Sunday, November 15, 2015

Just Because Your Last Run Was Bad ...

I know I haven't done a lot of writing about it lately but I have been running since Melbourne marathon.

Photographic evidence that I really have been running

Really, I hardly stopped apart from a brief hiatus the week after. I had my first run back on the Friday, where my legs reminded me that they'd run 42+k, then another run on the Saturday. Both were short and easy. And ever since then I've been building back to normal. Back to four sessions a week. Back to some decent speeds. And back to some longer distance stuff.

It's all been going pretty well. Apart from the heat and humidity. We've had a couple of really nasty humid days and both have seemed to coordinate beautifully with the weekly long run.

The first was a week ago and it wasn't fun. It felt hard right from the start and only got harder. We didn't push the pace and we stopped at every water stop and still by the end I was trying not to faint when I stopped. Which is a little disconcerting for me and a lot disconcerting for my poor running companion who doesn't know if he's going to have to try and break my fall. (Just protect the head Elio, everything else will heal but a brain injury is for ever). I spent the rest of the day on the couch with a bucket trying not to vomit. Yeah - good times!

So this week I was a bit antsy about a repeat performance. The conditions were pretty similar to the previous week and I still hadn't totally worked out where I'd gone wrong - apart from actually getting out of bed to run. Part of me wanted to pull the pin on it altogether but I'd organised an early start to get 4k done before joining up with the squad. Really the only way I'd feel justified in piking was if I'd been throwing up all night or had a heart attack. So I set my alarm for 4:15 telling myself that if it felt awful then I could pull out after the 4k. Or I could just do the 12k with a good proportion of the squad. These are the lies I tell myself so I"ll get out of bed.

Of course there was never really any intention to pull out and run less. Once I've got a distance in my sights I can never be happy until I've got it done but those little lies I tell myself can be enough to keep my calm when I'm worried about something.

So we set off at 5:00 the next morning and did our 4k loop and it was okay. My legs didn't feel as uncooperative as they had the previous week. We were keeping the pace gentle. We were drinking when we could. And Elio was doing a great job keeping my mind off the previous week's debacle.

I had water and Powerade once we got back to the group. Sweat was trickling down my back already. It was hard to completely wipe away the thoughts of how bad I'd felt on the last long run when the conditions were just so similar. I just had to remind myself that we were taking it easier. That we were going to be drinking regularly. And just because one run is bad, it doesn't mean that they're all going to be bad.

And it turned out that I was right. There was nearly nothing about the run that was bad  - for me at least. Can't say the same for one of my friends who got distracted by a couple of pretty faces and ended up on the pavement in a puddle of blood. Proof again that a lot of men find it hard to multi-task.

I've been running for a lot of years now and I know quite a bit about it but it seems that there are still so many things that I don't know. And so many things that I'll never understand. Why is one run so, so hard and another in similar conditions, off a similar work load not? I don't get it. I can't science my way to an answer. But I'm happy to accept it. Just because your last run was bad doesn't mean that they all will be.

11 comments:

  1. You need to update your PB's.....:)

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  2. Love your positive attitude! Same goes for most things in life, just because the last something was bad doesn't mean the next will be.
    Men really cannot multi-task, i live with 4 males who really can't do anything unless it is spelled out in black and white. Like now i am waiting for my 4 year old to get changed out of his wet cossies. I have been waiting for an hour and a half. I am hoping he will be dressed by school pick up!

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  3. Those hot-weather runs - so tough. We are only just now getting out of the heat, so I commiserate. Taking in adequate salt really helps me in that kind of weather.

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  4. I think I've run my body into the ground... I would love the heat if the body was OK...

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  5. You might have been fighting off a little virus or something Char. I feel faint just reading this.

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  6. I think my comment got lost yesterday!! It's funny how one day a run can a breeze & another day the exact same run can be bloody awful!!

    LOL @ proof again that men cant multitask!!!!!

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  7. Your photograph is proof that you were having the most fun!

    Sounds like you've got a great running partner. Protecting the cake-creating machine that is Char is of utmost importance.

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  8. I am sure there's no science to it. I remember when I used to play sport and exercise and one day it'd be great, the next day it wouldn't. And I'd even wear my lucky socks / briefs etc...

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  9. Not that I'm a runner like you, but I find anything (particularly exercise) is a bit like that. Sometimes it's surprisingly easy, and other times, it's freaking hard. And sometimes, it's the times you expect to be hard that surprise you and vice versa. I guess that is why exercise is so good for us - helps prepare us for the ups and downs of life. Which reminds me - I really should do more of it!

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  10. Isn't it funny how you can have good runs and bad runs--no rhyme or reason? And sometimes a run starts out bad, but you get that little boost...I guess that's what keeps us coming back for more!

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