You must be swift as the coursing river (as long as it's the Lazy River) - comments welcome
- Thread starter WillRunForPizza
- Start date
LSUlakes
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My buddy had the same thing last week. Must be something going around on a large scale. Typically stomach bugs are more of a local / reginal level. It was 2-3 days for him. Hope your back to 100% soon and good luck with the rest of your training for the MCM!!I went to bed feeling perfectly normal and woke up with a stomach bug. I spent most of the day sleeping when not communing with my toilet.
WillRunForPizza
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August 18 - 24, 2025
Marathon training week 7 | 63 days until Marine Corps Marathon
In which I never really liked those quads anyway
Monday
off
Since I didn't do any exercise, I have no notes and therefore no idea what happened.
Tuesday
Easy/hill strides: 6.3 miles (9:51), avg. HR 150, max 181, 90% Z1-2, T+D~130
Upper body strength
Not a bad run. The temperature cooled off quite a bit Monday evening, so it was a lot more pleasant than last week. I was feeling a little tired still but pretty much normal.
Wednesday
Workout: 6 x 5 min M/3 min T/1 min CV/2 min + 6 x 30s hard/90s
12 miles, avg. HR 165, max 186, T+D~140
Lower body strength
I decided to move things around a bit and do some progression intervals instead of my planned workout. I wanted to feel a little more prepared going into a time trial. This one seemed like a similar amount of work without any particular performance pressure.
Because I moved the workout from week 10 to week 7, I figured I could just do 5 reps if necessary. But when I finished rep 5, I felt like 6 would be tough but doable. I decided it was a good time for a little supercompensation, so I went for it. And it was fine.
Looking back at the lap splits, the M efforts are pretty consistent, T is a little less consistent but okay, and then CV is all over the place.
I think this last might just be measurement error; I'm pretty sure I was at least faster than the T portions. 
Thursday
Recovery: 6.4 miles (10:28), avg. HR 141, max 154, 100% Z1-2, T+D~125
My legs were tired. Go figure. The weather was pretty decent, though.
Friday
Easy/strides: 6.8 miles (9:36), avg. HR 155, max 186, 75% Z1-2, T+D~135
Core
I was pokey getting out and then ran a little too hard once I got there. Also I did the strides kind of in the middle of the run, which did not help with keeping my HR down.
Saturday
No downhill left behind: 12.1 miles (9:56), avg. HR 159, max 180, T+D~130-135
PT exercises
No Downhill Left Behind is like No Uphill Left Behind but backwards. You would think that would make it more fun, but it mostly just makes it harder. Running uphill is kind of hard no matter what pace you're going, and then you're also working on the downhills, so it's basically all kind of hard.
Why do it if it's so much harder? I think one reason my legs got tired so early at MCM last year was because of the early downhills. In theory, it only takes a few hard downhill workouts to build up resilience in your muscles, so that's what I'm trying to do here. I plan to do a couple more of these before the race. They have to be in weeks where I don't have a long run workout, though, because that would definitely be too much "hard" for one week.
Anyway, I ended up with an average pace of about 10 min/mile, but the spread was ridiculous. I was going about 6-7 min/mile on the downhills and 12-13 on the uphills. It didn't help that I started out not feeling great - even those 12-13 min miles were pushing over the edge of Z2 at times. I was thinking I might do some hill strides at the end, but my legs were dead.
See what I mean?
I did manage to struggle through my PT exercises later, but I did a little less than usual and mostly bodyweight.
Sunday
Long: 18.1 miles (10:04), avg. HR 152, max 161, 98% Z1-2, T+D~135-140
I actually think that went pretty well considering I trashed my legs on Saturday. Did it feel good? No. I definitely struggled the last few miles in particular. But I did it, and it even stayed mostly easy (at least aerobically) except for a couple of hills.
This run brought to you by lots of carbs (261g) and a couple of stops to refill my soft flasks.
Totals
Running: 10h 3m, 61.9 miles
Strength/mobility: 1h 42m
Total: 11h 45m
I think this is my highest-mileage week yet? (Not counting the week I ran Monday to Sunday because of a tune-up race.) I ran 30 miles in the last two days.
It's good that the weather was cooler or I would not have made it.
Coming up
I have a lighter mid-week workout (hills are never easy, but we're talking like 15 minutes of hard work here) and then a monster long run workout. I am not actually sure this is possible - I might end up shortening the last rep out of necessity. But we'll see how it goes. At least the weather should still be pretty good!
Marathon training week 7 | 63 days until Marine Corps Marathon
In which I never really liked those quads anyway
Monday
off
Since I didn't do any exercise, I have no notes and therefore no idea what happened.
Tuesday
Easy/hill strides: 6.3 miles (9:51), avg. HR 150, max 181, 90% Z1-2, T+D~130
Upper body strength
Not a bad run. The temperature cooled off quite a bit Monday evening, so it was a lot more pleasant than last week. I was feeling a little tired still but pretty much normal.
Wednesday
Workout: 6 x 5 min M/3 min T/1 min CV/2 min + 6 x 30s hard/90s
12 miles, avg. HR 165, max 186, T+D~140
Lower body strength
I decided to move things around a bit and do some progression intervals instead of my planned workout. I wanted to feel a little more prepared going into a time trial. This one seemed like a similar amount of work without any particular performance pressure.
Because I moved the workout from week 10 to week 7, I figured I could just do 5 reps if necessary. But when I finished rep 5, I felt like 6 would be tough but doable. I decided it was a good time for a little supercompensation, so I went for it. And it was fine.
Looking back at the lap splits, the M efforts are pretty consistent, T is a little less consistent but okay, and then CV is all over the place.
I think this last might just be measurement error; I'm pretty sure I was at least faster than the T portions. Thursday
Recovery: 6.4 miles (10:28), avg. HR 141, max 154, 100% Z1-2, T+D~125
My legs were tired. Go figure. The weather was pretty decent, though.
Friday
Easy/strides: 6.8 miles (9:36), avg. HR 155, max 186, 75% Z1-2, T+D~135
Core
I was pokey getting out and then ran a little too hard once I got there. Also I did the strides kind of in the middle of the run, which did not help with keeping my HR down.
Saturday
No downhill left behind: 12.1 miles (9:56), avg. HR 159, max 180, T+D~130-135
PT exercises
No Downhill Left Behind is like No Uphill Left Behind but backwards. You would think that would make it more fun, but it mostly just makes it harder. Running uphill is kind of hard no matter what pace you're going, and then you're also working on the downhills, so it's basically all kind of hard.
Why do it if it's so much harder? I think one reason my legs got tired so early at MCM last year was because of the early downhills. In theory, it only takes a few hard downhill workouts to build up resilience in your muscles, so that's what I'm trying to do here. I plan to do a couple more of these before the race. They have to be in weeks where I don't have a long run workout, though, because that would definitely be too much "hard" for one week.
Anyway, I ended up with an average pace of about 10 min/mile, but the spread was ridiculous. I was going about 6-7 min/mile on the downhills and 12-13 on the uphills. It didn't help that I started out not feeling great - even those 12-13 min miles were pushing over the edge of Z2 at times. I was thinking I might do some hill strides at the end, but my legs were dead.
See what I mean?
I did manage to struggle through my PT exercises later, but I did a little less than usual and mostly bodyweight.
Sunday
Long: 18.1 miles (10:04), avg. HR 152, max 161, 98% Z1-2, T+D~135-140
I actually think that went pretty well considering I trashed my legs on Saturday. Did it feel good? No. I definitely struggled the last few miles in particular. But I did it, and it even stayed mostly easy (at least aerobically) except for a couple of hills.
This run brought to you by lots of carbs (261g) and a couple of stops to refill my soft flasks.
Totals
Running: 10h 3m, 61.9 miles
Strength/mobility: 1h 42m
Total: 11h 45m
I think this is my highest-mileage week yet? (Not counting the week I ran Monday to Sunday because of a tune-up race.) I ran 30 miles in the last two days.
It's good that the weather was cooler or I would not have made it.Coming up
I have a lighter mid-week workout (hills are never easy, but we're talking like 15 minutes of hard work here) and then a monster long run workout. I am not actually sure this is possible - I might end up shortening the last rep out of necessity. But we'll see how it goes. At least the weather should still be pretty good!
Last edited:
avondale
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- Oct 24, 2017
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- 2,137
Gotta love this cooler bout of weather we've been getting!
I know that this is something to work on. I did some downhill speed work a couple years ago...it was REALLY hard on my knees, especially on pavement, and I pulled the plug on doing them sooner than planned. Maybe my grade was too much. Just a thought.
That's a lot of miles this week!
I know that this is something to work on. I did some downhill speed work a couple years ago...it was REALLY hard on my knees, especially on pavement, and I pulled the plug on doing them sooner than planned. Maybe my grade was too much. Just a thought.
That's a lot of miles this week!
WillRunForPizza
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- Apr 20, 2022
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Oh yeah, downhill work would be really rough on any joint issues.
These hills are probably about a 4-6% grade, so nothing too crazy.
WillRunForPizza
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August 25 - 31, 2025
Marathon training week 8 | 56 days until Marine Corps Marathon
In which the continued perfect weather in August seems suspicious
Monday
Yoga
I'm sure it was fine.
Tuesday
Easy/strides: 7.1 miles (9:39), avg. HR 152, max 186, 84% Z1-2, T+D~120
Upper body strength
The weather was nice, but my legs felt heavy. Actually I just felt heavy generally. Probably leftover fatigue from a big week last week and especially last weekend.
Wednesday
Workout:12 11? x hill repeats + 1.9 miles steady
7.9 miles, avg. HR 154, max 185, T+D~115
Lower body strength
Hill repeats are the worst.
Sandbags: While the weather was still nice, my legs, and the rest of me, were also still tired. My problem tendons were also quite cranky when I started, though they did loosen up.
I put 12 reps in the schedule because apparently I hate myself. I wanted to quit after 6. (Well, I wanted to quit 10 seconds into the first one, but by 6, my legs were also dying.) I forced myself to do four more, which turned out to be five more because apparently I had trouble pushing the lap button. After 10 (which was actually 11 but I didn't know that at the time), I was done. I did a pathetic steady run most of the way back and then jogged it in once I got to the narrow sidewalks. Fun, fun times.
Thursday
Recovery: 6.1 miles (10:28), avg. HR 143, max 160, 99% Z1-2, T+D~120
My tendons were okay. My right quad was a bit sore, but my left quad was not, which seemed a little odd, but whatever. Overall, the run went fine, but my legs were feeling heavy starting about halfway through. Someday I am going to get my iron tested...
Friday
Easy/strides: 6.7 miles (9:43), avg. HR 148, max 177, 92% Z1-2, T+D~120
Core
Consistently nice weather in August feels like a trap somehow. Does this mean September is going to be really hot again?
Saturday
No uphill left behind: 11.9 miles (9:39 | 9:21 GAP), avg. HR 150, max 174, T+D~120-130
PT exercises
I was originally thinking I'd do a progression for my medium-long adventure, but then I remembered that Sunday's workout was going to be really hard, so I decided to do No Uphill Left Behind instead. It's not really easier in the moment, but it probably does less muscle damage.
I actually felt pretty good for the most part. Possibly this was just in comparison with No Downhill Left Behind last week. I did a few hill strides at the end.
Sunday
Long: 3 x 3 miles HM/2 min
14.4 miles, avg. HR 162, max 180, T+D~110-120
Still weirdly nice out, and despite my earlier trepidation, this workout actually felt doable. Not easy, but I also didn't feel like I was dying. My guess is that when I was running at HM pace previously, the effort was higher, so at HM effort, even with more volume, it's feasible. And the reps got faster throughout the workout, so that's good. Though I'm kind of hoping this is more like M pace when race day comes around, so...you win some, you lose some.
Also possible that the caffeine from my first gel kicked in during rep 2/3 and that's why I got faster. That and 185g of carbs in two hours will get you places.
Totals
Running: 8h 33m, 54.2 miles
Strength/mobility: 2h 18m
Total: 10h 52m
Halfway through the program, I feel like it's finally starting to come together. (This may also be the improved conditions, though.) Let's hope things continue to gel. And no further injuries/illnesses, universe!
Coming up
More hills! Yay....
All this hill work better be accomplishing something. Lord knows I'm not doing it for fun.
Marathon training week 8 | 56 days until Marine Corps Marathon
In which the continued perfect weather in August seems suspicious
Monday
Yoga
I'm sure it was fine.
Tuesday
Easy/strides: 7.1 miles (9:39), avg. HR 152, max 186, 84% Z1-2, T+D~120
Upper body strength
The weather was nice, but my legs felt heavy. Actually I just felt heavy generally. Probably leftover fatigue from a big week last week and especially last weekend.
Wednesday
Workout:
7.9 miles, avg. HR 154, max 185, T+D~115
Lower body strength
Hill repeats are the worst.
Sandbags: While the weather was still nice, my legs, and the rest of me, were also still tired. My problem tendons were also quite cranky when I started, though they did loosen up.
I put 12 reps in the schedule because apparently I hate myself. I wanted to quit after 6. (Well, I wanted to quit 10 seconds into the first one, but by 6, my legs were also dying.) I forced myself to do four more, which turned out to be five more because apparently I had trouble pushing the lap button. After 10 (which was actually 11 but I didn't know that at the time), I was done. I did a pathetic steady run most of the way back and then jogged it in once I got to the narrow sidewalks. Fun, fun times.
Thursday
Recovery: 6.1 miles (10:28), avg. HR 143, max 160, 99% Z1-2, T+D~120
My tendons were okay. My right quad was a bit sore, but my left quad was not, which seemed a little odd, but whatever. Overall, the run went fine, but my legs were feeling heavy starting about halfway through. Someday I am going to get my iron tested...
Friday
Easy/strides: 6.7 miles (9:43), avg. HR 148, max 177, 92% Z1-2, T+D~120
Core
Consistently nice weather in August feels like a trap somehow. Does this mean September is going to be really hot again?
Saturday
No uphill left behind: 11.9 miles (9:39 | 9:21 GAP), avg. HR 150, max 174, T+D~120-130
PT exercises
I was originally thinking I'd do a progression for my medium-long adventure, but then I remembered that Sunday's workout was going to be really hard, so I decided to do No Uphill Left Behind instead. It's not really easier in the moment, but it probably does less muscle damage.
I actually felt pretty good for the most part. Possibly this was just in comparison with No Downhill Left Behind last week. I did a few hill strides at the end.
Sunday
Long: 3 x 3 miles HM/2 min
14.4 miles, avg. HR 162, max 180, T+D~110-120
Still weirdly nice out, and despite my earlier trepidation, this workout actually felt doable. Not easy, but I also didn't feel like I was dying. My guess is that when I was running at HM pace previously, the effort was higher, so at HM effort, even with more volume, it's feasible. And the reps got faster throughout the workout, so that's good. Though I'm kind of hoping this is more like M pace when race day comes around, so...you win some, you lose some.
Also possible that the caffeine from my first gel kicked in during rep 2/3 and that's why I got faster. That and 185g of carbs in two hours will get you places.
Totals
Running: 8h 33m, 54.2 miles
Strength/mobility: 2h 18m
Total: 10h 52m
Halfway through the program, I feel like it's finally starting to come together. (This may also be the improved conditions, though.) Let's hope things continue to gel. And no further injuries/illnesses, universe!
Coming up
More hills! Yay....
All this hill work better be accomplishing something. Lord knows I'm not doing it for fun.
Attachments
avondale
DIS Veteran
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- Oct 24, 2017
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Agreed...I'm waiting for the other weather-related shoe to drop because this has seemed too good to be true.
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
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- Apr 20, 2022
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September 1 - 7, 2025
Marathon training week 9 | 49 days until Marine Corps Marathon
In which there's one day of hot weather again and I'm a mess
Monday
off
I was going to do yoga. But then. I didn't.
Tuesday
Easy/strides: 7.2 miles (9:36), avg. HR 156, max 183, T+D~125
Upper body strength
I don't know why that was so hard. It was weird.
Wednesday
Workout: 3 x M/T/M hills + 4 x 30s hills
13.5 miles, avg. HR 162, max 183, T+D~120-130
Lower body strength
I felt okay, but I was kind of hoping that my paces would have improved, and it doesn't really seem like they did.
I did hill strides at the end but forgot to lap my watch (because I don't normally track strides unless it's part of a workout). But you can see them - they're the little teeth in the cooldown.
Thursday
Recovery: 5.8 miles (10:46), avg. HR 141, max 159, 99% Z1-2, T+D~130
Recovery runs kind of suck.
Friday
Easy/strides: 7.1 miles (9:29), avg. HR 151, max 185, 84% Z1-2, T+D~135
Core
I felt better. Except for my ankle, which was rather stiff, and my knee, which decided to start cracking itself every other step from about mile 4-5. It was not exactly painful, but it wasn't pleasant either. And it felt really weird.
Saturday
Easy/pickup: 12.9 miles, avg. HR 158, max 187, T+D~145-150
PT exercises
That could have gone better. I picked up the pace when I turned around, and I felt pretty good for the first couple of miles of that, but then I crashed straight through my lactate threshold (oops) and had to slow down early so I didn't do too much work going into my long run. Also it got hot again, which did not help with the effort level. The good news is, my knee got over whatever was going on the day before.
I had plenty of fuel but I think not enough hydration. I thought about stopping at the water fountain, but there was a line and I didn't want to wait. And then I felt mildly crappy for several hours afterwards, so waiting probably would have been worth it.
Sunday
Long: 18.6 miles (9:40), avg. HR 149, max 165, 97% Z1-2, T+D~120
The weather had improved greatly from Saturday, by which I mean it was like 60, overcast, and raining lightly for the first hour or so. As non-runners generally don't consider this ideal weather, I also got a bonus of less-crowded trails. Winning all around.
I'm noticing a pattern in my fatigued long runs. For the first 5 or 6 miles, my legs are like, "nope nope nope nope nope." Then they apparently realize that no, we are not stopping, at which point they go "FINE" and work normally again. (On reflection, this may also be when the caffeine starts to hit.)
Behold, the slowest miles are all at the beginning.
As on Saturday, I didn't really want to stop to refill my water (because I wasn't sure my legs would work when I started running again). But I decided to pretend I learned something yesterday and got my refill. And because I guess no good deed goes unpunished, I accidentally hit Stop instead of Pause on my watch.
Fortunately I still remembered how to combine GPX files from the last time I did this, so here we are, still with one run in Strava.
Anyway, my legs were a little wobbly at first but did manage to figure out how to run again. In fact, even by the end, my legs felt only mostly dead. (And mostly dead is still slightly alive.)
I'm going to take this as a sign that I am ready to cover the marathon distance. Whether I can do it well is another question, but I still have seven more weeks to get there.
Totals
Running: 10h 25m, 65.1 miles
Strength/mobility: 1h 56m
Total: 12h 22m
This is why I can only do one marathon a year at most. There's no way I could do this year-round.
Coming up
Oh look, it's race week.
I am running the DC Half for the...fourth time? I think. Since I am in the middle of marathon training, I have no idea what will happen. It could be great (lots of aerobic capacity!) or it could be a total disaster (lots of fatigue!). A PR seems unlikely. But I ran 13.1 miles in like 1:48 during my workout last Sunday, and you would think I'd be faster than that. So...somewhere between 1:33 and 1:48.
Since it's a mid-block race, I am doing a two-day taper leading up to it, meaning I'll take Friday off and do a shakeout on Saturday instead of a medium-long run. Hopefully this will counteract some of the fatigue, but again, you just never know with B races, especially in a marathon block. I have no expectations.
Marathon training week 9 | 49 days until Marine Corps Marathon
In which there's one day of hot weather again and I'm a mess
Monday
off
I was going to do yoga. But then. I didn't.
Tuesday
Easy/strides: 7.2 miles (9:36), avg. HR 156, max 183, T+D~125
Upper body strength
I don't know why that was so hard. It was weird.
Wednesday
Workout: 3 x M/T/M hills + 4 x 30s hills
13.5 miles, avg. HR 162, max 183, T+D~120-130
Lower body strength
I felt okay, but I was kind of hoping that my paces would have improved, and it doesn't really seem like they did.
I did hill strides at the end but forgot to lap my watch (because I don't normally track strides unless it's part of a workout). But you can see them - they're the little teeth in the cooldown.
Thursday
Recovery: 5.8 miles (10:46), avg. HR 141, max 159, 99% Z1-2, T+D~130
Recovery runs kind of suck.
Friday
Easy/strides: 7.1 miles (9:29), avg. HR 151, max 185, 84% Z1-2, T+D~135
Core
I felt better. Except for my ankle, which was rather stiff, and my knee, which decided to start cracking itself every other step from about mile 4-5. It was not exactly painful, but it wasn't pleasant either. And it felt really weird.
Saturday
Easy/pickup: 12.9 miles, avg. HR 158, max 187, T+D~145-150
PT exercises
That could have gone better. I picked up the pace when I turned around, and I felt pretty good for the first couple of miles of that, but then I crashed straight through my lactate threshold (oops) and had to slow down early so I didn't do too much work going into my long run. Also it got hot again, which did not help with the effort level. The good news is, my knee got over whatever was going on the day before.
I had plenty of fuel but I think not enough hydration. I thought about stopping at the water fountain, but there was a line and I didn't want to wait. And then I felt mildly crappy for several hours afterwards, so waiting probably would have been worth it.
Sunday
Long: 18.6 miles (9:40), avg. HR 149, max 165, 97% Z1-2, T+D~120
The weather had improved greatly from Saturday, by which I mean it was like 60, overcast, and raining lightly for the first hour or so. As non-runners generally don't consider this ideal weather, I also got a bonus of less-crowded trails. Winning all around.
I'm noticing a pattern in my fatigued long runs. For the first 5 or 6 miles, my legs are like, "nope nope nope nope nope." Then they apparently realize that no, we are not stopping, at which point they go "FINE" and work normally again. (On reflection, this may also be when the caffeine starts to hit.
)Behold, the slowest miles are all at the beginning.
As on Saturday, I didn't really want to stop to refill my water (because I wasn't sure my legs would work when I started running again). But I decided to pretend I learned something yesterday and got my refill. And because I guess no good deed goes unpunished, I accidentally hit Stop instead of Pause on my watch.
Fortunately I still remembered how to combine GPX files from the last time I did this, so here we are, still with one run in Strava.Anyway, my legs were a little wobbly at first but did manage to figure out how to run again. In fact, even by the end, my legs felt only mostly dead. (And mostly dead is still slightly alive.)
I'm going to take this as a sign that I am ready to cover the marathon distance. Whether I can do it well is another question, but I still have seven more weeks to get there.
Totals
Running: 10h 25m, 65.1 miles
Strength/mobility: 1h 56m
Total: 12h 22m
This is why I can only do one marathon a year at most. There's no way I could do this year-round.
Coming up
Oh look, it's race week.
I am running the DC Half for the...fourth time? I think. Since I am in the middle of marathon training, I have no idea what will happen. It could be great (lots of aerobic capacity!) or it could be a total disaster (lots of fatigue!). A PR seems unlikely. But I ran 13.1 miles in like 1:48 during my workout last Sunday, and you would think I'd be faster than that. So...somewhere between 1:33 and 1:48.
Since it's a mid-block race, I am doing a two-day taper leading up to it, meaning I'll take Friday off and do a shakeout on Saturday instead of a medium-long run. Hopefully this will counteract some of the fatigue, but again, you just never know with B races, especially in a marathon block. I have no expectations.
Herding_Cats
DIS Veteran
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- Aug 3, 2017
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Re: iron testing.
We got DS2's iron tested last year to see if there was a medical cause behind his sluggish looking (and feeling) XC race times. We paid out of pocket for it (because his ped. didn't want to order the test the previous year when we asked about it so we could know what his .baseline was to be able to support it if he was low-normal) at a walk-in blood testing place. It took about 10min and we had the results the next day or the day after. If you even think that it might be low, just get it tested because a) you are running a ton of miles and b) I'm assuming you are a menstruating person. Which means you are at risk of having low iron/ferritin serum.
We got DS2's iron tested last year to see if there was a medical cause behind his sluggish looking (and feeling) XC race times. We paid out of pocket for it (because his ped. didn't want to order the test the previous year when we asked about it so we could know what his .baseline was to be able to support it if he was low-normal) at a walk-in blood testing place. It took about 10min and we had the results the next day or the day after. If you even think that it might be low, just get it tested because a) you are running a ton of miles and b) I'm assuming you are a menstruating person. Which means you are at risk of having low iron/ferritin serum.
avondale
DIS Veteran
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- Oct 24, 2017
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Good luck in the HM! Fortunately it looks like the cooler-than-normal weather is going to continue.
Agree with @Herding_Cats on the iron. Get the hemoglobin, iron serum, iron saturation, and ferritin levels checked because it's possible the hemoglobin is normal (what is usually checked, I think) and the others are low, which is still a problem. I've had anemia problems in the past - about a year after I started running, and I didn't put on nearly the miles you do.
Agree with @Herding_Cats on the iron. Get the hemoglobin, iron serum, iron saturation, and ferritin levels checked because it's possible the hemoglobin is normal (what is usually checked, I think) and the others are low, which is still a problem. I've had anemia problems in the past - about a year after I started running, and I didn't put on nearly the miles you do.
WillRunForPizza
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- Apr 20, 2022
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Thanks! Happy about the forecast for sure.
Yeah, I'm going to try to get it done this week I think. I wish doctors would just include this as a regular part of blood work for runners, but last year mine didn't do any kind of measure of iron, and I didn't know I had to ask for it.
avondale
DIS Veteran
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- Oct 24, 2017
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- 2,137
Doctors never seem to think that runners can have problems because if you're running, then you're already healthier than 95% of the people they see by default.
WillRunForPizza
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- Apr 20, 2022
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September 8 - 14, 2025
Marathon training week 10 | 41 days until Marine Corps Marathon
In which I get mixed signals
Monday
off
Tuesday
Easy/strides: 7.5 miles (9:24), avg. HR 152, max 188, 84% Z1-2, T+D~120
Upper body strength
The weather was nice and I decided to do like eight 30s strides. Which is a lot.
I also tried out the Adidas Adizero Evo SLs that I had picked up recently. I really liked the midsole - the foam felt super comfortable and super bouncy. They're not plated, but it was a bit like wearing a supershoe.
I was less of a fan of the upper. I had a lot of extra room in the forefoot, even after tightening the laces. (I have slightly wide but very flat feet, which does often result in extra space above my forefoot, but this was more than usual.) And even tightened, the laces were quite short and I barely had enough for a heel lock. The tongue was also quite short and ungusseted and slipped down below where I knotted the laces, which was a little uncomfortable. I can hopefully solve the first two problems as I break in the upper and get the laces a little tighter. Not sure what to do about the tongue. But overall I did enjoy running in them.
Wednesday
Workout: 4 x 1 km T/1 min + 8 min E + 1 mile AFAP + 5 min E + 3 x 1 km T/1 min
11.9 miles, avg. HR 157, max 192, T+D~120
Lower body strength
I was supposed to do this workout a few weeks ago, but it was right after I had a stomach bug so I pushed it back. Even so, I had low expectations. My paces have been all over the place but nothing indicated a mile PR (<6:05) might be within reach.
So while I do generally put more mental emphasis on this workout than others because of the time trial, I wasn't feeling much pressure going into it. I just didn't see much chance of anything exciting happening. Lying in bed trying to fall asleep Tuesday night, I was thinking entirely about my dog's vet appointment on Thursday and not at all about the workout.
I also woke up feeling just a little off. My stomach didn't quite feel right, my legs felt kind of heavy, etc. etc. Sandbaggers R Us.
The first interval was a little rough. I realized after I started that I forgot to do my normal 3-4 short strides going into the reps, so that made a certain amount of sense. They got a bit better as I went, though. (I also had a bit of extra rest after rep #3 for a pit stop.)
I planned for the mile rep to be slightly downhill. (Because if you have the option to run a mile TT slightly downhill, and you don't do that, there is something wrong with you.) I tried not to look at my watch for the first couple of minutes. Eventually I thought, "Surely I must be almost halfway," and I did look down and saw 0.74 miles to go. Or not. But also I was running like 5:35 pace, which was either exciting or very concerning. I pulled back a teeny bit so I wouldn't blow up 2/3 of the way through.
That first quarter felt kind of hard but mostly okay. The second quarter felt significantly less okay. I checked my watch again and saw two "laps" to go. Lap pace was down to like 5:45, which was probably for the best. My breathing had acquired that almost musicality you get when you're at your absolute limit. But if I could hang on for just a couple more minutes, I might actually break 6 minutes in the mile.
The second half of the time trial felt increasingly like dying. I kept telling myself, "Just a little longer. Just a little longer." I feel like there is an as-yet-undiscovered aspect of time dilation where time passes slower the closer you get to the end of an all-out effort. I kept checking my watch and the remaining distance barely changed. Someone tell the physicists.
By the last 100 meters, I was scraping the bottom of the well. I gritted my teeth (not literally; I needed my mouth open to do a fish-out-of-water sort of screaming gasp which was the only way I could get oxygen into my lungs) and tried to convince myself I could keep going for 20 more seconds or whatever. FINALLY my watched buzzed. I collapsed against a convenient fence.
As I leaned there gulping down air, I didn't know exactly what my time was, but since the last time I checked my pace had been about 5:51 and I hadn't slowed down much, if at all, I was pretty sure it was under 6 minutes.
The fitness! It has not abandoned me completely! It's just...hiding. Most of the time. Really well.
Anyway, eventually I peeled myself off the fence and walked/shuffled the rest of my 5-minute recovery. The last few threshold Ks were harder than usual, but I did them without slowing down too much. And then my legs were basically dead (and I had a new worry: had I done too much for four days before a race? But I hoped not - a mile is still just one mile no matter how hard you're running).
When I checked, my time was...either 5:51 or 5:48? Because Strava is weird sometimes.
But either way, that's Arbitrary Numerical Benchmark #5 done!
Five down, one to go...
Thursday
Recovery: 6.7 miles (10:26), avg. HR 143, max 157, 100% Z1-2
I slept poorly, partly though not entirely due to having to get up in the middle of the night to drug my dog for our annual trial. I dropped the dog at the vet in the morning and then went for my run. My legs actually felt pretty okay for the most part. I did have a couple of stints of my knee doing that weird constant clicking thing, but it went away eventually.
When I was about a mile from home, the vet called to say I could come pick up the dog, so I just went there and brought him home. Spent the rest of the day keeping an eye on him while trying to work.
Friday
off
I went to pick up my bib. The race had an "expo" for the first time in its five-year history, although I'm not sure it qualified as an expo so much as bib pickup that wasn't in the store. They did have some nice race merch, but nothing that really screamed "buy me!" so I managed to walk out without spending any money.
Saturday
Shakeout: 4.5 miles (9:54), avg. HR 151, max 183, 82% Z1-2
PT exercises
I tried to compromise between "racing tomorrow" and "still training for a marathon" for duration on my shakeout and probably just did a poor job for both. Oh well.
I did do some of my PT exercises, but only bodyweight (except for the calf raises).
Sunday
DC Half: 13.3 miles, avg. HR 177, max 188, T+D~130
So I was going to just put the recap here because it wasn't that exciting, but Wednesday's notes are already really long, so I guess I'll save it for a separate post. The quick version: it was a bit warmer than expected, and I ended up running a 1:39:16, which was okay, I guess, but I was kind of hoping my marathon pace would be somewhere around there (7:35). And it felt hard, not like last year when I was actually trying to run M pace and felt great.
Totals
Running: 7h 24m, 48.7 miles
Strength/mobility: 1h 30m
Total: 8h 54m
I don't understand why everything is in reverse order.
I went into this week thinking it would give me some clarity about where I was, and I feel like I just ended up with more questions. The half wasn't great, although it was kind of in line with where my training has been. On the other hand, the mile PR fit more with where I was at Princess (and I guess is faster than I ran a similar workout leading up to Princess). So...I don't know? This is not helpful.
Coming up
Back to normal, more or less. No workout scheduled for this week to give myself time to recover from the race, but I'm hoping to be recovered enough for another round of No Downhill Left Behind on Saturday.
Also have an appointment to get my iron, among other things, checked on Thursday, so maybe I'll get some more answers there.
Marathon training week 10 | 41 days until Marine Corps Marathon
In which I get mixed signals
Monday
off
Tuesday
Easy/strides: 7.5 miles (9:24), avg. HR 152, max 188, 84% Z1-2, T+D~120
Upper body strength
The weather was nice and I decided to do like eight 30s strides. Which is a lot.
I also tried out the Adidas Adizero Evo SLs that I had picked up recently. I really liked the midsole - the foam felt super comfortable and super bouncy. They're not plated, but it was a bit like wearing a supershoe.
I was less of a fan of the upper. I had a lot of extra room in the forefoot, even after tightening the laces. (I have slightly wide but very flat feet, which does often result in extra space above my forefoot, but this was more than usual.) And even tightened, the laces were quite short and I barely had enough for a heel lock. The tongue was also quite short and ungusseted and slipped down below where I knotted the laces, which was a little uncomfortable. I can hopefully solve the first two problems as I break in the upper and get the laces a little tighter. Not sure what to do about the tongue. But overall I did enjoy running in them.
Wednesday
Workout: 4 x 1 km T/1 min + 8 min E + 1 mile AFAP + 5 min E + 3 x 1 km T/1 min
11.9 miles, avg. HR 157, max 192, T+D~120
Lower body strength
I was supposed to do this workout a few weeks ago, but it was right after I had a stomach bug so I pushed it back. Even so, I had low expectations. My paces have been all over the place but nothing indicated a mile PR (<6:05) might be within reach.
So while I do generally put more mental emphasis on this workout than others because of the time trial, I wasn't feeling much pressure going into it. I just didn't see much chance of anything exciting happening. Lying in bed trying to fall asleep Tuesday night, I was thinking entirely about my dog's vet appointment on Thursday and not at all about the workout.
I also woke up feeling just a little off. My stomach didn't quite feel right, my legs felt kind of heavy, etc. etc. Sandbaggers R Us.
The first interval was a little rough. I realized after I started that I forgot to do my normal 3-4 short strides going into the reps, so that made a certain amount of sense. They got a bit better as I went, though. (I also had a bit of extra rest after rep #3 for a pit stop.
)I planned for the mile rep to be slightly downhill. (Because if you have the option to run a mile TT slightly downhill, and you don't do that, there is something wrong with you.
) I tried not to look at my watch for the first couple of minutes. Eventually I thought, "Surely I must be almost halfway," and I did look down and saw 0.74 miles to go. Or not. But also I was running like 5:35 pace, which was either exciting or very concerning. I pulled back a teeny bit so I wouldn't blow up 2/3 of the way through.That first quarter felt kind of hard but mostly okay. The second quarter felt significantly less okay. I checked my watch again and saw two "laps" to go. Lap pace was down to like 5:45, which was probably for the best. My breathing had acquired that almost musicality you get when you're at your absolute limit. But if I could hang on for just a couple more minutes, I might actually break 6 minutes in the mile.
The second half of the time trial felt increasingly like dying. I kept telling myself, "Just a little longer. Just a little longer." I feel like there is an as-yet-undiscovered aspect of time dilation where time passes slower the closer you get to the end of an all-out effort. I kept checking my watch and the remaining distance barely changed. Someone tell the physicists.
By the last 100 meters, I was scraping the bottom of the well. I gritted my teeth (not literally; I needed my mouth open to do a fish-out-of-water sort of screaming gasp which was the only way I could get oxygen into my lungs) and tried to convince myself I could keep going for 20 more seconds or whatever. FINALLY my watched buzzed. I collapsed against a convenient fence.
As I leaned there gulping down air, I didn't know exactly what my time was, but since the last time I checked my pace had been about 5:51 and I hadn't slowed down much, if at all, I was pretty sure it was under 6 minutes.
The fitness! It has not abandoned me completely! It's just...hiding. Most of the time. Really well.Anyway, eventually I peeled myself off the fence and walked/shuffled the rest of my 5-minute recovery. The last few threshold Ks were harder than usual, but I did them without slowing down too much. And then my legs were basically dead (and I had a new worry: had I done too much for four days before a race? But I hoped not - a mile is still just one mile no matter how hard you're running).
When I checked, my time was...either 5:51 or 5:48? Because Strava is weird sometimes.
But either way, that's Arbitrary Numerical Benchmark #5 done!
Five down, one to go...
Thursday
Recovery: 6.7 miles (10:26), avg. HR 143, max 157, 100% Z1-2
I slept poorly, partly though not entirely due to having to get up in the middle of the night to drug my dog for our annual trial. I dropped the dog at the vet in the morning and then went for my run. My legs actually felt pretty okay for the most part. I did have a couple of stints of my knee doing that weird constant clicking thing, but it went away eventually.
When I was about a mile from home, the vet called to say I could come pick up the dog, so I just went there and brought him home. Spent the rest of the day keeping an eye on him while trying to work.
Friday
off
I went to pick up my bib. The race had an "expo" for the first time in its five-year history, although I'm not sure it qualified as an expo so much as bib pickup that wasn't in the store. They did have some nice race merch, but nothing that really screamed "buy me!" so I managed to walk out without spending any money.
Saturday
Shakeout: 4.5 miles (9:54), avg. HR 151, max 183, 82% Z1-2
PT exercises
I tried to compromise between "racing tomorrow" and "still training for a marathon" for duration on my shakeout and probably just did a poor job for both. Oh well.
I did do some of my PT exercises, but only bodyweight (except for the calf raises).
Sunday
DC Half: 13.3 miles, avg. HR 177, max 188, T+D~130
So I was going to just put the recap here because it wasn't that exciting, but Wednesday's notes are already really long, so I guess I'll save it for a separate post. The quick version: it was a bit warmer than expected, and I ended up running a 1:39:16, which was okay, I guess, but I was kind of hoping my marathon pace would be somewhere around there (7:35). And it felt hard, not like last year when I was actually trying to run M pace and felt great.
Totals
Running: 7h 24m, 48.7 miles
Strength/mobility: 1h 30m
Total: 8h 54m
I don't understand why everything is in reverse order.
I went into this week thinking it would give me some clarity about where I was, and I feel like I just ended up with more questions. The half wasn't great, although it was kind of in line with where my training has been. On the other hand, the mile PR fit more with where I was at Princess (and I guess is faster than I ran a similar workout leading up to Princess). So...I don't know? This is not helpful.
Coming up
Back to normal, more or less. No workout scheduled for this week to give myself time to recover from the race, but I'm hoping to be recovered enough for another round of No Downhill Left Behind on Saturday.
Also have an appointment to get my iron, among other things, checked on Thursday, so maybe I'll get some more answers there.
avondale
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2017
- Messages
- 2,137
Super cool on the sub-6 mile! Congratulations!
Duly noted. LOL. I have noticed a similar effect in plank challenges...trying to hold that longest plank and what? how could 95% of the time still be remaining when I've been here so long? Ha.
I was thinking of your race on Sunday. I was hoping it was early enough in the day that you didn't get hit too badly by the T+D. Honestly the T+D wasn't huge, but I think the bigger effect was that we've had such a low T+D lately that it made the increase feel a lot worse.
WillRunForPizza
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2022
- Messages
- 1,595
Thanks!
Yup, that sounds like the same phenomenon! Somebody should do a study.
Yeah, it wasn't that bad objectively, but it was a relative jump, so it felt a little icky. But I've been watching the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo and the weather there seems just miserable, so I can't complain too much!
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