And I’m Spent

I had a hard time falling asleep last night. I had a lot on my mind and today’s 18 miler was only a fleeting thought, until I watched my projector clock on the ceiling hit 1:36 A.M. How the heck was I going to run 18 miles after only 5 hours of sleep (my Little Buddy gets up early)? And the rain was pounding my window. It was not relenting. Oh well. I thought about my gear and what I would wear.

Morning came and the rain was still coming down. This was not your normal Seattle rain, this was Midwest type of rain. Pounding down and making puddles everywhere. Jessica called me at 9 AM with the bad news, she had gotten called in to work. Oh well, I would head out in time to run the last half of my 18 with her on the bike. I slowly started to get dressed and all my gear ready. Then around 11:30 I got a text from Jessica, she had to stay longer than planned. Crud. I was on my own.

I looked outside and the rain has slowed, it was a sprinkle. So I hit the road with my water belt. That lasted .48 of a mile and I turned around and took it home. I can’t stand that thing. It was so bad I opted for the Nathan hand held bottle (that should tell you something click HERE for the back story on that). So I set out again. The rain had picked up but it wasn’t bad.

My first 5 miles were wet but bearable and I held around a 9:30/mile pace. Around mile 6 the heavens opened up and the ocean fell on my head. I couldn’t even see where I was going. I gave up puddle jumping, there was no point. I was soaked to the bone. People huddled under overhangs and in bus stop shelters. One guy looked at me like I had lost my mind. I don’t blame him. Water was pouring off the brim of my hat and made a waterfall affect in front of my face. It made me think of Erica’s comment yesterday, “...stick your tongue out while running..it will be an easy way to stay hydrated :)” It made me smile for a second and I gave it a try. Salty. Ick. Sweat from my hat must have been mixing with the rain…or it truly was the ocean falling on my head. So that didn’t work out so well.

I kept running. I kept telling myself that I just had to get far enough away from home so that when I turned around I had no choice but to make 18 miles. I found myself heading down toward the waterfront when the bits of ice started to fly through the air, aiming at my eyeballs. I lowered my head and kept going. This was truly ridiculous. I then decided that I would make my way home for a quick wardrobe change and finish up on the treadmill. So I kept running along the waterfront. The usually crowded sidewalk was barren.

I was freezing and wet. I headed up a huge hill at a snails pace and new I was about 3 or 4 miles from home. So all I could do was keep on trucking. Finally at around 10 miles the sun came out, the rain was still falling but the sun was shining. Then the rain stopped and the wind was ferocious. So I began to get really really cold. I just wanted to get home.

I made it home with 12 miles done. I couldn’t even get the key in my door because my fingers were frozen (I don’t think it was that cold but the wind was what got me). I finally made it in and stripped out of my clothes, right there in the kitchen. I wanted those clothes OFF. Lazy Dog looked at me like I had lost my mind, and maybe I did. I wrapped up in a towel so I could get dry enough to put on the second set of clothes for the treadmill.

I had high hopes for 6 miles on the treadmill. It didn’t happen. I got to the Y and had ZERO motivation and was running short on time, I had to get my Little Buddy to karate. I ran, slowly. My hip was aching and my side hurt. My stomach still felt cold and I was not feeling it. I hit three miles on the treadmill at 3:30 and QUIT. that’s right folks, I QUIT. I straight up hit the big fat red STOP button and Quit. Could I have done the last 3 miles? Yes. I don’t know why I didn’t, other than not wanting to stumble in to Karate looking like a crazed homeless woman with hair that could be fostering a few birds and rats. I had to get my Little Buddy and get home to shower.

Stats:

15 miles in 2:32/10:07 pace

So while 15 miles is a good distance it is not 18 miles and I am feeling mentally challenged. I MUST get my 20 in next week. Any volunteers to run, bike, rollerblade, dance, drive, scoot, fly, or drag me along?

27 days until OKC Marathon.

Today I am grateful for:

Surviving this stupid run today.