Marine Corps Marathon Training – Week 14 (Running through sickness and catching up with friends)

My colleague was sick a couple of weeks ago, so of course I was obsessively using hand sanitizer and wiping everything in our office down with Lysol wipes. He got better, and I thought I was in the clear.

But early last week, all the signs were there: scratchy throat, fatigue, weakness… and then by mid-week, I knew I was doomed. I was coughing and sneezing, and was just a mess.

I was definitely sick.

Week 14 of training went down the drain.

Despite my cold, I attended a baseball game mid-week with the cousins. It was the Beltway Series — Nationals vs. Orioles. We had awesome seats, and the weather was gorgeous. I paid for it when I woke up the next morning feeling worse. (You only live once though, right?)

MCM Training – Week 14

Monday, Sept. 21 – off

Tuesday, Sept. 22 – 5 miles – treadmill

Wednesday, Sept. 23 – off

Thursday, Sept. 24 – off

Friday, Sept. 25 – 3 miles – treadmill

Saturday, Sept. 26 – 4 miles – treadmill

Sunday, Sept. 27 – 4 miles – walk on the C&0 Canal Towpath

Total: 12 miles
X-training: 4-mile walk

The 20-miler I had scheduled for Saturday definitely did not happen. But I did manage to do a few runs on the treadmill this past week… was trying to run/sweat out my cold (does that actually work?).

I’m feeling a little better now, and hopefully will get in some solid runs this week. MCM is less than 30 days away! Craziness. Do you ever run (or workout) when you’re sick?

Goals for this week: Get back on track with training and do some yoga (my body really needs a good stretching).

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It seems like whenever I check Facebook these days, I discover yet another old high school buddy has either signed up for a marathon, recently completed a marathon, or doing something equally awesome like training for a triathlon or road cycling event. Or maybe, I’m just more aware of these types of posts now because it’s something I can relate to and find interesting.

I went to a friend’s cookout Saturday afternoon, where I ran into some of those high school buddies — the ones that are into running and cycling and swimming. We swapped race stories, talked about our training schedules, and suggested new fuel for each other to try.

I currently use Clif Shot Bloks during races. I like that they’re easy to slip out of the package. Some people don’t like having to chew so much, and prefer gel-based fuel. I’ll admit, sometimes it is a pain to chew when you’re running. When I’m lazy, I’ll chomp a few times, and then end up swallowing the rest (half of it still sort of in solid form). Probably not ideal, but it’s been working out ok for me so far.

What’s your favorite fuel to use during races?

On Sunday, I met up with another high school friend (and now fellow running/blogging buddy), Jen, for brunch. We went to The Fainting Goat on U Street in DC. The food was good. I had something called “Eggs in a Basket” and Jen got the “Crispy Pork” dish.

We chatted about our upcoming races — she’s running the Chicago Marathon AND the Marine Corps Marathon (they are two weeks apart — she’s a rock star!). We are also running the Rehoboth Beach Half together in December. It was a lot of fun catching up with her. More on Jen’s races and training here.

And in keeping with the weekend theme of catching up with people, I met up with an ex after brunch. He was in town from North Carolina for the weekend. We went on a 4-mile walk on the C&O Towpath (my cross-training for the week) with his Boston Terrier puppy and 1.5-year-old nephew. That was an adventure.

And in case you missed it in my last post, my colleague, Kevin, and his wife had their baby earlier this month. They were between names, and asked the office to vote: Braden and Landon.

The winner is Braeden (with an extra vowel). Welcome, Braeden Joseph Callahan. I look forward to running with you one day. And knowing your dad, that day likely won’t be too far off in the future.