Let’s Go Halfsies: 9/15/09

Well, as my friend Aaron likes to say in times like these….HOLY F BALLS!!

Today was my scheduled 10 mile run. Obviously this is a milestone. Double digits mean something, you know? Yesterday was a rest day. I felt really good most of the day, but after dinner, I noticed I was sore in a new spot. The front of my upper thighs, like a few inches below my bikini line was really, really stiff. Um, that’s a new one! I stretched a little bit before bed, but it was hard because I was not warm. I went to bed early so I could get up and run first thing. I slept great! I had dreams about pumpkin and boys.

This morning I decided to do the run outside, near my house. I’ve been avoiding this for a while because the neighborhood where I go isn’t very big, so I’d have to do quite a few loops to cover a lot of distance. Also, it’s been too hot. But the alternatives were 40 laps on the indoor track or 6 loops on the outdoor trail near my gym (which is not really a trail, but a sidewalk that goes through the trees and around some ponds). Neither of those sounded terribly appealing, so I decided I’d map out 10 miles closer to home. It was actually not as difficult as I thought it would be! Two big loops, run back by my house to get water, which I would stash in the mailbox, and then four smaller loops. Had breakfast, SPF-ed myself, and I was off!

As soon as I started running, I knew it was going to be a struggle. Even though it was morning, the heat and sun at 9:30 AM is still real. I was wearing long black pants. No, Rachel. Also, even though I used to run in this neighborhood all the time, I haven’t in a while, and my body wasn’t used to it. The difference between the road and the track was apparent really quickly; that, combined with my tight hips, left me feeling kind of screwed.

Just a mile or so in, everything was aching, especially my hips, back, and abs. And I was in desperate need of a visor. There is just no shade in this neighborhood. And my ponytail was soaked. I knew if I was sweating that much early on (I’m not much of a sweater), I was going to have a water problem. I started looking at people’s sprinklers as I passed them, wondering if I’d get arrested for stopping to drink out of one.

I pushed on, but my body just felt like it weighed a million pounds. When I reached the point around six miles when I had planned to run by my house for water–which I really needed at this point–I made an executive decision not to. I knew if I was in front of my house, I wouldn’t be able to keep going. So on I went. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do 10, but I wanted to do eight. I rarely quit a workout early, so the disappointment in myself was getting worse than the physical pain.

At that point, I had to dig deep to keep going. Negative self-talk was absolutely raging; I was going through a mental checklist of things that make me happy to stay focused for the last two miles. I was too burned out to even think about sex! You know it’s bad when that happens. So I thought about my family and friends and my brother, who thinks I win races, and I thought about pumpkin and making out…and I got through it.

Getting to my house and to that water in the mailbox was a good/bad/good again feeling. I paced around my driveway chugging that water before staggering up the stairs. When I went into the bathroom, I noted that first, I got extremely tan out there, and second, I have never, ever been that sweaty in my entire life. And that includes being in the steam room.

I stretched for about 10 minutes, but I didn’t have the mental or physical energy to get through “Yoga for Runners.” I just lay on the floor (on a towel, so as not to stain the carpet) having a major WTF moment.

My reward for today’s run was food, but special food! To be special, food must be exceptionally delicious, healthy, and free. Last week, Vital Juice Daily had a bunch of free giveaways in their newsletter. Since I am an early bird, I was one of the first people to sign up for the Larabar giveaway, and yesterday in the mail, I got a little box with four Larabars!

This is great in and of itself, but the best part was, they included the new, highly-coveted peanut butter and jelly bar! I haven’t been able to find it at any stores near me, and it was driving me crazy. When I got the free one, I saw it has the 3:1 carb-to-protein ratio! I pretty much came all over the mailman.

Larabars are great. They are usually just four ingredients (the PBJ bar is dates, peanuts, cherries, and salt) and are vegan, dairy-free, kosher, gluten-free, and good food karma all around. And you know, that Larabar went a long way in easing my disappointment about the run!

I had it with a Propel, which my nutritionist recommended, plus a lot of water, and started to feel like a normal human being pretty quickly. After a shower, it was time for some real lunch. I wasn’t that hungry (I wasn’t hungry for the Larabar either, to be honest, but I knew I needed something), so lunch was small but sustaining: soup, half of a turkey sandwich, lots of veggies, and iced tea. Oh and a gala apple.

That soup is Imagine Organics Creamy Sweet Corn soup. It’s low-sodium and a foodgasm, for sure. I tried it last week and I’m hooked! I don’t even want to try to make a corn soup because this stuff is so perfect.

After having some time to reflect on the run, I feel a little better. Of course I’m really disappointed, but I also know that it’s not the end of the world. And duh–now I know what I need to fix next time. More water, less pants! I will also wear a visor and possibly run in the woods with some shade.

Because I am a little bit ahead in my schedule, only doing 8 miles this week is not a setback at all. I might take all my runs outside for the next couple weeks and not add any mileage or speed, just because it’s clear that’s where I need work. I’ll still be fine for the halfsie.

For the rest of the afternoon, I’m resting my bod, cooking a yummy dinner, reading the new Women’s Health Mag, watching Mad Men, and remembering that even though I didn’t do 10 miles, I ran 8 miles further today than everyone who stayed in bed.

Have a great afternoon!!

Tagged as: hydration, larabars, running