So last week I was home for the weekend, during which time I was to run about 45 miles in 3 days. My mother and I have very different views on what constitutes an appropriate amount of exercise (or, more specifically, running). She's a big yoga freak, which, most of you know, is my least-favorite form of exercise of all time. As a general rule, she thinks I run too much. Which maybe I do. But mostly I think this judgment is unfounded on her part: she doesn't have any idea how many miles/hours I actually run, nor how healthy I am as a function of that running (mentally and physically). Anyway, here was the week's schedule:
M: 8 miles. Run uphill 4:00 at marathon HR; downhill at marathon pace
T: 8 AM/ 4 PM
W: 5 easy AM/ 3 mile progression + 3 x 1 mile @~6:20 pace (plus a warmup + cooldown)
Thursday: 6.5 easy
Friday: 12 mile progression. Not allowed to look at watch. Supposed to feel like MP towards the end
Saturday: 24 miles
Sunday: Skiing AM/ 8 miles PM
So there were several good things about this week. Running with Club NW on Wednesday was fun, even though I slightly modified my workout (6x1 mile) and theirs (4 mile progression) so I could run with them for awhile.
Steps to keeping your mother from thinking you run too much:
1. Surround the time you are home with all the running you can
-Thursday I left for home, so I just ran a few miles in the morning before catching my flight.
2. Make sure to leave after she's seen you in the morning, if you're going for a short run, so she doesn't overestimate an easy run
- On Friday, for example, I had some cereal and water and read the paper with her before she left for work and I went running with Brooke, a HS buddy. This allowed her to know that I didn't start running at 5 am and continue running all day.
3. On a long run day, maybe it's just best to leave before she gets up
-While this seems to contradict the previous bit of advice, if you actually are going running for 3+ hours, it may be best for her to not see you leave. Then she will have a very inaccurate estimate of how long you went running, so (if she doesn't assume 3 hours is even a conceivable amount of running) she definitely wouldn't think you could have possibly run for that long.
4. Get a ride home from a friend (again, Brooke, thanks!) so you can excuse a bunch of the time you were gone as chit-chat and drive time. Better yet, get brunch!
The week was good: I made it through my highest mileage week ever (87 miles!) and was successful in all of my workouts. Running with Brooke on Friday and Saturday was nice: it was fun to run fast with someone fast and run far with someone who doesn't like running far :).
Also, some bad news. I have a broken sesamoid in my right foot. But, I have the official approval to run through it from Dr. MD (actually her initials), so I've bought some sesamoid pads and I'll ice the crap out of it for the next month and hope it feels better. I don't really know how I broke it, but I do know the pain isn't severe (it has been stiff and achy on and off since my fall marathon), so if it doesn't get worse I'll be fine to race in a month. Ugh. I'll post when I have more info/any useful updates.
I will admit, that was the most running I have done in two consecutive days since...well, probably never. But it was mostly fun (especially the brunch part!). Bummer on the broken sesamoid. My friend Kim had the same exact thing happen to her in college. Not to freak you out or anything, but she ended up having surgery to fix it. Hopefully you'll pull through without having to visit the OR.
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