable of. 

As I sifted through the usual motivational thoughts, I finally stumbled upon the one thought that has resurrected me from more than one tough spot over the last year.  The magic motivator was not to think about a sports hero or a reward that I would enjoy when I finally got through the challenging moment.  It was faith.  You don't have to be religious to benefit from the feeling of faith - I certainly am not.  The faith that fueled me was a faith in the plan - faith that if I stuck to my training and put in the work, then my dedication and faith would be rewarded with a great marathon day. 

Have faith in your plan

Training my first marathon taught me more about running than the previous three years of training for shorter distances all put together.  Shorter distances were not "scary" enough to frighten me into a solid training regime.  Most of the time I simply ran according to how I felt.  If I felt like running a long distance, then I did.  If I felt like running fast, then I did.  I wasn't running poorly, but then I wasn't excelling either. 

When I trained for my first marathon, I followed a very strategic plan.  I learned words like "tempo", "fartlek" and "LSD" (long slow distance).  I learned about "negative splits" and that going slow was as important as going fast.  I pushed hard - so hard that on the day of my final long run before beginning my taper, I succumbed to the fatigue and welled up in tears part way through the rainy 33km distance.  The combination of fatigue and worry over the marathon just two short weeks away resulted in a mid-run breakdown.

I managed to stop crying long enough to get myself home, but the waterworks resumed shortly after I walked through my door.  I felt so burnt out, and I couldn't figure out how I was going to run a marathon feeling the way I did.  The next two weeks were tough - but for different reasons.  I worried about tapering.  I worried about losing the strength and speed I had worked so hard to develop during the months prior to the taper.  I fought the desire to keep running long distances and focused on resting my body - hoping that the marathon success formula would work for me. 

When marathon day came around, I made it to the start line with nothing but my four months of training under my belt, and the faith that it was all going to come together in a successful race.  And come together it did.  As the miles and minutes passed, I was surprised at how strong I felt.  When I crossed the half marathon mark, I felt fantastic.  Then I crossed the 30 km mark - still feeling fantastic.  I decided to throw caution to the wind and I ran faster than I had planned.  Mile after mile, I amazed myself, and I crossed the finish line feeling tired but not broken.  My first marathon was everything I dreamed it would be.

Strategy for success

Spring is here, and many runners are preparing for the plethora of races that fill the fair weather months.  If you're working towards a distance you've never run before - perhaps your pursuing your first marathon - my message to you is: make a plan and have faith in it.  Do your research on tried and tested training plans and follow them knowing that you will get OUT of running exactly what you put IN to running.  Do the work, respect your taper, and believe that sticking to your plan through all of the highs and lows, will pay off in a great race.

Get the iron in to get the lead out!

Fatigue has been an ongoing challenge during my training journey.  I've been ramping up my total weekly kilometers more agressively than recommended, and it has left me feeling like the tank is low more days than not. 

I am lucky to have the world's greatest physiotherapist helping me in my training journey.  She is a sub-3:00 marathoner, and brings more to the table than the average physiotherapist.  She knows running...and knows runners.  I see her once ever week or two so that she can work on my problematic Illiotibial Band .  As I lay on the physio table - writhing in the most pain I expect I'll ever experience outside of childbirth - I tell her about my running concerns.

When I told my PT about my fatigue, she provided two pieces of advice.  The first was to put my current state of affairs into perspective.  I'm running more and that means my body is going to need more sleep.  The second was to have my feratin levels checked as the endurance athlete's body will use more iron than a sedentary person, and my daily iron supplement may not be doing it for me. 

Sometimes I forget that the heavy mileage takes a heavy toll on my body.  As I increase the miles, my body becomes a veritable "sponge" - soaking up more and more energy and nutrition, and leaving me with energy and nutritional deficits.  These deficits can leave a runner in an emotional and physical lurch resulting in low moods and injuries that can plague both personal and professional life.  The key is to figure out how to fine tune one's sleep and nutrition to suit the stage of training the runner is in.

Wednesday was "hill play" day for me.  I had 200 meter hill sprints on deck, and I knew after the very first hill sprint that my iron levels were in need of a boost.  When I got home from a disasterous set of hill sprints, I immediately took a second dose of iron.  That night I had one of the most restless sleeps ever in recent months.  The extra iron gave me restless legs and a busy mind which barely let me sink into REM sleep for more than a few hours. 

The good news is: my 15 km run the next day was fabulous!!  I felt like I was flying and finished the run strong and happy.

The lesson I learned: yes, my single iron supplement may not always be doing it for me.  Getting iron in will definitely help runners get the lead out and pull off more powerful runs. Female runners especially need to be cognisent of how their feeling - fatigue could be more than just a lack of pillow time.  However, doubling your iron intake may not be a smart strategy.  Doubling my iron intake put me into an iron surplus that impacted my sleep.  I plan to purchase an iron supplement that's less potent than my usual iron supplement so that I can increase my iron in smaller increments - allowing me to achieve that "fine tuning" required for optimal performance.

Chasing the dream - 8 weeks till Boston

The day I qualified for Boston

Nearly a year ago, I achieved two big goals: one being the completion of my first marathon, and the second being the dream and goal of so many runners: to qualify for the Boston Marathon. 

Any endurance athlete will tell you that your greatest ally and most dangerous enemy is your own mind.  The key to running long is a combination of a strong body, a focused mind and a burning desire to want to achieve the goal - a desire that must burn brighter than the fear and pain that comes with pushing your body further and further...and further.  I don't think I've ever wanted anything more in my life than to run the Boston Marathon.  Boston is the fire that burns brighter than all of my doubts and struggles to balance my professional life, my personal life and my running life. 

Long run days happen once a week, and they can be a real emotional roller coaster ride.  I've been struggling with Iliotibial Band Syndrome since September of last year, and the persistence of tendon pain resulted in a delayed start to my marathon training for Boston.  If it weren't for Boston, I likely wouldn't have started increasing distance at all as pushing a stressed IT Band is a dangerous game.  If a runner pushes a strained IT band too hard, the risk could result in the runner being plunged right back into the depths of IT Band Syndrome once again with weeks more rest and no long runs for weeks - even months.  For the last seven weeks, I've pushed my body hard to make up for lost time, and to get back on track to completing a strong marathon in Boston.  It's been a tough time - full or physical pain and mental struggle. 

Today brings me to the "8 week to go" mark in my training.  8 weeks to go means 6 more weeks of heavy training and then the even MORE emotional roller coaster that comes with the two week taper.  I had a really strong run today that left me feeling more positive than ever about my Boston Marathon.  However, the exertion of laying down a great training run has left me emotionally spent - as it often does. 

If only it were as easy to apply the dedication and discipline I have for running to other parts of my life.  Some people see running as a hard thing to do....I see it as the easiest part of my week.  For that, I feel both happy and sad.  Regardless, I'll keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep chasing the dream.