12 Mile Marathon
Once again yesterday, I procrastinated getting out of the house. I woke up early, but then watched the Tour de France. (3 hours of boredom, for ten minutes of excitement. Should have left for the first three hours.) I almost got sucked in to the British Open as well, but didn't fall for that. (And wouldn't you know it, still a playoff going when I got back.)
And so, there I was running in the middle of the day again. Bad idea. First of all, I'm not in great shape. Second, I missed my second mid-week run do to other responsibilities. So 12 in the heat in this condition was not smart.
The thing is, that the first half went pretty well. I got a 30 second break waiting for a light at about mile 1.4 or so. After that, I thought about a walk break at mile 4, then pushed it to 5, and the finally pushed it to 6.
And that is when the problems started. I walked for about 2 minutes before picking up the pace again. I had a hard time, and ran really slowly. Almost immediately I wanted to stop again. I pushed through for 2 miles, and then took another break. This time a little longer. When I started up, the same problem occurred. As the rest of the run went on, the breaks got closer and longer.
(It's right there in blue and white.)
Anyway, I don't think it was the stopping that caused the problem - but it did help me notice it. It was really hot. I went a different route for more shade, and I brought water, and even Sport Beans. But I'm pretty sure I was dehydrated. At least it seemed that way the rest of the day.
The thing about out-and-back's is that you have to get back. I wasn't sure I'd do 12, but the first 6 went surprisingly well. And then I had to get back. It really felt like the end of my first marathon - where I was suffering just to finish.
Next week I have to run earlier.
posted by Danny on Monday, July 20, 2009
4 Comments:
I had the same problem. Got up late, so missed the cool morning. Ended up running in the heat of the day. I did 3 laps of Prospect Park for a 10 mile total, and the third lap was rough. I too had to walk it for a bit. My overall pace was 8:56 a mile, which is not where I wanted it to be. Lap splits were: 27:14, 29:35, 32:51. Paces: 8:08, 8:50, 9:49. The last lap numbers tell the story, don't they? ;-)
I'm impressed with these distances you're doing. Hope you can keep it up ... just at a different time of day!
Planning and taking walk breaks on a hot day like that would have been a good strategy.
Keep up the good work.
I'm with you on that -- I can't seem to run in the middle of the day!
Out here in California, heat makes a big difference!
Haven't got a chance to read your past blogs, but hopefully you have a chance to get out early, early, early to beat the heat.
Best of luck to you and your running! It's all a major accomplishment, as far as I'm concerned.
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