That Time I Cried During a 20 Mile Run

WTF humidity! Seriously, stop effing up my runs, gahhhh!!!! Saturday (actually this whole weekend) was of course too humid for walking much less running and I had a 20 miler on tap for the day. Originally I had wanted to shift this one to a later date, but we did some other juggling so our next 2 20's fall inline with the NYRR training runs (or at least that's what I think we did) so we had no choice but to head out and get 'er done.

I felt ok the first 7 miles, then I went slowly downhill.  We made a few quick stops where I noticed that I was totally shaky, not sure if seeing my hands shake threw me into a mental state of "OMG I want to die now" or what, but it wasn't pretty.  I just wanted to be done!

At mile 14 we were back at the start which happened to be the gym so we decided to run the last 6 inside.  Running partner brought a change of clothes, I did not, so not only was I soaked, but I was now freezing.  I got on the treadmill and squeaked out 2 miles, then around mile 17 I started walking and crying.  It's pretty comical now that I think about it, I even looked at running partner and was like this is too funny, but at the time I was just so frustrated.  Not that I breezed through training last year, but it didn't feel this hard.

I almost threw in the towel, but I soldiered on, one mile at a time.  I went crazy slow and at the end of each mile walked and took in fluids (I should mention that I didn't pee once, which is crazy considering how much fluid I took in). My legs were killing me and I had a few cuts on my foot which initially I thought was strange until I realized that my sneakers were soaked through (ewwwww, I know) but I managed to get in those last 3 miles.  When it was over I was so happy, not because it was done, but because I kept going.

I'm still frustrated by how hard my training has been, but I also have to remember that NY was a full month after Chicago, so I wasn't really running this long this early. Plus I think this summer is way hotter.

On a positive note, I felt good after and even yesterday.  I spent some time in the pool Saturday afternoon then went and got an 1/2 hour leg massage which I think really made a difference.  Gotta love those cheap massage places that keep popping up all over!  Almost as good as the millions of new froyo places that are everywhere :)  I'm also happy to report that I'm off wheat and feeling great.

I have 8 weeks left to really make a difference, so it's go time. I need to focus on my food and my miles and my speedwork..no time to cheat!  If I made it through that shitty run, then I can get through the next 8 weeks.  Plus I just picked really pretty blue sneaks to kill the rest of my training in! I'll be testing them out tonight during my 8 miler.  Can't wait, plus Adidas are new to me, but after getting re-fitted over at Runners Edge I felt like we these might just be the golden shoes I need!