On Feeling The Ups & Downs

I’ve been terrible at updating as of late. The truth is there hasn’t been much to write about recently. I’ve had a long string of good weeks, with the last 7 days being my most productive and most consistent, maybe even since I’ve started running. That’s not to say it’s been the highest mileage 7 day period I’ve experienced, but offered the greatest reward and felt the most productive overall.

You’ll often hear the term “junk miles” associated with running. Essentially they’re miles to fill your quota for the week and are usually nothing short of drudgery. They’re not necessarily fast or slow, on easy or difficult terrain; they’re just a dull number to say you did the miles. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve put in a ton of junk miles over the course of the last year. I could blame it on being a newb to the sport, but in reality it’s mostly a product of pure laziness!

Recently however, I’ve maintained a focus and gone out on each run with a specific purpose in mind. For instance, on Monday I had a 6 – 8 mile run scheduled. The legs felt really good so I coerced myself into a speed day and ran sub-7 minute splits on the flat trail for 8 miles. Then on Tuesday the goal was to carry a steady, even pace over a 12 mile out-and-back course. It went even better than planned and I ended up running a negative split by about 35 seconds. This pattern has been evident in my running for awhile now. I feel like I’ve finally (after a year!) got a good base and can work on fine-tuning the skills I have.

Of course, with success come trials. Though my running feels stronger than ever, I haven’t been feeling like myself lately. I’ve been feeling shaky in the mornings and after good workouts; even for no apparent reason at times throughout the day. It’s something I’ve dealt with for many years, yet ignored due to stubbornness and feeling like I needed to “tough it out” since it had to be something that everyone dealt with. The problem is, now it’s being magnified due to the intensity of my exercise. So I finally broke down and went to have some tests and blood work done yesterday. I absolutely hate going to the doctor, but felt like I’d reached a breaking point. I need to figure this out before it gets worse.

So now I wait. I should have results back tomorrow and hopefully some answers can be rendered. Tomorrow will also decide my fate for the St. George Marathon this year. Lottery results are being posted tomorrow and I’m keeping my fingers crossed. More to come once tomorrow presents it’s findings...