Wednesday, February 23, 2011

A Walking Run

I knew going into my run yesterday afternoon that I was not well hydrated. I also knew I was hungry; I had just come home from work and we had plans for the evening. It was clear that my run should really happen right then to be sure it happened. I popped 2 strawberry Shot Blocks, changed and headed out. What a mistake! With a virtually non-existent warmup and no stretching I had shin splints in a matter of minutes. I also had cramps on either side of my stomach, presumably from not having had enough water up to that point. I have become good at breathing in a certain way to alleviate them, but when they are on both sides it is pretty much impossible for me. Essentially, I breathe in deep through my nose and exhale through my mouth. I focus on letting my breath out as my right foot hits the ground and being sure to expel all the air in my lungs - it's like blowing out the candles on a cake.

For the first time in a long time, I took walking breaks during my run. Much more than half of my run yesterday was actually walking. It was frustrating to have such a slow and painful run when I know I can do much, much better. In the future I need to be sure to give my body what it needs leading up to a run to be sure I set myself up for success. Funny, it seems so obvious huh?

3 comments:

  1. At least you still got out there! I'm still learning that they can't all be good days, but you're right, planning ahead helps the process!

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  2. The dreaded shin splints were a problem for me while hiking last summer, and Joe suggested I might be deficient in potassium. A banana the next day seemed to do the trick! You've gotta work with that body of yours if you want it to obey you, but kudos for getting your ass out there when you could've easily justified skipping your run. Walking is better than sitting on your bum!

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