After this mornings run you’d never guess I had been running for 12 years! I was all set to go and had my kit ready the night before, my iPod charged, and my new TomTom GPS watch to try out which I was very excited about.
So the alarm went off and my husband politely shoved me out of bed and I was up and ready to go! Half way through my run I was exhausted and I was only meant to be running 5.5k and I couldn’t understand why a) it was taking me so long, and b) it felt so tough. Then I realised – Zoe you are such an idiot – you’ve forgotten some simple running 101 rules! I can just see my trainers face – head in hands right now!
Breakfast
I was so eager to get out of the house that I raced out and realised I hadn’t had anything to eat. I figured it was only a 5.5k run so I didn’t need to eat – WRONG of course and I should know this having religiously observed eating right before a run since I started running!
Queensland heat
I always under estimate the heat here in Queensland. In the UK on those rare boiling hot days (one of which I collapsed and ended up in hospital) I would run early, run slower and run in the shade. It felt ok this morning but I became very sluggish very quickly.
Take water on your run
Yeah running 101 again – I didn’t take water on. In the UK I never used to and the people I ran with would always say what a hindrance it was to carry water so we would ensure there was water on the route at fountains and toilets etc. But today again I figured I’d have some water around the lake – but then realised as I was running oops I changed my route and the run doesn’t include that section of the lake – I just wasn’t thinking.
But the biggest mistake I made this morning was very silly!
My brand new TomTom Running Cardio watch arrived yesterday from my friends at RunStopShop (review coming soon!) so naturally I could not wait to try it out today after retiring my faithful Garmin 405 cx so last night I sat and set everything up online but I forgot to pay too much attention to the watch and when I was out running this morning I struggled so much with motivation and it seemed every time I looked at my watch I was getting nowhere.
The negative thoughts came into my mind and I thought – what am I trying to prove running a marathon this year and why is this so hard!? Then at about what I thought was 4k – I looked at the time and my brain suddenly kicked into awake mode and I realise I was running in miles mode not km! so by the end of the run I had actually done 7.24km instead of what I thought was around 4.5km as it was in miles! Silly me!!!
I got home and was exhausted, drank lots of water, had some breakfast and the day began! I won’t be making these mistakes again I hope….
Have a great weekend and happy running 🙂
I find that I’m actually running better when I eat after a run (so no breakfast).
If I know I’m going for a longer run, then I might consume some nuts. This works for me though.
I know the feeling of no water. I carry a small (120ml) bottle in my spibelt on my 9km runs now, it’s enough to get me through. Longer runs I use my hydration vest.
Matilda how do you find the spibelt? I’ve never been too successful running with things around my waist….I had a booked egg before my run yesterday – sounds nuts but it seemed to work 🙂
That should say boiled not booked lol