Taken down by the Cold

Well, the Cold got the best of me.  :(

Last week was suppose to be my peak week with 55 total miles including a 22 mile long run.

However, as I stated in my last post, I came down with a cold right before a business trip.  Each minute it felt like I was getting worst and I had no time to rest and get better.  So to be somewhat alert in the meetings I used medication to fight the cold and rested as much as possible.  Which meant no runs during my travel.  The way I felt I don't think I could have ran if I wanted to.  I returned Thursday night and my body was beat.  I was basically home in bed on Friday and Sat.  Thus, 5 full days with no runs.  I started slowly recovering on Sat and did even set my alarm clock for the early wake up ring for the 22 mile Sunday long run.  But, after my night medication wore off, I woke up in the middle of the night and realized (based on my sore throat, congested nose and headache) that I would not be able to make the long run on Sunday.  I turned off my alarm and tried to sleep in to get better for the long haul.

I did go out Los Gatos Creek Trial where the group was running.  I felt bad for missing the run . . . I was really looking forward to it.  I was feeling a little better and thought I could try to run with people on there last miles back.  I also missed running.  I needed to get a run in.  I ran 1.5 miles to an aid station and quickly realized that I made the right decision.  I was ready for a long break after that 1.5 mile run.  There was no way I could make 22 miles.  It is amazing what a good cold/flu can do to you.

Long story short, I got in about 4 1/2 miles (spread over a few long breaks) and was able to run a little bit with my group.  My confidence is completely shot for the SF marathon.  But, I'm just going to try to enjoy the race.. . more on that below. 

The worst thing about getting sick was not messing up my peak week of training.  The worst part was that my daughter caught what I got.  That means a 103 fever for her and a few horrible days for her.  I felt horrible.  My heart still breaks thinking of her being sick.  I would take a month worth of being sick if it meant not having my daughter get sick.  I tried to be very careful with her, but I'm sure by the time I realized I was sick, I had passed on the illness to her.  She was sick immediately upon me leaving for my business trip.

She seems to be doing better now and I'm on the road to recovery.  I got in a good 5 miles Monday night.  I can still feel very congested, but I got the miles in.  I'm hoping to build my base back up this week so that I can have a decent long run on the weekend.

On another note - I flew to So. Cal. to see my grandmother today.  She is 91 years old and is not doing well.  I knew she was in poor health, but due to my cold I did not feel it was safe to see her on the weekend.  After talking to my sister Sunday night, I decided to take a flight to LA for the day and see her since no one is sure how long she has and did not want to wait too long.  My grandmother is really the only grandmother than I've known (my mom's mom).  She has always been a big part of my life.  Right now, she can barely move - she cannot get out of bed.

So instead of worrying so much about . . . time . .. for a marathon, I need to be thankful for just being able to get out there and run.  For the joy of it.  I've never ran the SF marathon before and I need to just cherish the opportunity.  One day, there might be be a time when I'm 91 years old and can't get out of bed.  Sure, I want to do well and meet whatever goals I place on my self with the marathon running.  But, really I need to make sure that I enjoy the experience and make the marathon meaningful regardless of the time that I cross the finish line.  So many people can't get out there (maybe as a result of age, disability or desire, etc) and run a marathon.

Here is a recent video of my healthy daughter riding a pony:

You have got to be kidding me?

My SF marathon training has been going well. I have had three weeks at 50 plus miles and 1 week at 40 miles in the last four weeks.  This week was my planned top week . . . 55 miles.  Then, taper.

The 19 mile run itself went well. It was very hot. Nearly 90 when we finished. As I stated too many times, I hate running in the heat. I was struggling at times, but watched my water better so I felt okay overall. I was trying to end strong, but one of the runners with us had dropped off. So far off that I could not see him. So with about two miles left in the run, I stopped and waited for him. I then ran back with him. With it being so hot, I did not want someone to be left by themselves if they were struggling. So I did not end the last two miles as fast as I would have liked to, but I had a good fast 7 mile hill run on Monday to make up for it.


On Monday, I decided to run out to the farm (where we keep our horse and pony) and back.  It is a good 800 to 1K feet climb uphill for 3.5 miles.  After the run, we then went swimming with cousins and had a BBQ.

I could tell that I was not feeling 100% and then as we got home at night I felt worse.  I tried to go to sleep, but kept waking up with a sore throat.  So somehow I now have a cold.  :(  I went to work on Tuesday but felt horrible so I went home early.  I have to cancel my Tuesday night run in hopes that a little rest will help.  Unfortunately, I have to wake up at 5am to fly out to DC for work on Wed. morning.  Before this cold, I planned to run Wed and Thursday in DC, but now I just want to somehow make it through this business trip and likely need to not run to rest (but I'm taking my running clothes).

Very disappointing, but I suppose it is better than getting sick on race day.

Also, Rachel from Eat, Write and Run has some pictures from our 19 mile run. I just found out recently that she has a blog.  It is a great blog and very exciting to know that I run with someone else that blogs.  Here is one picture she took after our run:

She has more on her blog.

June Summary

I took a look at my blog and noticed that I'm again very delayed in posting.  Work has been busy and my teaching position takes up an additional hour to two hours a day.  All my free time is used up with Brooklyn (now 18 months old) and with . . . running.

I'm still pushing along training for the SF marathon and trying to get faster.  This week will be my third 50 plus mile week (with also a 49 mile week).  To get the miles in, I've been having to run 6 days a week.  I normally only run 4 or 5 days a week so that has been a big change.  My legs feel it!  Or, maybe it is just running 50 miles plus a week.

My runs during the week consists of:  a tempo run (up to 11 miles so far), a speed workout, a hill run, and a long run.  The rest of the runs are "easy runs".

Overall everything has been going well.  I wish I was a bit faster on my long runs, but I tend to have heavy legs from the week's worth of running.  Only three real problems:

1.  On my 20 mile run on June 19th, it got very hot.  I am not good at all running in the heat.  So that last three miles sucked.  I just felt very lightheaded.  I ran out of water two times during the run (where I had to run about two miles before the next water stop).  I might need to bring additional water with me for these long runs or plan my water stops a lot better.

2.  On June 26th I had a 17 mile run.  I wanted to start easy and run harder the last 5 or 6 miles.  On the 25th was my B-day (now 41 years old) so I had two huge pieces of ice cream cake.  So, I was very worried about how my body would react.  Things were going great and just as planned.  However, with about 2 miles left my stomach said enough . . . and I had to stop to use the bathroom.  I mean . . . I had to stop for about one minute and then walk the bathroom.  After my pit stop, I finished the run, but it was a bit disappointing that I needed the pit stop.  But, what can you do.

3.  I did a speed workout this week . . . on the treadmill . . . in my five fingers.  This went well, until two huge blisters developed on the bottom of my foot.  I had to skip my Wed run because it was hard to "walk" around with the blisters.  I sucked it up and went for an easy run this morning.  I plan to run again tonight to make up for the off day and get the miles in.

So that is my training in a nutshell.  Now on to the best 18 month old in the world.  This month my wife had to travel for work twice.  Two weeks ago she was gone for 5 days and this week she was gone for 4 days.  That means on the weekend and before and after work on the weekdays, it is just me and Brooklyn.  Watching an 18 month old by yourself (for me) is very intimidating . . . but it is such a great experience.  I truly love caring for her and just spending time with her.  It does give me an appreciation of people that stay at home all day, every day, with their kids.  It is a lot of work.

Here is one recent picture of her (not sure why it came out sideways) and a video of her playing around: