Tough weekend of running.......

I went out Saturday expecting to run 13 or so miles in Lebanon Hills, made it about 11 and then called it quits as things weren't right. I felt good at the start, I pushed it around mile 3-4 and then hit a wall. I was completely spent, my joints hurt, so I ended it early, figuring my long run on Sunday was more important.

So today, I wanted to run 5-6 hours in Murphy Hanrehan, my plan was to run 4 loops. I also wanted to sneak out onto the 2 miles of the Surf the Murph that I hadn't run so I would have a feel for the whole course. In my past runs at Murhpy I have run on the inner side of the course. For those that know Murphy, I start at the Park entrance and run down to 11, then 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, back to 9 if the gate is closed for 4, cut through just a bit past 9, onto 4, then 3 and 1 and back to the entrance. I think this loop is around 6 miles (give or take a 1/2 mile). I also will shoot down each open section or paths, marked or not just to see where they lead which adds a bit more distance. What I have been doing is noting the other paths on each loop and then I explore one of them on each subsequent loop (that's how I found the short cut back to 4).

I arrived a little after 8 and wasn't too sure how I was feeling, things didn't seem right but I couldn't really pinpoint anything. I then noticed that I had forgotten my good socks, great, I want to run 22+ miles and all I had were some old socks so I was worried about blisters. As I got out of the car, I heard a boom, boom, boom, as I switched to my red hat, I thought, they don't allow hunting in Murphy do they?

The first loop went fine with no issues. I was paying close attention to my HRM as I wanted to keep my HR below 125, preferably 120. It went well, I felt like I was hardly moving and even on the hills I kept it below 140. I checked my Ipod+ and it said my pace was 11 something so I figured I was going to be fine. I ended the first loop after 1 and 1/2 hours (Ipod+ said 5.9 miles) so I was moving nice and slow if the + was accurate so I thought 3 more loops, 6 total hours will make for a good day. I decided to put my gaiters on to keep stuff out of my shoes as I had picked up a few small things and didn't want to get blisters started. As I bent over to put on the gaiters, I felt light headed, not good. I thought to myself that I might be on the verge of getting sick, my daughter has been sick and that's about the only explanation I had for the Saturday bust and now feeling light headed.

I headed out anyway and just didn't feel right from the start, my joints were hurting and my left hamstring felt real tight. I thought maybe my blood sugar was just off so I ate some sport beans, they tasted very good, maybe they would help. I was using Endurolytes (E-Caps) for this run and I was wondering if I needed more salt. I have yet to figure out my hydration as it relates to S-Caps or E-Caps or anything. If my hands swell (which they always do) should I take in more S-Caps or quit drinking Clif Shot Electrolyte? I only drink electrolyte (no plain water) for all of my training and my races this summer, and I think it has worked as I haven't gotten sick. In the past I would over hydrate or under hydrate and would get a sour stomach or have other issues but since I just started drinking the Electrolyte no real problems. I have read Karl King's info on hydration and although it makes sense I still can't figure it out. Within a 1/2 hour of running, my hands start swelling, I can tell as my wedding ring is normally loose, a 1/2 hour in, it's not loose. The other thing that tells me how much swelling I am having, is I look at the veins in my hands, the veins disappear when I get real swollen up. Usually my stomach turns south if I get that swollen up as well.

Anyway, back to today's run, my HR was higher even though I didn't think I was moving that well. I just plodded my way along and by the time I got to the top of the hill by marker 7, I felt spent. I checked my HR and it was at 140, as I ran down the hill at marker 6, my joints were hurting, my calf was tightening along with the hamstring. I kept going and a 1/2 mile or so later, my lower back started hurting. I decided to walk for 5 minutes to see if I could loosen things up. I resumed running, same thing. How the blank was I going to make two more loops? I decided it must be my shoes, I was wearing my Vasque Mercury's and decided I would switch to my Asics (2120's) or my Nikes (Air Structure Triax that have screws in them). I laughed to myself about how could it be my shoes, I thought it would detract me if nothing else. As I continued on, I kept thinking I need to do at least 3 loops today. I came upon the closed gate at 4 and headed up the hill to 9 and I had to walk and this is hardly a hill :-( and again I felt spent. I took my short-cut and got onto 4 and decided I might be done if something didn't change quickly. Instead it got worse, I was getting a bit light headed, not real bad but definitely not right, I felt kind of disoriented which at Murphy could become a problem. I kept thinking I was kind of zigzagging and then I turned an ankle, not bad, but enough to make me think it was time to pack it in. When I start misstepping and then have ankle rolls, my coordination is usually about gone. If I was on loop 4, fine, I should be tired, but at mile 9 or 10 no way.

So I got back to the car, looked at my watch ~3 hours+ just a little over 12 miles and decided I had to call it a day. I expected to be at 15 miles in 3 hours not a little over 12, oh well, some days you got and some you don't but 2 in a row? So the plan will be to get a good night's sleep, get some weekday runs and then try to go long next weekend. Not good, Surf the Murph is less than 3 weeks away...............................