Run Away with Jamie

Bad Day

I am back from my run. Actually been back for a while but I have been dealing with crap. Can I say I have had a bad last 24 hours? Lets start with this morning:

5:45—Wake up (without alarm) and am so proud of myself. Begin morning hydration. Get ready to get out the door by 6. Hmm, where is my Garmin? Look everywhere for my Garmin. Did I throw it out? Why do I always think that when I can’t find something? I am such a pessimist. But, where could it be? Grr… You see the Garmin was my wedding present from Mr. DoubleU and despite the fact that I didn’t use it for the first 15 months I had it I would feel horrible if I lost it. Besides I have grown pretty attached to it in the last couple of months and I think it really improves my training. I pick up my old running watch and head out the door because it is now 6:20 and getting hotter by the minute. Ahh, there is my Garmin. SUCCESS. Sidenote: I didn’t wear it for the first 15 months because when I got it it was broken—missing a screw to hold the watch to the band. Before moving I decided it would be a good idea to finally get it fixed and took it to Safeway where 2 bucks (and nothing is 2 bucks in California) and 10 minutes later it was good as new. Ridiculous, huh? I am LAZY. I also just didn't think I needed a fancy watch and didn't realize what I was missing.

6:20—I head out the door and run into my neighbor returning from his run. He remarks: “it is real hot out this morning”. Not a good start for a 10 mile run.

Mile .6: Pass the tennis courts where I see some old bald guy trying to look cool and totally whiffing at an overhead. Hah, he turns around and sees me and looks all sheepish.

Mile .8: I come across a running group I now aspire to join someday. Wow are they fast. I have only ever had running partners who are slightly slower than me (see I am lazy) and well I think it would be great to have someone to push me. They must leave from the Y around 6:15 too which would be perfect. I will have to keep that in mind.

Mile “1.6”: Darn, I have lost at least .3 miles in the dense shade of the trails. How do I know? The mileage is marked for the past 1.2 miles and when I started this section the watch read .75. Maybe I would’ve been better off without the Garmin because I promised myself I would run until the watch said 10.00 (I don’t like fuzzy numbers and don’t want to give myself an out).

Mile 3.33: Am I really only 1/3 of the way there? Did I really write once that I liked heat and humidity? Why did I choose the course with so many hills?

Mile 4.0: Potentially a turnaround point. I stay strong and skip it.

Mile 4.5: Running down a main street now so I am trying to at least look strong in case anyone I might know is driving by. Good thing I don’t know many people here.

Mile 5.2: Silly me, my shoe is untied. I am going to need to stop for a second and tie it and take a swig. Big bummer. Good thing I have to cross the street anyways. And while I am at it might as well run through someone’s sprinkler. Disclaimer: I stopped my watch for about a minute total on this run I am guessing. I took a total of three walking water breaks because I have trouble drinking out of a bottle while running (funny no problem drinking from a cup).

Mile 6.2: Realize I just missed a turn. Grr, but at least now I can be sure I will get in a whole 10.00 miles.

Mile 7.0: Last big hill.

Mile 8.4: I must have lost some more mileage somewhere on the Garmin because I thought this was 9 miles… and that darn promise I made to myself, I am going to have to run around the field on the way home and I already feel like a cripple. I only have about 20 miles on my new sneakers and I just switched from Asics to Mizunos--I am not sure how my feet and legs like my new shoes.

Mile 9: This isn’t too bad. At least the park is nice and shady.

Mile 10.01, Time 1:30:14: I had been trying to push it to come in under 90 minutes but I didn’t have a lot of push left. It was my lucky day though because the grounds crew was working on the sprinklers on the soccer fields and I got to drench myself. Good thing too because I was pondering jumping in my neighborhood swimming pool with all my clothes on which I don’t think my neighbors would have appreciated.

Finish + 20 minutes: I decide I am going to download my recent runs so I can try to figure out what mileage I may have missed on today's run, analyze today's run, and also get some cool satellite photos from the runs, bikes, hikes in the parks last week. Well keeping with the bad past 24 hours I break the tip of the cord that plugs into the Garmin. Fortunately, Mr. DoubleU is a bit of technology collector and a packrat so I am hoping he has a plug that will work somewhere.

Training for a marathon during the TN summer is starting to sound like a BAD idea.

posted by JamieW @ 9:49 AM