Cut Short

Too much too soon or too much a failure? My goal of a 16 miler was cut short today. I only got in 12, and it would have been less than that, except the shortest route home was about 3.5 miles.

I was originally scheduled to run yesterday, but purposely extended it a day. I was quite sore Friday and was to work in the yard some yesterday since it was to be a beautiful day in the upper 60's - actually got to 77 at our house. Sunday was about to be 10 degrees cooler and that would be just fine for running. It was 57 degrees and cloudy when I headed out, but felt cooler. I wore pants, but couldn't decide on short sleeves or long sleeves. I finally opted for a long sleeve HeatGear shirt. I'm glad I did. Although I sweated pretty good during the first 7 to 8 miles, the long sleeves helped keep me warm later on. I felt pretty good the first 7 miles, but things bottomed out after that. My plan was to run the first half of the 16, walk a half mile, then run the rest as I could. After I completed the 8th mile, I began walking, but my legs still wanted to run - not in a good way, though. It was like pedaling something hard and fast for awhile and you needed to stop, but the pedals keep turning. The wind picked up, and I got cold from the drying sweat, as I walked the half mile. It began to sprinkle (lasted about 15 minutes), which was also cold to me. I tried running again, but just could not keep going. It was a struggle - to try to get in 16 or cut it short. I was hurting and freezing, so I decided to cut it short. The thing was that the shortest route home was still about 3.5 miles from home. So, after 9 miles, I mostly walked to get in 12 (I didn't count the last half mile).

The sun seemed to try to peek through the clouds for the first time when I was about a mile from home, and it seemed to get hot. It was 61 when got back home. I don't know if the temperature dropped or not while I was running, but I got cold! My total time was 2:32:11, a pace of 12:41. Heart Rates: Avg. 148, Max. 179, Rest 76. Recovery. 178 to 129.

After my shower and everything, it was about 5:00. I ate some cereal, watched a little TV, and feel asleep on the couch about 6:30. I woke up about 8:00 and was in bed by 8:30. Exactly a year ago, I ran 16 miles in 2:47:41 (10:29 pace). A week later I did 17 miles and that led to my demise for about a month.