Double Trouble?

The quest for a promotion in the Maniac AsyLum will cause us to do many crazy things. Back in November, Brady and I completed a double marathon (marathon on Saturday followed by a marathon on Sunday) to get bumped up from 1 star to 4.

This spring I have added some pretty significant races to my schedule that created the need for an increase in training. For that reason I signed up for another double. I have maxed out the option for an increase in my stars until I do a triple or dozens in a specific time frame, so this set of races was not for stars, but for my own well being and sense of accomplishment.

 Doubles are hard, but not impossible. For those of you that have not yet ran a marathon or have, but find that day after to be pretty miserable, the thought of two in two days is crazy. Today, I am able to run a marathon without a lot of pain afterwards. It goes to show you that your body does adapt and does finally just give up resisting your craziness.

The secret is to avoid getting stiff after day one and to eat and sleep as much as possible. After double #1 I accomplished both those things. Brady and I ate a full meal immediately after the race on day 1. We pulled out of the parking lot and he determined McDonalds was needed to fill the rest of his belly. You read that right. Two meals within 15 minutes. Meal 2 included a milkshake. Four hours later, we ate again. I am sure it is not that way for everyone, but after a marathon, I am hungry, but Brady needs enough to sustain a small army for a week.

We also slept a lot. We got a hotel near marathon #2 and took a nap. We went to bed early and slept in as along as we could before venturing out for the second 26.2.

Fast forward to March. I didnʼt keep to the same plan. For may reasons, this double was destined to be harder. For the first reason, the first 26.2 was on a trail with 40 water crossings. The forecast for day 2 included wind and rain.

 I also didnʼt do myself any favors. I didnʼt eat enough and didnʼt get nearly enough sleep. The result was the same as it was in November: a successful finish for 2 marathons in less than 32 hours, but the experience on day 2 was not nearly as enjoyable.

 My mistakes:
1. I ate a very late lunch after day 1. I ate quite a bit and then drove over 3 hours in bumper to bumper traffic to get home. After that, I wasnʼt in the mood for dinner and didnʼt eat much the rest of the night. By the time I started day 2 it, it has been way too long since I had real food.

2. I didnʼt get nearly enough sleep. With a 3:00 am wake up call for both days, my body was wondering what the heck I was up to.

3. I didnʼt take my usual GU on day 2. By the time the start came around for day 2, I was not feeling any energy. Miles 10 - 20 I felt that I could (and should) lay down and take a nap. I had a hard time keeping my eyes open and lifting my feet to run.

By the time you factor in the wind and drizzle I was experiencing, I was not a happy camper. Perpetuating the problem, I forgot my Chocolate Outrage Gu that would have provided some caffeine and possibly woken my sorry butt up. I drug myself through the course, cursing myself for not eating and not sleeping. I was not a happy camper.

 Thankfully, when most runners experience ʻthe wallʼ at mile 20, I actually came into a second wind. I was able to run without issue and enjoyed the last hour or so of day 2. In fact, my last few miles were faster than my first and I sprinted to the finish. For my mental training, finishing strong was huge. 

Lessons learned:
1. eat a late snack on day 1. Fuel myself better, even if I am not hungry.
2. stay closer to the races so the 2+ hour pre and post race drives can be eliminated. Sleep is your friend.
3. Just keep moving. It gets better.

 I will do more doubles. In fact, I will run seven marathons in seven consecutive days starting June 28th. There is an AsyLum promotion wrapped up in that! I can only imagine the amount of food that will require.