Saturday, June 13, 2009

Ironman Lessons Come in Handy..

Now this is where IM training/racing comes in handy..this morning..running...We embarked on a 1:40 min run, at altitude near Heron Lake, near the cabin...

They told us the trail was 3 miles total..I tend to believe people who work at these State Parks that they probably know from the map how far the trail is. Silly me! So anyway,we took off thinking OK we will run the 3 miles then run along the lake to make up the rest...

I had felt a little shaky since our workout yesterday on the track. We did Speed Work w/Coach Eric...My leg started hurting about 3/4 of the way into a "pyramid" (it just sucked and was hard, etc)..I opted to stop before said soreness became an injury..So I was tired to begin with then we hightailed it up here last night..I was grumpy, tired and went to bed fairly early.

4:30 AM-I hear our beloved 14 year old geriatric dog coughing and stumbling about downstairs.Now she can't go outside without us carrying her down the stairs..40 lbs of dead weight down 2 flights of stairs..it is hard on a good day..At 4:30 AM I went down to find one thirsty dog and who obviously needed to go outside. So there I was, well not exactly "dressed" for the outside, carrying my old dog down the stairs in the dark, who by now seemed confused as to which way was the door..not a good sign. I let her out and she did her business only to take off down the road instead of back to the house. I am calling her, in my "nightwear" to no avail. I had to take off barefoot..and you get the picture.. It wasn't pretty as I chased after my senile dog to get her back inside. We finally made it. After many more trips downstairs, I finally just lifted her up to the couch and said "Go night, night!" Like a child..

I could not go back to sleep for anything. Then I got hungry..Damn! So up I was at 5:00 getting oatmeal and coffee and pissed! After an hour of this, I got so sleepy, I went back to bed...did manage an hour more of sleep or so..

Fast forward to our run by the lake: We start out and I just do not feel good. I start to get light headed, hungry (not a good sign at the beginning of a run)..I ate a Power Gel, to no avail..Walked a bit and the ground started spinning. I am not doing so good, I think I may need to stop I tell H. He slows down. We are in the middle of basically nowhere on a trail that is unfamiliar. I do not want him to get too far ahead...I eat another Power Gel, more water..Still feeling like crap,I am walking. As we continue to walk, H says hey let's just walk the rest of the 3 miles then call it a day. I obviously agreed, since by then I was barely able to walk...Time ticked by..1.5 miles...halfway there I think..I eat a THIRD gel and more water...I am starting to feel a little better. By now we are jogging down the hills, walking up....We get to some kind of turnaround at 2.7 miles. Hmmm. me thinks these folks so not know how far 3 miles are..Slowly we picked it up to a run and soon we were at almost 6 miles and back to the ranger station. We decided after my 4th gel, that my tank was full and we could keep going. So we did..The whole 1:45 minutes, slowly mind you, but done..

It just proves my point of Ironman: You can be feeling like dog doo-doo one minute, ready to quit...fix the problem and feel great in an hour! Honestly you can!!

5 comments:

LBTEPA said...

I will be remembering this in a couple of weeks when I do the most under-prepared half-mara in history!

Unknown said...

all that training pays off!!

Anonymous said...

Way to stick it out. How's the soreness??

Formulaic said...

Way to stick with it!

I'll remember your lesson.

Podium quest said...

U have great fortitude! U constantly amaze me. Great lesson, one you'd only find out if u push yourself beyond where most would anytime neccissary. I take my hat off to you.