Long Runs are Not Supposed to Hurt like That!

Yesterday was a lot more painful than it was supposed to be. I started out okay, nice easy pace out towards Stanley Park and things felt pretty good. My legs were juiced from Saturday's ride and I knew it was going to be tough but the first half hour went quick. After reaching 4th street I started running into a really cold wind and the effort was extremely tough, I could tell that my speed dropped considerably but I was determined to get through it. This is where I started thinking about the run in an Ironman, your legs are tired, you're running into a tough wind, you're feeling depleted, and you just have to KEEP GOING! Don't stop, just think about completing the next five minutes and then the next, and so on...

I reached the top of the hill at River Park and my legs were completely solid, that climb is really steep and the lactic acid burn can really put a damper on your run. I kept shuffling and headed out towards South Glenmore park, one hour down, one more to go. I worked out the kinks in my legs and was going slower but feeling a little better. Once I reached the Rockyview hospital I felt low on calories so I downed a honey stick that AD bought at the farmer's market ages ago and immediately had a stomach ache. I kept running, drank some water and it went away after about 10 minutes. On the way back I hit the wall at 1hr 40 mins, 20 mins to go and I felt like I was in a daze, just trying to put one foot in front of the next, again I started thinking about the next five minutes but this time five minutes took forever! I had chaffing in between my legs, it was really cold out there, and I was starting to bonk, this run needs to end. I kept it up, struggling my way back home and feeling like I had just run a marathon. Another great day of training, is it November or June? Why am I running this hard now? Oh well, supposed to make you stronger, right.