In The Long Run

This was just awful.  Weather looked sketchy so I decided to do 11-12 loops of Liberty for my long run.  After 5.5 slow loops I was bored and wanted to quit.  But since nothing hurt and my pace was actually increasing, I continued on. Things really fell apart on the last 2 loops.  Major stomach issues.  I quit running a 1/2 loop earlier than planned  and had to stop and sit down a few times on the walk to my car because I was so queasy. Glad this one is over.  Every time I try to do more than 4 loops of Liberty, it goes badly.

Usual Liberty Run. Stomach issues again.  Wondering if I might have an ulcer.

Started at Millers and climbed for what seemed like forever.  Stomach was better today (thanks to Zantac), but my back has been killing me.  This route had way more steep up and down than I wanted.  That's what I get for trail running with Nate, Carrie, and Jim.  Their idea of a recovery day is only 3,000 ft of vertical! At least the views of SLC were amazing.  

I'm really disappointed with this one.  I fully expected to run around 23:15 so it was disheartening to see 24 in the results. I wish I could provide splits and analyze what went wrong, but I was halfway to Provo when I realized that I had no watch or garmin or any sort of time keeping device. So I ran by feel and I felt like I was working really hard.  By halfway, my stomach was revolting and I just wanted to walk.  I don't know if I went out too fast or if it just wasn't my day.   

But given the week I've had, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.  After struggling with stomach issues for over a week and 1/2, I saw a doctor and learned that I have problems with excess stomach acid.  Luckily there is a pill for that, so my stomach has steadily been getting better, but it's still not right.  I've also had bad back pain since Tuesday. Even with a few days off, it wasn't getting better and I aggravated it on Thursday's run.  I was considering skipping this race, but I got a massage on Friday night, popped a few aleve, and decided to give it a try.  I don't feel like my back was the reason for my poor performance, though.  

I know I'm in better shape than this so I'm writing it off as a bad day.  I've had a string of good races (for me), so I guess I was due for a bad one.