Yesterday's run was fantastic! I was wet, cold, and just me running. I was completely in my element.
One of the great things about long distance running, or any long distance sport, is the endorphins that are released. These are the body's natural morphines that help the body deal with pain. It is also known as "runner's high". So when you push your body past a certain point the endorphins kick in to help deal with the pain. This is a great thing for endurance athletes or for when you need to not feel pain to get out of a fight or flight situation. You have heard of moms lifting cars to save there babies, etc.While these endorphins are great for these types of situations, they do come with a drawback. You don't feel the pain you are in. Most of the time, for a long distance runner, this is not a big problem. You stretch, you ice, you recover. Furthermore, you are not usually doing more than a handful of events in a row.
However, yesterday I was in a definite endorphin high and did not notice that the rain had drenched my clothes. Everything was just drenched: pants, shoes, socks, back pack. Not feeling any pain I was unaware of a discomfort that started to build in a very sensitive area of the male anatomy. When I finished the run and my endorphins were dissipating, I noticed some blood on my pants. This was not a good thing. In fact I had rubbed the skin clear off. The shower yesterday was very painful, and today's run was just not going to happen.
So my fantastic run manager, being an ex-dancer, has made some suggestions and I will be following some of them tomorrow. It has also put us back another day.
I am having to rethink my mental strength. The hardest part of a marathon is always the last 10-15 km. This is called the WALL. Sometimes on some runs you don't hit the wall. Other times that wall seems to pop up at various times throughout the run. I have been hitting the wall quite a bit and I don't have the luxury of missing days, missing distances or succumbing to the wall.
So I need to rethink my approach and see if I can put in more consistent distances as I can't afford to miss another day. I need to be running a minimum of 42 km per day from now on, even if it takes me all day long. (Although my wife would suggest a less stringent regiment and to listen to my body more...I just can't get those distances out of my head.)
I am frustrated and feeling like I am falling behind. At the same time I am in allot of discomfort. All I can really do is rest up today and give it another shot tomorrow. Here's to keeping my fingers crossed
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