It was probably stupid of me to do it at all. I'm still not over my cold ... I've got what appears to be a low-grade sinus infection and my energy isn't great. And I did just post a couple days ago about what Austin at the gym said: that while I'm recuperating, it's best not to exercise for long periods of time. Instead, he suggested, I should break up my long runs into sections and do them over the course of a day.
Did I do that, even thought I posted about it and said I would? No. I stubbornly set out at noon today, planning to run an hour and 45 minutes at the minimum; a half-marathon at the maximum. (SAJ had to run 1:45 according to her training plan, so I thought I'd at least do that with her.)
At first, I didn't know if I could run at all. My sinuses and top teeth throbbed with every footstrike. I told myself it would get better after a while, or that I'd at least get used to it, and kept going. I guess I just got used to it.
No surprise, any thoughts I had about "just" doing the 1:45 with SAJ were soon completely out the window. As long as I was out, I thought, I should just go for a half and get the distance behind me. It's been weighing on me ever since I wasn't able to run the distance because of this stupid cold last weekend. Plus, it's a gorgeous day: warm and sunny, with just enough of a breeze. I felt like I'd regret it if I didn't give it a shot.
I did OK for the first few miles and kept a good pace -- although not as good as what I've become used to. But around 4 miles in, I just started feeling exhausted. I chewed some shot blocks, thinking that would help my energy, then tried to hang on until they kicked in. I never really noticed a difference. SAJ was having similar troubles -- most likely because she ran the fastest half ever just 6 days ago and has been working her ass off ever since. Well that, and she was out late drinking lots of cocktails last night. That couldn't have helped. (Complete disclosure: I was also out until 11:00 last night and drank close to an entire bottle of wine, albeit over the course of nearly 5 hours. I did not drink nearly enough water and started the day feeling rather parched.)
After we hit the 5-mile mark, we started making lots of stops: for the bathroom, to take a drink, to get more water, to wait for a green light, just to catch our breath. With every stop, it was harder to get started again. Somehow I did it, but I could feel myself slowing down. No matter how slowly I went, my heart rate was through the roof. I didn't ever really see it below 165 unless we were on of our increasingly frequent stops.
SAJ peeled off when she'd completed her time requirement, which was just about 9.5 miles in for me. It was so tempting to stop with her ... but another three and a half miles didn't seem like that much. I plotted a route that involved a nice downhill at the beginning, flat for the remainder. Even so, it was a huge push once I got to the flat section. Just one long slog, one foot in front of the other. I checked my distance every time I got stopped at a light or came to the end of a song on my iPod. I started feeling nauseous every time I stopped moving. I knew I should just quit -- I kept telling myself that I wasn't doing myself any good (in fact, it was probably the opposite) by continuing. But for some reason I just couldn't let that 13.1 go.
I will say that the last mile was the most torturous. I just flat-out felt like crap. I called my sweet husband to pick me up so I wouldn't have to walk the mile home -- uphill! -- when I finally saw the magic distance show up on my watch. I waited at our rendezvous point for about 5 minutes before he arrived and felt so terrible that I didn't know what to do with myself. My glutes, hamstrings and calves felt completely seized up. I was lightheaded and queasy. And I really felt like I'd made a dumb mistake, pushing myself that hard.
Now I'm back home on the couch, empty carton of chocolate milk beside me, waiting to feel a bit less gross before I eat a sandwich. My legs and sinuses are killing me. In fact, I feel sick all over again. I really hope I don't pay a big price later today or tomorrow for insisting on finishing that big run.
Not including stops, it took me two hours and twenty minutes to cover the distance. My average pace was 5.6 mph (again, I turned off the timer every time I came to a stop), which works out to just over 10:35 miles. Not bad at all ... until you consider how many times I had to stop, and that my time and pace don't take that into consideration. If I took the time at face value, today would be a PR for me. But that feels like cheating.
Well, what's done is done and I did it. Now I can just wait to see whether it was a mistake -- and if so, how much of one it was. Stay tuned ...
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