Sick Day
Summer colds are the worst. I'm normally able to avoid getting sick, even with the rest of my family sneezing and coughing around me, but this time was an exception.
It started on Saturday afternoon with a tickle in the throat, and caused a fitful night of sleep, er, no sleep on Saturday night. I wasn't feeling too bad before the long run on Sunday, but by the time it was finished, so was I. The temperature had climbed into the mid-70s less than halfway through my run, and even though I had downed a bit less than two quarts of water prior to and during the effort, I still weighed in five pounds lighter at the end. That's just about 4%, which qualifies as dehydration.
It definitely affected my performance. I ended up pulling the plug about half a mile short of 22. I was dropping off my planned pace pretty severely, and my legs were dead. I got a good dose of what I expect miles 20-26 will feel like starting at mile 19 of this run, so I stepped off the path and walked it in. 21.4 miles in 2:16:16, about a 6:23 pace.
After last week's 22 miler, I thought I had probably gone at it too hard. It took me almost four days to really feel recovered. I figured I could either cut the distance, which I didn't think sounded logical, or cut the pace. I chose to slow the pace by about 10 seconds per mile, and it worked out almost perfect, with the exception of the fluid issues.
Encouraged by 21+ miles and the dehydration, the cold viruses in my system burgeoned forth in search of new territory. By dinner time, my legs were feeling better and I had drank enough water to recover my morning weight, but the cold had taken hold. A second night of no sleep came and went, and I made the decision to turn off the 4:00 am running alarm and forego Monday at work.
I had planned to take a zero today, but I've gradually started to feel more energetic, after reading, resting, or sleeping the day away, and realized that an easy thirty minutes of fresh air and sun will probably do me some good. I got my ForeRunner 301 back today, and was pleasantly surprised to find that they had opted to replace, rather than repair the busted one. And I got it back in just less than a week. Most impressive, Garmin.
It started on Saturday afternoon with a tickle in the throat, and caused a fitful night of sleep, er, no sleep on Saturday night. I wasn't feeling too bad before the long run on Sunday, but by the time it was finished, so was I. The temperature had climbed into the mid-70s less than halfway through my run, and even though I had downed a bit less than two quarts of water prior to and during the effort, I still weighed in five pounds lighter at the end. That's just about 4%, which qualifies as dehydration.
It definitely affected my performance. I ended up pulling the plug about half a mile short of 22. I was dropping off my planned pace pretty severely, and my legs were dead. I got a good dose of what I expect miles 20-26 will feel like starting at mile 19 of this run, so I stepped off the path and walked it in. 21.4 miles in 2:16:16, about a 6:23 pace.
After last week's 22 miler, I thought I had probably gone at it too hard. It took me almost four days to really feel recovered. I figured I could either cut the distance, which I didn't think sounded logical, or cut the pace. I chose to slow the pace by about 10 seconds per mile, and it worked out almost perfect, with the exception of the fluid issues.
Encouraged by 21+ miles and the dehydration, the cold viruses in my system burgeoned forth in search of new territory. By dinner time, my legs were feeling better and I had drank enough water to recover my morning weight, but the cold had taken hold. A second night of no sleep came and went, and I made the decision to turn off the 4:00 am running alarm and forego Monday at work.
I had planned to take a zero today, but I've gradually started to feel more energetic, after reading, resting, or sleeping the day away, and realized that an easy thirty minutes of fresh air and sun will probably do me some good. I got my ForeRunner 301 back today, and was pleasantly surprised to find that they had opted to replace, rather than repair the busted one. And I got it back in just less than a week. Most impressive, Garmin.
posted at 4:13 PM [+]
3 Comments:
Beardsley rocks!!! I need to go back and re-read that book. Love the part about shoveling snow for cross-training workouts.
I read "Duel in the Sun" but not that one. Now I know what you can loan me in exchange for that Daws book and the incredible CD.
Sorry to hear you caught a bug, and I agree the long run probably didn't help things as far as your immune system goes. I truly think a little "bonk" training is a good thing, especially if you can keep your head straight as it happens. That's a pretty mean pace nonetheless, what was your pace before the train came off the tracks and you started slowing down?
Yes, the snow shoveling workout was interesting. A variation on the Zatopek human washing machine workout. It's also interesting that most of the book is set right in my geographical area.
Mike, get me your address and it will be on the way. I was trying to hold a steady 6:25 pace, which I did right up until 21 miles. The last half mile I was working just as hard but it was coming out at 6:40+, so I just stopped. Kind of like knowing when you've had enough in an interval session. I didn't truly derail--just hit the brakes.
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