Once a Runner... again
Sunday's run basically reminded me of a lot of runs I did back in Boston in the summer of '04, my first real summer as a distance runner. Hot, tired and dehydrated, plodding along at 10 minute miles thinking that at least 45 minutes MUST have elapsed but then looking at your watch and it saying "18 minutes". I had assumed that those were growing pains and I had essentially moved out of that phase, but I've had this funny feeling for a while now that maybe the effect of almost 2 years being on and off and injured and fat basically just reset my "long term endurance" bank account to zero, and that's why I'm feeling like I just started running for the first time. 7 minute miles is really really fast, 90 minutes is really really long, and everything's just really really hard. Yep, been there, done that.
I guess this could be really really depressing, but somehow I oddly find it comforting. I'd bungled and blundered my way through about 2 years of training before I semi-permanently injured myself, so it's not like that many years have been lost. On the contrary, it kind of feels like getting a second chance to "do it over". I think I am a little bit ahead of where I was in my first year, and its not spectacular, but I think its because I've been smarter about my training. The idea is that the right foundation I painfully build now will mean that my second "second" year will be better than my '05-06 season. Never really was one to appreciate delayed gratification... but I think I'll manage. It's really a brighter perspective than "I am permanently damaged due to my various medical conditions that I have developed and it will never, ever get better".
Sunday 07/06: 1:38:14, trail along Dried Up Creek... and back. Still everything feeling mostly dead and tired from the hike, and woke up with a dehydration headache in addition... but I desperately needed a slow, flat, long run which I've neglected to do for a while now, so there was no backing out of this one. Thankfully it was slightly less hot than yesterday, but when we got to the starting point, I quickly determined that there was just NO SHADE. Felt really awful just jogging to the porta potty, but I figured if I just went slow enough, I could just log my time and go home without too many disasters. It was a hard, hard run. I just felt really tired in a nonspecific but comprehensive way, and it just seemed like time went by... so slowly. Tried not to check my watch for as long as I could, but when I did it said 19 minutes. Felt a little bit better towards the middle of the run, mostly due to curiosity about getting to the end of the trail, then distracted by seeing some cute deer on the trail. Unfortunately, I gave up on getting to the end of the trail after ~ 50 minutes, but turns out later looking at the map I was actually within a few hundred meters of the end, if I had only known. Bah. The last 30 minutes was really a death march. I felt extremely dehydrated and it was a headwind the entire return journey. Given that though, I pulled through, even had enough left at the end to run strong for the last stretch. I think it would have been fine if I wasn't pre-exhausted and had a little bit of water along the way.
Monday 07/07: Off, shots, traveling. So exhausted, but somehow still having trouble going to bed early. Also, shouldn't have eaten that whole pizza.... Stupid!
Tuesday 07/08: 44:11, Monterrey to bridge. A very blah and unsatisfying run. Body still feels not quite right, also, bad foot complaining louder than usual. Argh. I thought I was going a presentable speed for at least half of this run, but turns out not. Oh, well.
Wednesday 07/09: Unplanned off day--calamity of the world. Literally. Could not run today due to outbreak of hives... which is the grossest thing, ever. Went to the doctor and got started on (another) 5 day course of Prednisone... which contrary to what one may think, does NOT make you faster. But it does make you strung out and unable to sleep but then inordinately tired. Yay. I almost didn't want to take it, but then when I saw new hives forming at the end of the day, I gobbled down the first tablet. Gah. Considered running in the dark where no one would be able to see me... but in the end I felt too tired and defeated. It feels really sad to look so nasty that you can't leave your room.
Thursday 07/10: 50:47, Hungtington/Oak Knoll. The almost 8 minute miles! Went to bed at 10 pm yesterday and, as expected was wide awake at 3 am. Tried to sleep until it got lighter, but realized that I should make the most of being able to wake up early (Dr. Rossi says being on Prednisone is like being on 8 shots of espresso). Saw that there were fewer hives so I decided to venture out into the world for my run. Strangely, after my run, all of the hives were gone!
Not sure if it's the extra day off, the drugs or left over red blood cells from being in Colorado, but I'm getting closer to presentable (er, physically and athletically...). Actually, I probably shouldn't put much stock in what I run in the next 5 days as its likely to be artificially fast or slow depending on where I am in my Prednisone cycle. Did some drills and 3 striders at the track afterwards.
Friday 07/11: Off. Despite all of the meds, the hives came back with a vengeance... were so awful they wouldn't risk giving me my shots today. *sigh*... Felt sick and depressed. No run.
Saturday 07/12: 53:15, Arroyo Recovery Loop (6.5 mile route starting from my house that used to be my day after mountain or track work run). All told, not horrible. I'm starting to get really tired though, per lack of ability to sleep for more than 4 continuous hours. Went to bed at 11 pm, was wide awake by 3 am... but was so exhausted, I tossed and turned and couldn't get out of bed until 7 am. I would say that I want the course of medication to end... but then I would have nothing holding the hives back from eating me alive... so, not sure what's worse.
Goals: uh, to not have hives for the rest of my life.
Training this week: 4:06:27, again on 4 days.... mehhhh
1 comment:
Megumi, can I join you on some of your epic trail runs? I don't mind running really slow and you seem to know tons of good trails. Let me know if you know that you'll be running in the evening. Also if you are doing interval workouts, how come you are still called it base weeks?
Post a Comment