Well...I attempted to wake up at 4:30 today... It was already light out, but couple a few early mornings in a row together along with some serious wine tasting and 4:30 was just not doable... In fact, I even woke up with a slight hangover... I was up just after 5:00 though, I got ready, enjoyed some breakfast and hit the bathroom twice before heading out for Kelowna. For some reason my bladder was just in overdrive this morning. I headed out to the start of my route, parked the car, and realized that I had to hit the bathroom...again... I didn't really know what was around my route, but there was a Burger King near where I was parked so I headed over in that direction first. I realized when I got to the door that the place didn't open until 7:00 and it was 6:30. The guy cleaning the floors was nice enough to let me borrow their bathroom though. Phew! It was about 22 deg C (72 deg F) out already and it was feeling pretty warm...
I had printed off a map and directions to a 14.26 mile route starting and ending at the Running Room in Kelowna. The directions seemed simple enough. Turn left on Springfield...turn left on Leckie...follow the Mission Creek Pathway to Hall Road... I arrived at Leckie and Mission Creek Park but all of a sudden things weren't so clear. And a mile and a half in my bladder was acting up...again! Thank goodness for the bathroom at the park... Mission Creek Park is a place with quite a few hiking and bike trails and there was no main trail that seemed obvious that would take me to Hall Road. But there was the Mission Creek Greenway - a super nice, wide gravel path that followed Mission Creek a good ways in both directions. I made a half hearted attempt to find the way out to Hall Road, wound up at the end of a trail at a private residence and so I decided to make my way back to the greenway. Change of plans. I threw the Running Room route out the window and decided to follow the path through the greenway instead. It was mostly tree covered, and running along such a nice, rapidly flowing body of water made things feel slightly cooler. My pace picked up and I was forgetting to check my watch for walk breaks so I kept missing them. When my watch beeped at 5 miles I swallowed an orange Hammer Gel. The taste...wasn't incredibly orange-like...but it wasn't altogether unpleasant and it didn't taste as salty as the Clif Shots. My tongue liked these a lot better.
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The first 5 miles: 55:43
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At around 6.5 miles in I hit the end of the greenway at Lakeshore Drive. I decided to run a ways up Lakeshore and turn around to make for a pretty simple out and back route. There was no sidewalk on Lakeshore for the most part, but there was a bike lane and a really large sandy shoulder. If I ran on the shoulder I felt far enough away from traffic so I was feeling pretty okay about continuing along the road. I ran past a Starbucks...good to note for later! Things started to change once I started down Lakeshore. It was pretty out in the open and the sun was beating down quite strongly even though it was so early in the morning still. My walk breaks grew more frequent. I turned around and headed back and my overactive bladder was acting up again so this time it was off to Starbucks for a pit stop. I was soaked like I had spent most of my morning in a pool...yuck... I realized at this point that I was nearly out of Gatorade so I used the opportunity to pick up some water and top my Camelbak up. Finally it was back on the pathway in the shade, but the heat was taking its toll. I was slowing down. I swallowed a chocolate Hammer Gel at mile 10. It was probably 30 deg C (86 deg F) out by now.
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The second 5 miles: 57:34
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Something in my left hip started to act up. It wasn't really intense pain, but there was some uncomfortableness in my hip joint for sure. Coupled with the heat my brain was having a hard time overcoming the thought that I still had another 5 miles to go. I'd keep running along and then my legs would spontaneously decide it was time to walk. There really was no timing or reason to the walk breaks. I was hurting and I wanted to be doing anything but not running anymore. At one point a lady that I had leapfrogged with a few times passed me for the final time and she must have known I was having a tough go. "It is rough out here today, eh?" she said to me. I felt like I needed to qualify my slowness so I responded that yup, it sure was, and that I'd been out for 2 - 1/2 hours already. She asked what I was training for, then she bounded off. I started to tell myself that if I didn't have 15 miles in me today it was okay...14 would be okay... But I knew that I didn't want 15 miles to become some big mental block for me so I really wanted to keep plugging. I didn't care how slow I was running, I just wanted to keep going and get it done. I was craving some Starbucks now by this point in time. I kept chanting "venti iced non-fat latte" over and over in time to my feet hitting the pavement. I needed that coffee and I needed it soon and it was the incentive I needed to keep running. Finally I was back at my car...15 miles over and done with. It took me a bit of time to find a convenient Starbucks on the drive home but that coffee never tasted so good. I felt kind of bad for the folks directly in front of me and behind me in the line up. I was pretty gross...
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Third 5 miles: 1:04:11
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As a positive note, I took my Kayano 14s out for another spin...no blisters! No shin pain either, or bad gait, just this weird hip pain. I think it may have been thanks to running on the gravel and sandy surfaces, so we'll see what happens the next time I go out for a run.
I had printed off a map and directions to a 14.26 mile route starting and ending at the Running Room in Kelowna. The directions seemed simple enough. Turn left on Springfield...turn left on Leckie...follow the Mission Creek Pathway to Hall Road... I arrived at Leckie and Mission Creek Park but all of a sudden things weren't so clear. And a mile and a half in my bladder was acting up...again! Thank goodness for the bathroom at the park... Mission Creek Park is a place with quite a few hiking and bike trails and there was no main trail that seemed obvious that would take me to Hall Road. But there was the Mission Creek Greenway - a super nice, wide gravel path that followed Mission Creek a good ways in both directions. I made a half hearted attempt to find the way out to Hall Road, wound up at the end of a trail at a private residence and so I decided to make my way back to the greenway. Change of plans. I threw the Running Room route out the window and decided to follow the path through the greenway instead. It was mostly tree covered, and running along such a nice, rapidly flowing body of water made things feel slightly cooler. My pace picked up and I was forgetting to check my watch for walk breaks so I kept missing them. When my watch beeped at 5 miles I swallowed an orange Hammer Gel. The taste...wasn't incredibly orange-like...but it wasn't altogether unpleasant and it didn't taste as salty as the Clif Shots. My tongue liked these a lot better.
---
The first 5 miles: 55:43
---
At around 6.5 miles in I hit the end of the greenway at Lakeshore Drive. I decided to run a ways up Lakeshore and turn around to make for a pretty simple out and back route. There was no sidewalk on Lakeshore for the most part, but there was a bike lane and a really large sandy shoulder. If I ran on the shoulder I felt far enough away from traffic so I was feeling pretty okay about continuing along the road. I ran past a Starbucks...good to note for later! Things started to change once I started down Lakeshore. It was pretty out in the open and the sun was beating down quite strongly even though it was so early in the morning still. My walk breaks grew more frequent. I turned around and headed back and my overactive bladder was acting up again so this time it was off to Starbucks for a pit stop. I was soaked like I had spent most of my morning in a pool...yuck... I realized at this point that I was nearly out of Gatorade so I used the opportunity to pick up some water and top my Camelbak up. Finally it was back on the pathway in the shade, but the heat was taking its toll. I was slowing down. I swallowed a chocolate Hammer Gel at mile 10. It was probably 30 deg C (86 deg F) out by now.
---
The second 5 miles: 57:34
---
Something in my left hip started to act up. It wasn't really intense pain, but there was some uncomfortableness in my hip joint for sure. Coupled with the heat my brain was having a hard time overcoming the thought that I still had another 5 miles to go. I'd keep running along and then my legs would spontaneously decide it was time to walk. There really was no timing or reason to the walk breaks. I was hurting and I wanted to be doing anything but not running anymore. At one point a lady that I had leapfrogged with a few times passed me for the final time and she must have known I was having a tough go. "It is rough out here today, eh?" she said to me. I felt like I needed to qualify my slowness so I responded that yup, it sure was, and that I'd been out for 2 - 1/2 hours already. She asked what I was training for, then she bounded off. I started to tell myself that if I didn't have 15 miles in me today it was okay...14 would be okay... But I knew that I didn't want 15 miles to become some big mental block for me so I really wanted to keep plugging. I didn't care how slow I was running, I just wanted to keep going and get it done. I was craving some Starbucks now by this point in time. I kept chanting "venti iced non-fat latte" over and over in time to my feet hitting the pavement. I needed that coffee and I needed it soon and it was the incentive I needed to keep running. Finally I was back at my car...15 miles over and done with. It took me a bit of time to find a convenient Starbucks on the drive home but that coffee never tasted so good. I felt kind of bad for the folks directly in front of me and behind me in the line up. I was pretty gross...
---
Third 5 miles: 1:04:11
---
As a positive note, I took my Kayano 14s out for another spin...no blisters! No shin pain either, or bad gait, just this weird hip pain. I think it may have been thanks to running on the gravel and sandy surfaces, so we'll see what happens the next time I go out for a run.
7 comments:
Way to hang in there and knock out the 15.
weird hip pain? Could it be the IT Band is a bit tight? Just some food for thought, I don't know.
Nice job on the 15!
Heat sucks. I have to say, though...A hard fought long run feels just as good (when you're done) as one that goes smoothly. Maybe better.
yay for pushing to 15!!! Great job out there! =)
Now I want Starbucks! Awesome job with sticking it out. I love the Okanagan but it can get sooo hot in the summer so your times look good to me. Just watch out for the Ogopogo on your next run if you're near the lake. ;)
Good running, not sure the thought of a non fat iced skinny latte would push me through the pain barrier though.
I always say the runs that are the hard ones are the ones that really set it up for us. Easy ones that feel good are great, but the runs that make you are the ones you power through, even when it feels sucky. Good job. Oh, and hip pain, it could be the psoas...try doing pigeon pose, staying in an up position, even leaning back, it really stretches it.
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