Half marathon training – Week 4 – General stress

25/02	-	Rest day
26/02	5.5 miles	Easy run: avg 153 bpm, 11:43 min/mile
27/02	6.0 miles	Tempo run: 4 miles @ 8:48/8:24/8:13/8:08 min
28/02	5.5 miles	Easy run: avg 156 bpm, 11:31 min/mile
29/02	-	Rest day
01/03	12.0 miles	Long run: avg 157 bpm, 12:13 min/mile
02/03	4.0 miles	Easy run: avg 154 bpm, 12:17 min/mile
Total	33.0 miles	YTD: 240.4 miles

I’m pretty disappointed with the way my runs went this weekend. I’m going to blame stress and fatigue and move on. But first I need to write this stuff down. It’s a bit of a vent and a bit an excuse but here it is.

Next Wednesday I am doing my “General Exam.” The exam is a one hour presentation on my research to date and plans for the rest of my dissertation then an hour or so of fielding questions from my committee. The goal is to convince my committee that eventual dissertation is sufficient to earn me a PhD. I’ve been preparing for this all quarter. It hasn’t been nearly as stressful as preparing for my qualifying exams and I haven’t been feeling the stress acutely but I have a feeling that operating at a constant low grade stress level isn’t good for me. On top of that I seem to have developed seasonal allergies and I’ve spent the past week sneezing and trying very hard to stop rubbing my eyes. I actually went to the doctor on Thursday because I was afraid there might have been something more serious going on with my eye. I’ve been taking Claritin for the past couple of days and that’s making things much better. Oh and I only got about 6 hours of sleep on Wednesday night (for no good reason other than I was watching Pride & Prejudice with my girlfriends) and with the running and the stress that’s just not sufficient. I was in bed by 9:30 pm for the next three nights but it’s hard to catch up on lost sleep. So all in all these aren’t exactly ideal training conditions.

Now on to Saturday’s long run. I got about 8.5 hours of sleep on Friday night, had a good pre-run breakfast and felt pretty good heading out the door. Unfortunately even during the first mile I was having trouble keeping my heart rate at under 155. That was pretty much the way it went for the first 10 miles. I was feeling OK but I could never get into a groove because I kept having he slow down to keep my heart rate under control. Oh and I got passed by a walker. Twice. OK they were speed walkers and they were really huffing it but that’s not great for one’s ego. My legs really starting feeling fatigued during the last two miles. They were just sore (no sharp pain) and tired but it wasn’t much fun. I suppose I shouldn’t think that a 12 miler would be easy but I’ll admit I was disappointed with how it went. Still I got the mileage in the bank and I suppose the only way my legs are going to get stronger is to challenge them (and then give them plenty of time to recover).

Sunday’s recovery run was slightly less disappointing because it was shorter and as a recovery run I feel it’s easier to accept a really slow pace. Still I didn’t feel great out there. Two back to back runs slower that 12 min/mile is kind of hard to take.

I know this sounds crazy but I think in some ways it’s harder to run slow than it is to run fast. I have to take more steps per mile and I’m on my feet for a longer time. Saturday’s run lasted almost 2.5 hours. Last year I would have done this run in about 2 hours (albeit at an average of 170+ bpm). That’s a lot of extra pounding. I also think my gait at 12 min/mile is not as smooth as it is at say 10 min/mile and I’m sure that could contribute to my problems too.

OK now that that’s off my chest I think I can move on.

Next week is a recovery week and it could not have come at a better time. Well I designed the program that way so it’s not like that’s an accident. I promise I’ll have a more chipper post after my General Exam. Unless I fail and they kick me out of the University. Seriously, there’s a check box for that on my exam warrant!