My long run debacle.

There are a few basic things one must do before one's weekly long run.

• Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and to prevent cramping due to dehydration.
• Stretch!
• Eat a good breakfast.
• Don't eat too much before a long run.

A lot of people recommend eating things like bananas to prevent cramps but I'm allergic so that will never be me. I'd likely eat eggs and/or an apple beforehand.

Well, this past Sunday, I didn't do any of those! I ate french toast for breakfast and lived off of coffee, as well as, diet coke for the 24 hours prior to my long run. Not very smart of me! I also didn't stretch. I did a five minute warm up with a walk but was distracted from stretching, when I noticed some random men off the path in the woods near I was running. I'm not sure about you, but I wouldn't want to stop and stretch when seeing that! I decided to just go ahead with the run.

I really struggled about a half mile in but by a mile, my left leg cramped to the point I was limping and hoping stretching might help. Unfortunately, the cramp was in full swing without any intention of letting up anytime soon. I pretty much limped the mile back to my car while going through the pre-run checklist to ensure a good run. That's when I realized, I didn't do any of the preparation. I was so busy thinking about other things going on in my life that I did not put the effort into preparing for this run.

As far as reasons why my run turned out terrible, I'd rather it be this one. My other fear is that I wasn't cut out for distance running. I thought that maybe I should cancel my ten mile race in March, etc. etc. etc. My mind was leaning towards the worst possible reason, until I realized that I didn't do the work to prepare.

Next week, I will do better!