so yesterday i jumped back into my training. i have an easy week planned. not running any more than 3 miles at a time and no more than 15 miles at a time on the bike. next week i'll start back into my normal distances. this week is just to get the legs moving again and to test my knee out. i took two weeks off and it only seems to have minimal improvement. oh well i'm not gonna sit around and keep getting fat.
so anyway yesterday after stretching for about 30 or 40 minutes i took off for my 3 mile run. i had on running shorts and a white running tank. it was about 5:45 when i hit the road. i knew it was hot. i knew it was going to suck. i knew i would probably want to quit somewhere around the two mile mark...what do you know i was right!!
the first 300 yards felt good...but from then til i got back 3.02 miles later all it did was get hotter and hotter. my legs felt good but sluggish. this kind of bummed me out. after a long rest i figured they would be ready to go. not the case. i dropped into my normal pace and tested some faster paces. ultimately i was just trying to cruise at a 60% of max effort. for me this is about a 7:50 mile avg. however in the heat even this pace felt like a sprint. i guess that's why i typically do a lot of my racing in the winter. i would rather run cold then run hot.
so mile 1 goes by in 7:53 i believe. i'm hot but not to bad. usually on the green way where i run there are plenty of other runners and cyclist. today...just me. hmm i began to wonder if i was the only idiot who ignored the temps and everybody else was waiting for it to cool off a little. anyway i turned around at the 1.51 mile mark according to my trusty Garmin205. from here back to the house it's pretty much a steady incline with a head wind. and this is when things start to get foggy. at this point i'm getting very hot. i can feel my heart beat in my face and my head is pounding. i don't have water with me cause i don't bring any if i'm only running three. legs are still good, knee feels good, calves are staying cramp free. so it is just a mental game of overcoming the heat.
mile 2 goes by and i think it was in 15:40... 1 mile left to go..bring the suckage. no matter what my plans are, how bad i'm hurting, or even if you threaten my life. when i get to the last mile of any run or race i pick up the pace. even on easy runs where i don't want to push i still drop the hammer in the last mile. i can't control it. in this years Country Music 1/2 Marathon at mile 12 i serioulsy thought i was having a heart attack. my chest got tight my right arm ached and my neck had a sharp pain. i remember thinking..."what do you want to do? if we keep pushing we can PR but you might die. worth the risk?" yup i kept pushing and i made it across the line just 1 minute shy of my PR. so anyway i'm less than a mile from the house, my head is pounding, i can't catch my breath, my legs are only slightly burning. i'm pretty sure i'm getting delirious and my back decides to join the party. my sciatic nerve flares up and now i can't feel my right butt cheek, if you've ever run you know it's extremely important to have your glutes firing properly. so now i'm trying not to die in the heat and i'm trying to make my right leg run correctly despite the numbness in my butt and the pain in my L5 disc. "why didn't you just stop?" that's what a friend of mine asked me last night. haha it never occured to me to stop. call it ignorance or pride but if i'm only running 3 miles i'm not bringing water or stopping.
1/2 mile to go. can't really remember this part. its the steepest of the return incline to the house. i kept looking at my Garmin to make sure my pace wasnt fading. i believe i was inbetween 7:40-7:57 that last 1/2 mile, although i felt like i was power walking. i also can't seem to breath now, my heart feels ready to explode, again head now feels as if a horse has kicked it, back is on fire, butt is numb, legs are strained but plenty left in them, knee is doing just great. and all i'm telling myself is "just make it home Chris". which i did...3.02 miles in 23:49 avg 7:52/mile.
when i get to my drive way i feel about ready to pass out, i was very dizzy and extremely overheated. and i'm sweating so bad that my sweat is sweating. i head straight for the hose. i drenched myself and stood in the shade for about 5 minutes. then i head inside to the amazing coolness of my 70 degree house. all i want to do is get off my feet so i can get my back to calm down. so i lay my dripping wet self right down in the kitchen floor. of course now i have two dogs frantically licking my sweat off my legs, arms, face, and hair. you would think i was sweating out bacon or something.
anyway...overall it was a decent run. i didn't want that pace to feel so hard but i think it was the heat. if it had of been cooler that would probably have felt like the relaxed run that i was anticipating. i was definitely hydrated well and had taken my Base Amino blend before the run. so my body had everything it needed. i guess in this heat i'm gonna have to break my rule and take water even on short runs. i know for sure i will wait til at least 6 to run from here on out. if that had been an 8+ mile run i would have been in trouble. today i have an easy bike. even in the heat the bike is much easier. so i shouldn't have any overheating issues today. till next time.
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