Overtrained or under iron

I am exhausted.

Aside from that, my legs feel dead about 3K into a run. My pace is reasonable, so I know it's not me starting out too fast or too fast a pace. On my 18K long run on Saturday, I was pulling from an empty tank by the last few KM, with the last KM being a very tough slog. Mind you, I shouldn't have left a hill for the end of my long run - that was a really stupid decision. But even then, I had to really push myself to finish that run and not pack it in at 15K. When I woke up on Sunday, I looked pale and sallow, with very dark circles under my eyes. I get wanting a nap after the run, but I feel way more tired than I think I should be. Certainly there's different food/nutrition/hydration tweaks I could make, but this feels different.

My pace on shorter runs is suffering, too. But my heartrate is okay and my body temps are normal, if not a bit lower than normal. I ran 7K at a reasonable pace, and I'm so tired today that I need toothpicks to keep my eyelids open. I'm tired and winded walking up a flight of stairs.

Am I overtrained? I doubt it. I'm doing reasonable mileage and mileage increases, with reasonable paces. I've got lots of rest days. My only specialty workout is hills, and even then I'm only able to do 4 or 5 repeats and I'm so beat afterwards that I want to stop running. In the Fall I was up to 8 or more repeats and felt strong. The thought of adding in speedworkouts makes me want to puke... I can motivate myself to run hills because I enjoy the challenge of the workout.

I'm thinking that maybe I'm anemic. I got my last panel from October and the hemoglobin was on the lower end of the spectrum, but still in the acceptable range for an adult. I've significantly increased my mileage since then. I think I need a doctor's appointment, stat.

Breaking through the mileage barrier

These last two weeks of my training schedule marked a new milestone in my running career: long runs over 13K. It's an awesome feeling to push your body further and further each week.

I've hit new highs for my long run, at 14K last Saturday and 16K yesterday. I had to resist the urge to eat everything in sight yesterday and needed an hour-long recharge nap in mid-afternoon. I really hope that the post-run tiredness goes away as I condition my body to run the longer distances. Oh, and I'm still ravenous today. My coworker's softboiled eggs are looking and smelling mighty tasty right now. This coming Saturday's long run is 18K.

I'm also really looking forward to next week's cutback week. I don't think I'm overtrained at this point, but I'm definitely feeling the need for a bit of a break from the mileage increases.

Update to the Fuelbelt bottle situation: I gave up and bought new ones. They are so much better than my old grimey ones. The dude at the RunningRoom said he replaces his every 6 months and joked that the old bottles could be used to throw at cars that cut you off. LOL.

Medal Hanger Giveaway

Hey everyone... TeaMarcia over at the Studly Runner is doing a giveaway on her blog. She's giving away one of the awesome medal hangers from Allied Medal Displays. Some of you from RWOL are probably already familiar with their site and product. But hey, FREE STUFF!

Friday RunPorn

Racers cross the Sahara desert in Morocco during the second stage of the 26th edition of the Marathon des Sables. Photo courtesy of Getty Images/AFP.

Fuelbelt bottles

I cleaned my Fuelbelt bottles last week. If you haven't done this, you might want to. I pulled them all apart and found all kinds of awesome black mould in the tops. Gross. Some I couldn't get totally clean. I soaked them in hot soapy water and they are still gross. Now the thought of drinking from them is making my stomach turn.

I'm trying to decide if I want to keep on trying to clean them or if I should just toss them and buy a new set. I've had them for 2 years after all...

If you have any cleaning suggestions, please feel free to post them.