The big 2-0 and TAPER TIME!

I did it!! Last Friday was my first long run, and I actually went ALL twenty miles without stopping. Since my hip flexor injury in the end of July-- and since I came from it at the end of August-- I haven't been able to go for a long run without stopping at least once to walk. Usually I stop around the 4-mile mark for a short walk break, and I've never been able to make it to 7 miles without a longer (1/4 mile to a mile) walk break. It was demoralizing, to say the least. How am I supposed to run 26.2 miles if I can't even run 8 straight? Visions of being run over by the race course police opening the road back up to traffic because I'm too slow kept running through my head. My goal shifted from "sub 4:30" to "just don't get kicked off the course." But, as predicted by my experienced friends, tapering is just as psychological as it is physical, and man am I psyched to be over the worst of it!!

Night-before prep: 

1.5 hours of yoga. Wasn't expecting this-- I wanted to do gentle yoga (even though I prefer Bikram) because I didn't want to be sore, but then I got there too late and got 90 minutes of hot Bikram instead. It ended up going surprisingly well after not having done it since February!

My first time taping my piriformis. Didn't go so great. Totally having someone else do it before the marathon. It was supposed to look like this, but it ended up looking like a really pathetic almond shape that basically outlines a love handle on my right lower back in neon pink K-tape.

My food plan:

(logged because I'm a creature of habit and will most likely repeat this exact thing before my race)

Pre-run dinner (at 10pm): 2 oz. whole wheat spaghetti with juice + zest of 1/4 lemon and finely grated Parmesan (and milk)

Dessert: 4 mini Famous Amos cookies and milk 

Morning of: a couple myrtl exercises (fire hydrant, circles, leg swings) and regular stretches (hip butterfly, single-leg stretching), gummy multivitamins, 1 ibuprofen, 1 Endurolyte, and 2 Clif ShotRoks in peanut butter, some sips of water... no breakfast (this was an experiment... I ALWAYS eat breakfast no matter what)

During run: 5 Clif ShotRocks (taken at miles 2, 5, 8, 10, and 12), 3 (12-oz) bottles of water (refilled at miles 7, 11, and 15), 4 almonds. Definitely should have fueled up more for such a long run, but couldn't bring myself to stomach the gel I brought.

Immediately Post-run (in my car): at least 50 oz of water, joint health Emergen-C, Vanilla Honey Stinger waffle (After which I realized that I paid $1.50 for an organic version of a single stroopwafel. Last time I had stroopwafel, I got a whole package straight from the Netherlands, and there's no healthifying something that good. This kind of proves my moral opposition to fitness company BS. It's not an "energy waffle", it's freaking Dutch dessert. I don't want GU when I can eat gummy bears. And I still get roped into it half the time. But I digress.)

When I got home: more water, 1 ibuprofen, 1 Endurolyte, and a hard-boiled egg with 2 oz. whole wheat spaghetti with juice + zest of 1/4 lemon and finely grated Parmesan 

Good eats

What is it about home that is so comforting? As much as my city's changed in the five years since I've moved (and as much as I've resented and mocked that change), there's something about the gray skies and 65-degree weather that is comforting. Dependable. Like still being able to wake up as late as I want (that mattress is killer. I swear. It has a pillowy death grip on me for 10 hours. Every night.) and settle back into my standard spot at the kitchen island and have my mom cook me breakfast. Just like I'm fifteen again (but without the whole "I hate being a teenager" thing.)

This morning: whole wheat French toast with cottage cheese, half a sliced peach, and a little cinnamon and maple syrup. 

My post-lunch dessert: Jasmine green tea with black sesame dumplings from last night's dinner at Din Tai Fung. And guess who's going to be trying the recipe as soon as I get home and get my hands on black sesame seeds and glutinous rice flour? THIS GIRL.

...And then a trip to the Farmer's Market for a fresh pretzel. Completely unnecessary, but soooo carb-y. So salty. So good. And then on the way out, we saw this truck. And I did the whole "oh I've heard that place is good! I've read about it! Oh but it's 5:15pm, so ice cream is probably not a good idea... and I don't think I have any money." But I scrounged together $2.50 in change, and I got the most delicious honey lavender 100% cream ice cream that I've ever eaten. In a cone. That's right. The six-year-old girl behind me ended up ordering the same thing, which only made me more sure that that was exactly the right decision. Carpe diem, baby.

No workout today-- yesterday's 18ish hilly miles did a number on my quads, and a run is out of the question. Do ice baths actually help? This is the sorest I've ever been...

My first ice bath

Does anyone else actually want to throw up at the thought of food after long runs? No? Just me after 18 miles? Moving on...

Guess what got my mind off that pretty quickly?

I read some hints about doing the whole ice bath thing, which I never really understood, to be honest. I mean, I'm usually a little sore after a long run, but not so much so that it's immobilizing! I sprang for it today, and got ready in my bikini and North Face. What a combination.

I settled down with my go-to recovery for long runs: Joint Health emergen-C and Chobani. When I really can't stomach the thought of anything that takes effort to digest, I stick to high-protein yogurt. Mmmm.

I read that you're supposed to stay in an ice bath for 15-20 minutes. I set my phone alarm for 12 as my no-bail minimum (naturally), and if I wanted to stay longer, I would. I use this same technique for my runs, and I'm always surprised how well it works. Sure enough, I stayed in for about 17 minutes. My mug of hot tea and this song popping up on Pandora were the only things getting me through my first ice bath. My muscles didn't feel any different--until I tried to get out of the tub and felt like I legitimately needed a handicap lift-- but didn't think about this side effect:

                               

Numb fingers (and toes), officially called Raynaud's, it's more annoying and embarrassing than anything else. Try holding a door open for the stranger behind you when half your hand looks like a corpse's. As far as the genetic lottery goes, though, I have to say I'm still pretty lucky. I guess shitty blood circulation is just kind of my pet trick.

Fortunately this whole ordeal was assuaged by seeing Contagion, shopping, and going out to Din Tai Fung for dumplings. I'd been craving pork buns for weeks. We ended up splurging on hot & sour pork soup, pork buns, garlic sautéed green beans, shrimp and rice cakes, spicy noodles in peanut sauce, and chicken dumplings, washed down with a Tsingtao. Dessert was the most delicious sesame dumplings with jasmine tea. Seriously, next time I'm going back just for dessert.

Home.

Flew home yesterday and got to wake up in my luxurious (read: not purchased on craigslist like the one in my apartment) pillow-top bed and have this for breakfast:

Don't be fooled by the Wall Street Journal-- I didn't even make it past the front page.

Half a peach, a handful of blueberries, two generous scoops of cottage cheese, a handful of raw almonds, a cup of coffee, and you've got one happy camper.

I did the only there is to do when I'm home: shop. I bought a running hat, Runner's World, and a coffee to fuel my evening run. Can you tell I'm in the middle of training?!?

I decided on the "uphill both ways" run, a 5-mile loop from my house (on a hill) with about four hills in between-- the Mother of all puts those San Francisco hills in the NWM to shame-- and was able to power through. No stopping, no walking, minimal knee/hip pain (unlike the last time I tried it when I was home, last December). PLUS I got to have Chobani as my post-run snack. I'm in heaven!