Failed 20-Miler

On Saturday I was supposed to run 20 miles according to my training schedule. In reality, I ran about 11 of those and had to walk the remaining 9. This was entirely my own fault. See, I had been out at the going away party of a friend of mine on Friday night and, while I managed to curb my alcohol intake, I still managed to stay out until 2am.  Needless to say, I wasn't thinking quite straight when my alarm went off at 7 for the longest run of my life up to this point.

My first thought when I woke up was "all right, let's just get this thing over with", so I wasn't exactly a fount of positivity. Still, I could have at least had the presence of mind to eat a little something before I headed out, but I was feeling spiteful and maybe a bit self-destructive, so I just decided that I was just going to have to suffer through a 20-mile run on an empty stomach.

In point of fact, I couldn't even go 2 miles on an empty stomach, and before I knew it, I found myself outside a gas station scarfing down a Snickers bar (omgittastedsogood). That seemed to hit the spot and, my mood much improved, I found myself actually starting to enjoy the morning's run.

About 5 miles in, the stomach cramps started. I tried to ignore it as long as I could, but by the time I got to mile 10, each bounce sent me into pure agony. Eventually I decided to take a break and walk for a mile. Walking meant less bouncing, which meant less pain. By mile 11.5 I was ready to start running again, but barely made it through mile 13 before the stomach cramps flared up again. I decided to cut my losses at that point and just walk the rest of the way home, dejected and feeling like a bit of a failure.

But hey, at least I didn't give up entirely and get the train back. My legs still hurt today, and I've got the kind of chafing you only get from long-distance running.

Less blogging, more running

Big changes are afoot for me at the moment, which leaves little motivation for me to keep up this blog with any regularity. At least I can say, though, that my motivation to run is staying fairly well intact. This weekend I'm scheduled to run 20 miles. Given what I felt like after I did 17 miles three weeks ago, I can't say as I'm exactly looking forward to it. At least the chafing from last time has pretty much healed. I just have to remember those strategically placed band-aids, they seem to help.

I can't say that I'm actually any faster, but my long runs seem to be averaging about 12.5 minutes per mile, which I'm ok with. My half-marathon pace last about 12:26, so running 17 miles at 12:30 is really nothing to sneeze at.

The 14-mile run I did while I was visiting my parents was probably my worst run. My pace was over 13 minutes per mile, but it was also boiling hot, so I have to cut myself a bit of slack there. Thankfully the weather is supposed to be cloudy and rainy tomorrow morning, which makes running distances much more pleasant.

I ran the 17-mile run in London on the middle weekend of the Olympics. I made the mistake of going through Hyde Park where there was a giant screen showing the events, plus there was a race of some sort going right through the middle of the park. I gave up for a bit and just walked through the crowd. By the time I got into Belgravia the crowds were driving me crazy and I may or may not have screamed at a group of 12-year-olds who had no concept of sharing public spaces. Not one of my finest moments. However, once I got down to the Thames, I had calmed down significantly and the crowds at Westminster didn't bother me one bit.

Tomorrow's run will be right here in and around Heidelberg. I'm sure there will be some rude Germans that will annoy me, but I'll probably annoy them even more when I disregard the Don't Walk signs in an effort to keep my pace up.