A story of going from being a non-runner to planning for a marathon in three years...

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Well, Crap

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For the first time since I started doing track with the group, I didn't finish a workout. We were supposed to do 4x1600 at 10K pace and then 2x800 at 10K pace.

This is what I did:


Warm-up mile: 9:13

1st 1600 - 8:00 (7:50 mile)
(1 minute rest)
2nd 1600 - 8:18 (8:06 mile)
(Full recovery)
3rd 1600 - 8:46 (8:13 mile)


And then I just couldn't go on.

During my work day I'd felt just "off". My brain felt sluggish and I felt kind of dizzy. I tried drinking a cup of tea and eating a granola bar thinking that maybe it was my blood sugar but that just seemed to make it worse.

Lunch helped some but I still felt out of it. My stomach felt strange and, since we're in polite company, I'll just say I wasn't the only thing planning on running.

I debated skipping track all together but decided to do what I could. My head and body just weren't in the game, though. I started out way too fast and then faded. After that 3rd 1600 I was dizzy and getting a little chilled even though I was dripping sweat. Plus, my intestines were starting to cramp up and I feared that continuing to run would just make it worse. Since the track's bathrooms were locked I knew that would be a BAD idea.

So, I headed home. Could I have pushed through and finished the workout? Yeah, I could have run another two miles. But it wouldn't have been pretty. And, really, I'd rather not kill myself for two crap (possibly literally) miles.

Still, I managed a total of 4+ miles, two of which were comparable to the last time I did 1600s. And that's with a week off of running and track while feeling kind of cruddy. Hopefully once I get back into the groove I'll continue to see improvement.

I wonder, though, if perhaps I'm the kind of person who does not do well after taking time off. How about you? Do you find yourself refreshed after taking some time off of an activity or do you struggle to get back into it?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

yikes!! that's not good you didn't feel well. that's incredible you got 3x1600 done anyway!!! and seriously 3x1600 is a KILLER workout!!! i'm not sure i've ever done 4 repeats :) so give yourself a pat on the back and rest up!! :)

RunningLaur said...

Some days are just not meant to be good running days - at least you still gave it a shot!

I'm having a really hard time getting back into running after a low mileage month. My body just doesn't want to do it. so you're not alone!

Anonymous said...

oh no :( I definitely feel off if I take too much time off from running. Like Lacey said, though, 3x1600 is still fantastic! We all have off days; that's probably all that was. There's always next time :)

lifestudent said...

It might be the time off, it might be a sign that you just needed a break ... or possibly a sign that you have a bug thats waiting to come on full force in the next day or so :)

Either way, its smart to listen to your body. I listened to my body today and had a super size milkshake while I watched shows on my DVR. See? Listening to your body does you good.

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