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November 23, 2004
Up at 5:30 for 21 miles!!
I was so happy that I managed to get up this morning. Originally I was planning to get up at 5 a.m. but I slept an extra 15 minutes and managed to get out of the door by 5:30. It was so so cold and I was poorly underdressed. I had shorts on, a long sleeve polypro shirt, and my vest. My right wrist hurt so much because it was frozen. I had my hands in my sleeve the entire run. I started off with a five-mile loop on the road the makes a big circle around campus. I was worried about not being able to see but I was lucky enough to be running on sidewalks with lots of streetlights near by. I was also incredibly surprised to see two other runners out before 6 a.m. This made me feel so much better. Once I was out the door and running and realized that I could still see the time issue was not such a big deal.
There was so much fog out this morning. I did not wear my contacts because it was so early I did not want to have to put them in when I felt so sleepy. If I wear my contacts too long my eyes get irritated. In retrospect I should have taken the time to put them in because I had to keep cleaning the fog off my glasses to that I could see more clearly.. it reminded me of my running days in San Francisco. The first loop I ran I felt great and was looking forward to the sun rising. After my 5-mile route, I did my 8-mile Amherst Bike Path loop. It was still pretty foggy out but I was beginning to see more signs of life with more cars on the road and a few cyclists on the bike path. On the way back to campus I was getting thirsty so I was happy I hid a water bottle in the bushes on one of the main roads on the campus. I returned and got my water bottle but realized it was freezing cold. Once the sun rose I saw all of the frost all over the vegetation and car and saw that there were icicles beginning to form on my hair. I decided to carry the bottle anyway because I need to get used to carrying it for my cold run in Indiana. At this point in my run, my stomach started to act up and I was worried I'd have to use the bathroom. I decided to do the last 10 miles or so on the trails around campus in case I needed to hop to the side to take care of my business. I felt ok for the first 3 miles on the trail but then my stomach was acting up more and more. I did have to go to the bathroom, which I did, and I felt some relief for the next three miles. After another 3 miles my stomach was acting up again so I decided to run three more miles along the pond path and call it a day. I ran for 2 hours and 40 minutes. I would say the first 2 hours were pretty good quality and the last forty minutes I was distracted by my stomach. My legs felt great and I was not fatigued. I am wondering if I ate something disagreeable yesterday. I was disappointed about this but I did decide to run through it because you never know when you might have to deal with that in a race.
The best part of the run was getting up and doing it by myself. I have to admit it has been a hard transition learning to do my long runs by myself. I was very spoiled when I lived in Marin County. I would just send out a group email to my friends in the running club and indicate how far I was going and where I was starting and anywhere from 2 to 20 people might show up for the run. Running alone this morning really wasn't so bad and I liked breaking the run up into the different courses that I knew. I felt more comfortable doing that in case anything came up. My stomach is still really achy and sore. I had some cereal for breakfast but I did not enjoy it that much. I am crossing my fingers and hoping this clears up by later on in the day. Sometime this afternoon I am looking forward to a nice long nap.
Posted by mary at November 23, 2004 10:41 AM
Comments
Well, I'm sorry to hear about your stomach, but I guess it's a good sign that that (and not your calf) was the limiting factor on this run. Good for you for getting up and doing the run - you had already been running for two hours when I woke up! I'm looking forward to tomorrow's run, and I'm glad to hear that you'll be a little tired, that'll put us in a similar starting spot!
Posted by: Alison at November 23, 2004 12:00 PM
Hi Alison.. thanks for the note. I think my stomach problems were due to some crazy appetizers I had last night when we hosted an appetizer dinner/class at our house last night. I was being risky with my food choices. I usually eat really plain things before my long run. I will be tired tomorrow but excited to meet you and here all about NCAA. You are so fit and strong.. you would never have a problem keeping up with me. Thanks again for the note. My calf is doing really well.
Posted by: Mary at November 23, 2004 12:04 PM
Good job being motivated to run in the dark and the frost and with an achy belly! Meghan
Posted by: Meghan at November 23, 2004 3:21 PM
wow mar
up early and blogging too
nice job
i hope your stomach feels better
you are going to be ready for NATIONALs
for sure
Posted by: liz at November 23, 2004 3:26 PM
Mary, I hope your stomach feels better. And I'm glad to hear that your calf is improving. Keep up the great training!
Posted by: Leilani at November 23, 2004 3:58 PM
Mary, hope your tummy feels better soon. I admire you so much for being able to go solo for such a long run. Take care of that calf!
Blondie
Posted by: Blondie at November 23, 2004 7:45 PM