The Perfect Run

Have you ever had a run or a race that was just perfect? When everything fell into place, and you felt so good and healthy and fast, and everything seemed right with the world.

Well, that was the OPPOSITE of today.

I was planning on doing a 15-20 mile run on the mountain near my house. I made it less than halfway to the peak before I felt like I was going to vomit. I usually don’t have trouble mentally pushing myself, but this time I thought that maybe my body needed a break for some reason.

Here are my thoughts about my run-fail and what might have gone wrong:

-Three 40+ mile weeks in a row. Not a lot for most ultrarunners, but the highest mileage I’ve ever done. I do fairly well on low mileage, but I’ve been trying ramp it up and peak at 50-60 miles a week in June. Maybe it’s time for a “rest” week, and then push hard for another 3 weeks.

-Not eating enough/eating too much/eating the wrong things. I have stomach issues, but usually just push through. Now, since I’m more active than ever, I should probably pay more attention to what I eat and how it makes me feel. While I felt nauseous going up the mountain, I felt light-headed and weak on the way down. So something with my fueling isn’t right.

-Weather and hydration. Today is a hot day. Not superhot, but warmer than the last few times I ran long. Maybe I need to hydrate better before leaving? I’ve never seemed to have a problem with heat before, but there’s a first time for everything, and it’s important to consider all the possibilities.

Bad luck shoes. I wore the Mountain Masochist 2’s today. They’re from Montrail, and SO COMFORTABLE! They were great on the downhills and felt awesome on my feet–pillowy but with good ground feedback. A little big, but I’m thinking of ordering a smaller pair since they might be the shoes I wear in Tahoe. However, they have bad juju. The last time I had a run-fail at the mountain, I was wearing these shoes. In fact, I’ve only worn them twice, and both times were not good. I’m conflicted, because I love the shoes! So my mission is to break the bad juju curse. Or order a smaller, less bad-lucky pair.

Maybe I should have sucked it up and did 15 miles?? I don’t know. Sometimes I push myself too hard and it ends up hurting me in the long run. (<—haha. accidental pun.) Sidelined for a month with an easily preventable injury. Ran a 50K while sick and stayed sick for a month. You get the picture.

This sums up my run:

So I’m going to chalk it up to the world conspiring against me. Tomorrow will be a rest day, and Saturday it’s back in the saddle again.

Time to turn that frown upside-down!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

3 thoughts on “The Perfect Run

  1. Do you listen to Ultrarunner Podcast? I can’t remember if you mention in your blog that you do or not. They have a few good episodes about nutrition for endurance athletes, and I’m specifically thinking of the Sunny Blende episode. I have no personal advice since I have not yet run as far as you, but I hope things turn around for you super soon!!!

    • Thanks! I listen to it once in awhile. It’s funny, I’m doing a race on Sunday and under the registrants I saw that Sunny is running it too. I guess she’s a Bay Area native?
      You’ll fall in love with distance after you finish your first full (this fall right?) :)

  2. Stinks you had such a crumby run! I’ve had some of those too for sure.. but definitely not a 15-20 mile mountain run! Good for you! My goal is to one day be able to run a 40 mile week easily so I’m super impressed that you have done 3 in a row!

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