"You don't always do what's smart..."

I knew last Thursday that I wasn't feeling 100%. I attributed it to just a general run down feeling from having such a busy week (on top of busy week after busy week). I definitely wasn't eating or sleeping the way that I should be. For example, I didn't have dinner last Wednesday until 9pm because my day and evening was jam-packed with work, running, and a massage. I know. My body started telling me that it wasn't happy with me the next day. I had to work late on Thursday and I missed our group workout that evening as a result, so I was able to get in some extra zzz's until K got home from the workout with dinner. Then, Friday was off to Waco after work for the race on Saturday. I had a sore throat on Friday and started taking throat lozenges with mild relief. I still wasn't feeling 100% on Saturday, but I didn't feel bad enough not to run either. But, afterwards, I was even more exhausted than usual after running 20 miles. I laid down around 6pm for a nap and didn't really get up until late Sunday morning. We were heading to San Antonio in the afternoon for the Spurs vs. Suns game, and I started having flashbacks of the last time we were there for a basketball game during Bandera race weekend when I had to make a visit to the urgent care clinic because I had been sick for days. I started popping different meds on Sunday hoping that one of them would be the magic bullet. We were still able to enjoy the game, although I knew that things were getting worse rather than getting better. I went to work yesterday and made it through the day, still hopped up on OTC meds. But, today was a different story. I went in to work, but called it quits shortly before noon. My head felt like it weighed 50 pounds, I had no energy, my ears were popping because of fluid drainage, and I couldn't focus so it was a waste of time when I really should be home in bed. So, I'm proud that I did just that.

Tonight was our first group workout of the PR for the 5k/10k group. I had accepted the fact that I was going to have to miss it...until right at 5pm. I don't know what came over me, but I started getting ready to go. The workout was a steady state run, so no track work. Somehow I rationalized that I could do the workout even if I had to slow my pace considerably to compensate for feeling like crap. Makes sense, right? K was surprised to see me in running clothes when he got home a few minutes later. You see when he asked me if I was going to run yesterday, I inquired "Would that be the smart thing to do?" He replied, "No, but you don't always do what's smart when it comes to running." Ah, he got me there. So, that's what I reminded him when he wanted to know why I was going to the workout.

The workout was a 1-mile warm-up with drills followed by a 2, 3, or 4 mile steady-state run with a 1-mile cool-down. My Garmin wasn't working so I did not have a clue as to my splits or pace while running. I asked a guy how fast we went through the first mile when we hit the 1-mile marker and he replied "7:50." Oh, crap. I have no business going that fast right now. But, it was nice to know that I could. I've done less than 5 runs on the road all year thus far. I need to remind myself what it feels like to run at a faster pace again. I do love the trails, but I also need to reconnect with my road speed again if I want to try to qualify for Boston at St. George this year. It's a long "road" ahead...