Summer Sufferfest 2009

I had a 10 mile run on the schedule. It made me nervous just looking at it. Four of the miles at half marathon pace with the fifth mile (mile 9 in sequence) faster than half marathon pace. Yikes!! And now that half marathon pace falls below 7:30s, workouts like these scare me. I had intended to do this workout on Saturday when it was assigned but pop-up, violent storms all day kept me from getting it done. Sundays are out of the question the day after a wedding. So this morning I suited up and headed out.

The progression warm-up went well, starting just over a 9:00 pace and heading down to low-8:00s by the end of 4 miles. Then it was time to move. My goal was to hold between 7:00 and 7:30 for 4 miles. I was easily able to get the pace down that low and for a while it felt comfortable but things went south quickly. I felt like I couldn't get a full breath. My stomach got three different stitches in three different areas. My chest appeared to be on fire like I had heartburn or something. My legs wanted to move but my head was telling my body NO WAY! During the next 4-5 miles I stopped 20 times. Yep, 20 times. The farthest I made it in any one stretch during that 5 miles was a half mile. I probably made it harder on myself because every time I had to start faster to be able to hold the pace below 7:30. I don't know if I've ever been happier to make it to the final mile and shuffle my way home.

I took my ice bath, put on my compression socks, and tried my best to recover. But hours later, I feel horrible. My back is killing me, my hip is feeling a little tweaked, and my knee is a bit bruised from a handstand accident earlier today (don't ask). Thank goodness there is only a swim on the schedule tomorrow.