January 26th: Everything’s All Screwy

I think the real key to marathon training -- especially for a spring marathon -- is flexibility in your training plan. Life already throws enough obstacles at us; add in the weather, especially this winter, and it’s way, way, way too easy to get thrown off your game.

So for me, this is that stretch of time. As I mentioned in my last two entries, the mid-week snowstorm caused me to miss my first scheduled workout since I started the training in earnest. But some other variables have come up, too. On Friday, I thought I felt a little sniffle coming on. And today (Sunday), I’m headed into work for Grammys coverage. The next two Saturdays, I’ll be teaching my editing class at Rutgers. (Click the link if you’re interested in that, or my Basic Grammar Review class.)

Meanwhile, Friday I worked a half-day because I’ll be in the office past midnight tonight. I was worried that the little sniffle was fixing to become a full-fledged cold, and I didn’t want to miss my long run -- especially after having to cancel my mid-week “kinda long” on Wednesday. So I headed to Planet Fitness for a couple hours.

There is really nothing worse than a long run on a treadmill. Lots of people call it the “dreadmill,” and that does seem apt. And I probably really wasn’t at 100 percent. My plan was to go for at least 11 miles, preferably 12 -- or maybe just do 2 full hours. I’d say by mile 8, I was an unhappy camper. And by mile 10, I was definitely dipping into the reserve tank -- even though I was keeping my pace at 9:40, with periodic intervals of 9:22. I guess that pushing myself a little bit past the “I don’t wanna” stage is really the goal of the long run. If that’s the case, mission accomplished. I made it to 12 miles, but I was sure I was about to bonk. Even though I was only about 5 minutes away from 2 hours, there was just no effin’ way. When it was all done, 1:55:20, or a 9:36 pace. That’s :25 off from goal race pace, so I think I was OK there.

You know what my reward for that effort was? Check the title of the blog.

Contrast that dreadmill run, which was just grueling, to the 10 miler I did in Long Branch a couple of weeks ago. I did the 10 at a faster clip and felt much better when it was over. It’s just easier to train outdoors. But this winter has simply been a bear, and I refuse to run in a coat. I CANNOT WAIT for some reasonable temperatures in March. If I can do even a third of my runs outdoors, I’ll be so much happier.

Saturday, instead of Sunday, wound up being cross-training day. Jackie and I headed to WOW; she did 3.25 on the treadmill at 1 percent incline -- and finished in her usual zero-incline time. I can definitely see her improving, especially in her stride. When I mention that to her, she just shrugs her shoulders as if she wasn’t really trying to do anything new or different, but it’s pretty obvious. I don’t think she’ll ever really catch the running bug, but I’ll bet she’ll be up to 5 miles pretty soon.

For me, it was strength day, with a lot of core focus, and a bit on arms. My goals there, aside from the obvious, are to do enough work quickly enough to get into the aerobic zone, and to give my legs essentially an extra rest day. Check and check.

So now I need to map out the next two weeks. Today is a rest day because of Grammys coverage, plus it’s day two after a long. Tomorrow, I’m unlikely to be getting up at 5:30, since I won’t be in bed until after 2:00. So I think the thing to do is Tues-Weds-Thurs runs, as usual, and then just flip cross and longs on the weekend. If the weather works out on 2/9, I’ll be doing another outdoor run in Long Branch with the marathon crew. That was a lot of fun last time, so here’s hoping for temperatures above 30.

Miles since starting the blog: 276.8