My Most Miserable Miles

My Most Miserable Miles

Every runner has those workouts that just go terrible for one reason or another.  Fatigue, hunger, dead legs, sleepyness, sore muscles -- the list goes on.  Friday I had probably my worst run yet.  Lately my weekends have been packed with activities (also known as commitments, some involving out of town travel which makes getting a long run in very difficult), so I worked extra during the past week to facilitate a long run early Friday afternoon.

My long run rules (which were all disobeyed): 

• Give yourself plenty of time - time to get ready, time for the run (taking into account breaks), time to stretch, cool-down, and mentally unwind after.
• Get a full night's sleep - either a solid 8-9 hours of sleep the night before, or at least run first thing in the morning so you are fresh.
• Don't go out hungry - in fact, I like to eat 1-2 big, carb-filled meals within 36 hours of a long run.  Working off a light dinner and breakfast is not enough to get you through.
• Don't run long after work - work is mentally exhausting and tires you out.  Trying to squeeze in a long run after work in the evening is difficult and can off set the rest of your week as well. 
• Don't go long if you are sore/ dead-legged.  It sucks when you have "dead legs", the term for general soreness and fatigue that runners get from time to time.  

I should elaborate on the “dead legs” rule.  It’s hard to tell why you have dead legs.  Sometimes its from overtraining, sometimes its even from undertraining, and sometimes you just have no idea why you feel so tired.  While you can still pound out some shorter training runs you really shouldn't attempt a long run on dead legs (with the exception being the 2nd day of a focused back-to-back long run weekend).  Most of the time when you head out feeling tired your legs and cardio have a habit of “waking up” 20-30 minutes into a run.  This was not the case Friday.

It was almost surreal.  Within the first mile I felt as if I had just finished a marathon.  I wanted to stop, or at least slow down.  4 miles in, after tip-toeing a bit around some rocky terrain on the Potomac Heritage Trail I stopped and sat down; this is usually a mistake because you don't want to get back up and laying down is the next logical decision.  The idea of doing a 20-24 mile long run was out the window and at this point even the 16 mile option was too risky.  I opted for a tried and true trail loop of 12 miles.  This should get me back to my destination before my 3 hour cut-off (speaking of, I hate having a time cut-off to make!).  I trudged on, running across the key bridge into DC and on to the C&O Canal towpath.

I'll share some data - no laughing! 

Something was seriously wrong.  It wasn't dehydration at least - I wasn't thirsty and had my hand bottle filled with water + nuun just in case.  After about a mile of running I began alternating 5 minutes of walking and 5 minutes of slow running.  After a stop at Fletchers boathouse to use the restroom I continued my strategy until I reached Chain Bridge Road, ran across, and then began a long, slow walk up the huge hill to Military Road.  At this point I was able to employ the common ultra-running tactic of running down the hills and walking back up the next hill.  I made it to Difficult Run, walked up another huge hill, almost dizzy and stumbling at times, and continued walking through Arlington until I made it home.

Bam! 12 miles in 2 hours
and 23 minutes!

All I could do was lay there.

Not that I have a flair for the dramatic, or stressing over every detail of a run, but I rarely go into detail on any one training run.  Unless of course it was so memorable that it requires explanation.  Runs that are memorable in a good way are usually races where you set your Personal Best times.  You are reading one that was memorable in a bad way.

I still take positives from this.  It was a big system stressor, and (in theory) once you finish a workout like that and recover you get stronger.  Training for ultra running often involves a lot of walking.  During ultra marathons you typically walk up hills to conserve energy, and walking uses different muscles than running so you have to practice some.  I will be more cautious in the future too about safety, although I am already pretty safety conscious.  It’s a misconception that it has to be freezing out to get hypothermia but in reality if you are exposed and tired enough you can suffer from hypothermia in as warm as 55 degree weather.  It wasn't particularly cold that day (probably around 50 degrees F) but I’m pretty sure I was on the verge of hypothermia by the time I got home.

A workout like that also keeps your ego in check – getting passed by stroller runners and beginners reminds you that you are not a superstar.  It was a good experience in that I have a feeling what it probably feels like right before you DNF (or, “do not finish”) an Ultra, something even seasoned veterans of the sport contend with.  Another plus is that it was still 12 miles covered, even if by run/walking, and didn't do much damage to anything since it was so slow.

One last positive is that there is now little chance that I will set out on a run and worry its going to be my “worst run ever”, since the bar was just set pretty low!