Warm Weather Run

Today was a gorgeous day! It was sunny and about 72 degrees! This is about 20 degrees warmer than anything I've run in, more than 2-3 miles... I did not plan well. First of all, it was a bit windy and I hate worrying about my hat in the wind. Second mistake--didn't bring my sunglasses, or I would have just taken the hat off. Third mistake, which was actually the first, but it came about later.. I didn't drink anything all day. I had a bowl of cereal with the kids for breakfast about 9:00, but didn't drink anything else all day.

I left the house around 12:30 for an 11 mile run, the second-to-last long run before the half-marathon in three weeks (yikes). I was doing really great on the country road. At five miles, I took the first nutrition and immediately felt a cramp. Luckily I've learned how to work through those. At mile 6, I passed a McDonald's and decided to use the restroom and clean my hands (had a little accident with the gel nutrition). While I was in there, I looked at my face and realized how overheated I was so I splashed water on my face and neck and drank a little there--not much but enough to wet my palate.

7.5 miles in, I really started to get thirsty. I was coming into downtown Podunkville and decided to stop at a restaurant and see if they'd give me a glass of water. I figured that during the run I'll probably end up walking through the water stops, so this would be okay. The glass of water I got was huge and I chugged it down. I rested a lot longer than I should have but that water was good and I was hot. It was then that I saw Hubby and the kids coming towards me and I burst into tears. I didn't want them to see that I had stopped. They had a bottle of water for me, too. How thoughtful they are :)

I told Hubby I wasn't giving up but just resting a bit and we discussed my probable dehydration contributing to how I was feeling. He and the kids took off after we decided where they were going to meet me next. The next mile and half to where they were was tough. The wind was at my face and I just had to take the hat completely off. It had blown off too many times. I was pretty slow because of the wind, but I was still exerting the same amount of energy. And, that tall glass of water I had was sloshing around in my stomach and giving me a cramp. Second nutrition gel was taken at mile 8.5. This one was not so messy.

So, I met the family at a shelterhouse in the park I was running through and I drank some more water. I didn't want too since I was already sloshing, but I knew I needed it. They said they'd meet me at home when I was done. At mile 10, I had to stop one last time. My calves started tightening up, and after reading a post from another blogger where she pulled a calf muscle during the Boston Marathon this year, I started to get worried. I couldn't stretch them out. Finally I told myself just to go and finish and it'll be over soon. Mile 11 complete with an 11:05 overall pace and a total time of 2:01:53. I was hoping to do it in under 2 hours but didn't make it. The first have had a pace of 10:54 and I was hoping to continue that through the rest of the run but didn't.

When I got home, I tried something I've never done before--cold bath. Hubby does it after his long runs (20 miles--he's training for a full marathon) and says he can tell a difference. It was cold... but I'm not sure it helped me. As I sit here, I can feel my calves, tight and achy. My feet are still tired and sore, and my thighs hurt. We'll see tomorrow how I feel.

So, 11 miles in the books. I'm not happy with it at all. I'm really disappointed I had to stop so many times but I'm glad it happened in training. I'll just have to remember to drink before the race.