This really doesn't make all that much sense, considering I've never actually had to deal with anything remotely as uncomfortable as I assume detox to be. In fact, it's almost entirely the wrong word, because I don't have pain per se, but my body feels strange. Realizing recently how much money I spend on things like pop (yes, I'm from Ohio, so I say "pop") and beer, I decided that fairly soon, I'm going to try and drink only water for some period of time. This will save some coin and, hopefully, also have some great health benefits.
So this week, we ran out of Dr. Pepper, and I just didn't buy any more. I had some pretty bad caffeine withdrawal at first, but eventually, it went away, and I didn't even fill the void with coffee. Since Monday afternoon, I've had only water, a bit of milk, and two glasses of beer (NXNW Brewery - good, but not great) to drink. And what's more, it's been a lot of water. I'm probably somewhere in the 80 oz per day range. This, in and of itself, is good. Especially in the hot weather we're having. And did I mention my show this August is outdoors? Because it is.
However, I've always heard health professionals talk about how having enough water gives the body so much more energy and things of this sort, and I absolutely have not found that to be true. Granted, I was going through a lot of caffeine in a day, so dropping off the map is bound to have detrimental effects on my energy level, but I didn't think I would be nearly as tired as I found myself at 3.5 miles this morning. I took a rest and stopped my watch, which I'm not really happy about, but as today was supposed to be a pace run, I didn't want to include resting time in there. I firmly believed that if I took that quick rest, that I'd be able to run the rest of the way, though I ended up walking more.
There is a bright spot, though. As I was turning to come up Half Mile Hill at the finish, there was an older man running on the road next to the path a little ahead of me. As a third runner came running down the hill toward us, the old man gave her a, "Looking strong, keep it up!" When I caught up to him, he turned, smiled, and said, "Looking good!" It's impossible not to be happy when the elderly cheer for you, so with a smile of my own, I finished as strong as I could.
While I was disappointed in my overall performance, I was very happy with certain aspects of today's run, and I think that's the approach I'll have to take to training in Texas summers. My times are simply going to be slower, especially if I'm not pushing myself forward with caffeinated corn syrup. (Don't get me wrong, I haven't given the stuff up, but it is certainly a good idea for me to cut back. ) Still, if I make the effort to get stronger and I push myself harder than is comfortable - which I definitely did today - then I'm going to be a better runner.
I'm told that every athlete hits plateaus and walls, and I think I'm climbing mine right now. It certainly doesn't help that the extended forecast looks like this:
Not a lot of hope in that outlook, though we can all pretend that it actually will rain next Saturday, even if no one believes it.
Still, I've accomplished some great things already this year, and if I just keep putting one foot in front of the other, then I'll accomplish a lot more. Today's run put me over 100 miles for this season, and tomorrow's will put me over that mark for the month of July. By the end of August, I'll have run more than 1000 miles this year, with no immediate end in sight. I've conquered injuries, exhaustion, and sheer laziness, so surely I can break through whatever is holding me back now.
Though I wouldn't object to a sudden cold front.
Saturday's Run:
79 Degrees / Cloudy
6.01 Miles
44 Minutes, 17 Seconds
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