The Walk of Shame

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!