Quantity vs. Quality

I tend to get carried away fairly easily. With mostly warm spring like weather last week, it was an easy decision to run in the afternoon when things were at their warmest so that I could start toughening up my feet again. Friday's run I was able to go 3.75 miles completely barefoot. I was pretty excited. Yeah, my feet were feeling a little raw but I was glad. Up until this point I have felt like I could have gone farther. Not this day. They were at the point where they couldn't go on that chipped asphalt anymore. Cool. I inspected my feet. No blisters or hot spots. They just felt raw. I slipped my gorilla feet on and finished out my run.

It just so happened that last week the kids had early out Wednesday and no school on Friday. I had much more time to run and so I did. Saturday is when it came back to bite me. I started adding up my miles for the week and knew that I'd overdone it. If I did my planned 16 miler, I'd be doing 47 miles in a week. That would be a new distance record for me ever. And with all the barefooting I had done, it wasn't going to be the smartest idea. So I set out just to see how it would go and I'd make the decision based on how I felt while I was out there.

It was a great day. 41 degrees and overcast. The first mile was torture. I don't know why. I just wasn't feeling it. But after a couple more miles I was settling in to a nice easy pace and enjoying myself. I ran out west by the grandma house that I want to own someday. My feet were starting to get tired. As I got closer to town they really started to ache. All over, but mostly in my toes. I called the husband at mile 14 and he came and got me. My feet ached all Sunday too. So I'm glad I called it in. Still, 44.5 miles last week. But I don't feel like they were quality miles as far as marathon training goes. Yes, I did do hills and I did run longish. But most of it was spent having fun barefooting, trying out new shoes, and just having more time than I usually do. I feel like I keep losing my focus. While I'm loosely following a plan, my heart just isn't into this marathon like I wish it was.

On the fueling front: I went to my running store and talked with the owner about different options. I decided to try Hammer gels because they don't have any refined sugar in them. I really think that all the sugar that I consume during the race makes my stomach upset. Between the sweet gatorade and then the gels, my stomach just doesn't do it well. It may be something else, but that's what I've come up with for now. I tried the apple cinnamon kind and it tasted good and I had no stomach issues. I also tried their electrolyte fizz that I added to my water. It was refreshing and not sweet at all. I'll keep trying this new concoction on longer runs and see if it continues to work for me. The only issue then is packing my own nutrition to the race instead of just being able to use what they have.

Anyone else have stomach issues?

What do you do when you lose focus?

How do you get it back?

Monday: 9.5 miles outside in gorilla feet (2.5 barefoot, 3 hills)

Tuesday: full body weights, 60 min spin class

Wednesday: 9.5 miles outside in VFF's (1.5 barefoot)

Thursday: 4 mile run outside in Evo's (1.5 trail), 60 min spin class

Friday: 7.5 mile run outside in gorilla feet (3.75 barefoot)

Saturday: 14 mile run outside in gorilla feet