Ok, so it wasn't really 90 degrees when I did my 9-mile run. But somewhere around 83 certainly feels like 90 when you're running! All of you local readers know how scorching it's been lately, at least for early June. Everyone in the tri-state area has been complaining about missing out on spring entirely, going straight from winter to summer. When I think about it in terms of my runs, that's exactly right. At first I was frustrated because it was always raining and chilly, then suddenly it's so hot you have to dramatically slow down your pace and make extra efforts to stay hydrated. There is even a disclaimer on all of Galloway's time predictions based on the Magic Mile that this only applies when the temperature is 60 degrees or cooler.
This past weekend would have been perfect for a long run, but we had plans to be out of town, so my choices were to do my long run either on Thursday or Friday night. I chose Thursday just to get it out of the way--besides spending a Friday night running is how lame?? (Not that my usual Friday nights are that much more exciting...but this time we actually had plans for a birthday cookout.) Luckily, there was enough of a breeze that I wasn't miserable, especially after the first hour when the sun started to go down too. I was just a little bitter about doing a 9-mile run to start with. I've always said during half-marathon trainings that the 9 and 11-mile runs are just plain stupid...at 9 you might as well run one more and make it a nice 10. And 11 just feels weird to go one more past that big milestone. Anyway, I mentally broke the run into nice little segments and it went by fairly easily, until the last 2 miles or so. I know I pointed out in a past blog about how I've gotten really good at gauging distance without having to pre-map my run. I'm at the point where I can plan out a route in Fishers, and usually it's right on the mileage that I want--this time, I hit the finish RIGHT as I made it back to our apartment entrance. Man, I'm good :)
So back to the part where I said the last few miles were a struggle. Everything was hurting--my legs felt so heavy to pick up, I was covered in that sticky salt meaning I was in big need of water (stopping at a water fountain just once doesn't really cut it for that length of run), and worst of all, my IT band started to hurt around mile 4 and was only getting more painful as the run went on. I mentioned before that I've dealt with a bad IT band injury, and I would do anything to avoid another one. The day after the run, it was a little painful to walk, especially on stairs, but after a few days of letting it rest, I'm feeling almost back to normal today, just a little stiff in that knee. I think I made a good choice on foregoing the second 3-mile run for the week that I was supposed to get in on Sunday night. Even though cases like that always give me a sense of guilt or slacking off, staying injury-free is really important at this earlier stage of training.
Then, immediately after the run, and for the next 30 minutes, the effects of dehydration came on. I felt like I could get sick at any minute and had a headache right above my eyes, combined with what was almost blurry vision. Many of you remember the run last year where I got so dehydrated that I was throwing up for an entire afternoon/evening thinking that I might literally die. (If you really care to read how/why that happened, go to the link to "My Training for the 2010 Indy Mini" on the right-hand side of this page.) I recovered this time though, but all in all it was one of those runs where you're so glad it's over. You don't have the normal endorphins, you certainly didn't set a time record (in fact my pace dropped to over 10 minute miles), and you start to wonder how in hell you're ever going to run much longer distances. But you finish, and that's all that matters that day.
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