A very tiring Tuesday, a run for the bank

RIDE: 27.7 miles in 1hr 45mins
RUN: 7 miles in 1:08

I've switched the days of my schedule up from the training plan, and although I'm careful to avoid having all my running at one end of the week or to put two BT sessions against each other, some days no matter what I do I wear out. But on the other hand, it's IM training. It's supposed to be tiring!

The ride was in the am before work. This is working nicely--I drop my bag off at lab on the way to Midland, then I ride as far as a can to the halfway time before coming home. What's frustrating is the short mileage I get on this ride. There's a stoplight every few minutes! And so much traffic! But the cars are mostly good to me, the real problems are all the BUMPS I hit. I'm talking speed-bump-like hits that knock the aerobars out of your hands.

The ride was refreshing, but then I went to work. Ain't nothing like a busy day a work to drag you down. Although I can't complain about being busy, it would be better if I was doing something worthwhile.

The run was in the pm after work, and I knew before I ran out the door that this run would be a slogfest. It was hot and humid, and I was tired, thirsty, and hungry. What a combination. A combination for disaster.

I took off with no set route in mind. I had thought about doing the TGP loop, but that's only 6 miles and I was looking for at least 7. You know you're training for an IM when "only 6 miles" is too short. I went east through the Heights, then south towards the Benton Park area. Once there I just kept going south. My legs didn't have a lot of life in them, so by running blocks instead of trail paths I had more to pay attention to. This is good and bad. Good in that time seems to go by faster. Bad in that there's a lot to trip over, and when I'm tired my mind fuzzes and I trip up. At least on this run I didn't trip so much as I stumbled a lot. I entered a neighborhood I was unfamiliar with so I took a peek at the GPS. I'd gone only 2 miles! OK, 1.97 to be exact. 2 miles?!? Really? Nuts!

I turned left to head towards downtown. I knew I'd have to climb the hill up the riverfront by doing this, but at least I'd have all the houses in Soulard to admire. I turned on a street that ended in a T-intersection with Wisconsin street. Wisconsin! I turned left/north and ended up going through the Lemp/Cherokee area. 3 miles.

I turned right again at some point and ended up down by the Brewery, then ran along Broadway. 4 miles. At this I needed a rest. Why didn't I bring water with me? Duh! I slogged up the hill towards Lafayette. 5 miles. Rest. Ran around LF Park. 6 miles. Rest. Oh geez, what's going on here?!?

By this point, I'm burned out but a part of me keeps going. A small part of me is really enjoying this run. I tried to isolate that part, magnify it, and embrace it. My legs were dragging, by mouth dry, my heart rate high. I'm dressed in wet clothes and covered in gritty salt. I'm craving food, ice, water, minty gum. But yet I want to keep running?

Somewhere around mile 1.97, I realized this run would be what JM might call a run to put in the bank for IM day. I think that's how he'd put it. A run that will have no meaning now, but come IM day I'll put this run out and find a way to keep fighting towards the finish line. I envisioned that this run might represent the post-18 mile mark part of the marathon, the point at which they say the marathon really begins. The Top 10 Tips page I had just read said that once you get to the last 8 miles the real challenge starts, but you can do anything for just 8 miles. I decided this 7 mile run would be a test run of those final 8.

The final mile I managed to find some spark. I didn't put on many more speed, but I did hit a nice homestretch feeling. I didn't imagine the last mile of the race, that won't happen until The Day, but I did learn today that no matter how miserable I am, I still love this. Like the song says, "Sometimes I think I get off on the pain".