considering 39.3?

contemplating whether you are goofy enough to run both a half and full marathon back-to-back? i definitely recommend it! just sign up for it already! :o)

running the goofy challenge was so much fun. it was cool to run through all of the parks, see some "behind the scenes" areas of the park, and feel like a vip running through the parks while the crowds were held back to let you through. we were able to take tons of pictures with so many characters, and had we tried harder we probably could've gotten even more. i know i would never have the patience to traipse around the park looking for all the characters on a normal day, but in these races they were right there at your disposal. you just have to deal with the fact that you might not look your best after 15 miles! disney did a terrific job organizing both races, putting together sweet shirts and medals, and providing plenty of food/water/crowd support throughout the 39.3 miles. these were definitely the two best-organized races i have ever ran.

i had such a great experience in both races. i know i have to give a ton of credit to my long and consistent training. after a huge pr in the half on saturday, i toed the line sunday with stiff and sore legs, but felt great throughout that race as well. i am still in awe of how awesome my body and legs held it together and gave me two great races. it was easier to walk after this marathon than it was to walk after the atlanta marathon (and i didn't race a half the day before that one).

perhaps it was because the goofy races were the culmination of my 20+ weeks of training, and atlanta fell in about 6 weeks shy of my "peak". or maybe it was also the assistance of gu roctane, advertised to have the "additional amino acid complex ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (okg) which limits the body's tendency to break down muscle protein tissue during extremely hard training and racing days. okg keeps you going longer and promotes a speedier recovery."

well i think i can agree with that! my legs were sore on monday after carrying me for 39.3 miles, but i have definitely had more soreness after other (just) marathons. tuesday i woke up with no soreness! i was definitely not expecting that, but i'll take it. now gu just needs to come out with a few other roctane flavors. like something with chocolate. then i'd eat gu roctane as a meal.

technically the goofy was the first race (of marathon distance) i truly trained for. atlanta i was fairly-well trained for (definitely better-trained than any previous marathon) but it wasn't the race i was aiming to peak in. perhaps my speedy recovery is also due in part to better physical fitness.

although my legs have been moving fine and don't hurt at all (amazing!), i still gave them the week off from running/any activity other than walking around. the 12-degree weather lately has helped keep me in the house and out of my running shoes this weekend. i came down with a pretty good cold on monday (ahh the nasal drip), which became a constant sneeze on tuesday (as we walked around magic kingdom) and moved on to phlegmy-ness for the rest of the week. i visited the chiropractor for a post-race adjustment on wednesday which helped make me feel 10 times better. hopefully it'll be all cleared up for my return to running in a couple days.

i think my legs were having a bad dream about running friday night. i got a really bad calf-cramp in the middle of the night. i get them periodically in my calves and feet sometimes. they hurt like the dickens. my muscle gets like it is totally flexing, is rock hard, and hurts so bad. i could hardly walk when i got up for a middle-of-the-night bathroom trip and it was sore when i woke up saturday morning. anyone ever get these in their calves/feet? any ideas as to why or how to prevent them? they suck so much. it felt like my calf muscle was going to rip in half, and i can't be having that.

it's been nice to have the week off but i'm feeling blubbery and ready to get back in a running routine again. the next few weeks will be light and easy as i continue to recover from the goofy and build back up to 40mpw. i think my race plans for '09 are changing already, but i'm still hoping to get in at least 2 more marathons and continue to cut down my half pr. thanks to andrea of go the distance, i've discovered that i should have a guaranteed entry to the nyc marathon in november, so i think that'll be my next focus. since i obviously don't have to start training for that for a few months, i will probably follow daniels' "gold" plan in the meantime and run a few random 5k to half marathon races along the way.