LOW END OF NORMAL

Awwwww…I didn’t know you guys cared so much. Seriously, thanks for all the comments and suggestions. The “only” problem with option #2 from yesterday (cutting back and trying to run TCM on fresh legs) is that if it doesn’t work, I’ll have postponed my recovery by five weeks. So instead of recovering now and being able to start rebuilding in October, which is my favorite running month, I’d basically miss all of October for recovery.

Anyway, "today's plan" is to just lay low. I’ll try running in a day or two. Sunday I’ll do the 25K that I’m signed up for, but just treat it as a long run. Then I’ll re-evaluate.

After getting about 8 suggestions to check my iron levels, I took everyone’s advice and stopped by Urgent Care. The doctor seem skeptical right from the start saying; “People with anemia don’t run 9-10 miles a day.” Later he came back with my blood results which showed a hemoglobin level of 13.3 g/dL. His chart said 12.0 – 18.0 is normal. However, Pftizinger says 14.0 – 18.0 is normal for most adults and that the lower range can be extended to 13.0 for runners due to their higher blood volume. Pfitz basically says 13.0 – 13.9 can be considered on the low end of the normal range. So I guess it wouldn’t hurt to add a multi-vitamin and maybe some iron supplements to my diet.

Jim seems to think I’m wrong and that I’m just reading too much into the results of my last two races. I just can’t help logically compare the races leading up to Grandma’s versus those leading up to TCM and come to the conclusion that “I’m ready.”

Of course, I’m taking into account other things than just two races. Mike’s Mystery Coach had a comment last week regarding Lydiard's schedule having a wide variety of workouts (i.e. pace, distance, terrain, etc). That has made me think that dropping my mid-week 14-15 mile runs over hilly terrain in Hyland Park this time around was the wrong thing to do. Plus, most of my tempo/MP runs were on the treadmill at 0% incline. I did a couple of hill workouts, but looking back, I only did 2. While I originally thought my legs were just tired, this leads me to believe that I actually lost leg strength.

I’ll close with a couple of links. First, here’s my lastest interview. And second, thanks to Bill for sending me this Onion article on the TdF. If I didn't know better, I'd swear it was true.

Quote of the day;

“Another strength is probably mental toughness and the ability to focus. When the gun goes off, the “mom” hat is replaced with the “runner” hat. I don’t hear or see much when I race.” - Bonnie Sons.