Confessions of a MAF-er. Week 4.

I foolishly thought that reaching the end of week 4 of training would have a more epic and rewarding experience. When I started my training and research, for some reason I had this magic number in my head that by week 3 everything would just snap into place and not be awful.

True, things definitely are not as bad as week one. To give you a quick recap, week one was terrible. I was so cranky and I had chills from the lack of sugar, and my runs were slow and slower.

It seems to be difficult to NOT set myself back every week. I am definitely more aware of how every single thing I do seems to effect my heart rate. I also am much more in tune with my body, and can even tell in the morning if I have an unusually high heart rate, or if the run is going to be rough.

The setback this week was the holiday party. You can't avoid stuff like this during the holidays. I still eat well, thanks to my pretty solid will power, but it's hard to keep the stress levels low. I also danced for two hours. :| I heels. I won't lie, it was fun.

Let me just say that I firmly believe that heels are spawned from the devil. I don't encourage them, and I certainly don't wear them day to day. It's like a once a year occasion, and in result, I walk like a 4 year old in them. Meh, whatever. Particularly they are bad for runners because they shorten your Achilles tendon, a very important thing that you'll want to keep in good flexible shape if you do a lot of running and hills. But seriously, these heels weren't even that bad. Three inches, I'd say, which most girls would laugh at.

I ignored my own advice and danced around in them until I could barely walk. The next morning I felt it. My feet hurt, and my heart rate was higher. My pace for my 12 mile long run was 11:30. Then the following day, my long run #2 was still slow at an 11:10 min pace. I got REALLY angry for the last mile because the heart rate strap was either too loose or too tight, and at the end I could not keep my hr under 150 without walking. CURSE THE STUPID GARMIN HR STRAP. It is not made for petite girls. That's one of my only gripes about the thing.

I'm still struggling a lot. Running fast is a bit of an addiction for me, I miss the feeling. I miss going all out. I miss doing weights and climbing. I miss the killer hills and trails. I get really jealous if people are running fast around me, or telling me about their awesome runs. I have this race that I signed up for in a couple of weeks, actually TWO (the New Years Eve, and New years Day half marathons for Brazen), and I'm not sure if I want to try them out at my MAF pace or if it's a bad idea.

Actually, I'm pretty certain it's a bad idea, because I think you get over or around 2k feet of elevation. Sigh. I know that this hard work and restraining myself will pay off in the long run, but it isn't easy and I wonder if there's another way or if I'm just desperately looking for shortcuts.

The good news is that I feel great otherwise. I'm not too tired even though I'm logging in over 40 miles a week, I have no injuries *knocks on wood*. I am certain if I kept up with my fast running that I'd be nearly broken by now. The food stuff is also going well, and I seriously have to say that if you experience a lot of food comas or fatigue, you should really check your sugar and fat intake. I think after this, I'll post another food post about my favorite healthy snacks.

Anyway, I just don't know. I'm afraid that I'll never be able to get fast again. I guess we'll see how this week goes. Must...stay...positive.

Here's a picture of the fam to end this post on a high note.