Battery Hill
twice? But what about water?
They say that doctors make the worst
patients. I think that maybe we need to
expand that statement to include EMTs. I
took a pretty good whack to the head this week and have been a bit loopy since
the incident. I’m sure that I had/have a
concussion, but I was too stubborn to seek medical attention. Everyone kept
telling me not to complete my running mileage, but it’s my last big push in
weekly mileage before beginning my taper and I didn't feel as though I could
put it off, and I certainly didn't want to push it into my taper week(s). So, with that background, I went out for my
second and final 20 mile run this weekend. Saturday had picture perfect running
weather. I can only hope that Mother
Nature is as kind to me/us on Marathon weekend! I met some friends at Battery Park and off we
went. My plan was to take additional
nutrition on this run, to see if this would be enough of a change to ward off the
usual end-of-the–run lethargy I've been feeling on my very long-runs. We had also set a pace for the day that was
slower than my usual running. I figured
that with changes in my nutrition plan and speed, I would easily beat back the
exhaustion beast. The majority of the
run was great. Running in a group really
does help the miles pass more easily. I
have no idea how they do it, but running with people who can carry on full
conversations really helps me get lost in thought and I lose my ability to
focus on my pain and suffering. The
women I ran with were telling stories, laughing, and carrying on the whole
time! How refreshing! About seven miles
into the run, just before reaching Battery Hill, I divulged to my running
partners the story of my recent concussion.
After all, I was an idiot for not seeking immediate medical attention,
so I figured that they should know this detail, just in case I passed out or
started vomiting on the hill. I was
hoping that they were kidding when their main concern was not for my immediate
well-being, but about making a decision as to whether they should continue
their run after calling 911, or to stay with me. I’m grateful that there were no
running-related concussion consequences, because I’m pretty sure they voted to
leave me on the sidewalk as soon as sirens were heard off in the distance! The bad news of the day was that after running
a very satisfying 18 miles, my last two miles were still a struggle. It turns out, that in the end, I did not beat
my exhaustion demons after all. Although
I must mention, that upon reaching the waterfront in Burlington, we were about
a mile short of 20. So, you might ask,
what did my running partners suggest? They
wanted to run Battery Hill a second time!
So off we went to run it again on the way back to our cars. Are you hoping for some good news to counter
the bad? If so, I can tell you that I
managed to run the hill again, and my overall recovery for the day was very
quick. I’m not sure that I’d have wanted
to get in another short run that day, but I honestly think that I could
have. My legs were fine after a few
hours. It was mentioned to me that
perhaps my issue isn’t necessarily nutrition, but hydration instead. I can buy this as a plausible explanation,
because when I add up my fluid intake over the course of the run, it simply wasn't enough. I’m now wondering and
hoping that extra fluid intake can help to counter the end game. Additionally, in a chat earlier this week
with Sam Davis, USATF coach, he mentioned that running 20 miles on purposefully
tired legs is much different than completing 26.2 on fresh legs
post-taper. I guess we shall find out
soon enough. After all, the PUBVCM is
happening in just three short weeks!
Until next week,
Greg
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