Miles High

Well, what can I say? I am into the busiest part of my marathon training. Last Saturday, I ran from my house down to Jimmy’s on the beach in West Haven. It was a bright and sunny morning. My run was effortless until about the 15th mile, but got pretty tough after that. I found a couple dollars in my water belt and decided to stop at the Walgreens on York Street with 2 miles left. I grabbed a Propel and refilled my water belt, then ran back out onto the sidewalks of downtown New Haven. For the next couple miles, although I was tired and very hungry, I was so happy. As usual on my long runs, I stopped exactly on distance and walked the rest of the way home. This is actually a technique I learned from a Hal Higdon marathon book - after running a great distance, a short walk of a mile or less greatly improves your body’s ability to recover.

Monday was a wonderful day off, which I spent indoors because of my large schoolwork load. Oh, for those of you that don’t know yet, I am a full time student again. Yes, that means working full time, going to school full time and training for a marathon - don’t forget introducing a new dog to the house. Okay, so I am a little busy right now. But, I only chose to take on full time schooling this semester because it means I will graduate in the first week of May. I couldn’t deal with going to school for another summer - it was just too depressing for me this year. So, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The rest of the week, I found it very challenging to get up every morning. This is mainly because my body is having a tough time handling the high mileage of my training. I actually hit 47 miles this week and I am certainly feeling it - my legs are beyond exhausted and even my brain is screaming for a day of rest. To me 47 miles in one week is no longer pleasant. I do my best running about 4 miles per day and lifting weights three days per week. That allows me to fit in a couple Pilates classes and a couple Yoga classes. At this point in my training, weight lifting and Pilates are out and Yoga is only to maintain flexibility in my muscles. One of my friends, Emily, posted a comment on her Facebook wall a couple weeks ago about having reached 70 miles in one week - WAY TO GO, EM! You are incredible…Not sure how your body can handle it, but I am so proud of you.

I interject with an update on my corneal ulcer - I went to the eye doc on Friday and he is very pleased with my progress. The actual hole in my cornea has closed and the inflammation has subsided. I am well on my way back to normal vision, but as the doc says, I “dodged a bullet on this one.” I have to return to the doctor in three weeks when he says that we can discuss the “possibility” of wearing contacts again. Friday afternoon brought a very sad visit for me. A couple weeks ago, my Grandmother had a stroke and has been relocated to a nursing home in Kent for rehab. It was a long ride there on winding back roads, and the whole time all I could think of was how weary I was to see my Grandmother in such a poor state. When I arrived, a pleasant woman at the front desk offered to walk me to the memory ward, and a nice gentleman took me from the locked double doors to the common room where Gram was socializing with some other ladies. She was in good spirits and seemed happy to see me. I had brought my laptop to show her some pictures from Roxanne’s wedding. It was so sad to hear her say that she had no memories at all of being there even though I showed her the picture of her with Roxanne and Jason (which is also framed in her room). But, it was a nice visit and she was so excited to hear all about Sassy. Gram has always loved dogs, and she begged me to bring her down to meet Sassy once she’s out of the nursing home. I’m afraid the trip to Hamden will be too much for her, but I know Sassy will LOVE to ride in the car up to Torrington to meet her Great Grandmother.

I had a twenty mile run scheduled this Saturday. I woke up very early, since I had an extremely busy day. I took the dog for a quick walk, because if she sees me suit up for a run, she gets really jealous and starts to howl if she hasn’t had a walk. As soon as I returned, I gathered my goods and set out in the rain (just a misty sprinkle). The weather was actually perfect for a long run - cool and rainy. The only downside to weather like yesterday’s is that it’s very easy to get dehydrated since you don’t get physically hot. But, I know my body enough to stop every two miles in the early stage of the run, then transition to every 1.5 miles, then to every mile and for the last two miles, every half of a mile. I ran down Whitney Avenue not yet knowing what loop I would take. I decided to head up Dixwell, down into New Haven by Southern CT University and then down to Long Wharf before looping back to Downtown and heading home. Everything was going well, but I got a little adventurous and took a turn off of Whalley Avenue down some residential street. It was a beautiful neighborhood, but within ten minutes, I had no idea where I was. All I knew was that I was running and enjoying the new sites. You would think by now, I would know every inch of New Haven, but the beauty of it is that there is always something new to explore. I have never had a negative thought about moving to the New Haven district - I am close to everything and love the active lifestyle of this area.

I had such a fantastic run yesterday, including a stop at my now favorite Walgreens to fill up on 400 calories worth of PowerAde (I had more money in my water belt than the previous week.) Even though that PowerAde tasted SO good, there were a few downsides. The bottles on my fuel belt only held one of those bottles, so I was forced to carry the other bottle in my hands. Have you ever carried a thirty-ounce bottle of liquid for two miles after already having run 18? Probably not, but I’ll tell you now, it’s not pleasant. That thirty-ounce bottle feels more like thirty gallons. And, sixty ounces of PowerAde in a short period of time is a lot of sugar for your body to digest - just take my word for it, I was feeling it in my stomach all day.

As soon as I walked in the door from my run, Sassy was itching for a walk. All I wanted to do was sleep for the rest of the day, but I knew that wasn’t fair to Sassy, and I had big plans for the rest of the day, anyway. I took Sassy for her walk and then showered up before heading to Southbury for Jess’ baby shower. I am definitely NOT a fan of wedding or baby showers, but ever since Jess told us girls to save the date for her shower, I have been so excited. Maybe because Jess and her husband are such an awesome couple and I am so happy for them, or maybe just because I don’t get to see her often. Regardless, I was so anxious to get there and see Jess (I haven’t seen her in months). Katie and Michelle put together a perfect shower. I got to meet Jess and Steve’s families and see a few wonderful ladies that I hardly ever see (even though we work in the same building). Thanks for inviting me, Katie…I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. And Jess…Best of luck to you and Steve with the new addition. I can’t wait to meet him.

Following Jess’ shower, I rushed home to take the pooch out and then back out to Zahraina’s bachelorette party at the comedy club in New Haven. Driving past Yale was an eerie sight - there were police and security everywhere, including foot patrols, which I have never seen in the area. This all stems from the Yale student who went missing over a week ago. Such a scary situation - I certainly hope they find her.

I woke up this morning wanting so badly to go to my favorite Yoga class, but I knew that my legs couldn’t take it. I haven’t quite learned yet how to back off that much (overachiever), so I would probably go to class, push through the whole hour and then come home and not be able to move for three days. Instead, I took Sassy for a long walk and spent the rest of the day sitting in bed doing schoolwork. I finished around 2:00, and went for a pedicure and to do the grocery shopping. Of course, the day ended with a hike around the lake with Sassy. I was hoping to take her swimming again, but there were too many other dogs, and she’s still learning how to be friendly to others.

Tomorrow brings another week…Recovery week for me - THANK GOODNESS!!! Only five miles tomorrow. With any luck, I will be able to force myself out of bed in the morning for a pre-dawn run.

Good night, all - I will try to catch you up on my progress again soon, but I make no promises with my busy schedule. I thank all of you who read my blog and hope you come back for more!