18 and counting...

We ran 18 miles last week on our long run and I have to say that I think I have things figured out. My pre-run prep is good and I know when to take gels to keep from bonking. It's been hit or miss, but I had those long 18 miles to see if I was on the right path (pun intended) and lo and behold me thinks I'm just about ready to cut this fat bastard open. After 18 I felt good and realized that going the full 26.2 is in my sights. It's not as daunting as I once thought and I can't wait to run the race. I also can't wait to get this thing over with.

Some people (I'm looking at you wifey, Billy and Danica) have no problem signing up for marathons (or more!) and just going out and pounding the pavement. The 6 months of training for this is starting to get a little old. I just want it to be over. I want my Friday nights back and my Saturday mornings. Soon enough.

16 and counting...

Ran 16 miles today on the long run. I beat my dead leg syndrome, but another enemy reared it's ugly head today and I know a lot of you out there have been down this road. GI pain. 4 miles in I had a cramp in the lower left abdomen and it would not go away for most of the run. Painful. My legs felt great. I was running with 3 other people that I enjoy keeping pace with and everything was on the up and up except for my stomach. Damn. If it's not one thing it's another. I made a pit stop and caught up to the group. This left me a little winded, but it was a good thing. Sometimes during a run you need to drop the hammer to get the juice going again. About 6 miles of the run took us through a part of the actual marathon course so it was nice to be able to get an idea of what to expect come race day. But the gut pain took some of the fun out of the run. I made another pit stop and felt better for the remaining 5 or so miles, but this is definitely going to be the issue that I'll be grappling with for awhile. Oh, and a new pain in my right ankle that I've got going for me which is nice. Maybe if I could just replace my real legs with robot legs. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Dead Legs

Argh. Dead legs again. I've been kinda dragging lately, but last Saturday was a 12 miler with the club and my legs were crap from the get go. That was a long, miserable 12 miles. So I went for my Monday run and again, no energy. Lethargic. I was pissed too. I probably looked like a crazy man on the path because I kept bitching out loud about my legs and I think I even threw my arms up in the air at one point because I was so frustrated. I hate this. I read online that there can be several reasons for dead legs: not enough sleep (very likely), not enough fruits and vegetables (very likely), not enough iron (possible if it's true that fruits and vegetables are necessary to aid in absorption of iron from other foods), more massages (possible, but definitely desirable), need new mattress (not likely), overtraining (possible, but not likely).

Anyway, I'm working on the fruit and vegetable thing and you all know how getting enough sleep can be hit or miss sometimes. I also supplement with a multivitamin so we'll see what happens in the future. The miles are adding up as we get closer to the marathon so I'm worried about this a little. Any advice out there?