And if you don't love me now you will never love me again I can still hear you saying you will never break the chain
The Chain Fleetwood Mac
Way back when in the mid to late 70s when I first discovered Formula One Grand Prix racing on tv I used to watch the highlights show on Sunday nites{this was LONG b4 the advent of actually showing races live was thought of......what a concept!!!!} anywho I loved the music they played at the introduction.....it would be several more years b4 I discovered said music was the instrumental break of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" off the seminal " Rumours" album......there I go showing my age again..... albums......LOL!!!
Anyways what has this to do w/ anything you may well ask? well prior to Sunday's scheduled long run I wanted to cop the Monaco Grand Prix from Monte Carlo one of the most iconic if not THE MOST iconic settings for any sporting event let alone the Formula One Grand Prix season.
Race over and post race show in the books yours truly was off out the door by 10.55am looking to take care of business over 14 miles to clock another 5 day 40 mile week,the last week b4 the race phase of my season get underway this coming week.
Conditions were sunny and warm as i made my way down to the Schuylkill Banks and as is my won't the "road less travelled" north along West River Drive to Falls Bridge b4 heading south along Kelly Drive
Unlike last week when I only passed one runner the entire 4 mile section and that was after Columbia Bridge at roughly 2 miles today I passed 5 runners b4 the same point on the course,however it was not long after that I suspected I could be in for a longer day than I had antisipated......
I got passed by another runner b4 Colunbia Bridge but told myself not to get into a "pissing contest" at only 5 miles into a 14 mile run and just run my own pace however not long aftetrwards I noticed my knee lift and leg turnover were almost non exsistant......This was going to be a problem!!!
Crossing Falls Bridge which is more or less half way I knew I was in trouble and sure enough w/in half a mile I stoped to walk.....something I almost never do unless I'm sick or injured,I got back going w/in a 1/4 mile and began to "hunker down" mentally for the final 7 miles but w/in another mile and half I was forced to stop and walk another 1/4 mile and although I got myself going again by the time I reached Lloyd Hall w/ three miles to go I knew the gig was up.
There's nothing worse than the runners equivalent of "the walk of shame" when it's all gone pear shaped on a run period but after a shite Indoor season thanks to the winter and then postponing my original Outdoor season opener due to the groin injury the last thing I needed 4 days b4 my Outdoor season debut was a DNF on my long run........#ifitaintonethingitsanother
Now comes the second guessing,am I injured? am I sick? did I just have an off day????
I didn't feel injured but retrospectivly I noticed I not only didn't finish dinner Saturday nite but also I've been sneezing and my nose has been running recently,while it seems absurd to think of having a cold a this time of year it's a possibility.
I considered the possibility that maybe just maybe I was dehydrated it would explain the lack of knee lift and leg turnover but again retrospectivly looking back at Saturday I drank a liter of water during and after my 8x300x200x300m repeats,came home and drank my customary pint of Strawberry Milk,had a cup of tea and then washed dinner down w/ my regular 32 oz Gatorade plus drank another 32 oz of Iced Tea so why would I be dehydrated? but I noticed prior to setting off on my run I was thirsty and took a few swigs of water b4 heading out.....??????
Bottom line I'll take a leaf out of the "listen to what your body is telling you" playbook and skip Mondays 8 miler,prehaps a days rest is just what the doctor ordered and come Tuesday I'll be fightin' fit to conduct an easy 6 miler as the countdown to the already once delayed Outdoor track season gets closer to lift off!
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