So today I had my first 20 mile run planned. I had been looking forward to this run all week.
Unfortunately, the world had other plans.
I was all suited up and ready to go! Jade and Rocket are wondering if they’re coming.
I decided to run to work and back twice since it’s 5 miles each way. I had been checking the weather all morning and it looked like we would be alright for a while, so I headed out the door. Before I even got down our driveway, it started to rain. A couple feet down the road I noticed that it wasn’t raining, it was HAILING. That’s right, HAIL.
Right then I knew this would either be an excellent run where I overcame all sorts of adversity, or it would just suck. Turns out it was kind of both.
Things I got over on this run:
- Adverse weather – Hail to start, and then it ended up raining off and on through the whole run.
- Hills!
- Running on busy 55mph roads
- Running decently far from home
Once I got to work I felt good and decided to change it to just a straight “out and back” run. So I continued around town for another 5 miles. At 10 miles I turned around and took the same route back.
Everything was fine and I was feeling good until mile 12. When I have IT band issues it’s always in my right knee. When my left knee hurts, it’s always more “runners knee”-ish. And today my left knee started acting up like something awful.
I managed to hobble another 4.2 miles, and at mile 16.2, I ended up calling my husband in tears because I needed him to come pick me up. I really wanted to keep going, but I was 3.8 miles from home and I knew there was no way I was going to make it all the way back. I cried all the way home because I was so mad at myself for not being able to finish. When I got home I went straight to the basement and did another 1.3 miles on the treadmill, but once I hit 17.5 I knew there was no way I was going to make it to 20 miles.
The most frustrating part is that as soon as I stopped, my knees felt fine. It was just when I was running. I think I just need to replace my shoes. You’re supposed to replace your running shoes every 300-500 miles, and these have 300+ miles on them. Hopefully that will take care of the problem.
So here it is… My valiant effort…
I still have two more 20+ mile runs before my full, so I should be okay.
This coming weekend is my first competitive half marathon! It should be lots of fun!
7 comments
April 18, 2010 at 9:19 pm
shelby
You still ran almost 18 miles (I always round up!) – that’s awesome! You’ll kick butt on the next 20 🙂
April 18, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Amy @ Second City Randomness
Sorry about the rough run! Hail?!?! Ugh… way to push through, though!
April 19, 2010 at 7:25 am
Katie @ Health for the Whole Self
So sorry about your tough run, but I’m still extremely impressed!!!
May 19, 2010 at 8:19 pm
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