+++ This one is a true story. I hate April Fools. +++
It truly has been a terrible week and a half for weather in Eugene, OR. Just continuous showers with perhaps a break of an hour or two, then back to the rain. Today, Sunday April 1st, was no different. I awoke to wind, rain, and cold. This is not my idea of spring, but I guess I have no control over this. Something I do have control over is when I do my long runs. I have the Eugene Marathon at the end of this month so I should be running a lot. For marathons especially, "There are no room for crazy ideas or cranky notions. It consists of just running and plenty of it" (Sydney Wooderson). Want to be able to run 26.2 miles? Well you're going to have to earn it. Maybe our ancestors were be able to get up and go for 26.2 miles without training but I hate to say that the modern general public do not possess that physical ability any longer.
It seems that sports culture for many people end in high school or it even appears that many children go without sports at all in their lives. I don't believe that everyone needs to love a sport or exercise, but I do think it's very important. If sport clubs were more prevalent, I would bet that I would be on a running club, basketball club, and perhaps something else. Having these clubs would keep me fit and social. Win win. Unfortunately, we are stuck with expensive gym memberships or very high monthly fees to be on a sports club. I believe some of the more serious running clubs in Eugene have a rate of $60/month for membership. Yes, living in the Pacific NW is a bit different. We are the land of REI members and weekend warriors but they are still the minority to the idle majority. I digress.
As of late, the weather has been crummy and I have been lazy about my running. In fact, I have been lazy about my running and diet. Last night I had fried chicken wings, a yard of beer, and a glass of Scotch whiskey. Not the ideal meal when one is planning on a distance run the next day. So this morning, I get up at 7am and I am pondering if I should take it easy or go for my planned long run. I see the rain, I know it's cold, and I know it's windy. And I am sure the alcohol and fatty foods have wrecked havoc to my body's nutrients levels. So I tell myself to do quick intervals and stop at 5 miles. It is a relatively short run so all I put on is a running shirt and shorts. No coat, no water. If I get thirsty, I could simply drink the rain that is falling so plentifully.
I take off close to 9am and I don't feel great but the guilt for not running all week is weighing heavily on me, so I decide to extend my run to 8 miles. "I'll just do the first 1/3 or so of the marathon course and take it home" is what I told myself. Well 8 miles became 23. I don't know how, but it did. I began hating myself for not planting any water bottles ahead of time and all the water fountains are shut off due to the danger of pipes freezing. Oh, and I do not recommend trying to drink rain. It's harder to do than it seems! To make things worse I am in a thin shirt and 4cm running shorts. I am cold and miserable. But I kept pushing myself. This is not the first time I've done something like this. I am prone to extending my runs. By mile 20 I am light headed, dehydrated, my hands are more purple than red, and I am cold and I feel like the rain has violated every inch of my body. The way running trails loop in Eugene make it so that I could have easily made my run shorter at any point and gone home. Why did I endure close to 3 hours of feeling like shit? Goals? No, I made of goal of doing 5 miles this morning and I accomplished that hours ago! I suppose there is a pleasure of pushing one's physical limits but I can't say that I felt any pleasure at all shivering on the floor of my home while my wife cooked me soup. I spent almost 20 minutes in the shower to try to get myself warm again!
Maybe I just don't like giving up. Cutting a run short always felt like cheating to me. But I could have injured myself out there today because the weather was cold, I had no water, and I skipped breakfast. Hypothermia was in the back of my mind. Also my blood sugar levels were probably very low. I know ultra runners can go like 100 miles with no shoes while carrying a donkey on their back, but going 23 without any supplies was difficult for me. I could have collapsed somewhere. Was there any benefit at all for me running this distance this morning compared to the risks? I don't see any.
Maybe I did it because I feel like if I start giving up on my runs that I'll start giving up on other things in my life.
Maybe it's because I have too much pride.
Maybe I just like to run.
