Respect the Distance

Today will be the third day of temps in the 90's. With the heat index it feels like over 100. Definitely not a good time for the a/c to break down. Yeah.

I want to talk about the 14 miler that I did 2 weeks ago. It was the hardest run to date. I am doing the Galloway beginner plan (to finish). The longest distance I had run prior was the half marathon distance. I really wasn't worried about the actual distance because I had been building up to it. I was stressing a little bit about the course. It's hard to find out a course that's not too hilly. Then, I had to figure out where to plant water/gatorade. Suddenly, the weather was an issue (possible thunderstorms). Plus, I had to do the run on a Thursday rather than my normal Saturday because I was going out of town...which meant the kids were home since school was out. What I'm trying to say is there were a lot of things to worry about.

I was happy to wake up that morning and see that it was not raining or thundering/lightning. Phew. I drove around the course I had mapped out on Map My Run to drop the drinks and realized that this one section was extremely hilly (a road I had never been down before) so I decided we had to change the course around at the last minute. Not good because I had to estimate the miles and we ended up having to add on at the end which really messes with my head.

With all that said, what I really should've been worried about was the heat and humidity which I didn't give much thought to (stupid). I was drenched with sweat only a few miles into the run which is not normal for me. I don't sweat very much for some reason. I think it was around 9 miles that I realized I had some chaffing action going on in the thigh area. It wasn't long before I was trying to run while holding my shorts up above that area (didn't work). I only had chaffing one other time and it was years ago, but I do remember that it was also very humid that time.
By the last mile, I was so ready to be done that I stopped taking the walk breaks and practically sprinted to the end. My friend, Linda that was running with me just completely stopped at mile 13 (she's dealing with some plantar fasciaitis). When I finished, I backtracked to try to find her. By that time the temp had to be in the mid 80's. We were both hurting. Because we had to do so much adding on, we were probably a good half mile from my house when we finished. I had some weird cramping at the very top of my calves (never had that before). It did go away after a little while, but it was kind of strange.

I felt like garbage for the rest of the day. Up until that point, I had felt GREAT after doing my long runs using Galloway. This time was a completely different story. I was starting to get the headache that has become normal for me after a really long run. I knew I should eat something, but had no appetite. Looking back, I think part of why I felt so bad was because I was a little dehydrated. Even though we drank along the way, I don't think it was enough for the temps & humidity we were dealing with. Plus, I didn't bring any sort of nutrition..I usually at least have sport beans or Sharkies. I don't know what I was thinking not to bring anything. So stupid of me.

So, this Saturday is the next long run. 17 miles. I'm very nervous about it. I know I have to go get some body glide and beans. Maybe even bring a sandwich or something. We are going to a bike trail which is flat so that should help. I'm taking all the necessary precautions this time. I think that 14 miler was a good wake up call..you always hear "respect the distance" and I didn't do that. I took it for granted. I won't make that mistake again.