Thursday, October 27, 2011

Tell me to drink some water today

It's interesting (to me) to compare my attitudes to my first two marathons to my second two.


My first two marathons were Baltimore and Shamrock, and the entire week I was on a mission to hydrate, eat healthy foods, watch what kind of shoes I wore, ice my knees every day, sleep at least 8 hours a night, etc, etc.


I ran the Baltimore Marathon again two weeks ago, and now I'm running the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday, and my plan is - eh, just do whatever.


I developed a close relationship with cake vodka the week before my recent experience at the Baltimore Marathon, and stayed up late carb - loading two nights before (the night you are supposed to focus on sleep). Although, I'm not sure if staying up late carb - loading is a good thing or a bad thing. That could really go either way.


This week, I'm not doing anything particularly destructive (unless you hear of any open bar events, immediately email me in that case), but I'm just not really taking that whole "I'm running a marathon this weekend" thing seriously. I've been staying up way too late because it's just been one of those super busy stressful I-can't-sleep kind of weeks. 


I made up for it last night, however. After dinner (I would tell you what I ate but I posted it once before and got totally mocked for how disgusting everyone thought it was) Eric and I decided to catch up on Biggest Loser, since we are at least 3 episodes behind. We didn't even make it to the first challenge before I dozed off. When I came to, I told Eric to pause it and we'd just have to catch up later because I was going to bed. When he paused it, I saw the time. 7:58. WOW. I couldn't even make it until 8pm. 


So, actually, staying up late and then falling asleep on the couch super early = a balanced week of sleep, right?


I have taken the taper seriously, although that's partially because I don't really see how I could have fit in 8 mile runs anyway. Ok, I could have, but "tapering" provides a convenient excuse not to.


Tuesday night Lily and I went to Bikram. I felt great at first, and thought I was finally getting good at hot yoga, but then I immediately went downhill and wanted to cry, except I was already sweating out every single tiny droplet of moisture in my body. Surprisingly enough, this is not a particularly good way to hydrate. 


For some reason, I can't seem to bounce back, and both of my runs since have felt dehydrated. Bikram was Tuesday night and lasted until 8:30 am, so I wasn't surprised when my 6am run Wednesday morning felt terrible. I only did 3 miles though, so not enough to complain about.
Unrelated, I just also found this when I google-imaged "carb load"
This morning, Mike came over and ran five rainy miles with me. I was annoyed with myself for having a side stitch (obviously didn't hydrate enough yesterday) and feeling exhausted when we were running a nearly 10 minute mile pace. I always turn on the news while I'm stretching, so seeing that the humidity was 95% made me feel much better.


 As a teacher, I am faced with a choice: Do I want to hydrate and then cry because I have to pee so bad and I still have two more hours until I get a break, or do I not want to hydrate and then want to cry in the marathon? There's photographers and spectators at the marathon, so I guess I'll go with crying today.


Since I already have a time I love from Baltimore, in my mind, Marine Corps is a chance to train for the 50 miler while checking out some monuments. Win Win. I do realize I could come to very much regret this attitude come Sunday.

Do you take races less seriously the more you do (not just marathons, 5Ks, anything), or do you still get nervous and prepare properly?

14 comments:

  1. Have a great MCM this weekend! I seem to have a track record of enjoying and doing better at races that are more of an afterthought and I just show up in the morning feeling like I really probably shouldn't even be there!

    ReplyDelete
  2. After the marathon and marathon training, it's really hard to take 5ks seriously as far as training and preparing.

    Do you have sanctioned bathroom breaks at school? I don't think I ever thought of my teachers going to the bathroom. I just assumed they were robots.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wait, I thought we were lining up with the 3:30 pace group? My husband told me that we should try it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I always wondered about teachers and going to the bathroom. I feel for you!
    I obsess about races but never seem to adequately prepare, so I'm racing around the night before eating carbs and packing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_-RDyxaJ1E&feature=player_embedded

    (I meant to post this here. Duh)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I hope I start to get less nervous, the more races I do. I still get nervous the hours before training runs!

    Oh I'd never make it as a teacher for the lack of bathroom breaks alone. If you saw how many times I pee during a normal day, you'd probably think something was wrong with me.

    ReplyDelete
  7. PLEASE tell me what you had for dinner! I am dying to know!

    I don't worry about half marathons at all, and I'm working on not making a big deal out of marathons.

    ReplyDelete
  8. marathons never get easier for me. the nerves are still there and i doubt they'll every go away, until i do a marathon for fun (definitely on my must-do list)!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. That cartoon is just awesome! Mad Keebler elves just crack me up......not that I wasn't totally scared of elves when I was a kid thanks to my kingergarten teacher. As time goes on, I am less nervous for races then the first time I did anything. I assume I'll be a freak when I do my first full. Ugh, I am guessing it'll be like the week before my wedding - not pretty! Good luck with MCM Sunday!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I work in Rosslyn and I've been seeing them set-up for the MCM this weekend. The port-o-potties are in full force! Between you and Kara, I'm thinking I might want to try the MCM in the future (however distant it may be)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think you will be fine! Using this as a training run for the 50 is a good idea. Drink some water. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I totally leave my students to go pee. If I didn't, I'd have to wear depends or something because getting breaks is not something that happens often!

    About races - I find myself hydrating like made in the upcoming week no matter what the distance is & I still find myself getting nervous in the few days prior to the race. I don't know if that will ever change!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Have a great race this weekend!

    I'm pretty lax about everything when I don't have anything riding on the race, like a PR attempt or a new distance. If neither of those things are on the table, then I'm just not worried about it. Running should be fun, right?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Only ultramarathoners can't take a marathon seriously. You and Kara crack me up (but in the good lord, these people are totally out of their minds way). Somehow I have a feeling your two are going to rock it today even if you skipped your cake vodka pregaming. Also, it is only a matter of time before she talks you in to a 100 miler.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting! Comments make me probably more happy than they should.