I had a nice run on Thursday morning, just shy of 5 miles. I didn't feel spectacular on Thursday night and Friday I was feeling worse, with a sore throat and achy legs getting the better of me. I did nothing on Friday. I'd mentioned before that because I was still too fat, I was cutting back the beer and chips this weekend and a sore throat and not feeling well made that easier. While I've still got an amazing collection of beer just calling my name at home, I'm down to only two bottles of beer from what's generally considered the best brewery in the world. Since I was going to limit the intake to one bottle a night, I thought I'd make them count by knocking back a bottle of Westvleteren 8 on Friday night and Westvleteren 12 on Saturday night. However, the sore throat prevented me from having much in the way of taste buds (yes, I drink beer for the taste, not to get shit-faced), so I'm holding onto my two remaining Holy Grails.
Just one beer last night and God only knows what I weighed when I got up. Jennifer had been telling me not to run this weekend since I had a sore throat (my sore throats usually turn into strep, so we're both cautious when my throat gets 'scratchy'), but I'm not a great listener. This morning it was nice and sunny and when I got the paper, about 10 degrees warmer than normal (it was a balmy 48). So, I decided to go for it because I'm a warrior.
My previous long run was something like 5.2 miles. There's a stretch of road that I ride my bike on quite frequently and since I've done it so often, I know different landmarks to figure 1.3 miles, 2.0 miles, 3.0 miles, 3.65 miles, etc, all the way up to 7.3 miles. It's a mostly quiet, straight stretch of road that's mostly flat, but has some gentle, easy inclines along the way. I decided to set out for the 3-mile mark and then turn around. It was ambitious, but like I said, I'm a warrior.
The run itself was non-descript, but it was nice to get out of the neighborhood. At two miles in, I saw a dog and thought, "Great, I don't feel well and I'm either going to have to outrun this dog or kick its ass." As I approached the dog stopped and stared. I think he was trying to determine how tasty I'd be, but I noticed a flaw...his tale-tell tail gave him away, he was a lover and not a fighter. His tell was a slight wag. So I started talking to him and telling him what a pretty boy he was...the wag grew in enthusiasm. I continued telling him what a good boy he was til we reached the next house (there are only a handful of houses during the three mile stretch, so he was running with me for a good while), when I told him to go on home and I'd catch him on the return trip.
About a mile later, I saw a bigger, louder dog. Fortunately, this dog was being visited by a friend so he barely gave me a look. At the 3-mile mark I slowed to a walk and checked the GPS thingy. It was right on the money, though it gave me a very slow pace.
By four miles, I was starting to get tired, my throat was starting to feel dry, and I was ready for the recliner. I visited my dog friend again and told him to be a good boy and I'd see him later. During the last couple miles, I did stop for a walk twice, but only for a few paces.
As I climbed the only major hill, I saw a familiar, unexpected sight. Jennifer and Hayden were out to run errands and thought they'd drive by to see if I was lying in a ditch or needed a ride home for any other reason. I declined and they were on their way.
On the last mile, I had a bit of a second wind and thought long and hard about an extra mile. Ultimately, I gave in and decided to save it for later. My run ended up at 6.05 miles, and that's less than 1% off what I expected it to be. The downside is that my average speed sucked. Granted I didn't feel great, but I never felt like I was going slow. I think mostly it just showed that all my previous runs are a bit off (to the high side) in what the GPS tells me is the distance, and since the distance is inflated but the time isn't, the pace is artificially high. Oh well, as of today I know I can run half of a half marathon. I'll worry about speed as soon as I can crack off a 13-mile run.
As expected, I was soaked in sweat when I got home. I peeled off the wet clothes and hopped in the shower. I still have put the clothes in the laundry room because I can't catch the little boogers...my socks, pants and shirts are all running around the house and I don't have the energy to chase them.
I've had little to eat so far, and not much to drink, so all I've done is burn calories and lose water weight. When I got out of the shower, the scale read 182.4 so hitting my goal of seeing 179.9 or less by Thanksgiving is still reachable, but will require a little more will power and since some of us from the class of 1987 will be getting together the night before Thanksgiving, I've got to see that number by Wednesday morning. But, I'm a warrior so I'll keep trying (in case you didn't figure it out, that's what the video at top is all about...being a warrior).
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