I feel like I have commiserated previously about going out for a run and feeling like my legs were carrying around bricks. Without having reread any past posts, I am going to presume I did utter this sentiment and I will do it again.
I went for a run Wednesday, mid-morning. It was 10:42 a.m. It wasn't raining, although it had been raining heavily all morning and there was a break in the rain. I was dressed to go running from the moment I got the girls up to go to school. Got to be prepared at any given moment because you just never know when it will be dry enough to dash out the door on a day like this (showers followed by monsoon like rains followed by sun). I had on some capri running skirt ensemble and a long sleeve tee. But, I saw a glimmer of sun, so I changed just before I headed out the door into a short sleeve tee. I had a cup of coffee earlier in the morning when I was getting the girls the breakfast, but I usually have coffee before I go for a run (just for a little extra kick) so that was not unusual. At 10, I remember thinking I should probably drink some more water so I did have some, but probably not enough though. I didn't want to drink too much because I didn't want to be bloated and have to pee along my run. I really just wanted enough to hydrate me at that moment. However, I wasn't planning on going for a very long run, 5-6 miles. I should have known what was happening at that moment, but once again (a recurring theme, hindsight...grrr).
I put the Beast in her crate and headed out the door. Music on. Check. Mapmyrun on. Check. 10 second countdown begins and I'm off. The first thing I notice is I feel like I am moving a bit slower than usual and it feels warmer than I expected. I was wishing I had put shorts on instead. Too late now, I've left the house and there's no turning back. Now, the other thing I'm thinking is where to go. But, dang why does it feel so difficult? I'm not even a mile in and I'm really sluggish. Granted, it usually takes me a couple miles to get into my groove (why don't I add some Deee-Lite, a little Groove is in Heart, remember that? to my running mix? What ever happened to them anyway?) I had to cross a busy street, Powell, and of course those drivers aren't stopping for nothing; even at the cross-walk. I had to put myself out there, one foot precariously in the cross-walk and fortunately, someone stopped and I was able to dash across the street like a game of Frogger. I kept going and it continued to feel like I had cinder blocks for feet. I actually started getting what felt like a shin-splint, which I never get: not good. The best way to make this go away is to keep running, right? Just after I take a short walk because, WTF? I walk about 5 seconds and decide to go up a hill, maybe the problem is I need some more heat generated in my legs to warm my muscles. So, up a slow incline of Clinton where not only does that make the shin splint subside, but I also decide it's time to turn up my running so it doesn't feel so sluggish. Except, the only thing I can think about is how dry my mouth is. Not good. That and how warm i'm feeling. I'm actually wishing it would start raining so I can at least get some water in my mouth and cool off a bit because some clouds will invariably cover the sky, bye-bye sun and the temperature will drop. Yippee! But, nooohhh, why would my running prayers be answered? They wouldn't.
I was able to speed up and feel like myself for another mile or so, but even the sight of puddles made me even more thirsty than before. Why didn't I drink more water? It's not good when the only thing you can think about on a run is how thirsty you are. I am convinced that was why my legs felt like lead and my feet like cinder blocks. Lack of hydration. Then it made me think about my favorite hydration/electrolyte replacement. Nuun. When I first had it, it was at a race expo and I thought it was bad. It's hard sometimes to drink those thinks when you're just moseying around not needing electrolyte replacements because they just taste like diluted Kool-Aid. But now, it's my favorite! Then just the other day I was reading that Kara Goucher has partnered with Nuun and had a giveaway on Facebook (which I didn't enter, but I thought about it).
I don't carry water or any other beverage with me when I go running shorter distance runs. I find that it just slows me down and its unnecessary, as long as I have hydrated well prior to my run. And in this case, I failed to hydrate well prior to my run and I am suffering the consequences now. My focus is off. My form is off. I am a mess. I am inordinately exhausted at a time when I should be feeling good. You know it's bad when not only standing water looks appealing, but you start thinking about asking strange people if you can have a cup of water from their kitchen, you know like they are volunteers for my run and their house is a hydration station.
I'm not even sure at what point I was when the run started to feel decent, but even though I was thirsty as all get out and just wanted to end the misery. I reached a point where I was able to fall into a comfortable rhythm; I just tuned into my music, tried to take my mind off my thirst (which was no easy feat. Really, I just kept thinking about George Costanza, saying that line, "these pretzels are making me thirsty!") There was no fixing my pace at that point, the damage had been done early on; now, I just need to focus on finishing. Then as I ran across Holgate down 52nd to Steele I thought I felt a raindrop. Could it be? I felt what could have been maybe 10 raindrops. Wow, way to throw me a bone when I'm about 2 miles from my house. The clouds did come, which was nice, and there was a little bit of a breeze. The even nicer part, was I was able to hit all green lights for the rest of the way home (really, red lights are the bane of my running-in-the-city existence, that and cement streets and pot holes - recall Charlie Hales!).
In the final stretch, I am cruising. Feeling great, I've been non-stop for a while now and any kinks brought on by being ridden with thirst seemed to have worked themselves out. I am still thirsty, but I have found my groove...as usual, it took me a couple miles to find it, but now that I'm here, I am at cruising altitude and if I had hydrated I would be able to go a couple more miles, but now that I am within a mile of my house I am excited but can kick it up a notch. I will hydrate when I get home. Note to self: drink more water. Drink, drink, drink because your run depends on it. A good run depends on it. Now that I am home, just under 6 miles, probably my slowest in months, it has started to downpour.
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