Words fail me at this point. Bonk. Crash and burn. Where's my IV bag? This run was harder than the marathon last March -- and took almost as long.
Tom called me last night and asked me to run with a woman from Conway named Christina. Fine, I said, and called her to let her know I'd be there in my Prius. Then I went back to bed.
Then I got up at 3 a.m. to watch the Weather Channel. Yes, I hated living in Galveston, but it was my home for 11 years, and I wanted to get some idea what Ike was doing to that little island. At that point, the eye was over the San Luis Hotel -- a place I drove by twice a day for the bulk of those 11 years. Then the south eyewall came on shore. So I made breakfast and ate while I watched the report, and headed for the Capitol for the run.
I knew it was going to be warm and muggy, and it was -- maybe the warmest Saturday morning all summer, and not a hint of wind. Christina and I set out at a decent pace, and it went OK for the first six miles or so. Actually, I was still OK after 11. I tried to keep the pace moderate, took an occasional rest and drank a lot. Christina was getting blisters, so we stopped at the Capitol at mile 11 so she could check her feet. She thought she could continue, and we did. But I soon realized that my legs pretty much shut down during that break. Christina turned around at 13.5 to go back to the Capitol to finish her 16 miles, and I was on my own. And walking. And walking. I'd try to run, and couldn't manage a decent pace. My legs weren't cramping -- yet -- but they hurt like hell. The wind had picked up some, which made it more comfortable from a heat standpoint, but too late to help with my dehydration or hyponatermia or whatever it was. So I'd jog a little, walk a lot. Down Cedar Hill, along Riverfront, up Dillard's Hill, down Markham. Still walking. Tried to jog the last mile, and managed -- sorta, run 200 meters, walk some more, run 100 meters. Did manage to jog the last two blocks, and finished in roughly 4:20.
Finished, drank everything I could get my hands on, stopped and got a cold drink on the way home, got chocolate milk when I walked in the door, did an ice bath, then went to bed -- and started cramping. Not horrible cramps, certainly not what I had in March, but cramps nonetheless. Managed to find a comfortable position to lie where I didn't cramp, and got some rest.
Think I'll definitely have to revise my plans for next week unless the legs respond quickly -- and need to get more carbs, more fluids and more sodium in my diet for a while (like the next three months). I got my PR week, but I paid for it. | 