I'm trying to be deliberate about not pushing top hard and was at least somewhat successful in that regard today. First mile was 8:33 (slow for what I've been doing normally) and every mile from there earned a split of somewhere between 9:38 and 10:04.
Consistency!
That's probably still a bit faster than I want to be training, but it is what it is I suppose.
In mile 6 I suddenly felt sharp pain in my calf. I pulled up, paused my clock and proceded to stretch and rub it out for 5-10 mins. Once I decided I'd done all I could, I crossed my fingers and gave it a go. It was tight, but seemed to loosen enough that I could continue.
I was listening to some Radiolab podcasts which helped keep my mind active. It was also a beautiful day, so it felt good to be outside in the breeze. Everything was going great until around mile 10 when I started feeling weak and dehydrated. My shoulders started to slump, my pace slowed a bit, and I started getting some slight chills. The misery soon followed. I was able to push through, but those last few miles seemed to take FOREVER.
I also had realized how much battery I was draining without putting my phone on sleep, so I was unsure if I was going to have enough power to make it all the way through with music and distance tracking. Sure enough, as I went to check my phone near the end of the run (thinking it might have not announced my distance) it died. When I checked later it turns out it died at exactly 13, miles likely BECAUSE it used the last bit of power to try to tell me. So... I missed the last tenth of a mile for a true half marathon.
Oh well.
When I stopped, I stumbled to a bench and just tried to relax for a minute. When I stood back up the thirst and the pain were palpable. So stiff. Walking the two tenths of the mile back to the car seemed harder than jogging the final two miles of the run. No joke.
Super proud of finishing that run as it's by far the longest run of my life. That said.... this was half of what I'm training for and THE STRUGGLE WAS REAL. Doubt is once again creeping in. Can't stop/won't stop.
After I finished my water in two chugs I drove into Oakdale for some Gatorade. Getting out of the car and walking into the store made me feel like an 80 year old man. So stiff, so sore... Once I got home I showered and then took some time to just sit and relax. After awhile I was able to rally and take the boys up to the playground, which was a really good choice. Forcing myself to continue to move seemed to help.
I definitely need an off day tommorow, so it looks like I'm going to treat my soccer game on Tuesday as my first run this week.
13 miles - 2:06:23 - 9:43 pace
