Why are people on running/athlete forums such assholes when you ask for advice??? Third time this has happened to me, third forum, third training-related question I've asked. I know, fool me once, shame on you...blah blah. I guess I'm done asking anyone in the online running community for advice. EVER.
Seriously....all I wanted to know was how to plan my remaining long runs/taper. And responses I got included "FAIL." "You're (sic) marathon is going to suck." <---to which I replied with equal snark that my marathon would not suck worse than her English skills, and that I am not, in fact, a marathon. Umm...someone said that I have low pain tolerance (HAHAHA and WTF)...basically a lot of unhelpfulness.
Asshole runners can suck it. OVER IT.
Showing posts with label frustration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frustration. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
arrgh, not again
It SUCKS when things hurt.
It sucks especially when you're training for a marathon, and last time you trained for a marathon, things hurting was the beginning of the end of that training.
I was slightly dumb. I ran minus one calf sleeve. The next day, I went to what I thought was a strength training class, which turned out to be 15% strength training, 85% jump/step/clap crap, which was not what I should have been doing two days after doing a long run minus a calf sleeve. The next day, I ran, even though I was hurting a little.
Now I hurt. My good shin hurts. It hurts when I walk, although it's not nearly nearly nearly at the level of pain that I was at before. I'm skipping the long run that I was supposed to do this past weekend but didn't because of the 5k but was going to do tomorrow. I hate taking such a crucial run out of the plan, but it's better to do that and be able to run 26.2 healthy but slightly undertrained, than to force it and make everything worse. I know this. Plus, if it comes down to it, I can do a 2 week taper instead of a 3 week taper.
My plan is to not run this week. At all. It's already driving me nuts because it's perfect running weather. I will bike, I will swim, I will not run. If I feel better, I will do the Little Miami Half on Sunday. I will do it at easy training run pace, not at gunning for a PR pace. If I feel good afterwards, I will continue somewhat as planned and do my 17-18 mile run the weekend after, my 20 the next weekend, and then the two week taper. Those long runs will be as flat as I can get them to be, short of running on an actual pancake. If I do not feel good afterwards, I will......scream and cry and throw things.
I realized today that this training has been mentally taxing, I think because the fear of injury is so real and looming around every corner. I still enjoy running, I just can't wait to get the marathon done so that goal is met. The most stressful part is the fear that I won't meet it. I think next time around, marathon training will be more enjoyable, since I'll be armed with the knowledge that I can indeed run that distance without joints and bones and muscles staging a revolt. <---I can. For real.
In the meantime....my shin needs some good vibes. PLEASE.
It sucks especially when you're training for a marathon, and last time you trained for a marathon, things hurting was the beginning of the end of that training.
I was slightly dumb. I ran minus one calf sleeve. The next day, I went to what I thought was a strength training class, which turned out to be 15% strength training, 85% jump/step/clap crap, which was not what I should have been doing two days after doing a long run minus a calf sleeve. The next day, I ran, even though I was hurting a little.
Now I hurt. My good shin hurts. It hurts when I walk, although it's not nearly nearly nearly at the level of pain that I was at before. I'm skipping the long run that I was supposed to do this past weekend but didn't because of the 5k but was going to do tomorrow. I hate taking such a crucial run out of the plan, but it's better to do that and be able to run 26.2 healthy but slightly undertrained, than to force it and make everything worse. I know this. Plus, if it comes down to it, I can do a 2 week taper instead of a 3 week taper.
My plan is to not run this week. At all. It's already driving me nuts because it's perfect running weather. I will bike, I will swim, I will not run. If I feel better, I will do the Little Miami Half on Sunday. I will do it at easy training run pace, not at gunning for a PR pace. If I feel good afterwards, I will continue somewhat as planned and do my 17-18 mile run the weekend after, my 20 the next weekend, and then the two week taper. Those long runs will be as flat as I can get them to be, short of running on an actual pancake. If I do not feel good afterwards, I will......scream and cry and throw things.
I realized today that this training has been mentally taxing, I think because the fear of injury is so real and looming around every corner. I still enjoy running, I just can't wait to get the marathon done so that goal is met. The most stressful part is the fear that I won't meet it. I think next time around, marathon training will be more enjoyable, since I'll be armed with the knowledge that I can indeed run that distance without joints and bones and muscles staging a revolt. <---I can. For real.
In the meantime....my shin needs some good vibes. PLEASE.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Time to play "Guess My Issue!"
Nah, it's not a huge issue. I've just been a bit undermotivated to exercise lately. Possible causes:
-THE FREAKING HEAT IS SUCKING THE LIFE OUT OF ME!
-Work has been kicking my butt lately. Like 50+ hour weeks kicking my butt.
-Doing longer and longer long runs has been killing more time and more energy.
-I haven't found any classes that I like at my new gym, and that makes me SUPER sad. :( Granted, I've only tried a couple. Their circuit classes are at times that don't work for me. (In theory, 5:30 AM COULD work, but...nah.) They only have one Yoga 2 class that I can make, and I didn't really like it. I plan to try Yoga 1, but if it's as basic as it's supposed to be, I'll just be bored. I SO miss my circuit and yoga classes at my old gym. I could cry.
-I have to go somewhere else to find a bike course where the hills don't about kill me. This involves finagling a bike into a sub-compact car. (And right now I'm driving a rental, which I'm not about to cover in bike grease like the back seat of said sub-compact car.) (In case you're wondering about that, I got rear-ended.)
-I'm overwhelmed by this multisport thing. For real. I want to do running and biking and swimming and strength training and yoga and somehow do enough of all of them...and when my brain gets overwhelmed, it tends to say screw it, don't do anything.
-I'm not actively training for a tri.
-I was OVERmotivated before, and now I'm just normal motivated.
Now that I feel super whiney, it's probably a combination of those things. I've been super dedicated to my run training, btw. I honestly wish I could run more than three days a week because it's the simplest and most satisfying exercise I do. However, I don't think I'm there. When my shins don't protest after a long, hilly, or hard run, I'll know I can run two days in a row. Right now, I'm not doing anything to push them. The protest usually clears pretty quickly and I'm gonna keep it that way.
So, should I feel guilty, should I care, should I try something different? Or should I just work out whenever I want and don't work out when I don't?
-THE FREAKING HEAT IS SUCKING THE LIFE OUT OF ME!
-Work has been kicking my butt lately. Like 50+ hour weeks kicking my butt.
-Doing longer and longer long runs has been killing more time and more energy.
-I haven't found any classes that I like at my new gym, and that makes me SUPER sad. :( Granted, I've only tried a couple. Their circuit classes are at times that don't work for me. (In theory, 5:30 AM COULD work, but...nah.) They only have one Yoga 2 class that I can make, and I didn't really like it. I plan to try Yoga 1, but if it's as basic as it's supposed to be, I'll just be bored. I SO miss my circuit and yoga classes at my old gym. I could cry.
-I have to go somewhere else to find a bike course where the hills don't about kill me. This involves finagling a bike into a sub-compact car. (And right now I'm driving a rental, which I'm not about to cover in bike grease like the back seat of said sub-compact car.) (In case you're wondering about that, I got rear-ended.)
-I'm overwhelmed by this multisport thing. For real. I want to do running and biking and swimming and strength training and yoga and somehow do enough of all of them...and when my brain gets overwhelmed, it tends to say screw it, don't do anything.
-I'm not actively training for a tri.
-I was OVERmotivated before, and now I'm just normal motivated.
Now that I feel super whiney, it's probably a combination of those things. I've been super dedicated to my run training, btw. I honestly wish I could run more than three days a week because it's the simplest and most satisfying exercise I do. However, I don't think I'm there. When my shins don't protest after a long, hilly, or hard run, I'll know I can run two days in a row. Right now, I'm not doing anything to push them. The protest usually clears pretty quickly and I'm gonna keep it that way.
So, should I feel guilty, should I care, should I try something different? Or should I just work out whenever I want and don't work out when I don't?
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
little bit of burnout
I love running. But at times, it feels a bit like a second job. I love my job, too. But running and my job both have a high potential for burnout - a lot of effort put in, and the returns aren't always immediate. Some days, they're not there at all and some days it feels like I'm working backwards. But what I love about both things is that when there are rewards, they're FREAKING AMAZING and that's what keeps me going at both things.
Right now, I'm checking in with myself about running and working out in general. I've had two craptastic runs in a row and a few more scattered in there recently - although my 12 mile run on Saturday pretty much couldn't have gone better. While the weather is NO help, I also think I may be overtraining a little. This is also one of those times where I have to develop some tunnel vision with regard to my training. I don't train as much as some. My mileage isn't back up to where some people's is - heck, it's not even up to where I was before. But I've been overdoing it FOR ME, and that needs to be fixed.
Signs I'm becoming a bit burned out:
-More tired lately
-More irritable lately
-More things hurt
-More forcing myself to work out
-I feel guilty when I have nothing to do, like if I have any down time at all I NEED to squeeze in some kind of workout (I feel like this one is probably more common amongst triathletes)
I wanted to do a 10 mile run today, because I can't do a long run this weekend and I'm not planning on doing one next week, because I need to be WELL-RESTED if I'm going to do an Olympic tri. That. Was. Dumb. I've been hurting a bit more than usual, and I JUST EFFING RAN 12 MILES LESS THAN A WEEK AGO. Plus, it was hot and humid and gross.
I made it five miles. I took a break for water and stretching and decided to run the five mile loop again. I barely made it one mile and stopped to regroup. I decided to try to keep going. A half mile later and I was done. I was hot, woozy, a little delirious, my calf hurt, my hip was tight, a blister on my toe was killing me, I was running way slower than even my usual long run pace, and I was trying to force it.
So my run ended up being 7.5 miles (I walked a half mile and then decided to jog so I could get to my car faster.) And I decided that running 7.5 miles is far from failing. I also decided to ease up on the exercise for the rest of the week. I may do a few miles easy on the bike and an easy swim if I decide I WANT to. I'll do the same for next week. Lots of stretching for sure, but only easy exercise and only if I want to do it, not because I feel obligated to follow a training plan or because I go "OH MY GOD IF I DON'T GO FOR A RUN/BIKE/SWIM TONIGHT AND DO EVERY SINGLE INCH THAT I'M PLANNING TO DO THEN I WON'T FINISH THE RACE!!!!!!"
I need a break, that's all. It probably won't even need to be a long one, I just need to feel less worn out physically and mentally and be happy to be doing both of the tris I'm doing. If I'm happy, I'll be fast. If I train until I'm miserable, I'll be dragging myself to the finish line anyway.
I have netflix on the xbox and ben and jerrys in the freezer and beer in the fridge. I think I'll be all right with this resting thing.
Right now, I'm checking in with myself about running and working out in general. I've had two craptastic runs in a row and a few more scattered in there recently - although my 12 mile run on Saturday pretty much couldn't have gone better. While the weather is NO help, I also think I may be overtraining a little. This is also one of those times where I have to develop some tunnel vision with regard to my training. I don't train as much as some. My mileage isn't back up to where some people's is - heck, it's not even up to where I was before. But I've been overdoing it FOR ME, and that needs to be fixed.
Signs I'm becoming a bit burned out:
-More tired lately
-More irritable lately
-More things hurt
-More forcing myself to work out
-I feel guilty when I have nothing to do, like if I have any down time at all I NEED to squeeze in some kind of workout (I feel like this one is probably more common amongst triathletes)
I wanted to do a 10 mile run today, because I can't do a long run this weekend and I'm not planning on doing one next week, because I need to be WELL-RESTED if I'm going to do an Olympic tri. That. Was. Dumb. I've been hurting a bit more than usual, and I JUST EFFING RAN 12 MILES LESS THAN A WEEK AGO. Plus, it was hot and humid and gross.
I made it five miles. I took a break for water and stretching and decided to run the five mile loop again. I barely made it one mile and stopped to regroup. I decided to try to keep going. A half mile later and I was done. I was hot, woozy, a little delirious, my calf hurt, my hip was tight, a blister on my toe was killing me, I was running way slower than even my usual long run pace, and I was trying to force it.
So my run ended up being 7.5 miles (I walked a half mile and then decided to jog so I could get to my car faster.) And I decided that running 7.5 miles is far from failing. I also decided to ease up on the exercise for the rest of the week. I may do a few miles easy on the bike and an easy swim if I decide I WANT to. I'll do the same for next week. Lots of stretching for sure, but only easy exercise and only if I want to do it, not because I feel obligated to follow a training plan or because I go "OH MY GOD IF I DON'T GO FOR A RUN/BIKE/SWIM TONIGHT AND DO EVERY SINGLE INCH THAT I'M PLANNING TO DO THEN I WON'T FINISH THE RACE!!!!!!"
I need a break, that's all. It probably won't even need to be a long one, I just need to feel less worn out physically and mentally and be happy to be doing both of the tris I'm doing. If I'm happy, I'll be fast. If I train until I'm miserable, I'll be dragging myself to the finish line anyway.
I have netflix on the xbox and ben and jerrys in the freezer and beer in the fridge. I think I'll be all right with this resting thing.
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