The Morning After

So last night I did my usual 3.5 mile run.  The way the training is set up (and APLA has a whole training program that is designed to get you through the Marathon - it's quite excellent) is that you run twice a week on your own for 30-45 minutes and then do your longer runs on Saturday with your pace group (more about pace groups later).  I've been doing my solo runs at night this week.  However, I really need to get back to running in the mornings but since I got back from New York I've been finding it so hard to get up.  I think my body clock is rebelling.  Or I'm just a lazy ass - the jury's still out. 

On Saturday, our coach, Scott, talked about good foods to eat before running.  Peanut butter was one of the foods as was bananas.  So I figured - hey why not have a peanut butter and banana sandwich before running last night.  Big mistake.  I felt like a bloated sloth.  Or Karl Rove.  Either way - uncomfortable.  I managed to complete the run but even now I still have that not-so-fresh feeling in my tummy.  So, lesson learned. 

A note about pace groups.  On our first training day, we did a timed 3-mile run to determine our level of ability.  Then we were grouped with other people at the same level.  This is your pace group and you train with them for the entire training period.  Our group is supposed to average 13:30 a mile and we train at a 3:1 ratio, which means we run 3 minutes and then walk for one minute.  It sounds easy and for five miles it wasn't very challenging.  But that's the whole point -- to slowly build up endurance for the longer runs that we'll be doing.  They don't want us to be exhausted after the training runs but to still have energy left over.  And supposedly, we'll be very grateful for this ratio once they start introducing hills into the training runs.  After all, none of us are world-class runners - we're not going there to break any records - we want to finish the marathon and not get hurt in the process.   And to have fun at the same time.  But during my solo runs I don't walk at all and I generally average around 13:00 minutes/mile so part of me would like to see how far I can actually go without walking; however, the other part of me is saying "Dude*, you're fat and 50.  Don't get ahead of yourself."

* I address people as "Dude" a lot.  This is a clear sign that I have been in LA way too long.  Dude.

So I guess I'm grateful for the moderate 3:1 ratio right now as it will hopefully allow me to make it through the longer runs without collapsing.  I'm of two minds about actually running 26.2 miles - either I'll finish the marathon and feel an amazing sense of accomplishment or I'll die in Hawaii.  Pretty much a win-win either way.

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Till next time.

Bart