14 miles

Nutrition- I am getting used to eating more than normal in general and eating carbs for fuel. Last night for dinner I made spaghetti and used a jarred sauce but added mushrooms and yellow peppers for added veggies. I also made a salad of tomatoes, basil and avocados. I LOVE avocado, and the package said “ready to eat” in English which was exciting. When I opened the package, though, one avocado was labeled 85% ready and the other 75% ready. Mr. 75% was more like 50%, so tasted kind of “green” in the salad. I also bought some garlic bread, which is an indulgence usually reserved for weekends.

I just finished my Parmesan cheese encrusted bagel with natural, chunky peanut butter and will head out in about an hour. I am hoping all these carbs contribute to a great run!

One thing I’ve been pleasantly surprised about, is even though I’m eating more than I did before training I think I am looking better. I’m wondering if I was eating so little during the week to maintain weight that I was perpetually bloated, lol! My eating for marathon training/ weight control conundrum is in a developing post but let me just say it’s an issue!

I will be taking raisins and pretzels on this run and a bottle of regular water and a bottle of water with a little salt in it. The salty water is supposed to mimic a sports drink without all the sugar…we’ll see. I’m hoping it doesn’t just lead me to believe I am swimming in the ocean.

This is the longest run since a half marathon I completed in May of 2015 in Yamanakako, Japan a few weeks before we moved back to the states.

I felt really good for the first 11 miles, took it slow and steady and didn’t check my running pace at all…just tried to keep it very easy and if I ever started to think “how am I going to get through 8 more miles” or whatever, that was my cue to take it down a notch. I stopped to walk every 2 miles, and alternately ate 2 pretzels or a pinch of raisins along with a swig of plain water the first hour and salted water after that. I think I actually switched to the salt water earlier because the plain water tasted like garlic or something from the fridge since the cap was off the bottle! Yuck! Not what you want to taste while running!

Around mile 11 I was looking forward to the end, my left calf is really super tight and was getting very sore. I tried to stretch if I had to stop at intersections because of I didn’t it was very hard to start up again without running kind of lumpy. Uh oh! I’m hoping this will correct when I go on Sunday to get new shoes and I also use Superfeet insoles, and those are due to be changed as well.

I tolerated the raisins and pretzels really well, I’m excited that I didn’t have any adverse effects from them!

After dinner Dave massaged my calf and could tell it was a bit swollen. I had a hard time walking last night and when I first was out of bed but now it just feels a bit tight and sore. Today is rest day, but I’m also thinking maybe I should skip my 6 miler tomorrow and take it easy. I HAVE to consider the larger goal of completing the marathon, and not be stupid early on just to get mileage in. If missing a 6 miler in 4 months of training makes or breaks the marathon, I would have to conclude I wasn’t ready!

Other than my calf issue, I was happy with how I felt at the end of my run. I can tell I am in much better shape than I have ever been. I also enjoyed the run so much, breathing in the excellent air quality. Sun was shining, sky was blue (and In Shanghai in winter that’s saying something). We leave for Buffalo on Saturday, and already they are sending notifications that air travel could be affected by storms over the weekend. Great! I will have to get myself mentally prepared for running in gray, snowy weather.