7/12-13/14. sat/sunday. the longest weekend so far in this plan. tied for the biggest week ever.

well, it is through, and week 19 is in the books.  a 36 mile week, which is tied with the most running i have ever done in a week before.  it was a 21 mile weekend, which was my longest so far of this current plan.  this was a big deal for me, physically and psychologically.  I had to cut back my strength training in the gym last week, as i was feeling a few of those symptoms of overtraining.  i was losing my temper on tuesday and i was getting really anxious and upset about things that just don't matter.  it makes me appreciate what I went through back in february, as now I can objectively see it happening and realize that i am on the cusp, and acknowledge that i need to do something different before i crash.

7/12/14. Sat. 7 miles. i was worried about the heat, so i got up at 6am, had a leisurely pot of coffee, breakfast, and still was on the street by 8:30am.  no shirt, sunscreen, wore the fuel belt (32 ounces of water).  took my 7 mile loop, actually ran it pretty fast (58 minutes).  felt good coming off of this run, played it well, prepared well, ran well. 

7/13/14. Sun. 14 miles. i knew this would be long, so i wore the Nathan HPL 020 hydration pack, with the full 2L (which meant i needed a singlet so it wasn't rubbing on my bare skin.  I wore sunscreen.  took 5g of L-Glutamine 30 minutes before i ran.  i carried 3 Gu packs and 3 L-Glutamine caps (took one of each, every 30 minutes).  wore my new nike 2" raceday shorts, and I remembered to use the Glide on my inner thighs (prevent chafing, which has only ever been a problem for really long runs on really hot days).  I was worried about the heat.  my smartwool socks really make my feet hot, so I thought i'd try some thinner sport tech socks.  they were still running socks, and synthetic (not cotton), but this was actually a mistake.  i got a blister on a toe, a little bruise/swelling on another toe, and a fairly large blister alongside my big toe.  all on my left foot.  this has never happened before, i have never had blisters after a run.  so i learned a lesson.  thinner socks on short runs, say 10K and under, but stick with the thicker padded socks on the long runs.  when i started this run, i felt pretty stiff and pretty sore.  my left knee felt a little tight, and my stride felt stilted.  it took a few miles just to get smooth, and my legs never felt great.  they didn't feel like glass, but they were pretty stiff the whole time.  i honestly felt like i was running really slow, but i ended up finishing the 14 in 2:02:49 (only 2:01:52 actually moving, i hit one red light with a wait, and i stopped twice to pee).  my average moving pace was 8:42 min/mile, which is just fine for a long slow run.  I finished the half marathon (13.1 miles) in 1:55:39, then ran it out until 14 was up by the 2:02:49. all in all, it was a good weekend.  my toes will heal, and my mileage will go up. 

uncharted territory from here on out - I'm afraid that here be monsters.  wish me well.  10 weeks and 5 days...