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February 25, 2007
Intermission
Hee, hee! It's an intermission!
Of note:
1. It has been SO fun writing these entries, recalling (or trying to recall) the details of each stage. Funny, things are already starting to grow hazy. I find myself staring at the computer screen, trying to remember how things went out there. It was only a few weeks ago! Corrado, there are just 2 stages left! Thanks, everyone, for reading!
2. In other news, I'm sick as a dog, and it's miserable. It seems that my body just plain crashed as soon as I got back into the United States. I'm telling everyone, "My body is protesting my return to the real world and things like, gasp, my job." Could it be that, after a 6-day race and a 10-day vacation, my body is finally worn out? Probably the most likely explanation. I'm on Day 4 of The Cold From Hell. I suspect I've got to feel better soon. Reprieve, please?
3. There has not been much running going on in my life. I'll eventually post the weekly stats. Let's just say I didn't break 20 miles for this last week! However, I've had a lovely 2 weeks of recovery and I'm excited to train again. I was planning to ramp back up again this coming week, but I guess that will only happen if The Cold From Hell decides to finally leave me alone.
4. I'm too skinny. I lost a lot of weight during the race (5+ pounds, a lot for me). In the first place, I don't have a lot of fat to give away, so I'm pretty sure that my body ate up muscle tissue. Thus, the weight thing has been a conundrum in the last 2 weeks. I need to work out to regain the muscle mass, but recovery time is equally important. I don't want to over-eat and end up with fat mass, just to regain the correct number of pounds. I've been craving protein (another reason I suspect I've lost muscle mass), all kinds of it, so my diet has been high in protein. I'm hoping this has been slowly helping the issue. This is another reason I'm looking forward to training again, to rebuild my desperate-looking frame! If anyone has any tips to share in this arena, I'd love to hear them!
5. I'm readjusting the altitude of my home, 6300 feet. Being at lower elevations for the last 3 weeks is requiring my body to make some red blood cells again. I hope the readjustment is easy. I went for a snowshoe run today and nearly killed myself. It doesn't help that The Cold From Hell is doing a wonderful job of blocking most of my respiratory passages, but I know the elevation had an affect as well. Oh well, I'll take this repercussion of lying on a beach for 10 days in Costa Rica any day.
Alright, back to the show!
Posted by Meghan at February 25, 2007 8:42 PM
Comments
Meghan,
Well if I've inspired you to come to Washington and run Orcas Island you will probably need to triple that to equal the envy your recent Costa Rican adventure has created for Michelle and I.
You have experienced an amazing adventure and Michelle and I both thank you for sharing it with us and the others in blog land. I'm sure you will remember your time in Costa Rica long after your cold from hell goes away.
Get healthy and get back into shape so we can see you at a local ultra or marathon sometime soon!
Eric
Posted by: Eric Barnes at February 25, 2007 9:53 PM
Well, I am printing it all so I could read it at home - that's lots! But so was the race!!
Take care of the cold, Meghan!
Posted by: olga at February 26, 2007 12:29 PM
... as I was reading the intermission I was thinking if should take advantage and go buy some popcorn :-) ... blogland is a funny time-space frame isn't it? ...
re. point 4. The idea that comes immediately to mind is that you should "reconstruct" yourself in the same way that you "destruct-ed"...
You started healthy, well-fed and energetic and you finished with the Cold from Hell, malnutritioned and with less energy...
You will need much more care than usual to do the many things you normally do before even thinking about training for the next race...
to elaborate: your normal life in your current condition is like you were engaged in a tough race...sooooo... "race to recover to normality" borrowing from your race strategy and developments: take frequent rests but try to small quantities of work at normal energy level, eat whenever you are hungry but watch out for the right dosage, stretch, massage and "physiotherapize" yourself as you go about your daily non workout routines: not because you ran up a river, but because you drove for one hour...
Don't be afraid of putting on weight, because even if you did you would immediately shed it as soon as you are fortified again for your workouts... make sense...? On the longwinded side... my mind is a little hazy...i'm recovering from a wimpy Sunday half-marathon myself... peanuts and soy-beans for you ultra-jocks, i know, i know, don't rub it in..
:-)
Posted by: corrado giambalvo at February 26, 2007 12:37 PM
"I'm too skinny" Man I wish I had that problem! Yes, get well. And you will dump red blood cells for about five days before they start producing more so it will take a bit to get back to the numbers they were before you left.
Great race and great reports!!! Did you bring home some cool schwag??? Prize money???
tom
Posted by: tom riley at February 26, 2007 2:54 PM
Hey Meghan - hope you are feeling better soon!
As for weight gain - maybe nuts (almonds, walnuts, etc..) or nut butter (peanut is the easiest but there are others)? Lots of calories in just a little amount and LOTS of protein to help your beat up muscles recover. Just a thought!
Posted by: Beth at February 26, 2007 5:37 PM
Hope you are feeling better! I want to try one of those snowshoe runs!
Jenny
Posted by: Jenny at February 27, 2007 6:55 AM