Quite Continental

Goal last week: 27 miles (5 miles, 19 miles, 3 miles)

Actual mileage: 12 miles (8 miles, 4 miles)

Goal this week: 27 miles (5 miles, 19 miles, 3 miles)

I feel a little uneven in my training — I’m up and then I’m down, I’m focused and into it and then I’m bored and frustrated — but this last lag wasn’t the fault of my own motivation or lack thereof.  Instead, I got sick!  I don’t frequently get sick, but there was/is a nasty bug that went around my office and took out my entire team.  The kind of sickness that completely zapped my energy and gave me a horrible cough.  The kind of sick where I spent the better part of a day zombie walking around my apartment and mainlining orange juice.

On Saturday I set out on my long run and I decided to just do as much as my body was willing to do.  I felt great until about mile six…and then my body said no more.  It kind of snuck up on me so it was tough getting back home.  I had to stop a few times to rest and needed extra water throughout.  So aside from feeling kind of scummy because of being sick, I end up feeling scummy because now I feel kinda like a slacker too.  But I guess that it could be worse.  I could have not done anything at all…

This week I focused on getting better and taking it easy so that I would not lose too much training time due to being sick.  Lots of water, lots of sleep, a little cold medicine and orange juice!  I am glad to say that I am almost back to feeling 100% and I am looking forward to my long run on Saturday — I’m going to try to go right back up to 19 miles.

Tip #8: Going Dry

Drinking alcohol, while socially fun and awesome and whatnot, can wreak havoc on a run (especially if you try to run while drinking, which I definitely don’t recommend).  As I increase my mileage, I avoid drinking the night before.  I’ve learned the hard way how much alcohol dehydrates you and contributes to and increased feeling of sluggishness.  And it’s kind of embarrassing in the gym when you will stink of the gin and tonics you drank last night.

I can have a glass of wine with my Friday dinner, but anything more than that will just make me feel like crap the next day.   If I have a race coming up I get a little bit stricter.  In the past, I have gone dry for the entire month before my half marathons, and that worked well for me, so I will do that again.  Only four more weeks to drink myself silly!

Tagged: Health, Running