Running Roadblocks

Yet again this week my planned 50+ mile training week was derailed. Does a “perfect” training week exist? I’m starting to think not! But that’s life right? Nothing ever goes as planned.

This week started off well – I felt strong during my interval workout, busting out 6 800 intervals each at a 7 min/mile pace for a total of 8 hard tough miles including warm-up, rest periods and cool-down. I felt strong and great after that workout. I even came home  afterward and did P90X Ab Ripper!

The next morning, however, felt pretty awful as I slogged my way through my 12 mile mid-week long run. I made the mistake of doing my hard intervals at night and then doing my medium long run not even 12 hours after that workout. At least my running buddy Asia ran the first 6 miles with me which made it much more enjoyable!

Thursday was a rest day and Friday I got in my 6 recovery miles with 6 x 100 m strides as well as more Ab Ripper. The weekend was set to be a big one. Saturday was supposed to be a tune up race according to Pftizinger’s plan but since there aren’t any 15ks in the area, we decided just to do a 10 mile run at our goal pace. I decided to try to run it at 8:15 min/miles. Last year before Surf City I did a 10 mile run on Christmas Eve at my marathon goal pace of 8:45 and then was able to run the marathon at that pace, so I figured it’d be a good sign if I could do my Boston Goal pace for 10 miles (at this point I am still likely not going for a BQ at Surf City but this was technically supposed to be a race so I figured the faster the better).

Instead of treating Friday night like “race eve,” we met up with friends for happy hour and since I wasn’t hungry before we went due to the fact that I had my birthday lunch complete with ice-cream pie at work, I didn’t eat a healthy and good dinner. Instead, I ended up eating chips and salsa/guacamole, three beers and a small bowl of black bean soup for dinner. I went to bed buzzed with a stomach-ache.

I woke up Saturday morning feeling absolutely awful. I spent all night tossing and turning with a terrible stomach-ache. Mike was meeting a friend around 7:30 to pace him on his run (he ended up running 10 miles at his BQ race pace – go Mike!!), so we woke up early and ate cereal and got coffee. My back hurt, I was tired, and my stomach ached. I felt achy so  I took my temperature thinking I might have the flu. I didn’t have  temperature but decided to back to bed. I woke up close to 11 a.m. and felt much better and decided I could attempt the run.

The first mile felt great – I easily hit my goal pace of 8:15. Mile two was also good – around 8:15 as well. However, around mile 3 is when my stomach started to hurt. Not terrible, just a bit. I kept going, still keeping positive thoughts that I was going to rock out these 10 miles at my goal pace and it was going to be a great confidence booster. Around mile 3.5 it quickly got worse and I decided to turn around at mile 4 to make it an 8 miler.I figured I could still keep up my good pace and it was better to have a shorter, faster fun than a longer, slower one.

Things got worse and worse but I still tried to keep at least a descent pace. I ended up finishing 8 miles at a 8:34 pace. Definitely not bad considering the circumstances, but very disappointing regardless. I felt pretty awful by the end and spent the rest of the day on the couch with little appetite. I had to run out of Whole Foods while purchasing my veggie soup for fear that I may throw up. Great way to start my holiday vacation!

Besides the stomach-ache, I didn’t have many other symptoms so I thought perhaps it was something I ate and it would go away. This morning I woke up feeling much better after 10 hours of sleep. After eating breakfast  I could tell my stomach was still a little grouchy but definitely a huge improvement. I decided I’d at least attempt my long run for the day. I had scheduled 17 miles but I figured anywhere between 14-16 would be fine. By mile 1 my stomach was aching again and I quickly decided to make it a recovery run instead. 5 miles later I was back at home googling natural remedies for stomach-aches (about to make some lemon and ginger juice!) and wondering if I have a stomach ulcer or worse. Googling symptoms is never a good idea.

So things didn’t go my way again this week. Last week I skipped my mid-week long run due to rain and social obligations. This week’s long run missed. I took 9 days off for my trip to Belize. Training never goes as planned but the good news is that I have several weeks of solid training behind me and six more to go. And even better, I get to spend the next few days with family celebrating Christmas and my  birthday!

Have you ever cut a long run short mid-run?