15: The Good, Bad & Ugly

Saturday morning, I ran 15 miles. It was good, bad and ugly... all at the same time.

THE GOOD
•  The miles are done... in the training log and on the legs.
•  We have once again had a warm spell in the middle of winter. It was high 30's when I left the house, and hit nearly 50 degrees by time we were done. My favorite temperatures to run in!
•  The sunshine was bright, which sets the happy tone for the whole day.
•  Because of the nice weather on Saturday (and a cold forecast for Sunday), there were runners everywhere on the trails. We exchanged cheers and high fives with lots of fellow Sole Sisters on the run.
•  My target pace (per the Run Less Run Faster training plan) was 10:29 min/miles. We ended with an average of 10:37. Considering my head cold, I'm not going to be disappointed with that.
•  My good friend KO ran the full distance with me. Always great to have a partner to carry you along and chat you up.

You'll be seeing more of KO in my posts...
She's training for her first marathon in May and runs my pace.

THE BAD
•  I'm still suffering from a head cold, making it difficult to breathe.  KO kept the conversation rolling, and I had to apologize for being so short on words.
•  The wind was nasty. Weatherman said 20mph. I kept thinking we'd eventually have "wind at our back" for an easy stretch, but it seems to be swirling and never a clear direction. Thankfully, a couple spots had some tree protection.
•  My right knee was hurting again as we got into the double digits. It's been a discomfort that has come and gone the last six months... but really flared up with this week's treadmill runs.
•  Mentally, I was not "in" this run. Without KO, I might have quit early. As we ran past 10 miles, I started the mental breakdown countdown to 15. Doubt reared its ugly head. But then KO would start a new topic and conversation took my mind off the task at hand.

THE UGLY

I felt horrible at the end.  It's been a long time since I felt the "gonna throw up" sensation after a run. Yet as I drove away, my head spun and I concentrated on taking deep breaths. My sweaty clothes had me shivering cold now, and my stomach was turning. First opportunity, I pulled into a gas station to get a hot chocolate and a protein bar. (Not my norm... usually I reach for hot coffee, but I was worried what extra caffeine would do to me at this point.)  I felt if I could just get something in my stomach to calm me, I might be able to resist the bathroom stop. I made it to the hot shower at home and took several naps throughout the afternoon. By evening, I was back to par... and now starving for a big comfort meal.  This whole day was rather abnormal for me, after only 15 miles. It has me a bit freaked - Little Rock 26.2 in just 6 weeks.

We live and learn on every run...