Saturday at Great Illini

RUN: 6 miles in about 54.5 mins. 9:05m/m pace

Friday was supposed to be a rest day, it was more of a restless day. Didn't sleep in much, got to work late, spent a few useless hours at work, left for home, spent a few useless hours at home, then left for Mattoon for the GI race. Originally I was going to camp, luckily JB had space in her hotel room. I wasn't ready to camp. Just not ready.

Good sleep Friday night, got up early Saturday. Why the details? I'm trying to piece together this persistent case of The Stupids I've been having for about 2 weeks now. Had a banana, some fake peanut butter, 2 cups of coffee, then off to the race!

Munched on grapes and trail mix. But no water. I waited on the swim, saw everyone off on the bike, then went for a run. The day was hot, but no hotter than days all this summer long. The run started off great. I recognized many features from my race here 3 years ago in 2008. Especially the long boring stretch after the 1st turn. Flat, featureless. Long. But I let my mind wander. My HR was good in the 145 range.

Time went on. The day seemed to get hotter. I passed the aid stations and refused water, not wanting to take water from runners later. But this got me thinking. Water. How much water did I drink this morning? Two cups of coffee.. and that's it. Really?

I still haven't learned this lesson?

I hit the turn-around and by this point my HR was climbing slowly into the 155 range. Time went on. The road was rough and the tar soft. Time went on. The HR went up. The lead runners appeared on the course, they looked energetic. I didn't feel energetic. And my HR went up into the 175 range. Classic textbook example of dehydration. Pace stayed the same. Elevation stayed the same. Effort went up. HR went up.

Damn it.

The rest of the day was a bit of a struggle to focus. I came home around 4pm in a bit of a daze, a combination of the long drive, fatigue, and Stupids.