I switched my Friday and Thursday workouts, so I took Friday as a rest day. I’m glad I did, because it was a long day at work. I started out in Norfolk with meetings, then Chesapeake, and then a late in the day meeting in Suffolk. While they all went pretty well, it was none the less a pain in the neck to do all that moving around. Oh well. I had to swing by the grocery on the way home because no one (aka…ME) figured out what to do for dinner. I love D very much, but he never helps plan dinner! Suffice to say, I was irritated by the time I got home, started cleaning and picking up around the house, and then cooking. Well, as usual I made dinner for everyone else, and I reheated the Dal soup I made for the second time that day. I had coffee and Ezekiel toast with sunflower butter for breakfast, some coleslaw and Dal soup for lunch, and Dal soup for dinner. I went to bed early. Really early.
I had planned to wake up at 5am to get my run done nice and early before the heat of the day set in. I was scheduled to run 13 miles today and knew it would take me a couple of hours. Alas. I set the alarm on my phone to wake me up so it wouldn’t disturb D. Either I forgot to actually turn the alarm on, or (much more likely scenario), I turned it off after it went off and promptly ignored it by going back to bed. I slept like poo last night, so I imagine it was my subconscious telling me I should not attempt such severe movement until I had more sleep.
I woke about 7 and seriously considered for about 2 minutes staying in bed. I was so tired, and for about 30 seconds, I thought of skipping my run and doing it tomorrow. I knew I’d just be angry at myself, so I rolled out of bed, got dressed in my running clothes, and made a cup of coffee. I planned to run down by the oceanfront today for a change of scenery. I was nervous about not having any Clif Bars or Gu left, but had a plan to get them before my run. I also had (thought) I left my iPod at my office yesterday, so after my coffee and slamming a cup of water, I stopped at 7-Eleven for a Clif Bar and then headed to my office. Turns out I did NOT leave my iPod there, and found it in my purse after I got back into the van. I guess I should have actually looked there first. Oh well. I knew that Final Kick Sports opens at 7am on Saturdays because they host group runs, so I headed there to buy my Gu’s (can only find them in sport stores). I decided to skip the oceanfront since it was drizzling and would just delay my run, so I stayed at Final Kick’s parking lot and ran in First Landing State Park.
On the way there, I figured out how far I would have to run before turning around. I laced up, put on my water bottle belt thing, and took off. I’d like to say it was the impact of it being the morning and still a bit tired, but the fact of the matter is I just can’t add. I never could. I figure that’s why we invented calculators, so I wouldn’t have to be bothered with mundane things such as adding and subtracting. Today, I regretted not being a better math student. Allow me to explain. I was scheduled to run a 13 miler today. I was already pretty peeved knowing that I was going to run a half marathon today…and not get a T-Shirt or anything because of it. I was doing it NOT for a race or event like I always have before, and I’ve never run this far for “fun”. I understand intellectually that 13 miles is 13 miles. If I run at an event like the Shamrock or the OBX, there’s something about the crowds and people all around that carry you through when you feel overwhelmed. I felt daunted by today. No crowds, no people around me doing the exact same thing inspiring me to keep going. It was all me. But I digress….
On my way to my run, I figured that I’d have to run 7.5 miles out before I could turn around. So I left the Final Kick parking lot, walked about a half mile to warm up, started up my Garmin, and took off. I can just hear all your brains clicking and adding (correctly) what 7.5 + 7.5 is. As it turns out, those two numbers do NOT add up to 13….and I didn’t figure that out until I had gone out 7.5, turned around, and started completely suffering at mile 10. Holy Poo. 13 was bad enough. But I was going to go 15 (16 really if you count that initial .5 mile warm-up too). As soon as I figured it out, my heart sunk, I felt like a total moron, and I started walking. My whole body was hurting – my hips, legs, and feet. I felt the beginning of a blister on my left heel, and wanted to find some way to teleport back to my vehicle so I could go home. Oh, and my iPod! My book finished right about at mile 11. I was psyched to start the next one, but my iPod controls wouldn’t respond. I tried multiple times, but to no avail. So the last several miles were a nightmare of no audio book too.
I must say that I felt quite a bit like a failure on today’s run. The first 8-10 miles I felt pretty good, but then just hit a major wall. I walked most of the rest, with a few bursts of running in between – but there were very few. Around mile 14, I called D. Even he said I sounded pathetic (okay, I’m paraphrasing…I really think he said I sounded rough or miserable or something…but I felt pathetic). By the time I got back to my van, I could barely walk. What the heck was wrong with me? I just did 11 miles last Friday, and felt great the whole time! Granted, I was a bit sore the next day, but not the day OF the run. I started doubting that I could ever run 26.2 miles – especially in the morning. I’m not built for activity in the mornings. I’m not well hydrated, blah blah blah. As I was driving the the Asian Market on VB Blvd (I am out of Sake, after all), a few things dawned on me. 1 – half my run ended up on the beach. That just sucks. For anyone who hasn’t run on the beach, the ground sinks and doesn’t bounce you back up – so you use twice the energy at least. And sand gets in your shoes, which really, really stinks. I’m wondering if those couple of miles where I ran out of trail and ended up running in sand (though it was GORGEOUS) had anything to do with my misery. 2 – I never really pay attention to what I eat the day before I do a long run. Maybe it isn’t being afflicted with negative-morning-syndrome…but the fact that I didn’t fuel for crap last night. No carbs like pasta or anything. I had a bowl of pea soup and that was it. So after I had some time to think, I didn’t feel like as much of a failure as I did in the middle of my 16 miler. Which, by the way, I don’t really get credit for. Ugh.
I got home and aside from being really hungry, I was really sticky and spent a long time in the shower. Then I crawled into bed and watched TV. A lot of TV. This was after lecturing A on the importance of doing really well in math. I think she called me a loser. At this point, I can’t really remember.
D eventually joined me and we watched a couple shows. Around 4, he made a pot of coffee, and we both felt much more human. Pretty much all my soreness had gone away, and we decided to go see a movie! We saw Knight and Day, which was quite fun and entertaining. Now we’re home, I’m enjoying a cup of Sake, and we’re going to watch a movie. With any luck, I’ll sleep past 7 tomorrow!
S got home tonight from her vacation and we’re going to meet tomorrow for Bloody Mary Sunday. Sammie (my pups) has a bath appt at 10, so timing is perfect. Even though it’s a rest day, I’m hoping to get my Fitlinxx done, but I’m not sure if I should work any leg muscles after today. The strength you get from working out actually occurs on the days you rest – because when you work out, you tear up all your muscles. On the rest days, they rebuild – and muscles become stronger. The biggest mistake you can make is to never rest. Then again…I’m probably just talking myself into taking another day off!
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