Monday, July 30, 2007

12, I mean 13-miler

Saturday was our second double digit run. It was HOT HOT HOT. And sticky, and humid. Storm clouds hovered over us through our entire run, which we were all secretly hoping for. This run was tough. Especially, considering our minor setback early on in the first 5 mile loop. It was supposed to be a 4 mile loop, but we missed the turnaround. Oops. We had run that loop before, so we just assumed it didn't change. So our 12 miler became a 13 miler.

I'm concerned I'm starting off a bit fast. By the end of that first five mile loop, I was exhausted. My legs were heavy, my body drenched, and my spirit flagging. My running buddy, Allison, even toyed with stopping and picking up again on Sunday. We pushed on knowing we would be mad at ourselves for stopping and we weren't gonna want to run any more the next day. We started walking a bit around mile 7. Just a couple quick breaks up hills. We kept pushing, but stopped when we needed to. The coaches are so supportive, always telling us to walk hills if necessary, so we took their advice. I'm not sure if it's the best method of reaching a faster pace (obviously, it's not), but our bodies really could only do so much. We carried on this way for the middle part of the run. We definitely ran the majority, but took more walk breaks than either of us were accustomed to.

As we were at about mile 8 or so, I ate one clif-cube thing. Whether just mental or physical, that one little cube got me going again. It gave me a little bit of hope for those longer runs, knowing I can rely on gels and gel cubes for a little energy boost. Funny how I forgot all this over the span of a year? Other than that one cube and a few jelly beans from the next water stop, I stuck to just tons of water and gatorade. This was my first run wtih gatorade and I think it actually works (go figure).

Rain threatened our entire run, but the downpour didn't start until about 3/4 of a mile from the end. I was completely soaked - squishy shoes, shorts I could ring out (although I suspect you could have wrung them before it started raining. sorry, that was sick).

Despite really trying hard to be tough, this run kicked my ass. I blame the humidity for much of it, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't losing my confidence. I could really use a good, long run after these two rough ones. There's always next week, and the week after, and the week after...

And for my own personal accounting:
Weekday runs leading up...
M - A Reservior loop with J
T - A 4-miler with C
W - Off
Th - A 4-miler with C

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