Saturday, December 24, 2011

Running without a voice

It’s hard to believe in just one day, my running outfit went from this:

to this.

I guess that’s what driving 400 miles north will do.

I lost my voice on the ride up. I was talking on the phone to a friend with no problems shortly after we left. My mom called probably only a half hour later, and I could barely even squeak out hello. When I lose my voice, it's gone. After trying to tell Eric something three times while we were in line at a gas station, I finally had to text it to him in order to relay the information. I had to text him, while he was standing right next to me. Needless to say, I was a pretty boring road trip companion. 

We passed the time by listening to comedy shows and The Hunger Games on audiobook. We arrived at a very exciting part, so Eric was unable to interact with anyone until he finished listening on my ipod.

If you've read the book, you understand why this was necessary.

Since I was coughing up a lung, unable to speak, and my throat was on fire, I wasn't sure the 16 miler I had planned for Christmas Eve morning was going to happen. My throat felt better and I wasn't coughing when I woke up, so I headed out. 


I was so unmotivated to run, it was shocking. My family was hanging out in their pjs, drinking coffee, and spending several hours running on snow in temperatures well below freezing (21 degrees when I started!) was so unnappealing. I had a beautiful out and back route by the lake planned, so I tried to do my usual trick of pretending I just had to get to the turnaround to fool myself. Until a bridge repair threw a wrench in my plans.
Somehow, I became even less motivated to continue
I rerouted myself to take a nice little tour through my hometown (the mall, my high school, two ex boyfriend's neighborhoods....you get the idea). I was seriously struggling to continue at mile 7 (my little tour would have made stopping at about 9 miles nice and convenient) so I had to give myself some tough love and bring myself back to the hell that was the Stone Mill 50 Miler. Once I remembered that I had made it through those tortuous last "nine" miles, I realized this was nothing, and my mood finally improved (relatively speaking), even though it had started to snow.

The rest of the run was uneventful, except I tried my first Gu Roctane. Oh, and I ran 16.5 miles, because that would bring me to 40 for the week, and I like even numbers.


I wasn't terribly impressed, but maybe this awful run wasn't a fair assessment.

I have worked out for the past 8 days, with no rest day in there at all, including a race, two long runs, and speedwork. I know a lot of you hardcore athletes can handle that, but not this girl. I need a day off. My legs are begging for it. It was well worth it to schedule my rest day on Christmas though. Tomorrow, all the movement I'll be doing will be to get up and get more cookies. If someone puts the plate near me, I won't even have to do that. 

Are you working out tomorrow, or does your "exercise" plan resemble mine?

I've gotten up early and ran or exercised on Christmas before, but since Vince brought alcohol into our Christmas traditions, I prefer to have nothing holding me back from drinking copious amounts of wine on Christmas Eve .

What do you do to get your head out of your ass when you need to complete a run but you cannot think about anything except how much you want to stop running?

10 comments:

  1. Today I ran 6 just so I would hit 40 bc I like round numbers. You're not alone ;) Also I did my long run yesterday so my "exercise" tomorrow can be like yours. There is eggnog and champagne with my name on it. Merry Christmas!

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  2. If I want to stop running THAT badly....I usually stop running. Reason #1 that I will never be an elite athlete. Tomorrow's workout might involve a short run with hubby or a walk somewhere pretty, but mostly just cooking and eating. Merry Christmas!
    :)

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  3. If I start out really unmotivated I run outside, because I know that there is only one way to get home then, I have to suck it up and run!!
    Sorry about your voice, that kinda makes it hard to play games and have lots of fun on Christmas!
    Love The Hunger Games, totally understand why he needed to finish before talking to people!!
    Have a very Merry Christmas tomorrow!

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  4. I didn't even leave my hometown and I went from running in shorts to running in full winter gear over two days. This weather is ridiculous.

    I've only lost my voice once and I ended up scaring people when I tried to talk to them, so I think it was a win.

    Sunday's are usually my rest days, so I normally wouldn't run tomorrow. HOWEVER, I'm streaking, so I'm going to do like 2-3 before heading to my parents' tomorrow morning.

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  5. I am going to get up at 7am tomorrow morning and do 12 miles, then my sister and I are going to a 11am yoga class, after opening up presents. I ran in shorts and a tank top today and I looked like I jumped in a pool when I was finished. It was great!

    When I really want to stop running, I question whether it is justified or an excuse. Like - am I sore and going to injure myself? If the answer is yes, I stop...but that is far and few between.

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  6. I've had many runs like that, and I usually end up bargaining with myself. I promise myself extra cookies for finishing, etc. I might not actually follow through, but I'll even promise myself a pony if it will get me through the run.

    I didn't know the Roctane came in pineapple! That stuff is powerful if you aren't used to caffeine.

    8 days in a rows is nuts. I can only handle 4, tops.

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  7. 8 days in a row?! Good grief girl! I love Eric's sweatshirt. We are big Under Armour fans! Enjoy your wine tonight and rest day tomorrow. I'm planning to at least walk one mile in the morning since I ran 6.2 today.

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  8. I'm planning to get some serious exercise today. I will be exercising my jaw muscles by eating everything in sight. Winner. Merry Christmas, Alyssa!

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  9. Ugh, sometimes I just CAN'T talk myself into it. :) Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

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  10. I like roctane. Why else suffer through yucky GU if not for the kick of caffiene!

    Sometimes I just stop if I want to but usually I tell myself to go for X number of minutes/miles and then if I want to still quit, I do.

    I am trying to hit 3000 miles for the year. I'm ready for a few days of low miles before getting serious about the 100....if I can in. If I don't I got a couple 50ks and a 50 miler to enjoy over the spring.

    Happy New Year!

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Thanks for commenting! Comments make me probably more happy than they should.