Struck Out and Then Struck Down

No updates all week because…well, I guess I’ll tell you why.

I did go run my 11 miles last Saturday, and…well…this is hard to admit out loud, but I will. I didn’t love it. I hated it. Those last two miles were hell. I discovered what the “wall” is. I didn’t think you could hit “the wall” on such short distances, but when I found myself unable to even barely lift my feet to trudge up the last hill, tearful, sick in my heart and my stomach, I was pretty sure that was the Wall.

I tried a new fueling plan last week. I started out with a GU while still in the truck, a few minutes before taking off. I don’t eat breakfast before these long runs and for such a long run, I thought it would be good to have something in the tank before even starting out. And I think that was a success; I felt great for the first 7 or 8 miles. However, I was significantly more thirsty than usual. I had already gotten into my water bottle on my fuel belt by the time I hit 2 and a quarter miles, where my training team had set of a SAG stop (I am assuming SAG stands for “stop and go” but I have never asked to be sure), and so I topped it off there at the SAG. Then we had about 7.5 miles to run before getting back to the SAG, and I was completely out of water only 5 miles into that distance. I drank something like 20 ounces of water in 6 miles. I think that was too much.

I took my second GU around mile 6 or so. I had a third one packed but it was not a GU, it was a ClifShot, and I had been wary of it since I had never tried one before. Anyway, by the time I hit the SAG on the way back, with only 2.25 miles to go, I was terribly thirsty, and wearing down.

I wasn’t thinking especially clearly by that point, I just wanted it to be over. But in not thinking clearly and having run out of water, I chose not to take that third energy gel. That was a mistake. The only bright spot in the last 2 miles was when I had stopped to walk along Cary Street, and a guy said to me “Pick it up, slack ass.” I wasn’t even offended (too tired to be offended), I just replied “Slack ass indeed,” (too tired to come up with a witty answer). He laughed out loud and said “You aren’t a slack ass! I’m standing here smoking a cigarette. I should know better, but then, I am a Marine!” I laughed; the whole exchange felt surreal, but it brought a smile to my face, and put a little bit of spring back in my step, for a little ways, but I was really done by that point.

I drug myself back to my truck, feeling ashamed (irrationally so), embarrassed that the parking lot had mostly emptied out, or people were standing around chatting, stretching, looking happy, flushed, and great, where I looked and felt like death could have taken me at that moment, and I would have been fine with that.

Worst of all, my total time was 2:20. I was crushed. Even though the route turned out to be closer to 12 miles than 11, I felt like my hopes of running a 2:30 half marathon (particularly on a trail, not a road race) were completely shattered.

I went home, heartsick, ashamed, and completely deflated and depressed. I didn’t even really talk to my family about how it went.

The next day, I could hardly move. I was in a lot of pain, all over and in general; I had the added misery of hormone poisoning setting in. This just made me feel that much worse about my performance and my potential to do well on race day. I stayed in my pajamas all day, watched too much t.v., ate crap for food, and moped.

And then Monday came, and with it, came a day-long fever, chills, headache, sneezing, and all the miseries associated with a nasty head cold.

Well, that helped give me some perspective on Saturday’s run. I fueled poorly throughout the run itself (I really needed to take that third energy gel), I was either more dehydrated at the start than I felt, or I was over-hydrating along the way, the aforementioned hormone poisoning ALWAYS drains me of some energy, and I had no idea at the time I was coming down with a bug.

Training-wise, this week has been a complete wash, which is sad because I was really looking forward to trying out and breaking in my brand new Brooks Adrenaline 12 GTS shoes I got last Friday. Monday, I was too sick to get out of bed. Tuesday, I stayed home from work, to worn down to do much of anything, though better than Monday. Yesterday and today have been continued recovery days, but with no extra energy to devote to even a short run.

I am planning on packing gear to run tomorrow, a short run, maybe 3 miles, maybe the fun new 2.5 mile route I ran last week. I don’t know.

Saturday is a drop back run, and we are doing 8 miles, which I am thankful for. If it was the 12 mile week, I am not sure that I would be up for that quite yet.

I desperately need a good run. One of those where you smile the whole way. Saturday’s run was so demoralizing that even with the justification that came afterwards, I still find myself wondering if maybe I didn’t bark up the wrong tree with this whole half marathon business. I know in my head that isn’t the case, but my heart is beating out a message of “You really suck at this. Why did you ever think this was a good idea???”

Screw that.

I have always been more of a Head Over Heart kind of girl anyway.

Rough Week

After a 3 mile run on Sunday and 2 miles on Monday, I was laid low by GI troubles and a severe lack of energy. The GI troubles remain. Stress-related IBS is the likely culprit (which I also suffered the LAST time I autocratted Sapphire Joust). I guess between now and the end of May, every day might have to be “play it by ear” (or intestines, as it were) based on how much jostling my guts can take.

So after being off three days, I took advantage of the first of 8 “free” visits I have to the Downtown YMCA. I put my butt on a treadmill for the first time in a year.

3 miles. 31 minutes.
6.5 miles per hour for a while there.
I absolutely loved it. Still wouldn’t face a mirror, but I could see my reflection in the window I was looking out of.

It was really cool to see the muscles in my quads and shins. Might even have the courage to run in front of a mirror in the future.

I really hope we can get a gym membership again in the relatively near future.

Minus 11 Days

Went for my longest run ever today, going all the way past the quarry on Belle Isle. Did a little less than 3.5 miles in 35:40. My time would have been faster, I think, but I was struck quite seriously by the dreaded “runner’s plague.” I haven’t suffered from that since my early days of Couch to 5K training last Spring. I blame the high fiber black bean soup I had yesterday, plus 20 ounces of coffee at breakfast and 32 ounces of water in the hour before my run. That was miserable and something I will go out of my way to avoid next Saturday.

A pace of 11:13 and average speed of 5.3 MPH is…well, it is what it is. It certainly is not the 9:59 pace I was hoping for, but I am not devastated by that pace either given the long distance (for me) and the intestinal distress I suffered causing me to slow (and even consider stopping when I got back by the Blackfin and using their facilities) down quite a bit.

I am anxious about the rest of the week and my ability to train. Tomorrow I have a dentist’s appointment that I presume will be a quite evaluation, ending with “Yup, you need a root canal. Come see me again on Friday.” Thursday, I have the day off to watch Grace. Maybe my in-laws will visit and I can use the time to hit the trail at HGD Park. Friday will be spent potentially in the dentist’s chair undergoing a root canal and then travelling south to Mebane, NC. I think that will have to be my rest day; I just cannot see pounding the pavement after a root canal.

This weekend will be spent at an SCA event. The hotel we are in has a fitness center which I hope to take advantage of at least on Saturday evening, and maybe again on Sunday morning before we leave.

I am thrilled to say we hit our fundraising goal and then some thanks to the enormous generosity of our friends and my coworkers. I never expected that we could actually raise $200 but we did and then some. I am humbled by it all and it makes me want to work that much harder to run a race worthy of their generosity.

-247

At least, I think it is minus 247 days to race day.

I have lost a little time in the past 48 hours or so. I was S. I. C. K. sick on Tuesday and into yesterday. Fever of 102.5 and lots of sleep.

Obviously, this was not the time for training, so I have rested. Even though I am back at work today, I am not yet ready to return to aerobic conditioning just due to the congestion and asthma symptoms, but if I have the energy tonight, I hope to do a very short strength training work out.

I hope to be 100% next week and ready to kick my training back into high gear then.

-249

Did my 20 minute strength training workout last night, despite the fact that I have a massive sinus and ear infection, and some sort of lung issue, whether it is asthma, an upper respiratory infection, or early asthmatic bronchitis, it wasn’t very clear, but I have the biggest antibiotics I have ever seen, as well as an albuterol inhaler, and instructions to do what I felt comfortable with, and to keep that inhaler with me when I run.

I am extremely unhappy that my lungs sounded crappy, especially given that until this weekend, I was not having any symptoms of this being anything other than an ear and sinus issue. On my really cold run on Friday, I did have a breathing spell that was bad enough that I became very dizzy and had to stop and lean against a railing by the River briefly. At the time, I assumed that was related to 6 weeks out of my shoes. Dr. said possibly, but given the sound of my lungs, she thought it was a bigger issue than that, especially since I did not have any such problems on my first run back when it was 55 degrees last Wednesday.

I am not sure how to approach my training for this week, as a result. Breathing today has been something of a chore, and the cough has really kicked up. The various running websites suggest holding off on training whenever you have symptoms “below the neck,” which, today, I definitely do. But I do not want to fall behind on my running.

Maybe more weight lifting and the exercise bike instead? Then I can be indoors, without cold dry air to flare my lungs up. Or maybe I just need to rest? The Doc did not have a lot of guidance on this either way.