Half Marathon Training Wreck

On Sunday the 21st, Father's Day, I decided to determine how well prepared I was for running the half marathon in Fairfield Connect scheduled for June 28th. I set out to run from home toward Annville on Route 422 until I reached the 6.55 mile mark and then return home the same way for a total of thirteen and one tenth miles.

Similar to my running experience on Saturday, I had no energy reserves. I was barely able to run six miles, did a mixture of running and walking for the next two miles and wound up walking the last five miles. For reasons yet unknown, my water backpack was not holding water. There was not an obvious leak, but I am reasonably positive I did not consume the pack's 50 ounce capacity of water. Once I was exhausted, even walking was very difficult to do as both my legs and arms felt like lead weights.

While I was mixing up running and walking during the eighth mile I became extremely light headed and began to lose my sense of balance. My fingers began to feel numb also. When I got home from running my blood pressure was reading a very low 112 / 70, a marked decline over my normal 145 / 100 readings. I am not sure how much of my difficulties were due to dehydration, but I could sense I was pushing the bounds of my fitness level and overall well-being if I continued to run.

Based on my abysmal training performance and a lengthy discussion with my wife, I have decided to forgo the half marathon in Connecticut this Sunday June 28th. Based on my adverse reaction to running 13.1 miles, I have decided to downgrade my goal of running a full marathon this fall to running a half marathon. I believe I was very close to collapsing on Sunday and I promised myself I would not take this training to a level where I compromised my health.