Week 13 - In which I obtain irrefutable proof...

... that running has finally made me lose my mind. Since I've started running these distances I've been mildly surprised at the changes in the kinds of foods I find myself craving. Mostly, the surprise has been kept so modest because my thoughts have tended to be along the lines of, "Mmmm... pasta!" It hardly seems surprising that while running a lot my body would start demanding just straight up carbs. A little bit more surprising has been my relative desire for red meat seems to have gone down, but I think that might just be the direct result of a sort of "crowding out" effect from my increased pasta/bread/pizza consumption.

But last week delivered a total shock. Thursday the students/post-docs in my research group have a mini-tradition of going out together and getting lunch, and last week we went to a mixed Asian restaurant (Cravings). Anyway, the person across the table from me got a tofu dish, and I couldn't help but think to myself, "Hmm...that looks... strangely appetizing." I even went so far as to ask for a little taste, and found that it was, frankly, not that bad.

So, I ask, what is happening to me? Clearly something is going wrong...

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Monday: A beautiful day, so another out-of-the-gym "cross-training" session... a 3 mile jog and 5 sets of the Krannert steps.

Tuesday: An easy 5 mile run.

Wednesday: 7 miles, nothing too interesting.

Thursday: 5 fairly relaxed miles

And Friday, of course, was my day off...
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A few weeks ago I started talking about how I was really starting to feel the wear on my legs from running so much, and as I'm writing this (the day after my 20-miler) I have to say that I still feel much the same way. I think I'm starting to suspect that these very long distances (which I am considering everything since that 17 miler) aren't really about building up cardiovascular fitness for the marathon so much as just training the body to stand up to the grinding wear and tear of running for just hours on end. Well, I guess I'm finally getting my wish in terms of adding some small amounts of pain into the exercise routine, right?

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Saturday: 5 miles at pace

Sunday: A rather horrible day, weather wise: cold, rainy, and with high winds. So, my weekend running buddy and I decided to put off the long run until tomorrow. Instead, just a 5 mile run on the treadmill

Monday: 20 miles! Or, as I like to think of it, the double double-digit run. I was one hurting dude after this (and I've mostly been loafing off since finishing the run, not very successfully mustering the energy to focus on work... I think now I understand why doing a long run on a weekday, even if you wake up early to get most of it in before the work day starts, is not the best idea), but I still feel pretty good about myself for finishing the run. Also, "Chocolate Outrage" GU energy gel is maybe one of the best things on the planet.
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Current estimate of my odds of completing a marathon on May 1st: Well, after successfully getting through the 20 miler today, I think I'm ready to bump this up to 95%, which is as high as it was ever going to get (I mean, you can never predict injuries and other such surprises, right?). So, unless something disastrous happens and I need to make a massive downward revision of these odds before the race, I think this will be the last appearance of the "odds estimator" section of the weekly write-up.