Winter of 2019 – Week 1
Now that I’m back on medication, my blood pressure dropped steadily during the week but still wasn’t in the “normal” range. I felt well enough to run 10 miles on Saturday, though. It was my longest training run since mid-October.
Training Schedule
November 10th – November 16th
Sunday: Easy Run. 5-6 miles
Monday: Off w/core strength exercises
Tuesday: Easy Run. 7-9 miles easy
Wednesday: Interval Run. 8-11 miles. 5-7 x 5 min. w/1 min. recovery jog
Thursday: Easy Run. 3 miles easy w/core strength exercises
Friday: Easy Run. 7 miles steady
Saturday: Long Run. 25 miles
Total: 55-61 Miles
Notes. This would be by schedule if I was still training for the 2019 Brazos Bend 50 Miler. But, I started taking high blood pressure medication last Thursday and haven’t consistently felt well enough to run.
Workouts
Medium Run. 10 miles [Log Details]
This week was light on “workouts”. On Monday, I did an easy 5 miles around to Roosevelt Island with my boyfriend. It was cold on Tuesday and Wednesday, so I used that as an excuse to sleep in and rest. On Thursday, I didn’t feel well and assumed it was from the blood pressure medication. On Friday, I did an easy 5-miler in my neighborhood.
On Saturday morning, I woke up feeling re-energized. It was a crisp morning – low 40 degrees when I left my house. I was going to do a short out-and-back east to Crystal City but at the corner, I thought I might feel well enough to go a bit further so I took a detour and headed north to Clarendon. From there, I ran the Arlington Boulevard Trail to Rosslyn. I wondered if I should have taken fluid of food with me now that this was a distance run. I also thought obsessively about my health and whether the high blood pressure or Vitamin D deficiency was causing me to feel so poorly. In Rosslyn, I switched over to the Mount Vernon Trail and stopped for water at Roosevelt Island.
I ran consistent 9:00 pace over those 4 miles and then left trail in Crystal City for 2 miles of easy running home. That afternoon, I felt terrible but the first time in ages, my blood pressure was in the normal range.
Overall pace=9:13.
Health
Illnesses. Hypertension (High Blood Pressure). From doing some research, I learned most sports medicine associations recommend clearing athletes for exercise after two weeks of “controlled blood pressure”. If the medication does its job, that would be early December for me, just before the 2019 Brazos Bend 50 Miler.
I also read that high blood pressure is not recognized as a cause of exertional sudden cardiac arrest, which I think means I shouldn’t collapse from a heart attack during a run, which was comforting. However, I still wanted to be cleared by my cardiologist before resuming strenuous exercise.
Clothing
Tops – Long sleeves. New Balance New York City Marathon Heat Grid Hoodie. I purchased another version of this warm pullover at the 2019 New York City Marathon expo. It fits close to the body and is cut long so unlike some pull overs or half-zips, cold air doesn’t travel up the bottom. (I’m 5’7 and it lands well below my waist.) It also has a soft, fleecy lining. Price: $95.
Gear
Stride Box. My subscription lapsed this summer after an incident of security fraud led me to cancel all of my credit cards, but I re-activated my account last month.
The November box came with Novo Renew Recovery Supplements, Eat Your Coffee Caffeinated Snack Bites, Ataq Electrolyte Hydration Mix, Split Nutrition Pack, and a wearable magnetic LED light.
The Split Nutrition Pack was the most interesting to me. It’s essentially peanut butter and jelly in a squeezable packet.
Media & Motivation
Podcasts. “Episode 514: Tommy and Eoin Hughes,” Marathon Talk. In the news segment, the hosts tackle the Mary Cain New York Times editorial (0:21:15 mark). I enjoyed their discussion because it wasn’t weight focused. Instead, they talked about a culture of results over process to the point where people don’t matter. During the interview with the titular father-son fastest marathon record holders (0:58:30 mark), I was surprised to hear the guest (Tommy, the father) talk about the condition that may be causing my Vitamin D deficiency – hyperparathyroidism (1:28:30 mark).
Racing Schedule
Future races. London Marathon / 2020 Wanda Age Group World Championships. On Tuesday morning, I saw an email from Abbott World Marathon Majors about registering for the London Marathon as part of the 2020 Wanda Age Group World Championships. I went to the website and after filling out the form and entering my credit card information, I received confirmation that I was in the race! From what I found online, there were 85 slots for my age group (45-49). I was ranked 159th in my age group last year using Abbott’s system based on my times at the 2018 New York City Marathon and the 2019 Boston Marathon was offered a spot during the second round of invitations.
Next race: 2019 Brazos Bend 50 Miler on Saturday, December 7th? I don’t see this happening but I’m still registered and could change my mind.
(My Racing Schedule)
