Dangerous & Stupid Long run mistake I made today (Read 1747 times)

Today I decided that I wanted to get my long run in early due to obligations this weekend that will cut into my running time. I also have gotten to the point where running long on my slanted hilly county roads are eating me up, so I thought it would be nice for once to run somewhere FLAT. So I decided to do the 30 minutes drive to the closest rail to trail. It's about 12 miles long, asphalt, so it will be good for ANY long runs I will ever need to do. Today would be my longest official single run - 8 miles for the first time. It's nice because the trail has mile markers. So run one way for 4 miles and then turn around and run back to the car. No problem- have run nearly 8 miles on my hilly roads. So I drank my usual cup of tea (I never eat before my runs) and also sucked down a GU, figuring I would need that in my system as I would be running well over one hour. Had some errands to do before hand so by the time I got to the site it was already around 11 am and 65 degrees and sunny. Put on my water belt and took off- nice and slow and easy. Problem is I'm a lousy pacer. I never know what pace I'm running until I hit the mile marker. First mile was 8:30. I wanted a 10-10:30mm for the run. Had my HR monitor on also and it was working except I ignored it. Wasn't there to run by time, was there for the miles/endurance. Saw first mile was too fast so I slowed down (or so I thought) Second mile not much slower. I continued this process with each mile but it was still too fast for what I wanted. I wasn't struggling or breathing hard but my goal is slow and easy as I'm building base miles and don't want to get hurt. So by the time I hit the 6 mile mark, I look at my heart rate and it's pushing nearly 195. I forgot to turn the beep on to warn me, as I will do this when I run by myself. My average HR was 169- I didn't want it over 155. Looking at the history my HR actually hit it's max of 200. At this point body says "WALK", I say no, body says WALK, I say (from an RA race report I read "HTFU- I didn't drive all this way and run this far to walk now". My mind won and I finished the 8 miles. (average 9:27mm for the 8 miles)(too fast for me) I always walk for 5-10 minutes after my runs to cool down. Problem #1 was that I couldn't walk a straight line. WTF???!!! I wasn't breathing hard, just sweating profusely. Drank the rest of the water bottle and walked around another 10 mins until I could walk a straight line. Did my basic post run stretches, chatted with a few bikers and walkers on the trail as they came by and then got into the car to come home. Problem #2 once I started driving away I knew something was not right with me. Brain fog. OK- I guess I needed more than just plain water. No problem, I'll stop at the towns little store and get a sports drink. DUH- my wallet is at home so I drive on past. Got about a mile away and decided I better go back and buy a sports drink so I turn the car around to go back- about half way back- DUH- no wallet, it's at home dummy- just told myself that one minute ago. OH NO- I realize I'm really screwed up now and begin to worry somewhat. Heck with it- I'm only 30 mins from home. Got home ok but I was struggling with my breath even though my heart rate was ok. Tried to open the car door- WTF- I can't get my brain to tell my hand to open the door. Got door open and stand up. WTF? I now am officially afraid- my brain is not working properly. I can't even open the door from the garage into the house. I mildly panic and start ripping off my water belt, etc and wonder in a stupor what to do next now that I finally managed to get into my house. Figure I need to get my protein recovery drink in me so I try to pull the fridge door open and struggle getting my brain to work my hand. As soon as I opened the fridge door I happen to notice that my DW had made some Kool-Aid and somehow my brain functions enough and says "Hey sugar will help" So I sucked down two full glasses of Kool-Aid and within less than 5 mins my brain is alive and functioning again. Reality sets in. I just realized how much danger I put myself in and possibly others while driving a 2 ton missile. Dang that was stupid !! Hard lesson learned today: always bring your wallet when going away from home, water itself is not enough for me on long runs, so from now on Gatoraid or similar in the water bottle. Bring a cooler. Plan ahead and think things through before going on a long run away from home. Improper planning was my main downfall. I feel great now, am at work, not sore or sick, no ill effects other than the lingering stupidity I feel. What if I had passed out and hit someone with my car. LESSON LEARNED- WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN. Time to move on.

Unless you are on a low carb diet you had 1500-2000 calories worth of glycogen stored in your muscles. That is enough for many hours worth of running before glycogen depletion becomes an issue. There is no way you burned it all in an 8 mile run. It sounds more like dehydration or maybe something out of whack with your blood sugar. Have you had it checked lately? Tom

maybe not the blood sugar levels, but definitely the heart rate! Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is a HR approaching 200 bpm - (Tachycardia is a response to the body's need for increased oxygen delivery due to some stressor on the body, like running 8:30 min miles that you aren't used to for an extended period of time.) It will usually resolve itself once the stressor ceases. But still - that's dangerous territory, so slow down!!

Sorry to hear that. I was doing multiple long runs during the summer and had similar brain fog. Only it was all summer long. Good thing you learned from it...

SVT can actually run your heart rate much higher. My son has this condition and was clocked at an astounding 260+. (completely off thread ... he's now on beta blockers and is active in soccer, basketball, swimming, etc. ... minor surgery expected to fix the problem in the next year or so when he's big enough)

wow!! i'm glad he's doing ok though!

Wow - scary story! Luckily I've never experienced anything like that. Sounds like you learned your lesson though, so it's a valuable one indeed. The funny thing is, that you wrote the encounter from work. I love how we're all THAT obsessed with running....It's excellent! At least we know we're not the only ones! Good luck on the rest of your runs! Are you training for anything in particular or did I miss that part?