Sometimes I can go for weeks managing the tiredness and making it work. Then suddenly my body rebels and says that I have reached the bottom and the tank is empty. This week the tank was definitely empty. Monday I didn't run. I got home from work and just crashed in my recliner. (Sigh, that sounds like an old geezer, but that's how I feel.)
Wednesday I was supposed to get up and swim before work but I was so tired that I just stayed in bed. It was a long day at work. I came home and picked up my daughter and took her to church. Then I went back to the pool and did my workout. It was hard. I think that swimming is even harder than running to do when you are out of gas. I did the entire half hour but it was a struggle. Then I went home and took a nap, picked up my daughter from church and then went to bed.
At mile 8 I got a horrible side ache. I haven't had a side ache in a really long time but I was able to keep going in spite of it. I had about 1.5 miles to go and I was out of water. By this time the fog had burned off and the sun was out. It was really beautiful but I was really warm. I stopped by the coffee shop that I go to and they were wonderful and filled up my water container that I run with. When I headed back out I could tell that I had been stopped too long. Everything felt tight and not comfortable. I ran just over a 1/2 mile and then my right hip started cramping really bad. I slowed down to a walk and then the back of my right leg also started getting really tight. At this point I had about 3/4 of a mile to get my 11 miles and I decided to walk it because I didn't want to get an injury.
I know that this can happen during training but it is really hard to feel confident about a race that is only two weeks out when my last two 11 miles runs have had some significant issues right at the end. During the race I will have to go 2.1 miles farther! I'm a little concerned that the Runaway Pumpkin Half is going to suck.
Once I got home I just was wiped out. I was going to take a shower but I really needed to clean it. I didn't want to shower and then clean it so I decided to clean it and then take my shower. In hindsight I think maybe I should have eaten and then cleaned the shower. I scrubbed it out and then hopped in and finished up anything I missed. Then I just stood there and stretched out my aching legs in the hot water. Good gravy! I hurt all over! By the time I got out though I was all shaky and didn't feel good. I decided it was because I hadn't eaten so I grabbed some crackers and a drink as a quick fix with the plan that I would fix more in a bit once I was feeling better. Then I fell asleep on the couch. So much for fixing something to eat in just a bit.
All week I have been butt dragging. Saturday was the worst. Now I understand that running 11 miles will make someone tired. But I was tired when I woke up, then I was tired on the run. By the time I got done I was beyond tired. I never feel not tired, ever. I don't think I have felt refreshed and rested in almost two years. The last time I saw my doctor he said maybe I'm tired because I'm busy. I thought about it a lot this summer and decided that it is not because I'm busy. During the summer I wasn't working and I could just hang out and read and relax. I was tired all summer too. If I'm tired when I'm not really doing anything then that's a problem. Wish we could figure out why I'm like this. It really is not fun. I would like to be operating with a full tank again. I'm always at less than 1/4 tank or running on fumes.
Today I had the privilege of going to Portland and watching some of my amazing friends do the Portland Marathon and the Portland Half Marathon. After all the yucky weather we had last week today was an absolutely glorious day. I drove and goober #3 came along as well. We had a great time pre-race taking pictures and hanging out waiting for the race to start. Then the goober and I found a spot where we could see the runners go by, we crossed the street and saw them come back down the other side. We went and warmed up in the car for a bit and then hung out near the finish line to cheer everyone on. I love races where names are on the bibs because then you can shout out peoples names. Some of the names were funny. We saw things like Pooh Bear, Grandma, Giant 1 and Dude. There were several honoring the Boston Marathon that said things like Boston or Boston Strong. Love it!
As we were waiting for our friends and cheering people on one woman caught my attention. Her bib said her name was Susan and she was probably in her late 60's. She was waving her arms up and down to get the crowd to cheer which they obliged in a huge fashion. She had tears streaming down her face and she smiled at the crowd and shouted "This is my first half marathon!!" They crowd shouted even louder. I had tears watching her. I totally remember my first half marathon. I totally remember my first 5K! When you go from someone who can't even run one lap around the track to someone who has finished 13.1 miles it is pretty overwhelming! Watching Susan made me remember my first half marathon and how far I have come.
So I may be out of gas and I may get frustrated that I only ran 10 miles instead of 11. But today helped me remember how far I've come and how much I have to be proud of. I'm looking forward to the Runaway Pumpkin Half Marathon. I may struggle at the end or get cramps or have to walk. That will frustrate me I'm sure but I will keep in mind that this is my NINTH half marathon! Holy Moly!! That puts things in a different perspective. :-)
Here is a picture my husband took of my after finishing the Eugene Marathon in 2011. My first Half Marathon. Not my last and not "just" a half. :-) I've come a long way since then and plan to continue working at become a better, healthier me.
Tuesday was a little better. I had an interval workout on the track and I did the entire workout. This is my third time going through this particular training program for a half marathon and this is the first time I have been able to do this workout from start to finish. I was very excited. I had to do a 1/2 mile warm up easy run. That was followed by 4 x 1/2 mile intervals at above race pace with 2 minute walks in-between. Then I had to do 6 x 1/4 mile intervals at above race pace with 2 minute walks in-between. Followed by another 1/2 mile cool down jog. I ended up with a total distance of 5.6 miles and an average pace of 12'09". I can't believe that was my average pace when I walked a total of 20 minutes of this workout. When I got home and was able to look at the graph of my workout I was amazed. During the intervals I was running at a pace of about 10'30" every single time! That was very cool.
 |
| The high points were the intervals, the low was the walking. |
 |
| Not too shabby. Last few were HARD! |
Thursday was a rest day and I came home and crashed in my chair again. I was so tired. Betsy had let me know she was swimming and I wanted to go but my body just wasn't going to move.
Friday I was supposed to run four miles. I was going to leave work right after school so I could get it done before I completely ran out of gas. That didn't happen. I had a meeting after school that took almost an hour and then I had to talk to my principal about a situation that had happened earlier in the day with one of my students. I didn't leave work until almost 5 pm. I went and picked up the goober at the pool and headed home. Joe had made dinner, spaghetti! By the time I ate dinner it was after 6 pm and I was too tired to do anything but head to bed. Ugh!
Saturday I slept in until after 7 am. When I got up I didn't hurry and head out for my run. I ate breakfast, watched the news and just took my time. I finally headed out a little after 9 a.m. The weather was foggy and cold but it felt great. I love the way the fog looks as it is burning off of fields. It looks like it is running away from the sun. It was beautiful.
I felt okay to start with, not great but okay. About mile 6 I could tell that my body didn't want to keep going and I thought about making the run shorter but I kept going. Instead of getting negative splits each mile was slower than the last.
During mile 7 I was running down 3 Lakes Rd. I heard a car coming behind me but didn't think too much of it. There was a pickup behind the car. All I heard up till this point was the sound of the cars. Right when the pickup got next two me the two big dogs that were in the truck bed started barking. It scared the crap out of me! I had to laugh at my own reaction. I swear those dogs planned it. "Wait for it....wait for it....wait for it.....NOW! Bark bark bark bark. Hahahaha! That was AWESOME!" I jumped and then laughed. If the driver of the truck looked in his mirror he probably got a laugh himself.
 |
| Photo by Ferlinka Borzoi via http://www.dogguide.net/blog/2009/02/maryland-kills-bill-that-bans-unrestrained-dogs-in-pickup-trucks/ |
I know that this can happen during training but it is really hard to feel confident about a race that is only two weeks out when my last two 11 miles runs have had some significant issues right at the end. During the race I will have to go 2.1 miles farther! I'm a little concerned that the Runaway Pumpkin Half is going to suck.
Once I got home I just was wiped out. I was going to take a shower but I really needed to clean it. I didn't want to shower and then clean it so I decided to clean it and then take my shower. In hindsight I think maybe I should have eaten and then cleaned the shower. I scrubbed it out and then hopped in and finished up anything I missed. Then I just stood there and stretched out my aching legs in the hot water. Good gravy! I hurt all over! By the time I got out though I was all shaky and didn't feel good. I decided it was because I hadn't eaten so I grabbed some crackers and a drink as a quick fix with the plan that I would fix more in a bit once I was feeling better. Then I fell asleep on the couch. So much for fixing something to eat in just a bit.
 |
| Picture from http://2damnfunny.com/cats-dogs-memes-animals/dog-is-just-so-tired-must-rest-now/ This is how I feel most of the time. :-) |
Today I had the privilege of going to Portland and watching some of my amazing friends do the Portland Marathon and the Portland Half Marathon. After all the yucky weather we had last week today was an absolutely glorious day. I drove and goober #3 came along as well. We had a great time pre-race taking pictures and hanging out waiting for the race to start. Then the goober and I found a spot where we could see the runners go by, we crossed the street and saw them come back down the other side. We went and warmed up in the car for a bit and then hung out near the finish line to cheer everyone on. I love races where names are on the bibs because then you can shout out peoples names. Some of the names were funny. We saw things like Pooh Bear, Grandma, Giant 1 and Dude. There were several honoring the Boston Marathon that said things like Boston or Boston Strong. Love it!
As we were waiting for our friends and cheering people on one woman caught my attention. Her bib said her name was Susan and she was probably in her late 60's. She was waving her arms up and down to get the crowd to cheer which they obliged in a huge fashion. She had tears streaming down her face and she smiled at the crowd and shouted "This is my first half marathon!!" They crowd shouted even louder. I had tears watching her. I totally remember my first half marathon. I totally remember my first 5K! When you go from someone who can't even run one lap around the track to someone who has finished 13.1 miles it is pretty overwhelming! Watching Susan made me remember my first half marathon and how far I have come.
So I may be out of gas and I may get frustrated that I only ran 10 miles instead of 11. But today helped me remember how far I've come and how much I have to be proud of. I'm looking forward to the Runaway Pumpkin Half Marathon. I may struggle at the end or get cramps or have to walk. That will frustrate me I'm sure but I will keep in mind that this is my NINTH half marathon! Holy Moly!! That puts things in a different perspective. :-)
Here is a picture my husband took of my after finishing the Eugene Marathon in 2011. My first Half Marathon. Not my last and not "just" a half. :-) I've come a long way since then and plan to continue working at become a better, healthier me.
 |
| First Half Marathon 2011-First of many!!! |
No comments:
Post a Comment