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Seriously. What Was I Thinking?

So I knew that Saturday's run would be tough given the weeklong migraine. I knew that going from sitting at work to laying on the couch for four days straight with nary a workout since my last long run would probably make me feel a little rusty. I knew that puking up the tiny bit of supper that I did choke down on Thursday night did not constitute as carbo loading, but since I kept all my food down on Friday and even tried to eat a little extra, somehow I thought I'd be fine. Cause hey, I'm a two-time Ironman, right? Right?

I failed miserably on Saturday's last long run. My attempt at 20 miles ended at 13. I walked for another 1.25, and then I called Steve to come pick me up because I honestly didn't think I'd make it walking another 1.5 miles. I was just totally spent. I've heard that after having a headache of that magnitude, people can feel like they're getting over the flu and be totally exhausted. Apparently I am not immune. From my first few steps, I knew it would be a tough run. Just a couple of miles into it, I told Steph that if we were to stop, I could lay in the grass and fall asleep in 10 seconds flat. By mile 8, I was having serious GI issues, which has never, ever happened on a run that short. We stopped for water. We stopped for ice. We even stopped for Rice Krispies Treats, which are usually my fix-all. Nothing worked, so I called it. Steve came to pick me up, I chugged my usual chocolate milk, and I showered. Then I took a 2 hour nap. I woke up still feeling crappy and had to bail on my friend Maddy's birthday party. By Sunday, I was feeling a little better, but I opted for an easy 25 mile bike ride instead of the 60 miler with hills that I had originally planned. I didn't really need a repeat performance.

I know I don't really need another 20 miler. I've done one already. I've done a couple of 17s and a couple of 18s, and since this is my 9th marathon, mentally I know I can do it. It just would have been a big confidence booster had it gone well after being sick all week, sort of a "If I could muscle through that, the race should be no problem" kind of thing. I still have no idea what my time will translate to in two weeks, but I'm sure going to give this race a run for its money!

5 comments:

Jumper 2.0

Your body needs rest and what your body wants, your body gets! Sometimes we try to ignore that fact, but then we really get our ass whooped later!

You will rock this marathon.

See ya there.

Iron Girl Nyhus

Good luck at the marathon. You are ready! Let your body rest :)

Unknown

You are more than ready, but of course that's easy for me to say! Let that body of your rest so you are primed for race day!

Erin

You are one tough cookie for even thinking about trying to get that run in. I don't know that I would have. Good luck...you'll do great!

Triteacher

Ack! That sounds positively icky. Best wishes on a speedy recovery and a great race on Saturday.