it's not always rainbows and buterflies

Sunday I am running the BAA 10k and I'm really excited about it, despite a few recent training hiccups. I've grown to really love the 10k distance and I've been looking forward to running another one. The course starts and finishes at Boston Common and runs down and back on one of my favorite streets, Commonwealth Ave. 

starts on the right at the green, goes down one side of Comm Ave
to Boston University, then back on the other side of Comm Ave

Leading up to this race I've had two pretty big goals in mind. One is to PR, which would be anything under 49:32. The second bigger goal, is to finish under 49:00. The course is pretty flat, and with my recent 5 mile time, I think it would be possible if all the stars were to align and I feel like a rockstar that day. Unfortunately, the past few days of training, and life in general, have not exactly gone as well as they could have. With an upcoming race, it's got me nervous and concerned about how I'll be feeling that day. 

It all started Thursday morning. Let me preface by saying my GI tract is not exactly top notch. I frequently struggle with discomfort, and have had my share of doctor appointments, without much relief. Thursday morning I went to the track to do a pretty tough workout: 15 min warm up, 4 sets of 1000 @ 10k pace, 30 sec rest, 400 @ 5k pace, with 3 min rest between sets, 10 min cool down. 

I love track days.

I really enjoyed this workout and was feeling confident about how I felt. However, during, and after, my stomach was frequently tying itself in knots. It lasted throughout the day, but I didn't think too much of it because this isn't too far from normal for me unfortunately. I thought it was maybe caused by the (too) large of bowl of popcorn I had eaten the night before. 

When I woke up Friday it was worse. I was having sharp pains right in my stomach that didn't want to let up. I went to work and then was staying with a friend in NH for the weekend. I kept hoping they would go away, again thinking it was something I had eaten and it just needed to work its way out. Thankfully, Friday was a rest day, so I could try to heal. Saturday morning I woke up hoping to be able to go for a run. I was up off and on throughout the night with pain and discomfort. Saturday morning it felt a little better, so I ate a small breakfast and attempted to get some miles in. It was more of a slow jog with many walk breaks than a run. I stopped early and called it a day. I felt off and didn't want to risk anything by forcing myself to run.

The pains lasted throughout the day Saturday, although I thought they were very slowly improving. However, when I woke up Sunday morning they were back with a vengeance. I'll spare the details, but let's just say the bathroom and I were good friends that morning. I also made good friends with the couch and a heating pad. For a short amount of time I considered going to urgent care because I had no idea what was going on. Thankfully, it started to let up, and I was able to head back home. Obviously, my planned long run was not in the cards that day. By early evening, I was feeling better, but not 100% and I knew it wasn't worth the risk of making things worse by trying to run, so I spent the night on my butt instead. 

Monday is normally a rest day for me as well, and while I was feeling much better, I was still having mild pains from time to time throughout the day. So, I took the rest day in hopes that the rest of the week would be better. Tuesday I went out for an easy 55 minutes. My legs and my body felt tired. Probably the effects of the weekend and maybe being a little dehydrated from the after effects of the stomach pains. It wasn't exactly the run I was looking for. 

Tuesday I had a workout on the schedule of 15 min warm up, 2 mile tempo, 2 min rest, 800 @ 10k pace, 3 min rest, 2 min tempo, 15 min cool down. I have done this workout a couple times and really enjoy it. It's tough, but doable. This time it didn't feel very doable. It was hard. While I got through it, and hit all my paces, I didn't feel strong at all. I was struggling by the end. This could have been partially caused by the intense humidity and heat that decided to show up this week, or maybe I'm still feeling some of the effects from the weekend. I really don't know. What I do know is I'm left feeling pretty nervous about the race on Sunday. 

These last few days leading up to the 10k I have an easy run, a rest day, and another easy run to do. I'm hoping that will give my body time to rest and recover. I'm not willing to change my goals for Sunday just yet. I'm hoping this is just a little speed bump that I can get over and move on from. It's tough to come off such a high from a great workout, to a low of stomach problems and a couple rough training runs. But, I guess it can't always be rainbows and butterflies. 

rough run, pretty path.