I went out for a 5 mile tempo run tonight. I ate the right food for the past two days. I was hydrated, and I didn’t make the same mistake I made yesterday with the water (see yesterday’s post). I was excited for tonight’s run, and even a little anxious. I felt almost like I had pre-race jitters.
The first mile went pretty good. It is supposed to be just a warm up mile, and I kept a decent pace. But it was hot. And by a mile and a half I felt like I was trying to breath through a washcloth. I mean, was there some solar flare I didn’t know about? Am I living on the face of the sun? By the end of the second mile I was walking. WALKING!?! I was so ready for this run. I was amped; I was going to kick this run’s ass and now I’m walking? WTF?
So I start running again, determined that I am going to push through this. I can still make this a great run, I’m not even two miles in. Before I know it I feel faint, and like my legs are made of lead. Oh, and did I mention it’s hot?
But I am really determined, so I switch to intervals of 5 minutes running and 1 walking. I will walk the whole five miles if I have to, but I am going five miles. I run the interval for another mile to mile and a half, but now my shoes are rubbing on my foot and my Achilles is bothering me. I had tendinitis around the end of last year/beginning of this year, and it still requires some attention from time to time.
At 4.25 miles I’m done. I can’t breath, I’m sweating profusely, my leg is aching, my calves feel tight, and I’m pretty sure I’m running in water it’s so hard. I walk the last 3/4 of a mile because if I make one goal tonight it will be distance. I came home, chugged a protein shake and climbed into a cold bath. Then it was motrin and ice for the Achilles.
I don’t really know what’s going on, but my runs this past week to week and a half have felt incredibly difficult. And instead of getting easier, they are getting harder. For those of you who are long distance runners, and idea what’s going on? (I took an entire week off about three weeks ago now.) Any suggestions? Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
Tomorrow is an off day for me, and then I have an 8 mile scheduled for Saturday. I can only hope it goes better than tonight.
Sure you can run that far, but why? 
It might just be a funk. I have had slumps where every run I did for a while just did not feel good.
It is ok to cut a run or two short, or run/walk them more than you want to, but just push through the workouts, endure the slump and before you know it you will be running strong once again.
Thanks. I’ve never really had a slump before, but it makes me feel better to know that this is a normal part of the process. Hopefully it doesn’t last too long, these workouts are a beast!
Hmmmm, bummer about your run, but way to finish! I wouldn’t think that taking a whole week off 3 weeks ago would affect you so much now. I can speak from expereince and say that the heat can make even what are prepared to be the best runs … horrible! If you can, try running when it’s not so hot like later at night or early morning. It might help with the heat problem. As for being so sore? I can’t say much about the tendinitis as I don’t know anything about it. My only suggestion would be icing (which you seem to have already tried!), stretching, and get plenty of rest. Take your next runs a bit earier for the next few days, too. Best of luck and hope I could be of some help! 🙂
I live in Florida, so the heat and humidity this time of year are a little ridiculous. It never really gets cool, but if I go around sundown it is much better than if the sun is beating down on me on blacktop. Come to think of it, I have been cheating a little and trying to get my runs in earlier this week. (I was getting a little tired of eating dinner at 930 at night and going to bed at midnight!) I think I’ll back off my pace a little and go later to see if that helps. Thanks for the ideas!