Abandoning a Long Run (Read 666 times)

The 15-miler that you had trouble with is way less important than the 20-miler you already finished and the 20-miler you have next week. Everyone has bad days and bad runs. Learn from the experience, and be well prepared for next week's long run. When that run goes well, your confidence will be back in spades.

Thanks guys. It's amazing what one run can do to your mental state. Having slept on it, I have a little more perspective and can definitely understand what you're saying. Here's to more water! (Actually, here's to not forgetting that one alcoholic drink is okay, but two is too many and that the sun can still be blazingly hot in the Northeast in September.)

Trent, good question. I doubted it at first, though my partner kept insisting I was showing mild signs of dehydration that weren't going to get better. I was incredibly irritable and contrary and couldn't make decisions, refusing to do anything that would help the situation. Example: we were sitting next to a fast-food restaurant in the blazing sun and she kept saying "Let's just go in there and get a drink." and I wouldn't move. I had terrible leg cramps, was weak and when I kept telling my partner to go on, I could get home, literally couldn't get up at one point. I was sweating profusely at the beginning of the run, more than usual, and by the end wasn't sweating much at all. Finally after we walked home (the the part of the loop I was at was about 1 m from home, point to point) I started drinking, had some soup, and still didn't pee for about 4-5 hours. I had a terrible headache the rest of the day. What killed me was that I was drinking during the run! I suppose it could have been heat exhaustion as well, or another form of illness, but it was still one of those "Thank God for cell phones, damn I missed a long run!" moments. Edited: My partner compared it to the moment in Running on the Sun when Lisa Smith-Batchen keeps insisting she took the salt pill, though much less severe. I was really confused and convinced I was doing everything I needed to do to stay healthy.

What did your first urine look like after the run?

You do need to work on your hydration strategy. Drinking loads before the run will just make you pee lots before and early in the run, and will not necessarily reduce the risk of dehydration. You need to practice drinking adequately while you run, and taking in extra salt if you are sweating lots or out running for more than 3-4 hours. You should determine your sweat rate and try to match that by constantly taking in fluids during your run, but also work to avoid overdrinking (i.e., drinking more than you are sweating). You can determine your sweat rate by weighing yourself nekkid before and after a one-hour run. For every ound you have lost, that is about a half liter/ half quart you have sweated. Make sure also to consider what you drank. So if you drank 16 oz and lost 2 lbs, then your sweat rate was about 46 oz/hr.

Good luck. This will get easier as the weather cools. Oh, and if you do measure your sweat rate, make sure to put on clothes after you weigh yourself the first time and before you go out running.