8-14-07 Late and Long

I'm noticing a pretty direct correlation between the kind of day I have at work, and how far I want to run - not necessarily a good thing. I count last night's run as a milestone, but also as a mental failure. I've read (and to an extent I believe) that a large part of running is mental - you have to will yourself to do things, and sometimes you have to will yourself to NOT do things - that's where I fell off last night.

I had a pretty labored day at work on Tuesday, and by 4pm, I was fantasizing about being on the road running the day off. We left the house about 7:30pm (after dinner) for our run. Steph and I took separate cars because I knew I'd be out there longer than she would want to wait for me (probably the only really good idea of the evening). We had planned on the routine that has become our norm - we would run together for 2 miles, and she would turn back, and I'd continue on to wherever I was going to go. As we ran, she asked how far I was going to run tonight - I answered that I wasn't really sure, but it would be at least 6 miles. It's worth noting that my schedule was to only run 5, but again, bad day=longer miles. We separated at 2 miles, and I picked up my pace after I turned on the music. I was happily plodding along, and singing when I noticed a group of about 6 people in their 70's walking off of one of the closed off roads. They were carrying 5 gallon buckets, and large stones. I toned down a bit, and as I got close, I noticed one of the gentlemen mouthing something to me, so I pulled out my earphones to hear what he was saying - nothing of consequence, but I didn't want to ignore them and be rude. I took the route by the boat ramps, which makes the entrance-to-entrance route 4 miles. When I got to the West Point entrance, I still wanted more run time, so I decided that I'd just turn up HWY 29, and run into West Point, then maybe I'd run to the house and have Steph take me back to the Jeep. Running back to the Jeep on this route would have only added about another 2 miles to the route, but I didn't want to run past a certain area with a dog in the yard. I realized after I was past the point of no return, that I really didn't have enough daylight to undertake this route. Every sound turned into paranoia of a pack of yard dogs coming my way. I got into West Point after is was dark, and it was REALLY dark on my road as I got closer to my house.

I had taken the precaution to put Body-Glide on my thighs, knees, and underarms. I was wearing a wicking shirt that did a good job of keeping me dry (which was probably a lifesaver). I could have used some Body-Glide on my nipples - they got a little sore on the last few miles, luckily there was no real damage, and they didn't burn too much in the shower. When I mapped the route later, it came out to 10.5 miles. I probably should not have done that kind of distance after my 10 mile run on Saturday. I was exhausted when I got home, and famished. I chugged Gatorade, and ate a couple of pieces of fruit while I waited for Steph to take me back to get the Jeep. Luckily Steph hadn't begun to get worried because she knew I was planning on going longer tonight

After we got the Jeep and I was getting ready for my shower, I saw the extent of the damage I'd done. Aside from being exhausted, my body was worn pretty well. My face felt like it was covered in dirt and grime. When I took off my left shoe, it looked like someone had been murdered - half my sock was drenched in blood. I hadn't felt anything, but two of my toes had rubbed against the edge of the adjacent toe-nails and worn holes in my toes. The inside of my left shoe was soaked in blood and it had just started to seep out of the seam on the lower side of the shoe. I've had problems in the past with my left foot bleeding, so I wasn't surprised at the blood - just the volume of it. Steph gasped so loudly when she saw my foot covered in blood that I could hear it behind me. When I took off my right shoe the sock had blood on it as well, but not NEARLY as much as the left one - same issue, rubbing toenails. I put band aids on after the shower and washing away all the blood. I'll need to wrap my toes in tape to prevent in the future. I've got the corners filed off of my toenails, but those toes tend to rub together anyway.

I should have shut myself down at 8 miles - no more.

The shower felt really good, and I slept like a stone. I'll need to give some serious consideration to what I'm going to do on Thursday - I probably should not run very far on Thursday. I've now down about 23 miles in 3 days (with one day off), so I should probably go a little easier. I don't' need do another 8+ day until at least Saturday, but I also need to plan on a lighter week next week in prep for the Midnight Express.