I ran a six miler yesterday and due to my schedule I had to run at 1 pm. At that time of day it was almost 90 degrees and very humid here in Hoboken, NJ. I ran from my apartment on Clinton Street down to the river and headed south, figuring that the trees lining the walkway along the water might help shade me. Plus when you run for marathon training, six milers just don't feel that long any more. I figured I would crush this and go home and have a beer.
It was very hot but my speed was up to around a 10 minute mile, which is faster than my targeted race pace for October. I felt OK during the first 4 miles but after that I felt like my head was being baked in an oven. Suddenly the Sun felt like it hated me. It was going to make me stop no matter what. The road was so hot that I could feel it melting my shoes. I had drank all of my Gatorade and was definitely a little "loopy". I really wanted to stop my run and walk home.
My run changed from "crushing" it to "surviving" it. I love running and all that goes with it. But here I was entering a state of despair and ready to quit a six miler because I was so hot. My legs cramped, I got nauseous, I had a headache, and this all happened inside of 15 minutes!
My plans moved from strategic to tactical - I was going to finish this run. First, I stopped by a water fountain and doused my head with cold water (thanks Joe G. who showed me this trick years ago and it does help you cool down). Second, I slowed my pace down considerably and focused on continuing to run at any speed. I decided not to stop to buy anything else to drink until I finished, as I'm not sure it would have helped with the leg cramping anyways.
I think of running as mind and body experience. The end of this run was all about training my mind. Initially as I slowed, I was sad that my time was dropping off because I had been taking pride in my new found speed (well, for me it was speed, LOL). Then I focused on making this a better experience. I imagined it was the end of my October Marathon. Albany has had a heat wave and it's 80 degrees. I'm dog tired and I've already run 24 miles. My physical training has given me everything it can and I have to rely on who I am and who I want to be as an athlete and a person to get this done. I trudged along past the Hudson Tea Building and it seemed like time stood still. It felt so slow. But I kept focusing on getting to the end. Finally, my GPS watch beeped at 6 miles.
Those last two miles were an 11 and an 11:54 minute mile. The last one being probably the slowest mile I've run since I started running with a coach five weeks ago.
I gave everything I had yesterday to get that done. Sometimes that's it's about.
No comments:
Post a Comment