It’s With Mixed Emotions…
Do you ever have one of those workouts in which things go a lot better than expected, but still leave you feeling like enough wasn’t accomplished? That was my workout today. Initially, when I left the house, I was hoping to knock out at least 12 of the 17 scheduled miles. Anything beyond 12 would be a bonus (i.e. less to makeup during the week). The reasons for possibly cutting back are mentioned below. Here’s a snapshot of today’s workout:
Distance: 16 miles
Time: 2:18:21 (8:39/mile)
Things potentially impacting my performance:
- My stupid sinus cold– The good news is it’s not getting worse. Also, yesterday, I did 8 miles at an 8:49/mile pace and today was twice that amount and done at a 10-second faster pace.
- Weather– This morning here in Minnesota, it was supposed to start in the steamy low-70’s and by mid-morning be pushing past 80 degrees on the way to 90+ degrees. Fortunately, the sun stayed behind the clouds for the first 10-12 miles. When it did come out, it came out with a vengeance. I go from thinking I should be able to knock out the 17 to barely hanging on to get in 16. If you looked at my mile splits, I was consistently around 8:30 for the first 12. The last 4 were more like 8:45-50.
- This little fella–
My youngest son, Adam (age 4), came down with a nasty fever Friday evening. His condition is unrelated to mine. He’s likely asthmatic and, thus, is nebulized everyday. When he develops a fever and shortness of breath, we up to drugs we put in his neb. He’s been hospitalized twice in the last couple years prior to the current protocol that’s been developed for him. Since Friday night, he’s been sleeping in my wife’s and my bed and stirring regularly. Between his stirring and my stirring, my sleep was short and of low quality. I should be using a Fitbit to monitor just how lousy my sleep was. Most importantly, the little fella stays comfortable by mom and/or dad and gets healthy soon.
With a solid pace going and 16 miles done, why did I quit? I was gassed. I had about a 1/2 mile walk home that I wasn’t sure I was going to make. I had a mild case of the chills come and go despite sweating buckets. I was feeling a little light-headed. My quads, still recovering from Thursday’s treadmill marathon, were starting to bark. Lastly, it was not a race.
It’s with mixed emotions…that I got in MORE mileage than I expected when I left the house at a respectable pace for the conditions. But, BUT, I fell one measly mile short of my fully scheduled workout.
Tomorrow’s workout:
3 miles of recovery in the AM
+
a hot steamy men’s league soccer match in the PM
