A Mile Too Far

A Mile Too Far. That's how I felt about an hour after returning from my long run yestrday afternoon. I knew I had to run long this weekend and I chose to go Saturday instead of Sunday because the threat of rain and cold was higher for Sunday. So Saturday was my decision. I woke up and had a healthy breakfast of oatmeal with golden raisins and fresh starwberrries, plus some coffee. I planned to run in 90 minutes, at 1000. Then the phone rang. A school board member was speaking at a library opening and wanted some brochures to hand out. She gave me an hour. I had none and didn't know where to find them. After 3 phone calls I was on my way to the office and with 20 minutes to spare I was at her door (greeted by her, sheepishly, in "morning dress") with the goods.
On my way home I thought I could still make the 1000 run time. Then the phone rang. A senior executive at work was calling to tell me, while choking back tears, that one of our colleagues had not awakened that morning. Her husband found her in a chair with the TV on. I couldn't believe it. I looked up her house and drove by. Police cars and a priest. It was true; and shocking. The rest of the morning was spent dealing with the necessary calls and anxiety.
By mid-afternoon I was doing chores around the house and keyed on 400 to run. Indeed, I was ready to run off some tension. My goal was 90 minutes and a controlled easy pace. For some reason, my mind was not focused and I took off on a route that was much longer. My pacing was fine and I marked heart rate at each 10 minute interval. I was averaging around a 135 but not covering enough pavement. At a turn I anticipated as necessary to run 90 minutes I was already at 70 and knew I had miscalculated. I took the shorter route decision and headed back to the corral. At 90 minutes I was still 2+ miles from home so took to walking 5 minutes then jogging for 5 minutes. I made it home in 2 hours with 105 minutes of it running. After stretching and showering I was feeling very worn out. My back hurt from its middle down into my butt. My knees were wobbly and joints ached (even in my hands!). And then my left hand was cold and tingly. My circulation was not working too well, I guess.
I had not planned ahead to take a gel with me on the run so I went the whole way with just one stop for a few gulps of water. I didn't feel like I had hit a wall while running but it sure hit me when I reached home. As soon as I came in I drank some water, ate some grapes and had a slice of raisin bread. That helped me recover but I still had the aches and pains and tingle in my left hand. A strange run. A Mile Too Far.
Sunday morning turned out to be cool (50) and sunny. Perfect for running. I should have waited.