Back from the dead

is how I feel today.
Still some fatigue in the legs, yes. But I have come to live with that by now :)
But my body, my energy levels, and my spirits are feeling a bajillion times better today.

Last week was a brutal week for me: I was just feeling fatigued beyond repair, weak, unmotivated, and just generally off. And after reading Frayed Laces and Yasi from NJ Training write about overtraining, I knew I had reached beyond my threshold as well. With the LA marathon less than a month away, I knew I didn't want to risk the "big prize" by "having" to squeeze in that one lifting session or whatever. As the saying goes; I'm looking at the forest and not the trees. (image source)

So I took it easy. Just some walking to enjoy the fresh air. And ate some good quality nutrition, not like the Apple Fritter junk that I love so much and eat so much of. Spinach, brown rice, polenta, chicken, and some really yummy bread. And got a lot of sleep. Bingo. Winner winner chicken dinner.
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Saturday's run was a "recovery run" of 13-14 miles. It sounded really easy in theory, and I wasn't worried about it at all.... except for the fact that I was just so DARNED tired! But reminding myself it was all over in a mere two hours was pretty good motivation to git er done.

It was a clear and gorgeous day, temps in the mid 60s, lots of smiling people out exercising.... and WINDY. Holy crap.

Miles 0-0.5: All downhill. Best way ever to start off a run. But oh shiza! My right pififormis hurts! Dang pinched nerve! I thought I was done with you!
Mile 0.5-1: More downhill, but less steep. No more ass pain. Phew.
Mile 1-4.5: All good. Energy levels still at full tank. Wind is on our back. No wonder the run feels "easy". Shoes are feeling good!
Mile 4.5: turn around point. Take a quick break so James can eat his Carb Boom! He had the Vanilla Orange Flavor and he really enjoyed it. I've had this flavor before too, and again, I have to say, Carb Boom! has made me an energy gel convert. Not only is the flavor far superior to Gu's, the texture is a million time better, imo. Gu has these tiny little gritty bits that remain in my mouth. This creeps me out. I mean... it's a gel. WTF are gritty things doing in my gel? I mean, the whole definition of a gel is that it's a soft solid/liquid. No grits in my gel please! :) Vanilla Orange tastes like an orange creamsicle btw. Yummmm.
Miles 4.5-6.5: Holy Moly Wind! WIND! And now it's not pushing me forward! I try to draft behind James as much as possible (he's 6'4 and makes for a pretty good wind blocker), but oh dang the wind. The funny thing is, I was so pissed off at the wind that my pace was actually faster. Anger=speed.
Mile 6.5: OMG I am sooooo tired. 6.5 miles usually means nothing to me, but I was just so dang tired. I could tell, cause my heart was pounding like I just sprinted or something. I actually had to take a break and actually sit down. Shit. What weak sauce, right? I decided I needed some nutrition. I take half of my Carb Boom! Strawberry Kiwi gel. Yummmmmmmmmm. Just what I needed. Washed it down with my Gatorade Fruit Punch/Coconut water mixture. (Trust me, it tastes better than it sounds)
Mile 6.5-8.5: Wind wind wind wind wind. Eff.
Mile 8.5: I have to stop again. Eff. Take the other half of my Carb Boom! gel. Yummmm
Mile 8.5-11.5: Ahhh. Going with the wind again. Much better. Pace picks up a little. However, left ankle is starting to hurt. WTF. Roll it out. Roll it out.
Mile 11.5 -13: Oh shit. ITB pain in both knees. Piriformis pain in the right, and ankle pain in the left. Experience one shooting pain. Oh shit. This is exactly what happened at this point in my last marathon training cycle. shit shit shit. Slow down the pace. eff. Pain goes away. Look down at Garmin. Oh shit. Hadn't slowed down the pace at all. Well, that's cool I guess. I was going fast even though I thought I was going slow. I'll take it :)
Mile 13-13.5: Second wind. WTF. A little late for that don't you think? All of a sudden feel like I can go forever! But decide against it and stop. aaaaaaaaaand another one bites the dust.

It was a pretty pathetic run cause I had to stop so many times. I seriously felt like I was running on empty the entire time, even though I had eaten a breakfast worthy of a 20 miler. My body was just screaming at me to take a break. A real break. I decided then that I would have to make Sunday a rest day. Which was actually perfect, cause I was busy all day on Sun and wouldn't have had time to exercise anyway.
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So now with three "recovery" days last week, I am feeling much better. And with a 22 miler coming up this weekend, and the marathon in less than a month, I am going to try to take it a wee bit easier than I usually do. "Taking it easy" on my workouts is a lot harder for me than it sounds, because usually the adrenaline kicks in, and I go at an 80-100% effort most days. Sometimes multiple times a day. So STOP! Rest is good. Rest is necessary. Rest is my friend.
Repeat with me my friends: Rest is not the enemy :)

So I hope you all have a lovely week ahead!

I hope to debut a "new look" I acquired last week.... not to keep you anxious and waiting or anything! :)

Adios my friends!