too much too soon.

I was supposed to have a training session today, but my trainer called and cancelled, unfortunately. My plan was to train with him and then put in a few miles on the treadmill. By a few, I was planning on 3-4ish miles. Instead, I didn't train and I decided to shoot for 7 miles.

When I decided to run 7 miles, I didn't think about how my legs would probably feel, considering I raced over the weekend. I did check the weather, but it lied to me (I think). So I went out and, initially, my run went pretty well. I was at a 13 minute pace for the first three miles, but then I started to feel a little miserable. It was hot- probably in the mid 80s rather than the low 70s like I thought it was supposed to be. I started to cramp up in my stomach AND my legs felt like bricks. By that point, though, I was three miles away from my apartment, so there was no quick way to get home. I sat down on a bench for a little bit, but then got up and kept moving.

I decided to try to stick it out, so I ran to the end of the trail that I usually take when I go run, then I turned around and came back. I ran/walked the majority of the way back, but still felt a little awful. I ended up walking the last mile and didn't quite finish out the entire 7 miles (6.76 was my final distance). When I got home, I was still in a lot of pain and couldn't really get around. I think part of it was that I was really dehydrated, because, although I brought water with me, it was much hotter than I anticipated. I definitely lost a lot of body fluid due to sweat.

I even thought about skipping class because I felt so miserable, but I sucked it up and went.

Anyways, the moral of the story is: I need to spend more time listening to my body when I run. I need to stop expecting too much out of myself or I'll never accomplish the goals that I've set. I definitely set myself up for a tough run today. I'm glad I was able to make it home semi-okay, but it was probably a bad idea that I went as far as I did.

Goal: 1000 miles/366 days
So far: 155.96 miles/59 days
To go: 844.04 miles/307 days