Wednesday, March 16, 2011

A Long Way Gone

Memoirs of a Runner

A rough long run. Long runs are not supposed to be easy. The past two have been difficult. First the HoD taught me a little lesson. This past weekend I made the mistake to trusting the weatherperson and what the weather was supposed to be in three hours, and not dress for what the weather actually was. If one of the cardinal rules of running is ‘dress for the actual weather,’ I sinned. It was such a perfect morning, sunny with little wind and high 30s. But the person on the TV swore the weather would get super cloudy and windy and start to rain/snow as the temps drop to the mid 20s before noon.

And even a really strong-paced long run means several hours outside. So, I overdressed. And Nature, that sweet but fickle temptress, kept the sun and highs temps around. Therefore, by mile 5 I was already deeply regretting my clothing choice. And, sadly, with a Smartwool undershirt and a long sleeve shirt on top, I felt layering down was not an option. Excuses:

  • Route does not take me within ½ mile of home until end
  • Would require stopping and *gasp* stopping Garmin to rearrange shirts
Defense of aforementioned excuses. It would have meant tying my Smartwool shirt about my waist and wearing it that way for 15 or so miles and it jostles up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and…uggg so annoying. Or, it would mean taking said shirt off and sticking it into a mailbox or tying around a street sign with the hope that nobody wanders by and takes your rather expensive piece of running equipment—or wonders why there is a sweaty shirt in with their Saturday mail.

Also, I hate to stop my Garmin on a long run. If I have to use the bathroom on a long run, I don’t stop the Garmin. If I have to stop and wait for a long light, I typically don’t stop the Garmin. And, I would not have allowed myself to stop my Garmin for my poor wardrobe choices.
But the third excuse and driving force to not do anything about being too warm was Ego. Yep, Ego. Ego tells me not to stop the Garmin…because there is no ‘justifiable’ pause of your time during a race. And Ego says you should be a good enough runner to run through it. I’m sure Ego would say the same thing even if I went out on a 20M long run in the dog days of summer and wore full winter gear. Sadly, when Ego wins I rarely emerge victorious as well…I’m working on it.


So, I only have one 20M more long run left before Boston. Two more weeks until taper. And I’m feeling about the same did before several prior marathons…somewhat optimistic. Somewhat concerned. Too bad Ego is shouting at the top of his lungs about “Done deal” and “All good, where are the Girl Scout Cookies?”

9 comments:

Jim ... 50after40 said...

Been there! That's a bad feeling when 3 or 4 miles in you realize something's not right ... but I would much rather be too hot than freeze for 2-3 hours!

Irish Cream said...

See, moving to Texas solved this problem for me. I don't even have to waste time checking the weather! Instead, I just wear as little clothing as possible (while still remaining within the confines of the law, of course). Problem solved!

But I'm sorry to hear the long run was so rough. I'm willing to bet that your next long run will go much better ;)

Ironman By Thirty said...

Being overdressed for a run is the worst.

This problem would be solved if you would just let Red put your name and phone number on all your shirt tags. That way you could leave it someone where and maybe the finder would be nice enough to return it.

Running and living said...

Boston might be hot this year, you know:)

Blah, forget about that run. One more long one that is going to rock:) I always leave my clothes on the road when I get hot on a run, but I don't really own any expensive running clothes.

Nitmos said...

What do waffles have to do with any of this?

tahoegirl said...

Damn weatherman. Damn Ego. Damn Sun....no wait...I take that last one back...for now.

Jen Feeny said...

I'm just going to say it... you've kinda sucked at dress both yourself and I for weather lately. Let's get it together shall we? How can I trust you if you're constantly leading me astray?!?!?

Jessie said...

Leave your EGO at home! Stop the gamin for the wardrobe change! lol It is just that time of year~ I was so happy that Timmy came to save me last long run! He took my jacket and headband. I went out it was 25* and an hour later it was 35*. Soooo tricky that mother nature is! lol

Anonymous said...

Running in the cold stinks. I am already planning races for the summer though (thank goodness). i just signed up for REBEL RACE at rebelrace.com …can’t wait to run the 5k through boot camp style obstacles and crawl in the mud! My girlfriend’s crazier than I am- she’s doing the 15k! I’m so excited to run and go camping with my friends all weekend. They’re even giving me a free beer! Is anyone else doing this race??