Friday morning I ran (5k) early because Julie wasn't feeling well (she still wanted to workout, but I made her rest). I see I didn't blog about it and honestly, that doesn't surprise me. There was nothing memorable about it. I remember questioning later in the day, "Did I run this morning?" I'm going to view that as a good thing.
Then, yesterday, I got to go for a short "bromance" run with my friend Anthony (of Two Gomers fame - @gomer1) and his wife. She's a way better runner than we are.
We ran on a trail near my house that I've never run on before. Why? Who knows. It was a great two mile run (and we walked maybe another 1/2 to 3/4, I suppose). The trail was fun and the company was fantastic!
Here's the rub, though...a while later Anthony notified me that he lost his good earphones on the run. They must have fallen out of his pocket, he thought. So, of course, I felt super guilty. And terrible. I went back to the trail and spent an hour looking for them. I walked pretty much our entire run...in my flip-flops. Not a brilliant idea. Plus, I didn't find the earphones. Double suck.
Defeated, I headed off to a party with a bunch of my guy friends where I proceeded to eat a boatload of chicken wings and chips and a piece of corn. And a summer shandy. Good long-run prep.
That brings us to this morning. I was supposed to run 5 miles. Remember when I wrote about my perfect setup? Let's review today's setup:
Friday - ran 3.2 miles early without incident.
Saturday - ran/walked 2.5-3 miles, then went back and walked 2.5 miles in flip-flops, then ate and drank terribly until well after 8pm.
Sunday - got up early, went #2 twice before I left the house, tried to be confident.
The run didn't go very well. The first mile was fine, but after that, nothing came easy. I think I've said it before, but if not...I prefer the familiar. So, even though the trail is cool, it's still unfamiliar to me. I know every inch of my regular route and that's very comforting and empowering. The trail I'll have to get used to. Plus, there were so many freaking bugs! Every other second I was shooing flying things off my hair, my legs, my arms...it was so distracting. Next time I'll wear a hat. Also, of course, I stepped in a giant puddle. Neat!
Plus, running out in the middle of nowhere/nature isn't great when you're afraid of the bears that have been reported in the area. There were no bear sightings this day, but I did see a huge deer about 15 feet away from me at one point. It freaked me out a little, mostly because he wouldn't stop staring at me. Creepy. (At church I used this joke: "I said, 'Stop staring at me, deer,' which, coincidentally, I occasionally say to my wife." Hey-oh.)
Honestly, the run was very mental. I know my prep was terrible, but I didn't feel that bad most of the time (physically). At one point I shouted, "C'mon! Fight through this! Run to the next mile marker!" I don't think I did. Just not very good.
What have I learned? I'm not at a point where I can run that kind of distance three days in a row. I also need to be smarter about what I eat the night before. (I actually knew that while I was eating...dangit) That said, as bad as the run was, at least I got out there and did it. And learned. Now I'll take two or three days off and the next run will be great. I know it.
Oh, and Happy Father's Day. :)
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