Last week was pretty magical and amazing, but this week I felt like pile of poop for pretty much the entire week. We started off the week traveling back from south Texas, and while I felt pretty fatigued Sunday, I was hoping that was just from staying up later than usual on Saturday and that I’d have more energy Monday. Well, that didn’t exactly happen. The cumulative fatigue part of the Hansons Marathon Method is tough.
My Experience With This Cumulative Fatigue
Monday and Tuesday I felt tired, but ok. Tuesday evening we had our son’s first flag football practice, which he was really excited about, but again meant a slightly later evening. By Wednesday and Thursday, I was feeling more exhausted, and I sometimes have this weird response to fatigue where I have a harder time sleeping because I’m so overtired.
Work has been pretty intense, with a lot of conflicting priorities, requests, and timelines, plus we’re trying to get everything ready for our Thanksgiving travel. All that to say that even though this has been a lower mileage week, I have been feeling just so damn tired. I was still able to get in all of my workouts, but I can tell my body is looking forward to a little breather after my marathon in December.
This cumulative fatigue is real. It would be really easy for me to start to panic, and if I’m honest I did have some moments where I was pretty freaked out that I was getting sick or just falling apart. But I have to remind myself that I am DEEP into this training plan, and it is hard work for your body to rebuild what you have torn down during training.
That is what this plan is all about, and feeling crappy during down weeks means that my body is working even when I’m not. I don’t always feel good, and that’s just part of the deal with marathon training. Hopefully the rest and recovery will do its thing, and I’ll be back to feeling strong next week. Here’s to hoping for a boring, uneventful, and stress free (yea right) Thanksgiving!
One bright spot from this past week is that I finally registered for the BMW Dallas Marathon, so I guess I’m probably running the thing. I did a fun post on some ways that I have been able to creatively fund my marathon registrations. If that is something that would interest you definitely check out How To Reduce the Cost of Race Registration.
This Weeks Workouts
Total Miles: 53
Hansons Marathon Method, Week 14
How the Runs Felt
Woooo was this a rough running week for me. My easy runs weren’t too taxing, but they also weren’t as easy as I would have liked. I can tell my training is definitely in high gear when even my cut back weeks feel hard.
My strength run was fairly eventful; I hit all of my splits and was able to keep things on the rails for the most part. I was definitely happy about this, because I had some good nerves about this workout last week. This was the last “new” workout, so everything on the rest of the plan I know I can do, because I’ve already done it. That feels pretty nice.
Once again, the hard part of the week for me was the tempo run. I misread my watch and thought I was 6 miles in, when I was really 7 in. I normally take a gel at 6 miles, but because I misread, I didn’t take my gel until mile 7, and I was sort of past the point of catching up. It’s funny how specific you have to be in fueling during hard runs, delaying fueling even one mile can be all that it takes to completely blow up a run.
I hit my splits, but just barely, and it was a true mental and physical test. I spent the rest of the day Thursday feeling pretty crappy to be honest. I tried to take a nap during lunch, but couldn’t get comfortable, so I spent most of Thursday just not feeling great. Some days everything falls into place, but some days everything falls off the rails, that’s the way of the marathon.
Friday evening, I was feeling extra worn out and cranky. I was complaining to my husband about how tired I was, and how I was having a hard time sleeping, and he just looked at me and said, “Listen to your body, if you need to get extra rest, go to bed.” It was 5:30 pm. But the advice was golden.
So, I took a ZQuil, ate the earliest dinner I’ve ever had, and got in bed by 6:30. I was out by 7pm, and I finally got some good sleep. I woke up Saturday, and felt so much better. I kept my long run slow and steady, because I knew this next week was going to kick my butt, and I’d need every ounce of stored energy I could access. I felt strong the whole time, and I’d probably say that was the first run of the entire week that felt good.
It really just goes to show most things in life can be fixed with one of two things: snacks or sleeps. I’ve been feeling like the ligament in my pelvis has been cranky on and off, and I can tell the faster long pushes have been aggravating it, so I scheduled an appointment with my doctor the week after Thanksgiving. I’m not overly concerned, but if there’s something I can do to help before the marathon, I definitely want to. If you’d like a little more information on the ligament issue I’ve had on and off, you can catch up here and here.
What I’ve Been Listening To
I’m still listening to both A Murder in Oregon & Urge to Kill as they are coming out. I finished up Your Own Backyard, and really loved the story that was told. The murder investigation wasn’t solved (obviously), but I feel like the podcast did a really good job of painting a very clear picture of the situation.
Completely unrelated to my usual true crime podcasts, I’ve been listening to Don’t Keep Your Day Job, which is a podcast that focuses on helping creatives figure out how to monetize their passions, and I’ve found it super engaging. I also listened to an amazing episode on running form and actionable steps to improve it called “Avoiding the Toilette Bowl of Doom,” on the Trail Runner Nation podcast. 10/10 recommend this episode to ALL runners.
How the WODs felt
Just like the runs, my workouts this week felt hard and tiring. Most of them were cardio-focused, and I just wasn’t feeling it. On Friday, I volunteered at my son’s school for an hour, so I didn’t make my usual lunch time class. Instead, I did the workout during open gym, which normally means I half-ass the workout if I’m honest.
Fortunately, one of my favorite ladies was at the box around the same time, and we did the WOD together. I’m proud of myself for sticking with the rx weight, because 115lb cleans are fairly heavy for me, and I was already in a mood. In week’s where most everything feels like crap, I try to remind myself of the small wins, and getting through 22 115lb cleans is a win in my book.
What Went Well
I didn’t die, though I had a couple of close calls with some distracted drivers this week. But honestly, this week felt hard, and I don’t feel like very much went all that well. I hit my numbers, but I just felt pooped for most of the week. On the bright side, I am learning how to run while exhausted; cumulative fatigue has it’s benefits I suppose
I know this is to be expected at this point in a training plan that focuses on putting the runner into a state of fatigue, but it’s still hard. I just want to crawl into a cave and sleep for like seven days and emerge with two million dollars’ worth of snacks. I did do well with my nutrition and stretching this week, which is always something worth a pat on the back.
What Went Shitty
MY SLEEP HAS SUCKED. I’m not sure if I’ve been able to clearly communicate just how tired I am :). I’ve also felt pretty sore, especially in my upper body which is a little strange for a runner, but it is a thing.
Plans to Improve Next Week
You know, in reflecting on this week, I don’t really think there was too much I could have done differently. I went to bed early, I was eating appropriately, I made some time for the mindfulness stuff that usually helps my mood, but I just couldn’t shake the funk. I’m proud of myself for dialing back the paces on my easy runs, and still showing up for all of my running and CrossFit workouts.
I’m hoping that Friday nights snoozefest was enough to shift something into gear so that I’ll get some better rest next week. My plans for next week are to let go of this week and to be open to the possibility that I’ll feel stronger later, because I know I’m doing the work, so I just have to trust the process.
Great read! Listen to your husband, the man knows how to care of you. You’re amazing!
He has a good idea every now and again 😉