Down, and then Up

After being called out on my friend Barrett's blog, I could no loner deny the need to update.

The truth is, I've been avoiding this for a couple weeks. On March 28, the day of my 15 miler, I was in San Francisco. I had big aspirations for that run: crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, beating my 1/2 marathon time and composing an excellent blog entry as I sped along Crissy Field. All I really succeeded in doing is crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.

The 15 miler was awful. The first couple miles of any run are always tough for me, but I usually get into a zone and pound out the remaining distance. Not the case a couple weeks ago. The first two miles were as rough as I expected, but things took a turn for the worst when those miles dropped me at the base of a steep hill climb. The bridge crossing, though picturesque, was windy and cold. The descent was painful (I don't have trail shoes and I do have weak ankles), and I ended up running laps around a small park to eke our the rest of my mileage. I swore (a lot) walking the last 1.25mi.

I'm not really sure what went wrong. Was it the hours of dancing the night beforehand? Poor sleep? A lackluster breakfast of plain oatmeal with no peanut butter mixed in? Only taking in 30oz of water on the run? Whatever the case, the entire experience sucked, and I was too embarrassed to come back here and broadcast a crappy run.

I licked my wounds for the first week. It took until Thursday for me to get a decent interval run in. Saturday I was scheduled for 11mi, but slept late instead. I attempted an evening run, going so far as to drive to a flatter neighborhood. I got out of the car, walked across the street, promptly walked back, got in my car and went home. I told myself I was tired. I think I was just being a wimp.

Finally, on Sunday morning, I redeemed myself. I had my usual pre-run breakfast of whole wheat tortilla, peanut butter and banana. I had coffee. I had water. I eased into the day. I drove down to the gym, gearing myself up for a nice, strong run with some R.E.M. I hopped on the treadmill, planning only 4mi and then heading outside for my favorite 7mi loop.

I did my first w/u mile at 10:30. Kicked it up to 10:00 for mile 2. I was feeling bored and up'd it to 9:45 for mile 3. By mile 4, I was doing 9:30. I didn't want to stop. I increased speed to 9:15. At mile 10, I kicked it up to 8:34 and pounded it out. Time flew by, and actually ran out on the treadmill, but I still felt like I could have kept going. My runner's high was interrupted only briefly by the realization that I forgot to put on Body Glide and was experiencing some major chafing issues. I did some abs, stretched, foam rolled, fist pumped to my own victory and headed home.

To bring this entry full circle, I must give a shout out of thanks to Barrett (as well as Tauni and Julie). They talked me down when I was pretty frustrated, and reminded me that training and improvements don't come without some minor setbacks. It's true what they say: the bad runs are what make the good runs great.