a minimal marathon

October 25, 2009

16
this week’s planned long run (16 miles) is the first distance that says to me, “hey — i guess we’re training for a marathon over here!”. while i may not PR in this race, i am happy to say that the kinder and gentler marathon training schedule i chose this time around has been good to me thus far.

the remaining 8 weeks:


non-marathoners, you might snort at my definition of kind and gentle, but seriously take a look at the 8 remaining weeks i have left. really, there are only 3 true “long runs” in the entire thing! i will admit i used to turn down my nose at runners who ran marathons on this sort of minimal mileage.

but now, i am loving it. i love that:
♥ i don’t have to struggle to fit training into my schedule
♥ i am not super-fatigued, so i can really try hard on interval/tempo runs
♥ (so far) i am pain and injury free!

of course, if i end up at mile 23 slogging along at death-shuffle pace, i may take some of these accolades back, but for now i am a newfound fan of the minimal Furman Institute plan. i really hope that i can stay injury-free and make it to start line so that i can see how this lighter training schedule fares on race day!

anyway, i’m headed out in just a few minutes to the straight + flat tobacco trail in durham. instead of real human training partners, i will be striding away accompanied by ira glass (it’s been forever since i’ve run with this american life!) and a variety of musical distractions.

yesterday
did not quite go as planned, but it was a lovely day nonetheless. josh requested that we save where the wild things are for another day, and wanted to hunker down in our apartment instead, doing exciting things like napping and watching weeds episodes. it was raining and honestly, i am always happy to hibernate. especially when josh is home with me.

i tried to bake cookies, to scent our house and add to the coziness of the whole thing. unfortunately, this happened:


i was trying to make half of this recipe for chocolate chip espresso shortbread cookies. i divided 2 (as in 2 cups of flour) by 2 and got . . . 1/2! this is why i use a calculator at work, AT ALL TIMES.

oh well. i may try again next week. the massive (and extremely delicate/crumbly) ubercookie still tasted good, but wasn’t quite what i had in mind.

POM and circumstance
i felt bad having to post a negative review of the nectarine POM juice, but i would never sugarcoat my feelings about a product (even if the company is awesome for sending me free juice without my even having to prod).


so, i am happy to report that i much prefer the kiwi flavor which shipped alongside the nectarine. to my tastebuds, this juice is much closer to plain old POM (the gold standard, in my opinion), but with a mild, citrus-y burst of kiwi sweetness coming through the tart pomegranate base. mixed half and half with sparkling (or plain!) water, it’s a wonderfully refreshing post-run drink. in addition to flavor, the kiwi provides 100% of your daily required vitamin C. since i’m not an orange juice fan, this is a nice plus.

bloggers: how do you deal with posting negative reviews? i try to present my opinion but take time to explain why the product doesn’t jive with my own personal (potentially quirky and/or illogical!) preferences. i think another good practice is giving it to others to try as well — adding other perspectives may help to provide a more balanced and fair review. although i am not sure josh ever met anything edible that he DIDN’T like.

—————————————————————————–

10.24.09

workout: 45 minutes elliptical, levels 9-12. my schedule called for weights, but didn’t feel like it. i think this is just going to be a strength-training-free week. i found a fun circuit program that i may try on monday, though.

carb-load?: actually, i do not carb load for long runs. i eat lots of carbs ALL the time, so what would be the point? but i did enjoy our dinner last night, which was takeout from red lotus asian kitchen, conveniently located near to our apartment. i was really craving soup, so i ordered us some hot ‘n’ sour.


unfortunately, this soup tasted like RUBBER to me. like someone accidentally melted a spatula into the pot, and then served it up anyway. BLECHCH! i could not eat it.

thankfully, the rest of our order was not tire-flavored. i picked out steamed shanghai pork buns (which are more like dumplings) and thai basil shrimp. they were both very good. i like red lotus because their vegetables tend to be crisp and fresh, and their food is not super-greasy (hear that, twisted noodles?).

most importantly:


oh, good.

4 Comments

  • Reply Anonymous March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    loooooooooove your fortune cookie! and that your loving running/training for your marathon. enjoy the 16 and i agree that 16 signifies marathon training too 🙂

  • Reply Susan March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    Oh no! Not messed up cookies! I would be so upset. Hopefully you&#39re coping okay.

    Mile 16 of a marathon is oh so sweet and oh so "no WAY can I run ten more!"

    I think that negative reviews are fine as long as you don&#39t say something like "I can&#39t imagine anyone would ever like this!" For example, I do not like oatmeal. (I like oatmeal cookies, but not mushy oats in a bowl.) Obviously the rest of the blog world doesn&#39t agree with me, so to each their own!

  • Reply Anonymous March 10, 2019 at 7:29 pm

    your take out looks nummy!!!

    and i totally make check boxes for my hw too!!!!!!

    sorry bout cho cookies!!

    have a great week, Sarah!!!!!!!

  • Reply da March 10, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    A cookie fortune fave, still on the frig:
    "It&#39s not only important to add years to your life, but to add life to your years."
    Words to live by, right?
    L, da

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