The MAJathon was a marathon over 24-36 hours. The first day was a run to and around a 15k race, the 15k race itself, then a run around the race again and home. The second day was a super-easy 9- or 10-mile run.
My plan was to post live videos and photos from the weekend shenanigans. But my technology failed me this weekend. I took all kinds of videos and photos and had plans to take more of the MAJathon, and my loaner phone died, so I am now back to an even older loaner phone.
Here's the Instagram video from the start of the 5k before my phone bit it:
This was an event a year in the making. Last year when I was training for El Cinco, The Coach had suggested a lot of more advanced things since I've now been marathon-ing for 6 years and always trained very conservatively. One of those was to run a 16-mile run SUPER EASY one day and a 9-mile tempo run the next day. Unfortunately, I had my first "real" injury; luckily, the stress fracture was small enough to keep training with, partly because the ortho felt it was already healing. But, between that small roadblock and coming down with one of my infamous upper respiratory infections, I could not complete some of the more advanced training (double runs a day, two hard workouts back to back, marathons over two days. etc.)
Well, this year, despite lots of vertigo and hypothyroid spells, I've had (knock on wood) a relatively uneventful, un-injured training season so far. The double runs have been going on every other week for a while now (and continue biweekly until 3 weeks before NYC).
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| Start of the 15k (I was almost at mile 4 by this time) |
Friday arrived and I had a horrible hypothyroid spell before packet pickup. This is where my body freaks the f*&! out, thinks I still have no thryoid despite having a high dose of synthetic hormone, and I feel so tired I could fall asleep standing up. The kind of tired where you might vomit from exhaustion. It's often hard to tell whether it is my inner ear messing with me or it is my thyroid (or lack thereof), because sometimes the dizziness comes along with it, too. (I actually have almost fallen asleep standing up when this happens.)
But I pulled myself together Saturday and ran the 15k, where I hold my 15k PR. I did not PR; I was 2 minutes slower than last year. And I have to say, as my first race with headphones, I feel like I push myself harder without them. The only thing I regret is that I held back a little more than I normally would, knowing I would have to run home 4 miles after the race.
During the race, my phone died, and I couldn't post any more videos or pics. I didn't even have music to keep me going through my solo 10-miler on Sunday. But I also completed that race, and was finally able today (Tuesday) to get a little extra sleep to catch me up on my hypo spell.
And the best part? I ran the 26.28 miles in 20 minutes less than my marathon PR, in hotter weather, and I feel like I ran maybe 10 miles, not 26.28.
I am looking forward to this stepback week, however. And I only have 2 more weeks of weight training until I drop weights. So there's a real taper around the corner: less training of all kinds, not just running.
Last week I ran 42+ miles. That, being a very conservative trainer and also a very SLOW trainer, is a new high for me. Going back to my previous post about Dr. Jack Daniels, my plans for the last 3 years have gone by total time on the road, not mileage. That means faster runners can get in 50-80, or even close to 100, miles a week; but us slower runners may only get in 20-40. 42 may not be a lot of weekly miles for most people, but for me it's almost a mythical achievement. To complete that feeling wonderful (aside from hypo-ness and vertigo)? Even better.
Here's to more new highs, less failed technology, and the impending taper!
1 tidbits of wizdom:
42 miles, that's pretty awesome!!! I don't think I've ever run that much :)
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