Today’s schedule had a nine-mile run on tap. I was set. I
had eaten the right amount of carbs for dinner last night, drank tons of nuun
yesterday and munched on a few pretzels. I knew it would be a muggy run this
morning, but I was prepared for it. Or so I thought. I’ve been enjoying my
low-humidity evening runs a bit too much I guess. I stepped out the door at
6:25 this morning and all I could think was, "Ugh, nine miles in this?"
The first
mile was slow, the humidity was pressing down on my body and I was still trying
to wake up. My second mile got easier. The third mile, I was starting to feel
it. My face and neck were getting too warm. I pulled out my chilly pad from the
back of my race vest and put it around my neck. It helped a little. By 3.5
miles I got the worst side stitch I have ever had. I stopped running and
figured I could walk it off. By the time my garmin ticked mile four, I was in
even more pain. That was when I decided to throw the towel in and walk home.
That was one painful mile to home. I swear that the Sheriff that passed me on
the road would have pulled over and put me in his car if he had not been in the
inside lane on Esplanade!
Thankfully I made it home with no accidents. I wasn’t sure
if either end was going to erupt based on the level of pain I was experiencing.
I got in the shower and then crawled back into bed and slept it off. I’m
feeling better this afternoon, but still have that dehydration headache. Not
sure what happened this morning, fingers crossed it was a one-time event.
Lessons learned from this epic fail:
1)
Use the chilly pad immediately on the long run. There is NO
reason to let myself get overheated first, start off cool and maintain a
comfortable level.
2)
Find a breakfast that works. I had half of a banana and half
of a piece of toast this morning. That combo obviously wasn’t enough.
3)
Suck it up and run. I know I made the right decision this
morning, but it is incredibly hard to run in 97% humidity (or more!). My choice is either
muggy mornings or HOT (95 feels like 101+) in the evenings where I will
definitely overheat AND run out of daylight.
I will run the missing four miles tomorrow. I know it is not
ideal, and I’m really upset that I had to bail this morning, but it was the
right decision. I knew it was going to be a hard run when my stomach felt off
this morning as I was getting out of bed. Even before the cramp I found myself
wishing cars would run the stop sign and hit me so I wouldn’t have to finish,
it was that hard; then the cramping hit. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind
and my body was physically off. The good news is that my new treadmill should
be here in two weeks or less so my next long run can be done on it’s proper day
with no care to the heat, humidity or hubby’s work schedule. I know treadmill
running isn’t ideal, but it’s incredibly practical for my current situation.
Regardless of the craptastic run, I am glad that I was able
to get out and do five miles this morning!
It’s a great day for running y’all!
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