"Easy" long run...Ha! Not this week!

Saturday, I officially had my Worst...Run...Ever!!  I set out at about 10 am Saturday morning looking forward to my 14 miles of peace and quiet. I was uber-prepared with two gel packs, shot bloks, gu energy drink, chapstick, music and the Garmin.  It was a little cool outside but made up for it by being sunny. Seemed like the perfect day for a leisurely run.  It started out normal for a long run. About a 9:20 min/mile pace for the first couple of miles. I felt pretty good, maybe a little more tired than usual but not by a lot. About 5-6 miles into the run I knew that this run was not going to be easy to finish.  My legs started to feel heavy and my feet were scraping the ground some. Uh-oh!  I still had 9 miles left!  My pace started to really slow down.  I was running about a 10:30 pace for most of the second half of my run. I just kept thinking, "What the heck is wrong with me?!" I ran 12 miles 2 weeks ago easily clocking a 9:25 pace and here I am laboring to get my feet to keep up with a 10:30 pace. Crazy! 

By the time I hit the 12 mile mark I thought I was toast. I really wanted to walk.  I called my sweet husband to get some motivation to finish. He told me I was almost done and that I could surely do 2 more miles.  I really wanted to believe him so I kept going even though my legs were screaming at me to stop.  My legs seriously felt like lead by that point.  I have never plodded through a run before but here I was, plodding away!  Through sheer will, I finished my 14.5 miles (forgot the reset the Garmin so got to run a little more than I bargained for) and all but collapsed in my house.

"What the heck just happened?!" I've been running for 4 years and my legs have NEVER felt that way.  Will ran me a nice, refreshing ice bath (brrr!) and I soaked, trying to work through my confusion. I seriously thought, "Maybe I can't run a marathon. Maybe my legs can only take so much."  However, now that it's a few days later and I have a decent tempo run under my belt since then, I'm ready to test myself again. I need to prove to myself that it was just a fluke. An off day. A crazy, painful, defeating, demoralizing, off day.  I think I was just too sleep-deprived from the kids being sick all last week. I probably just needed more rest.  So, now I have an excuse to take a couple of naps as the next long run approaches. Works for me!