Day 8 (Today's Total: 6 miles; Weekly Total: 25 miles): 75 days to go until race day and I have already fallen behind on my log. Three days ago I completed my long run last week and the day after (Saturday) I logged 2 miles of sprints at the local high school track. I rewarded myself yesterday with a Kundalini yoga session and now I'm already into the second week of training. I'm realizing it isn't easy to remember to blog along with all the other distractions of life nor does my mind cease to draw a blank when it comes to blog topics beyond the details of my training schedule. I guess it being my seventh time marathon training a lot of what occurs during the course of the training itself seems like second nature and unworthy of discussion.
A few days ago I lamented the necessity for new running shoes, mainly because I find it to be really unsustainable. I should mention that my boyfriend and I strive to live a "green" lifestyle, consuming as few as many resources as possible and reusing/repurposing old items, transporting ourselves by bike, eating foods with only the most local and ecological ingredients, composting and recycling all that we are allowed to, and encouraging the rest of society to also jump on the bandwagon through our advocacy and volunteer efforts. There are both advantages and disadvantages to this lifestyle for the sake of endurance sport training.
I incorporate riding my bike to and from work as part of my cross-training. I find that foods available at the farmer's market are always fresh and usually in season, meaning that these are the best for my body. However, burning as many calories as one does in the course of marathon training requires constant replenishment of the body and in more abundance and regularity than usual. Adhering to my food morals while also compensating for this caloric deficit can be trying on the wallet. In addition to shoes (which can be recycled), I usually need to purchase new running socks and sports bras because these wear down and chafe in the process of training. And as much as I am intrigued by the "barefoot running" craze, it seems that a purchase is still required. With the exception of the Santa Barbara Marathon taking place in my city of residence, most races are a decent drive away, requiring that we burn more fossil fuels to transport ourselves to the start line. I suppose we could encourage that more races organize carpools for people traveling from afar.
If I discover more ways to avoid some of the unsustainable drawbacks of marathon training I will share them as I go...
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