Cori --- Week 5 Review

Sorry I am a few days late. I have been on a blogging strike lately due to being overwhelmed by life.
Okay, week 5....almost didn't go into the drama of all of this, because I feel like such a queen, but training is not pretty, and I promised myself no holding back. So, here goes:

(Did L10 on Thurs., last post)
Fri...OFF
Sat.....OFF
Sun....OFF
Mon...Swim (Laps, Aqua Jogging)
Tues....SL5 (No IT Band trouble. We were dancing and praising God. Literally.)
Wed....Swim (Laps, Aqua Jogging)
Thurs...OFF
Fri...L11

I took it kind of easy this week. I was a little freaked out by L10 and my IT Band issues. I really wanted L11 to be a "good" run, so that I could rebuild some confidence. My wish didn't come true, but I survived. I finally got a firsthand taste of what it means when runners "hit the wall". I used to think that meant they just felt like they couldn't do any more. I thought it was mostly a head thing, plus being tired. W-R-O-N-G.

Here is how Wikipedia defines "hitting the wall":

In endurance sports, particularly cycling or running, hitting the wall describes a condition caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, which manifests itself by precipitous fatigue and loss of energy.

Precipitous: Resembling a precipice, extremely steep.

Now if Garmin would cooperate, I would show you my graph from that run. It was ugly. I average a heart rate of about 160-170 when I run. I had never seen my heart rate above 185, and that was the day Jen and I ran in the terrible heat. According to my graph, I was cruising along until about mile 3.5 with a heart rate in the 160's, and then there is a sharp incline, (precipitous!), straight up, and my heart rate then hung between 190 and 210 until mile 10.

It sucked.

I felt every minute of that. I knew I felt like crap. I could barely chat with my friends, and I was so, so tired. I just could have laid down and slept. I just had no idea what my problem was. I had rested, I was well hydrated, but, I had had a stellar Weight Watcher day, eating mostly fruits, vegetables, and extremely low carbs. I had no glycogen stores. I should have carb-loaded. I will NEVER make that mistake again. On run days, this girl is eating pasta....bread....DONUTS....whatever, but I am not restricting myself. I have never felt that bad in my life. On the way home, I even got slightly disoriented. I was the driver, and yet I could not for the life of me tell Traci what road I was on, or how I got there. I felt utterly confused. At the time, we were so "high" over being done, that I laughed it off. Looking back, it's a little scary.

The upside? In my exhaustion, my IT Bands were tight, but I could keep going. I don't like how irritable they have been the last two long runs. It concerns me, but I have been ice-ing and taking ibuprofen, and I'm giving myself at least 2 days off after long runs. Muscle fatigue can be a big factor in ITBS sometimes, so I am semi-amazed that I could finish at all on Friday. I thank God alone for that.
Mentally, I think it was my finest hour. (Or two hrs and 20 min). I didn't quit when I wanted to die and my body was 100% taxed. That took perserverance that I did not know I had. Yea me.

I am really praying for a more encouraging long run this week, though. Not having a good time right now....

Almost forgot,
Wt: 143.5 (I'll take it, and I might be staying here. Weight Watchers + Long Runs = Stupidity)