Distance: 42 miles
Time: 5 hours 35 minutes
Comments: Ye Gods! What a week. The sheer amount of miles I have put in over the past month is kicking my ass.
I could barely walk this morning after the long run. I had a breakfast Dim Sum with my family for my birthday (which is tomorrow. My day off. YAY me!) and hobbling to and from the car was excruciating.
The ice bath and a three-hour nap helped lots but the agony has not gone away by any means.
And that's been the theme the whole week. I got through most of the runs with an unspectacular and, to be honest, painful effort. Survival has been my watchword and it's gonna be that way for at least another seven days.
The key has been making sure I have been getting as much sleep as possible and to keep eating. Not only eating, but eating worth a damn. And it has worked up to this point.
I am hoping to hit 50 miles next week with a long run of 22 miles. By far the furthest I have ever attempted to run. It would be a trick if I were refreshed and prepared. I'm not.
The mileage of the past month are wearing heavy on me. I am bone tired and sore. The good news is that none of it seems to be injury-type aches. So I'll keep shooting for this mega-mileage target until one arises.
One of my larger worries is that I might catch a cold or get ill in the next few weeks. I can tell my immune system is at its wits end and it won't take much. So I'm packing in the multi-vitamins and grabbing as much sleep as I can.
Injury update: The good news is that my calf issue has seemed to have faded substantially. I actually kind of felt it last night (Saturday) so switched to the Asics for the long run and nary a peep.
The sheer amount of miles means I am pushing the envelope here and I know it. The chance for injury (or illness) is emmense as I try and push the distance as far as it can go.
So I plan to be even more paranoid about it all in the next week if you can believe that's even possible.