September Slog (A Sucky Run)

I wish I had kicked off September with a kick-ass run. It would have been a great way to set the tone for a month that should bring some nice running weather. But that’s not the way it happened.

I went to bed early and was ready to get up when my alarm went off at 6:00 on Saturday, but I did not have any energy as I pulled on my running top and squeezed into my compression shorts. When the humidity hit me as I opened the door to take my dog out, I knew it was going to be a rough run.

I ate my usual pre-run breakfast (a Kashi multigrain waffle with a drizzle of syrup), filled my water bottle with ice and Gatorade, and headed out. Since I knew I was going to be slow anyway, I decided on a hilly neighborhood route and stretched it out to 9 miles.

I never felt miserable, but I never felt good. As I hit mile 5, I thought that I could easily stop right then and crawl back into bed–or stretch out on the cool basement floor under a fan. Instead of motivating myself with thoughts of Starbucks, I visualized taking an ice bath when I got home. As I rounded the last corner, I had my plan:

      • start coffee maker
      • foam roll and stretch
      • run cold water in bath tub
      • fill travel coffee mug and carry full ice maker bucket upstairs

20120901-131928.jpgI’m not sure I had enough ice for the full effect, but it felt good–mMaybe the fact that it felt good means that I definitely did not have enough ice?

I don’t usually drain my water bottle, but I sucked down the last drop.
20120901-131920.jpg

My Garmin told me just how slow I was. I had a few sub-10 minute miles, but this 10:03 average shows that I had more miles that were significantly over 10 minutes. (I usually average in the 9:30 – 9:45 range.)

I don’t regret this run. I’m glad I got the miles in, and maybe this slow run was what I needed for a change–at least my ITB felt OK and I didn’t get any new injuries.

How was your first September run?

 

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6 Responses to September Slog (A Sucky Run)

  1. MizFit says:

    **tiptoes away*
    🙂

  2. Kierston says:

    My first run of the season was a great one! Yay! I've never taken an ice bath…the thought of it scares me a little! Brrrr!

    I've definitely had those runs where I don't feel great or sucky. I just feel, which isn't a bad thing once in a while! 🙂

    Have a nice day!

  3. NOMADICLES says:

    So brave of you to take an ice bath. I put my feet in bucket of ice yesterday and couldn't even breathe, it hurt so bad!

  4. David H. says:

    Sept. 1 was officially "Long run suck day." I didn't detail it in my post, but I put down two bottles of water of that same size on Saturday and I could have used more. That was after my normal pre-long run hydration in the couple of days before. Time to move along from the suckiness that was this weekend!

  5. Sayida says:

    Hello Coco!

    I so enjoyed seeing you take an ice bath, LOL!
    I am a wife and mother to our 10yr old daughter. I used to be a social worker but after 15 or so yrs I decided to put my health 1st.

    I'm now a certified group fitness instructor teaching weight classes for women.

    My run this morning was an average 10:15min mile for 4.49miles for 52:31mins. I look forward to improving my time to at least a 9:30minute mile.

    Thank u for sharing ur running experiences and I look forward to reading more!

    Sayida

    • Coco says:

      It's never too late to start taking care of yourself. I was in my 30s when I started to figure out all this health and fitness stuff. It sounds like you are off to a great start with running.

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