Week 3 of the Block

All was going well last week until Saturday morning's run.  I had 20 on the schedule and knew it would be a tough one because of the expected temps, but I had no idea what the day had in store for me. 

I suppose the catalyst of the whole problem began on Thursday.  I had spent a little too long at the pool and was a bit overcome by the heat.  I did not really think too much about it as I don't normally do well in the sun as a rule, but I didn't appear to be badly sunburned, just very "dry" and somewhat fatigued.

Friday, we visited another pool and I stayed out of the sun completely, so I thought I was ok.  I've had heat exhaustion before and I know the dangers, but this time, I just did not click to the fact that I was suffering from it again.

On Friday night, I had a strange feeling that my sleeplessness would get the better of me and I was correct.  Insomnia reared it's ugly head and I only slept about 2.5 hours before the run.  I had planned to leave my house at 5:15, get 10 miles in and then meet a small group to run an additional 10 at 7 am. 

Because of the lack of sleep, I hit the snooze alarm and didn't get out the door until 6:20.  I was late and I was nervous that I would miss the group meet up.  I was close to reaching them at 7, but I felt that if they had left a little earlier, I would miss them and never catch up with them.  I decided to make a cut across to catch them at a different location.  I somehow got lost and so began the descent into a really not so wonderful run.  Actually, 2 miles in, I was feeling the urge to slow down and even walk.  This played into my anxiety of missing the group as well.  About 7 miles into the run, I figured I had missed them and they were quite a ways ahead of me.  I was embarrassed about not showing up when I said I would and this was another mind game for me. 

As I ran down one of my favorite trails, I noticed I was completely drained.  8 miles in I had consumed 40 oz of water and was looking for more.  Still, no red flag went off for me.  There are no fountains on this trail, so I ran most of it without water.  I saw a strange looking man that obviously had no business to be on the trail and I became a bit paranoid.  I kept looking over my shoulder expecting that he was going to give me some grief.  Thankfully he never did.  I ran into a girl from the group at the end of this trail and she told me that the group was actually behind me!  I had managed to cut too far ahead of them.  She also told me that they had left 15 mins later than planned because they were waiting on someone...(me!)  Ugh.  Another head game. 

The group was very gracious and understanding and thankfully allowed me to run with them for awhile.  At about 11 miles in, I knew I was going to have to shut things down.  I was completely drenched with sweat, which is very unusual for me and I couldn't keep enough water in my bottle.

Another mental game was the fact that my Garmin was reading 9 miles.  I felt like I had run more and I knew my route fairly well, but for some reason Garmin was not reflecting the mileage I thought it should be.  It wasn't until I was almost home that I realized that it had somehow turned off. 

I was very discouraged with less than 10 miles showing on the watch and feeling as bad as I did.  Later in the day, I did re-map my route and discovered I had run 12 almost 13 miles and the Garmin was not on for some of the run. 

I had intended to finish the day's mileage in the evening, but that was not to be.  I began having symptoms that reminded me of last June when I was heat exhausted during Hells Hills.  Chills, headache, cramping, nausea, etc.  Very unpleasant.  Thankfully, several running saints talked me into some common sense thinking and I scrapped the mileage for Sunday as well. 

I had 5 on the schedule today, but I took it off as well.  I want to be sure I am really better before I head back into training. 

I feel much better having taken the time to rest, rehydrate, and eat well.  I've put the four pounds I lost on Saturday back on and I've reworked the running schedule to scale the long runs back a bit until I feel 110% better in the heat.

I had hoped to have a 60 mile week last week, but I am happy with the 43 that I put in.  I learned a lot this week and am happy to have runs like Saturday to make me appreciate the really great runs that will come later in the fall.

This week is a cycle down week and then next week I'll start a new block.  I should peak in time for Captain Karl's 60 K.

To my friends who look after me when I am not looking after myself so well...thank you!  Happy Running!