Beat by the Heat

Three and a half more weeks until go time and I hit a big time wall yesterday during my run with JZA. Our weekly long run was doomed from the moment I thought that having Cold Stone's white chocolate ice cream a mere two hours before our run wouldn't be a big deal. I must have lost my mind.

This mistake, however, may have come a distance second to the fact that instead of hydrating myself with water all day I nursed my addiction to coffee instead. So, as we ran our comfortable 9:30 - 10:00 minute mile down through The Arb to the Huron River and up the Gallup Park trail, I knew right away that I'd probably gotten myself into a pickle.

After mile two, I felt the need to purge my ice cream mistake. While I managed to keep the goods in, I felt the humidity and sun pelting down on me as well as that awful sensation of thirst combined with heat provoked fatigue. Instead of jabbering the entire way, as JZA is accustomed to, he read right away that I was not in good shape.

By mile 4.5, I knew that I was losing the mental battle as well. I kept thinking to myself, my god, you haven't even reached the hills on the out and back yet - you're in a lot of trouble. Where are the F-ING water fountains in the park?!? Etc, etc. It was a very sad scene.

I reached my rope's end at mile 8. My stomach was churning, my upper right quad was aching and I was parched. JZA, at my suggestion, ran ahead of me and I was beginning to regret that I had let him go. At that point, I needed a piggyback ride home.

Feeling defeated and exhausted, I arrived home with multiple lessons learned. Today, as I sit in front of this computer typing, I am drinking water, stretching out my quad and vowing to submit to a NUTRITIOUS diet -- that is, at least before I run. Time to mentally prepare for the next training run.