Double Digit Day

Mark...

We ran 10 miles on Saturday. Our first double digit running day. I will start with the good news first. We ran 10 miles. Well, that's about it for the good news. Now for the bad news. It was absolutely horrible. We started running at 6:45 instead of 5:45 like we normally do. All of us wanted to sleep in a little bit since it was a Saturday. Big mistake. By the time we were done, it was so hot and humid. We were drenched, and Shannon had a major headache from where the sun was beating down on her head. Shannon and I also learned that we need to fuel our bodies better before long runs like this. I had very little energy, and my legs felt like lead the whole run. I wrote in my last post that my knee has been hurting. Well, let's just say that Saturday's run was very painful. After a long, painful run, we went to Fleet Feet in Little Rock. On Saturday, they had a physical therapist from Baptist Hospital who would look at sports related injuries. I didn't want to drive over there, but the pain was so bad that I knew I really needed to. She told me I have bursitis. Simply, this means the fluid sacs in my knee have become inflamed. Fortunately, she said I need to ice, rest, and take anti-inflammatories until the pain goes away. So, I am not running this week, and I am hopeful that I will be ready to start running again on Monday.

Shannon...

First double digit run is in the books...and has been for a few days. Let me start off by saying this...WORST LONG RUN EVER! The competitive side of me is glad we will have another ten mile run this Saturday. Maybe it will give me a chance to redeem myself. Y'all, it was bad.

Like Mark told you earlier, we started running about an hour later than we normally do. Why? you ask? Well, because we knew it would take us about two hours to run our ten miles, and after looking at our weather apps, it showed that the temp and humidity at 8:00 and 9:00 would be the same...so why not sleep in an hour? Weeelllll let me tell you, the weather apps LIED! It was hot and beyond humid way earlier than it was supposed to be. This was the run that we look back on and take TONS of notes on what NEVER to do again. I'm going to list them for you so if you are ever crazy like we are and want to run a half or full marathon, you can learn from our mistakes.

1. Don't trust weather apps.

2. If you decide to trust weather apps, don't change up your hydration method...yep. I did that. I drink about a gallon of water every day, so I would say that I am well hydrated most of the time. Then on runs I carry a small bottle of AdvoCare's Rehydrate (an electrolyte drink similar to Gatorade) to sip on every couple of miles. On this particular run I decided to try Gu for the first time and just carry water on me...mistakes. Both of them. I have never used Gu before. I have normally used AdvoCare's Rehydrate Gel...similar product as Gu, just WAY more effective from what I experienced on Saturday. Unfortunately, the Rehydrate Gel is out of stock at the moment. I am currently stalking my microsite so I can order it the moment it is back in stock.  So miles 1-4 were awesome. In my typical  pace range, getting faster after each mile. Then comes mile 5...I hit my wall. I slurped the Gu (gag!), drank my water...and nothing. I didn't feel a boost in my blood sugar or get a second wind like I have with the Rehydrate Gel. So I ran/walked mile 5 to mile 6 where we had a refill of water. I was so spent and out of energy, I had to dig deep to finish stronger than I ran for mile 5. It literally is mind over mile when you are pushing through after hitting a wall. I got into a pretty good pace and came up on mile ten, running through our neighborhood towards home and I saw two people walking their dog that I knew would want to stop and chat with me...so I did the ever so polite thing and picked up my running pace, smiled at them, and waved (as one was stopping and waving me down) and just kept going...breathing really loud to emphasize how hard I was working. LOL!

3. My first mistake of the morning began before I even left the house. I slept in a little late and didn't eat anything before my run. I know. Stupid. Never fear, because I will never do that again. When I finished my run, I had this horrendous headache that lasted all day. I Googled (because that's what I do when I want to know things) "post run headaches" just to see if it was a real thing...and it is. Apparently one can suffer a post run headache from one or all of the following: dehydration, low blood sugar, tightness in shoulders and neck. Check, check, and CHECK! I am pretty sure I suffered from all three that day. And lucky me, that headache lasted from Saturday until Monday afternoon.

4. The last thing I learned as a result of this horrible run, is how to change my running technique a little so I don't have such tightness in my neck and shoulders. Typically come mile 2, I am running and stretching my arms every which way to loosen up my shoulders. I ran across this article on breathing techniques and it addressed posture while running. So Wednesday, during my short run, I implemented what the article suggested. Not only did it help with my issue with tightness, I decreased my time as well. I will call that article a win and add it to my Pinterest board :)

I hope you all are having a great week and enjoy reading about our training. Pray for Mark, that his knee will heal quickly so he can get back to training. He really does miss it ;)