Listening to my body

I ran 9 miles last weekend and felt great -- great route, great pace, only stopped three times, had energy to do a bit of striding out at the end. Today, the same 9 mile run was terrible, horrible, no good, very bad... The difference? I think it was that for my most substantial meal yesterday I ate Six Flags food, I drank more soda than water yesterday, and then I drank a bit of alcohol in the evening. It's amazing to me how much things like that affect energy -- in ways I don't always notice. Running has a very valuable way of forcing that kind of listening to my body. I'm learning so much more how food, drink, sleep, mood affects my energy and my body's physical ability. I hope to carry that lesson beyond the marathon training, and I look forward to continuing to learn what exactly my body needs to work best.