I actually started my marathon training 3 weeks ago. To get extra prepared, I decided to run the first three weeks of the training program before I officially started training (18 weeks before the race). Those three weeks went really well. I hit (well, exceeded) my marathon-pace runs and had no trouble with the 8- and 9-mile long runs. I did some hill repeats and some 800s on the track. Everything was perfect. But maybe it was a little too perfect. I wonder now if running too fast on some of my runs brought on the latest round of fatigue. I wonder if I'm especially susceptible to overtraining because I have MS. I'm sure it sounds ridiculous to consider that I'm overtraining on 25 miles a week, but sometimes I think that's how MS affects me.
In case you haven't already written me off as a complete whack job, as of today I've been off gluten and dairy (and meat and eggs) for four weeks. At first I thought I felt better, but now I'm not so sure. I crave bread and pizza and "easy" food like YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE, and instead of making me feel "cleaner", I just feel hungry all the time. Even when I get enough calories, I still feel starved because I can't eat things that make me feel full (like bread, bread, and bread). I promised myself I would do the no dairy / gluten thing for 6 months, to see if it would improve my MS. In general I don't have a lot of MS symptoms, but I've had more fatigue over the past couple of years, so I thought improving my diet would help. People say it can take 6 months or more to see a difference. Because I'm vegetarian, I haven't given up legumes, which all the paleo-MS people say are also bad. So maybe I'm not doing enough. Or maybe I'm doing too much and I should just eat what I want? After all, I wasn't doing too badly before. I ran a marathon! Why must I have such complex food issues?
I'm still having a tough time with shoes, so look for more whiny shoe chronicles ahead! I think both pairs of Ravennas are shot, and I'm not going to buy more because they only last about 200 miles before I start getting aches and pains. My old Brooks Trance shoes seem to be working for me at the moment. I love my PureCadence for the track, but they seem to aggravate my posterior tib (PT) tendon when I wear them on the road. And I recently bought a pair of Hoka Stinsons, which seemed really promising at first, but now I think they're munging up my hip so I'm taking them back. Footwear suggestions welcome!
Here's a summary of my training so for for Disney:
Week -2: 25 miles, 5 runs (including 5@8:35 and 8LSD)
Week -1: 27 miles, 5 runs (9 LSD)
Week 0: 24 miles, 5 runs (cutback week, including 5@8:44)
Week 1: 17 miles, 4 runs (skipped hill repeats and bagged long run, ran 5@8:39)
Last time I started training for a marathon, I never would have tolerated such crap in Week 1. I would have killed myself to get the training absolutely perfect. But this time I am a little more relaxed about it all. Plus, I just finished three weeks of great training. I hope next week will be better, and I'm not going to let this crappy week knock me off course.
I'm not going to be useful for footwear advice, since I think we have diametrically opposed preferences (minimal v fluffy).
ReplyDeleteBut re: the food issues, I definitely say go with what has worked for you previously, even if it doesn't fit the Most Perfect Paleo MS Diet mold. If you're that hungry on adequate calories, try shifting your macronutrient balance (read: fewer carbs, more protein). That's what helped me - rather, a sports dietitian helped me figure that out.
If gluten-free is making you feel like a junkie, maybe consider backing off that (and/or get testing to confirm/deny whether you're one of the MS patients who has high IgA/IgG antibodies to gluten & gliadin). Treat wheat/gluten like any other food item - you don't have to eat it at every meal, but you don't have to write it off entirely.
I'm in week negative 3 of training for the Austin marathon (still don't really believe myself when I type that). My long runs won't sync up exactly with yours, but lemme know if you're game for me to tag along on a chunk of one of yours! We can co-whine.