Distance : 10mi/16km
Time : 1h39min
Terrain : steep hills
Today’s run was supposed to be a lovely little 13mi/21km, and I even thought I’d add a bit of distance at the end going to 14mi/22.5km.
Or not.
I’ve been growing tired of my regular run circuits, and monotony really is my greatest enemy, so I thought I’d take a different route today, you know, to spice things up.
Spice? How about extra-hot-burn-your-lips?
If I were more html-savvy, I’d show you the graph I made over at MapMyRun showing the elevation and hill grades…let’s just say that after the first 1/2mi my calves were cramping up. Seriously. Just before the 2mi mark I had to walk the remaining 100m of a hill that just freaking killed me.
From that point there were lots of really high hills (often lasting 800m or so) and then descents, and on and on, and by the end of it my calves and adductors had been ground into hamburger.
My original plan had been to stop at home after the “new” 10mi loop, grab more water, then head out for a lovely little wrap-up to finish off the run, but that just didn’t happen. I could have done it. Totally. No problem. But at what cost? The fatigue was there, and how many times have you or I or anyone ever pushed just a little too hard in the name of proving something to themselves, only to end up with a stupid fatigue-induced injury? Uh-huh.
I was already thinking of this coming week’s runs, tomorrow’s run even, and didn’t think throwing an extra couple of miles on today was worth messing up my runs next week.
Runs like today are such painful little reminder-cum-reality checks. It’s easy to feel over-confident when you grow accustomed to something : for me, an average long-run of 13mi or so has become pretty easy, and the thought of running 10mi is frankly no big deal. Ahem. Today’s run had me in a full sweat and exhausted after only 25mins, which brought me back to reality.
Because not all 10mi runs are created equally.
You’re awesome Shellyfish! I am incredibly impressed by the terrain you tackled and your rational approach to running. I’m working my way back up to longer distances and I am finding the same struggle – sometimes I feel like I could do more. But I know I have to play it safe to be strong in the long term. I only did 12 kms today and I’m incredibly proud and pretty tired. Expectations and perspective change everything.
Awesome? My goodness, that made me laugh & smile! Maybe just growing up a little? Either way, thank you, and 12km is awesome, if you ask me! Coming back is such a tough thing-but you’re right on track!
So true! With my prolapse issues, I have very unexpected ‘off’ days. I’m still learning to take things day by day – when I’m feeling especially bitter about a run that was ended sooner than I’d planned, I remember how far I’ve come since my diagnosis a couple of years ago – and my physician’s warning about what could happen if I push myself too hard unnecessarily. Besides – cutting back on miles just leaves more time for some serious vinyasa.