As I said in my last post, I've had a love/hate relationship with my running endeavors lately. The feelings have been unsettling because my training runs are no joke. I can't just "get out there" and run for 3 hours- I have to be in decent shape and my legs need to be used to it. Since I took a few days off, I was really nervous about running 17 miles on Saturday. Plus, I've been exhausted lately, and I really just wanted to sleep in.
Saturday morning came around all too quickly. It's been really hot out, so we (Phil was going to run with me )knew the earlier the better...and then slept in until 8 a.m. When we got up, we needed to take Wilson out for a walk- he'd been neglected for a couple of days and had crazy energy. So, we settled on walking to the 'Tosa farmers market with him, getting some groceries and then we'd consider the run. Somehow, when we got home at 10:30 a.m. we managed to lace up and hit the pavement.
Now, since we got up and headed to the market we didn't really eat breakfast. We shared a muffin and a cup of coffee at the market but not enough to really sustain such a long run. That's something we've decided I need to do-- mock my breakfast routine for the race before my runs on the weekend. I know myself all too well, and nervous tendencies will arise the morning of the race and I'll freak out if I don't know what to eat. That starts this upcoming Saturday (I'm a procrastinator and should have done this all along) Phil had some weird salt tablet thingy that he made me take and instead of water we carried Gatorade. Somehow that subbed our breakfast.
When we started off, it was getting warm and we didn't want to go too fast. I felt like I was barely moving. Turns out we were still around a 10-min/mile or under pace so it wasn't so bad. We went through the parkway like usual, and by the time we got to the Hansen golf course we were on our way. I felt strong and relaxed in the beginning. Then, I asked Phil the dreaded question- "Where's our turnaround point?" What was I thinking asking that?
Here's the math: 17 miles at 10 mins/mile = 170 minutes of running= 2 hours 50 minutes. Break that in half to get 1 hour 25 mins to our turnaround point. Just exactly how far does that get you, you might ask? Through the parkway, past Bluemound & Hwy 100, through Brookfield parkway (not sure what it's called), to the golf course on Greenfield & 120th, to the bike trail that leads you to Waukesha (if you go far enough). We made it a 1/2 mile into the bike trail. I'm tired thinking about it.
At the half-way point (8.5 miles, 85 minutes) I was feeling tired and hungry. We refilled on water and turned around to head back. My body felt fairly settled in until that point until about 1 hour 45 minutes. Then I started to get pretty tired. This sounds weird, but I honestly think I could have fallen asleep running had I known I wasn't going to fall over and get hurt. I actually struggled to keep my eyes open. My head was just so relaxed and tired I think it could have fallen off and I wouldn't have realized. My legs were another story. Around hour 2, my left foot started to tingle, like it had fallen asleep. I've never experienced something like this. When I would strike my foot onto the ground, not only would it tingle but it would shoot up to my left shin. That's probably not good, right? Any runners out there reading this- can someone confirm that's probably shin splints?
Moving upwards, my knees felt robotic. Doing different warm up drills helped, like high knees and butt-kicks. And, actually, the change in landscape helped too. By the time we got back to the golf course in 'Tosa I almost looked forward to the small hills because it changed my mechanics enough to give my knees a break. Of course my upper legs were hurting, but it was more of a constant tightness than anything.
My torso and chest weren't a problem, but they never really are. My shoulders and neck were tight like my legs and again I gained relief from stretching them a bit during the run. High school coaches taught me to use my arms (in proper form of course) when my legs got tired. Relying on them is genius- if you move your arms in a faster motion your legs will naturally go with them. Try expanding your gait with your legs on your next run. Swing your arms out longer and farther, and your stride matches.
One of the funnier parts of the run came when a biker passed Phil and about 20 minutes before our turnaround point. Well, once we were back in 'Tosa on the home stretch, in all of our pain and glory, he passed us again. Only this time, he did a double take. It was like he saw a ghost, you could hear him calling us crazy in his head. I think he was really surprised to see us out still!
When I got home, I hurt really really bad. It felt like after my first 1/2 marathon- my legs were just so stiff. All I wanted to do was lay down. First though, I washed my hands/arms and cut up the most delicious cantaloupe I've ever had bought at the farmer's market earlier. It couldn't have tasted any better than it did at that moment. I took my melon, yoga mat and massage roller into the living room and sat down. I stretched and massaged for as long as I could take it then decided to literally pass out right where I was. I woke up about 45 minutes later with yoga mat marks on my body. I'm fairly certain I passed out so hard that I drooled.... but I'm not admitting to that.
All in all, the run was really difficult. Although the runs that I've done recently have been long they don't compare to this. I'm happy to say my legs recovered the next day, in partly due to me hydrating so much after my run. My expectations of the marathon have shifted- I expected to be exhausted and not run nearly as fast as I wanted to.
My next long run is Saturday, 18 miles! Watch out for me- I may just run down your street :-)
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