I did my run earlier than usual today in the hopes that I'd be able to enjoy the rest of the day's festivities without missing much. Unfortunately, today was also the best day in my schedule for a solid long run.
I've had a minor head cold over the past 2 days, and I woke up feeling a bit ragged. Not awful. Just a bit sore with a headache. I ate a protein bar and sat around digesting for a bit as everyone else started waking up. After about a half an hour, I changed, stretched, and got out for my run.
My route was similar to yesterday. I ran 2 miles through the neighborhoods and down Main Street in Chatham as I made my way to the bike path. It was still early and a bit overcast, so there weren't as many people along the bike path today. However, there were a ton of people hanging around when I hit the sections of the path that crossed over the roads. The Chatham 4th of July Parade was going on, and apparently, it's a pretty big deal. Thankfully, I didn't really have any issues running. The bike path zigged and zagged around the area where the parade was going on, but only crossed over the parade route once. On my way out, the parade hadn't gotten to that point yet, so no problem there. On the way back, however, I did have to stop for a bit. After a minute or so, I was able to cross in between the floats and continue on my way.
As for the run itself, it wasn't all that pretty. I felt okay for the first 10 miles at 6:20 pace, but my form started to fall apart over the last 6 miles. My headache was starting to bother me. I felt a dehydrated, and I was really low on energy for the last three miles. It's not all that surprising through since the only things I ate and drank from when I woke up until when I ran was a clif bar and half a glass of water, and I didn't intake anything during the run. This is a good lesson for next time. I can't just power through an early morning long run with zero fuel because it suits my schedule and I didn't want to carry a water bottle.
I managed to hold on to 6:30 - 6:40 pace over the last 6 miles, but by the time I finished up, I was feeling pretty weak. I couldn't do much more than sit there while a drank a couple bottles of water. I was finally able to pull myself into the shower about 20 minutes later. When I got out, I was somehow freezing despite the fact that it was already 70+ degrees outside and my shower had been hot. I don't know what happened. It may have just been my head cold, but I got straight back into bed and immediately fell asleep for an hour or so. I woke up feeling a bit better, but it took me a few hours to really recover. I definitely won't be taking these long runs so lightly in the future. 16 miles in 1:42.19.
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