Weight Tracker

Monday, July 7, 2014

Long Weekend Recap

There's a lot of ground to cover (ha!) from this weekend. Seeing as my last update was...tuesday...I suppose it's more than a weekend recap.

Thursday, I headed out for a "Tune up" run for the race I was running on the Fourth. I decided to run my new route that starts near my house and goes down along the river. I needed four miles on my training schedule, so I figured I'd go out for 2.5, and back for 1.5, and then have a little bit of walk to cool down. I felt good during the run, and just kinda let it ride. I was surprised by my splits when I got home. Even though I slowed up a bit in the second half of the run, I think this was my fastest four miles to date. And it felt good.



Friday was the Firecracker Four Mile (formerly five mile) race. I'll save the details for a separate race recap. In short, it went well, and I feel good about my time. I was kinda bummed they shortened the race, and didn't talk it up at all because this was the race that nearly killed me last year (I stopped running for a good long chunk of time after it.)

Saturday, I was supposed to do a long run (8-10 miles) but ended up not doing anything. I was at my parents with family just relaxing, swimming, and recovering from Friday's festivities. I stand by my decision to skip the run.

Sunday, I had a short three miles on the schedule, but decided to try for the long run I'd missed on Saturday. I had the idea to run my route along the river, both to save time (I'd be leaving directly from my house) and because while the day was not supposed to be overly hot, it was warm and sunny.

I wore one of my nathan hydration belts.The Trail Mix Hydration Belt that I got for my birthday. I filled both bottles with waters with half a tab of Nuun in them. And stashed a Gu in the belt for good measure.

Right off the bat, I screwed up my app, so the first split was way off. I started it, and accidentally immediately paused it. I didn't realize it was paused for almost a mile, and when I restarted the app, it assumed I'd run the entire distance very, very quickly.

The run was going well at first, although I was running careful, since my right calf (on the inside down by the ankle) had been bothering me after the race on friday. I was really tuned into every little twinge from my legs, which definitely did not feel fresh.

I hit the 2.5 mile point, where I usually turn around on this route, and kept going. I hadn't decided how far I was going to go, but I was aiming for between 8 and 10 miles. Not to long after I passed the 2.5 mile mark, I got....lost I suppose is the best way to put it. The trail I follow splits a bunch of different ways, and I wasn't sure how to stay along the river where I was.

I took the branch that said "river trail" which went over a huge arching bridge to the other side of the river. Not long after getting to the other side of the river, I started to feel uncomfortable running on the trail alone. I don't know how to explain it, I just felt unsafe. The area was less well maintained, and there wasn't anyone but me on the trail. So I turned back, and crossed back to the other side of the river, and turned down the Canal Trail.

Unfortunately the Canal Trail at this point was kinda not awesome. There were a few taxing uphills and then a lot of sun. I started to feel super burt out, and was having to stop for walk breaks occasionally as I started feeling overheated. I had already drained one of my bottles at this point and had started in on the second one. I kind of arbitrarily decided to turn around and go back along the river trail, figuring I could add distance along the trail going further past where I'd joined the trail.

And then I ran out of water. You can see it in my splits. I ran out of water somewhere just into the fifth mile. I started desperately searching for a water fountain. I was running through parks, with pavilions, but there were no water fountains to be found. I got into that struggle again, trying to keep myself moving, but feeling like this might not be such an awesome idea. I started into a run/walk, walking any uphills, and actively seeking out shade.  To be honest, I don't really remember a lot of the last mile other than the desperate search for a water fountain.

As soon as the app told me I'd hit seven miles I called it quits. I knew that pushing it any further was going to be supremely bad idea. I still had to walk the mile back to my house. By the time I dragged myself up my front steps, I felt completely defeated. Any feelings of progress I'd had after the Race on Friday were gone.


I kinda collapsed into my living room with a giant glass of water with some Nuun in it and started stretching out and digesting the run. I know it was a case of dehydration, again. Somehow the two bottles were not enough. I think it was partly because I was not fully hydrated to begin with at the start of the run.
Also, after taking a look at the splits, even with the bonk at the end, I was doing relatively well. At least I think I was. I'm not entirely sure how accurate those numbers are, given all the app issues I was having. But I'm gonna go with it. That route had a bunch of hills (small ones, but still) built into it, so keeping between a 12 and 12:30 minute mile for over half the run is an improvement for me.
Today is a rest day, and I'm looking forward to seeing how my legs do over the rest of the week. I'm hoping for a few nice redemptive runs!






3 comments:

  1. Oof, that sounds like a rough run. I would highly recommend a hydration pack or vest. Mine lets me carry significant more water than a belt and keep me hydrated through crazy long runs without being uncomfortable.

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  2. I'm with OCP, a hydration pack is a good idea for long runs in this heat. A lot more water and bonus, you're training with a bit of weight on you so you will feel as light as a feather for your actual run!

    Sorry you had a rough run, but you toughed it out, mama and that's super important. Just think of all the times you could've given up but didn't!

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  3. Youch, that sounds like a tough, tough run. Good job with sticking it out though. Enjoy that rest day today! You deserve it!

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