Sunday, January 22, 2012

Sick Day

I was supposed to run today, but I have a cold so I am at home writing this. I did run this week, even though my partner and I couldn't run together. Tuesday was a beautiful day to run and I was pleasantly surprised by how easy running 20 minutes straight was. Friday, I ran the 22 minutes followed by a 1 minute walk, then finishing with 22 minutes. Again, fairly easy minus the Cheesecake Factory set back.  I offer this bit of wisdom, it is NOT a good idea to eat at the Cheesecake Factory and then in about 2 hours attempt to run for essentially 50 minutes straight. Worst side cramp ever!

With that being said, here is what I learned from my cheesecake induced cramp. You have to stick with it. Believe me, I was running the neighborhoods around my house, so at any point in time I could have just baled and went inside. But, I didn't. I adjusted my game plan and decided to take a 5 or 6 minute walking break to get the side cramp to ease up. Then, I would try running again. Given my naseau too, oh yes, this cheesecake did some damage, I decided to not run the super challenging hills that day and instead do gradual hills that wouldn't require quite so much physical exertion. Sure enough, my cramps subsided as did the nausea and I was able to complete the remaining 30 minutes of my run.

This brings me back to the original moral of the story, stick with it. I decided not to let a minor set back like nausea and cramps keep me from finishing my run. I learned that making adjustments to get the end result is most important. Yes, I was shooting for a 14:30 mile and yes with walking and easing up my pace for the duration of the run I ran 15:56, but it is better than quitting. Now I feel accomplished and I feel like I can handle other challenges that may take place. Who would have thought self-fulfillment and enlightenment would come from a piece of Adam's Peanut Butter Cheesecake?

Well happy running!

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