On the Road Again

Well, the track, at least.

Thanks to everyone’s well-wishing, I’ve made it from the depths of fluville and into my kitchen where I am making chamomile-vanilla and brown-rice pudding. What a difference a day makes. So, thank you to everyone!

Back to the track: it was raining and cold during lunch and I thought I could better endure the track than the nagging pneumonia and relentless scolding I would have received for running outside today.

I took out my run very casually to feel out my condition. To my surprise, I felt comfortable running my normal pace.

After about one mile, however, I noticed that my HR was too high for light running—around 180 bpm. While I haven’t nailed down my various HR levels, I’ve found that the upper 170s mark higher intensity for me. So, I slowed down. And nothing happened.

I slowed a little more, adjusted my stride, ran faster, ran slower. Nothing. It just stayed in the upper 180s. I felt physically fine and thought it might have something to do with recovering from being sick… and continued running.

Right around mile three, a really bad stitch crept up on my right side and nothing I did would make the thing go away. And it just kept getting worse and worse.

Finally, when I stopped to stretch my side, I noticed that I was pretty thirsty, salty and exhibiting all the classic signs of dehydration. It dawned on me that this being sick thing consumes plenty of salt and liquids in one’s body. I was so used to be chappy, dry and uncomfortable over the past five days that I didn’t even notice that I needed some serious hydrating.

Now, it may not have been bad enough to speed up my HR (I think it was just my body’s violent reaction to movement again; I think it was digging the rest-all-day vibe I had going), but the dehydration certainly didn’t help.

After a big drink, I walked for a bit and then finished (s-l-o-w-l-y) my 4.21 miles.

The greatest part was that I felt really energetic after my run—despite a few calf cramps I picked up while walking. I didn’t quite have a distance goal in mind, but simply wanted to get back into the swing. And I think I could have run farther if I a) wasn’t trying to take it e-a-s-y; b) didn’t lose my tissue; and c) didn’t run out of time and have to go back to work! (I did eventually find the tissue, in case you were concerned.) So, I'm feeling positive about my road to recovery.

Despite this good sign, I have decided not to run the Julie Zajac Memorial 5K Run this Sunday. I’m re-bummed out, but at least this time it’s for a good reason: my health.