Sunday 7 miler and new headphones

I did some light cross-training (elliptical) and weightlifting last Friday, took Saturday "off" and decided to attempt to FINALLY surpass my 6 mile wall on a long run on Sunday. I think I've been stuck at 6 miles for over a month and it has been very frustrating, mostly because it's attributed to my overall slacking on scheduled runs than being physically unable to push past 6. I needed to remedy the earbud/headphone issue though, so I picked up a pair at Walmart Sunday morning: the sport kind that wrap around the ear. At first, I had a hard time getting the bud in my ear; it felt too big (that’s what she said). With the assistance of a friend, I got it in and wrapped around my ear. Something as simple as that clearly should not require assistance but just go with it.

I got on the treadmill around 1pm and almost immediately, both my shins hurt. Not a good start, especially considering that I was doing a 12 minute mile. I started out that slow because I assumed it'd be safe and easy on my body. Silly me, you know what they say about Assuming...I tried to just focus on my music or the silent episode of Seinfeld that was playing on the tv. I would have been thrilled to just call it quits and plop down on the couch...at least until the guilt of skipping yet another run set in. I was having major reservations about the miles ahead of me. I forged ahead SLOWLY, every so often pushing the earbuds farther into my ear(s) or adjusting the piece that wraps around the ear. They weren't uncomfortable but it was clear they weren't completely secure. Only once did one of them fall out, which isn't too bad. It was tricky getting it back in my ear because I was so sweaty that it took a minute of slippery fumbling. Around the 5th mile, I started to think about energy boosters: sports beans, Clif shots, blok shots, etc, and how I didn’t have any. I’m not sure how much of it was mental (I’m willing to guess about 98% of it) but toward the end of that mile, I started to feel incredibly weak. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do 2 more miles. All I could think about was that I needed SOMETHING. At the beginning of mile 6 I stopped the treadmill and hobbled into the kitchen to get some Gatorade, figuring that would be better than nothing. Dave was sitting on the couch and assuming I was done said "Nice job, muffin". I said "I'm not done yet" and felt like a real badass because even though I didn't tell him I'd already done 5 and was planning on doing a couple more, I'd been in the garage for around an hour, if not longer, so it was obvious I wasn't messing around. I was seriously hurtin’ though. I gulped the Gatorade down, torn between wanting to pour another glass and being scared that if I drank too much it might try to make a reappearance. I decided to play it safe and stopped after the one glass.

Surprisingly, mile 6 felt pretty fantastic. My legs finally felt as if I’d found my groove and the Gatorade was just the boost that I needed. Unfortunately, it didn't last too long. The last mile was pretty rough. I felt sluggish again and almost felt like I was going to pass out. In addition, I had an odd pinching pain on my left shoulder blade. But I managed to tough it out and was elated and extremely exhausted when I completed the 7th mile. Part of me wanted to cry tears of joy for FINALLY doing more than 6 miles. Since I started running around 1pm inside a garage, I was completely drenched with sweat. I have NEVER EVER sweat that much in my life. I might as well have been running in a sauna. I was a glistening, stinking mess. Since I didn't want to offend anyone with the sight/smell of me, I did some quick stretching, got more Gatorade and headed to the bathroom to take a cool shower. I felt like a new woman afterwards. I popped some Ibuprofen and was happy that I didn't have any pain in my legs or hips for the rest of the day. In fact, I didn't have any pain until the next evening when I had to run to the car to avoid getting soaked during a shopping excursion. It was only then that my shins started to hurt again.

Here are the details:

M1: 12:00
M2: 12:00
M3: 12:00
M4: 11:34
M5: 11:32
M6: 11:24
M7: 11:08

Dave and I went to a sporting goods store yesterday and as I was perusing the candy selection near the register (I still think it's weird that a sporting goods store has candy but whatever) I spotted some Clif Blok Shots: lemon lime and strawberry. I bought 2 of the strawberry and Dave and I sampled some in the car on the way home. I didn't quite know what to expect but have to say they tasted better than I would have guessed. It almost made me want to go home and do another long run so that I had an excuse to use them!

I hope everyone had a great long weekend! :)