Once upon a time training for a marathon would be the center of my life. But it has transformed to being something I do in addition to my life. I believe this is a good change. I didn't make a post after my last marathon, The Boise River Run. But, we ran it and as one expected, it hurt! It was a great training run for our upcoming 50K in June. Sometimes it is nice to break up the monotony of running your usual routes at home and do a race instead.
Things I never expected to happen: I no longer fear the distance of 26.2 miles or 50 kilometers. I know I can finish it, speed has become less and less important to me the further I run. No matter what, these distances will challenge anyone, one way or another. April 22 was 2.5 weeks after my surgery and 2 days after I finished a round of antibiotics. Unfortunately, those things did have an impact on my race. I did everything exactly how I planned and how I wanted in terms of taper, nutrition, sleep, etc. but I didn't necessarily plan to need sinus surgery #3. I experienced an elevated heart rate after being under anesthesia and likely the antibiotics too (which also caused some GI discomfort). I just kept running remembering what I have learned during most races, the discomfort never lasts. I remember running by mile marker 8 and thinking, "Next time you're here, this pain will be gone." Then running back by that same sign at mile 18 laughing, it was not gone. The victory that day was perseverance.
Training:
I didn't lift 1 week before our marathon, and 1 week after. We are back to lifting, and adding a little speed work into our training. We have 2-3 more long runs before our vacation which is also our taper period for the 50K on June 24.
4 runs per week | 3-4 lifting* sessions per week | 4-5 yoga sessions per week (15-60 minutes)
*I will say that all the lower body strength training I have been forcing on us has paid off majorly! My legs hardly noticed that I ran a marathon the day after our race! #winning
Nutrition:
Right now I feel more proud of my nutrition than I ever have. It is fully centered around my output, aka I am eating a lot, consistently. I've told my clients before that if their calorie goal truly reflected their needs it would be easy to follow. And I am proving that true right now, I understand that I am not in a deficit which creates more challenges, but eating at your needs consistently is beneficial for someone who would like to move into a deficit. It helps to practice logging and establishes a baseline. My macros are (loosely) 260g carbs, 60g fat, 160g protein (2220 calories). I often eat below my goal by 100ish calories and on days I run farther (Sundays usually) I tend to go over.
All of that to say I am feeling more comfortable in my skin, and the scale is staying where I like it, it has even dropped a little in the last couple of weeks, indicating I have a pretty healthy metabolism!
That's all for now, happy running!
