from Diary of a “Rubbish Marathon Runner” I have felt different every day since my last post, and the progress has not been entirely straightforward. On Saturday morning I awoke with the bedclothes drenched in sweat, but feeling a world better. I was almost ready to go running again, but not quite. The vast improvement was well timed, because it was the first day of the twins’ day in the gifted kids education program, which meant that Niamh would be in Cork for most of the day with them and I would be looking after Cian and Maia on my own. I managed reasonably well, but by 4 o’clock my energy levels were dropping fast and I was counting down the minutes until their return. I just about managed to gather enough energy to cook dinner, but that was it. After that I was out for the count.
Sunday was the other way round. I felt like crap in the morning, which disappointed me. After feeling so much better on Saturday morning I had hoped for some improvement on Sunday, maybe even enough to sneak a short run. That was completely out, and I just spent the day resting as much as I could. Somehow this seemed to do the trick, and by the evening I somehow felt completely recovered. By now I had missed 5 days of running, and I was beginning to worry about my training, but resolved to ignore those worries and only go running if I felt comfortable about it.
Another early night got me more long hours of sleep, and when I woke at 6 am on Monday I felt really good. Apart from lifting Maia out of her cot and giving her a bottle I stayed in bed for almost another hour, but then, pretty much at the spur of the moment, I put on some running clothes and headed out.
I took it very easy, but the quads felt like I was doing a hard tempo run. The HR itself was low, which had been my main worry. I started feeling fatigued after 2 miles and turned around, but recovered on the run and was fine for the rest of the way home. I can’t complain, I made it through 4+ miles without feeling I was overdoing it, but I wonder how long it will take to regain the level I’d reached a week ago just as the sickness started hitting.
I might keep on running over the next few days, depending on how I feel, but I won’t be training just yet. Anything more than a few miles at easy effort is out of the question presently.
There’s one more story I really feel I should mention. I generally keep a close eye on my weight, and weigh myself most days. For some unknown reason on Thursday I stepped on the scales twice, once in the morning and once in the evening. That day I had spent on a training course and got through it by taking the maximum recommended number of ibuprofen tablets (six) over 24 hours. Anyway, my weight in the morning was 147 pounds, and in the evening it had gone up to 153(!). After a night filled with one trip to the bathroom after another I was back down to 147 on Friday morning. It was only later on that I remembered that NSAIDs, including ibuprofen, have an effect on your kidneys, and that in fact renal failure is not unknown. I know you naturally weigh more in the evening, but 6 pounds is excessive. It scared me off those little white pills for good, I think. I know of several runners who pop them like candy at times. I think they should be a lot more careful.
7 Feb
0
8 Feb
0
9 Feb
4.1 miles, 36:16, 8:51 pace, HR 137