As alluded to in my previous post, this weekend I ran the Zooma Annapolis Half Marathon. Half marathons are usually my favorite distance to run - they're long enough to feel that you've really accomplished something at the end of your run (and it doesn't hurt that the distance sounds impressive), but they aren't long enough that they render you useless for the rest of the day/weekend.
Please note I said usually. These past few months I've been bad. Very bad. I've been a training slacker. I've done what every seasoned runner/trainer/person with common sense tells you not to do. This season, I've run minimally on my own and thrown my poor body in to various ten mile and half marathon races on a whim. The past few races I ran with this approach turned out ok for me (as far as I know - I'd hate to see an X-ray or MRI of my knees right now), but this past Sunday, things didn't go so well.
I'd finally started going to the gym on a regular basis, but I forgot about one important detail - a detail so obvious that most of you will be astounded that I forgot about it - running outside in 90 degree weather with 90% humidity is not the same as running in an air conditioned gym. Right. What can I say? I'm one smart cookie. So this Sunday I was lucky enough to run an extremely hilly course in high heat and humidity in bright sunshine. I survived ok except for my pride; I had to walk some, which I haven't had to do since my very first half marathon. It was a bit unnerving to see someone being carried off of the course by paramedics, but I am extremely thankful that person was not me. Seeing that happen was certainly a wake-up call.
I guess the rest of this summer I'll be setting my alarm clock earlier and setting off on some early-morning training runs... because this fall I won't be walking any of my races!
No comments:
Post a Comment