Running, Running, Running

Last week I ran or worked out (which usually involves a lot of running/sprinting) five days in a row.  And when I say “running,” I mean “4-6 miles.”  It’s not easy, but I’m getting stronger and, best of all, I’m more confident about Ragnar this coming Friday than I have been since I signed up in January.  Which I guess is how it’s supposed to work: you train, you get more confident, you feel good, you have a great race. 

 

Tony hasn’t really trained much.  I took the stitches out of his eyebrow on Saturday (here, let me wave my scissors menacingly at your eye!) and then he up and ran 7 miles yesterday and frankly, I don’t think that’s fair.  There’s NO WAY I’d be able to just go out and run 7 miles without working up to it gradually.  Men.

 

I ran a 5k on Friday night (the “Run Like A Girl” 5k, at which I won a wine glass that has “I run so I can drink wine” written on it and for which I got comments like, “That is so fitting!” and, “We were all thinking, ‘Amelia should totally win that!’” all night long… I guess I am much more of a lush than I thought) and had my best time ever.  If you had asked me last summer if I thought I could run an 8:20 mile, I would have told you that kinda fast was just dreaming.  But that’s what I did, 8:20-minute miles for over 3 miles.  Final time: 25:47.  I am so proud of myself, and every time that stupid voice in my head gives me the “yes, but” (yes, but there were people faster than you; yes, but no one thinks that 8:20/mile is fast; yes, but some people run whole marathons at that pace and faster so really, a 5k in 25:47 is no big deal), I shut it down and tell myself that I did an awesome job and I felt really good.

 

And I did feel good, in that euphoric, post-run stage.  But here’s the thing: I am not built for sustained running.  Five days of running and working out and I was useless yesterday.  I took a 2.5-hour nap in the middle of the day and did nothing else but play with my boys.  I have trouble eating because nothing sounds or tastes good.  My whole digestive system is revolting against me.  I haven’t pooped anything solid in a week.  The euphoric, post-run stage only lasts so long and then I feel terrible.

 

So I’m a runner, but I’m not.  I have worked really hard to get into distance running shape, but as I found out when I trained for my very first long run (a 10k six years ago), I am not built for maintaining the kind of conditioning needed to do a half-marathon or other long races.  I’m looking forward to Ragnar, yes, but I’m also looking forward to next week, when I’ll probably only run twice during the week and stick to 3.5-mile runs.  And then maybe I won’t get the runs.