Monday, June 25, 2012

Run Fail but That's Okay

Because we had a big family wedding on Saturday night (and I was meeting the bride and wedding party on Friday afternoon), I was debating to do my long run on Friday morning or Sunday night. Thursday night before going to bed, I had every intention of doing this run on Sunday morning. However, when Friday morning came, I decided to give it a shot. Having not properly planned the night before, this was a big mistake. I thought 12 miles wouldn't be a problem. The plan was actually to do this as a progressive run with the first 6 miles easy and the last 6 progressively faster. Since I decided to do this run kind of last minute, I didn't properly hydrate the night before. Waking up thirsty when you have a warm long run ahead is never a good sign. Also, Thursday's dinner could have been much better. Can you see where this is going?

I started off feeling strong and had to force myself to slow the pace. The trail was relatively shaded and not very crowded. Miles 1-5 were right on target, no problem but I was starting to get warm and pretty sweaty. At mile 6 I realized that a progression run was going to be more difficult than I thought. This run soon became "just get through it." I was so thirsty and the hard core stomach sloshing started around mile 9. I was so sad that this run was sucking, so thirsty but couldn't drink any more, and so hot that I wanted to cry (and did a little at during mile 10). Miles 11 and 12 included a lot of walk breaks and left me feeling defeated. The more I thought about the things that went wrong, they all seemed to point to my poor pre-run planning. There is definitely a lesson to be learned from every run, and I'm walking away from this one trying to focus on the positive. Amanda reminded me of something I had once told her during marathon training and it totally holds true. Not every run is going to go as planned. Bad runs make you appreciate the good ones just that much more. I've had many successful workouts in this training cycle. This was just not one of them and I'm okay with that.

So now that the run was done, it was wedding time! We really had a fun weekend and I'm very happy for my cousin. Here are some photos from the day!
On the party bus

At the reception with our cowboy boots on!

the bride and I

me and my bros!
Note: mixing beer and Tom Collins is not a good idea...

6 comments:

  1. Sorry about your bad long run :( I've blogged about it before, but I had a bad 11-mile run totally derail me when I was training for my first half back in 2010. Luckily I've learned SO MUCH since then. Sounds like you will bounce back from this :)

    You look so pretty in the wedding pics! Of course you always look pretty :) I promise I'm not hitting on you.

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  2. I'm glad I could help you out Kelly! It's tough when you feel completely defeated! The part you need to remember is that you still got through it! Great job!

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  3. The wedding looks like a blast! You look so pretty! I think that cowboy boot trend is cute! Are yours boots or flip flops?

    It's so hot this summer, it seems hydration is really key. I have been taking water on all my runs and sometimes I still feel like I did not take enough. I hope you can plan better for your next run! You should be impressed you got it done that am instead of putting it off!

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  4. I think we've all been there at some point. I just hadn't felt that miserable on a run in a long time (Chicago Marathon 2011). I'm hoping to bounce back in full force from this! I have some more challenging workouts this week so its time to suck it up and move on. :)

    Thanks! I really liked the dress and I thought the company did a good job with the makeup, especially considering I never wear any.

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  5. Thanks Amanda! We all need a little encouragement now and then. I think doing this run alone also helped along that feeling of defeat. Its okay though, time to get out there and conquer this week's workouts!! :)

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  6. Thanks! I had my boots on when I entered, but then took them off almost immediately. My feet were so swollen and sore, those flip flops felt great.

    As we're talking about this, I am thinking about how badly I need to fill up my water cup. In this heat, there is no such thing as too much hydration in the days before a run or race! (During said run/race is a different story...)

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