How Do You Train For Doubles?

It was a question I asked myself as soon as I decided to double Denver and Kansas, Indianapolis and St. Louis, and MN and Iowa....and an answer I knew, but without being serious about training I hadn't put into practice.  The only way to train for a double is to run on tired legs.  So I took advantage of the fact that VA Beach RNR is the Sunday of Labor Day weekend and I had Monday off.  I woke up Monday morning and headed to the base to run.  I intended on trying 5 miles, but when I got on base I decided the loop I'd do was likely about six.  As I approached mile 2 I felt great so I decided to make it 7.  I hadn't fueled at all and had only had a couple of sips of water and hadn't brought any with me.  In addition to that I'd slept in so it was nearly 11:00 and the heat of the day was strong.  But I felt ok and wasn't out for speed, just to put in the miles. 

The sun beating down on the asphalt was very reminiscent of the previous day's race, but I was doing ok.  I started really paying attention to how I felt, legs, lungs, heart...everything was good.  As I wound into my sixth mile I began to feel the affects, but not bad. I was thirsty.  I'd worn my fuel belt but finished off the last of that around mile 5.  I was beginning to feel weak...just no fuel in the tank.  But I still had enough to kick it up for the last 1/4 of a mile and finish the 7 strong.  Sweaty, but strong!

I knew that if I'd fueled and hydrated properly I could've gone much further.  Just in case, I headed home and took an ice bath for the legs.

But I had no issues from it.  For the first time I KNEW what I needed to do to prep for Denver and I KNEW I was capable of pulling the double with proper fueling and hydrating.  What I didn't know, was why my toe felt so weird the rest of the day...just kind of tingly.  Then that evening it bugged me enough that I looked at it...

My second toe had a HUGE blister on the side of it.  :(  My absolute first blister from running.  I've never had a black toenail and until this I'd never had a blister.  The only issue I've had is some bra strap chaffing and body glide took care of that.  I'd been running in new shoes since August and this was the most mileage I'd ever put on them (20 miles in 2 days).  I'd noticed the toes felt different but hadn't been able to pinpoint different good or different bad...this was definitely going to be something I kept an eye on.  Maybe it was the shoes, maybe it was all of the miles, maybe it was something else entirely...but I'd have to keep a close eye on it to not let it affect my ability to run my upcoming doubles.  I popped it and drained it SEVERAL times over the next few days and kept it clean and wrapped and it healed really quickly, so at least it wouldn't affect my training.  For the record...I'm back to training.  I have my plan laid out through the end of October and VA Beach marked the first day of it.  I'm running and back in the gym lifting and looking forward to getting myself right!  Next up...Philly...