Good evening fellow bloggers. As I sit here with a head full of snot and sore knees, I ponder my run today and can only come up with - "What was I thinking?!?"
First let's review. Wednesday night I messed up my ankle, but by Thursday morning the pain and swelling were gone. I opted not to push it and skipped my run for that day, "The Run That Didn't Happen".
Today my training schedule had me slotted for an easy 15-16 miles. I thought about pushing it to 18 miles, but didn't. So, all of my reading says to use your long runs as an opportunity to see what you should eat before your marathon. Friday night we had friends over for a cookout and bonfire. I forgot about my need to "carb load" that night and ended up eating a few hot dogs and some tortilla chips while watching Xavier win. This morning I got up and thought, "oh crap, I didn't eat my carbs last night." So I planned on eating a good breakfast before running and then eating a power bar on the way to the bike trail. But, breakfast ended up being 1/2 a bagel and a glass of OJ and on the way to run, I realized I did not have a power bar in my truck - another "Oh crap" moment.
I got to the bike trail (Newtown section) around 10:45am. It was about 40 degrees. I strapped on my water belt and headed off. I really need to learn how to pace myself outside since my first mile was faster than my typical "tempo " run and my second mile was still below my target MP. Things are going good, my ankle feels great ands I am plugging along. At 4 miles I took a quick break for water and kept going. At mile 7 I started feeling the weakness of my lack of food planning. When I reached the 8 mile mark (just north of Wards corner for you Cinci people), I turned to head back and took a short break for a power gel and water. The next 2 miles were slower, but still pretty steady - then I hit the wall. I about 11.5 miles I started getting dizzy and slowed to a walk and drank some water. Once I started back up, I could not get into a rhythm. At mile 13 my legs started cramping and I again slowed to a walk. This routine lasted the rest of the run.
When i finished up, my fingers were numb and the coughing that had plagued the majority of my run (the snot/congestion issue) had become more like gagging. I was totally spent.
I feel like missing my Thursday run and my ongoing head congestion issues just compounded the problems from the poor food planning. Even though this was the worst run of my entire training to date, I am not too discouraged. I did go further than ever before.
Tomorrow is a 4 mile run on the walking track in Bethel. I plan on taking it slow and not pushing too hard. I do not need my head cold to move into my chest.
Peace,
Philippians 4:13
No comments:
Post a Comment