Sunday, February 19, 2006

Running on Empty

I had two rather contrasting runs of late. On Thursday evening, Niamh and me were admiring the incredibly clear night sky with a million stars and not a cloud in sight. When I left for my run just a few hours later, it was raining extremely heavily. So, out I got my trusty rain jacket and we headed off for a 12 miler, which went very well despite the miserable conditions. I even ran a bit longer than planned, to make it more like 12.5 miles.

Today, Sunday, was the total opposite. The weather could not have been nicer, but the run was dreadful. It was my own mistake. We had gone out to the Cinema last night, and I hadn't eaten properly. I had a slice of pizza and a packet of crisps for “dinner”, and when we got home I wolfed down a protein bar because I was ravenous. I paid for that during my run, because I felt absolutely miserable, and thought I was running on empty. I was very tempted to cut the 8 miles a bit short, but I saw it as penance for not looking after myself properly. I presume I’ve learned that lesson now, and won’t repeat the same mistake again.

It has been a good week, despite today’s run, and I covered 49 miles. I was half tempted to head out for a quick mile to make it a round 50, but decided that this would be just silly. 50 is just as random a number as 49, and a one mile run will not make me a better runner.


17 Feb: 12.5 miles, 1:40, 8:00 pace
19 Feb: 8 miles, 1:06, 8:15 pace

10 comments:

  1. Nice picture in the header. You live in a beautiful area.

    Good job on the weekly mileage.

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  2. you mean it matters what i eat???!! :)
    oh dear.

    nice job on your weekly mileage!

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  3. Gotta get this food thing figured out Thomas! How are the breakfasts going?

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  4. THat still a rpretty good run. But i know what u mean. The meal the night before is crucial for a good training the day after.

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  5. Running on empty.....beautiful Jackson Browne's album with the wonderful Stay!

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  6. Ah, pizza and crisps. That rings a bell. Impressive weekly mileage Thomas!

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  7. Great miles and fantastic pace!
    What do you have for dinner normally then? Tell us your secret formula...

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  8. I used to like to get round numbers:) now I don't care anymore. Nor about my food, what is probably more wrong, but I just don't have enough power to oversee it. WHatever left over from family table:)

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  9. It cracks me up that you were going to run a mile to make a nice round 50 - I'll do that! I'm usually aiming for time, so I'll go 3 extra minutes to hit a number that ends in 0 or 5. Funny. It is totally random!

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  10. If I run first thing in the morning, I usually eat a banana w/a bit of juice just to hold me over...at least an half hour before I head out that is.
    But you put in a great run anyways.

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