It took me a long time to calm down. It occurred to me that now I would not know for at least 24 hours how badly my knee was injured, when and at what pace I would be able to resume training. I went running out of anger, hurt, defiance. Against all my beliefs.
I've long planned to replace the idea runs - as far as the directions are concerned - with a training session to prepare for the final route. With good reason. Since starting the 180 Day Programme and the MicroBiome Run, I've made observations that now help me plan, survive or enjoy these runs. If I know the route, if I don't have to navigate, if I know what's coming next, I feel more liberated. And I can work in my head. Now that's something I completely missed today. I went into the blind.
The Barcelona coast is a runner's paradise if you want to run 8-10 kilometres. The route is well-maintained and sheltered, with wide pathways. But you have to get there, which is possible from the heart of the city through 4.2 million traffic lights. Stop, start, honk, stop again, TJ Hooker. By the time I get back, it's dark.
But even before I got down, I felt my knee wasn't moving well. Subconsciously I started to take it easy, even though I had only done 5 km. I looked at my watch and was shocked to see how much slower I was than usual. That's going to be cool... But I still need to know how much I've beaten it, what it can take now. Make it 28 today, that's the distance next on the system after last week's 25.5...then we'll see.
I always wonder at the gateway to this garden. It is so incredibly imposing. I'm almost down to the beach, I don't have to stop there, I can watch myself run gently. Because by now my tears were flowing.
You should practice refreshing! Eva said rice is good. I didn't have rice, I don't have any, but I sliced up some dry bread, brought two crosissants, had nearly a litre and a half of water on my back and some magnesium. I only put the jelly bars in because I was reluctant to throw them away. It's a horror... I asked Bertalan what I should look out for when refreshing, as I've only replenished as much water as I could drink during the runs. Afterwards, I took as much as I calculated or measured. "Drink 1 dl of water per kilometre." Ok, that was to say, if I'm too smart, I'll solve myself. So be it! As a doctor, I know how much I lose, as a runner I don't and didn't know how to prevent the loss so I wouldn't flop around in my belly and get dehydrated. Anyway, let's figure this out. 1 dl/km, that's about 5-6 minutes. 3 sips. I rinse with 1 sip, second sip is still in the tube and cold, third sip is coming from my back and... I could use a lot of good adjectives. It's warm, come on!
So if I take a sip every 2 minutes, I can get the required 1 dl in 3 times. After 20 minutes, I found that my neck would get tired before I could take the right amount. It's getting dark and I'm only at the beach in Badalona. On my way there. And El Masnou is a lightyears away. Like Christmas...
If I get to 15, it will be easier on the way back. But now the pain is getting worse, and I've done all the tricks. My pace is more than 1:10 off the comfortable average I've been used to lately and my heart rate is much higher. The pain is insidiously draining all my energy. I'm not going to make it to my goal. I stop a little over 15, unofficially because I need to breathe, officially because I've run out of water from my back and need to refill my sack. I had to spit out a lot of water to do that though. But only because it was hot. It's amazing how slowly the water trickles through. Then I have to adjust my knee braces and I'm sad to see that my shoelaces are fine. So I start heading back.
By the time I get to the power plant, it's completely dark and now I need 1-2 minutes every 2-3 km to reduce the pain.In Barcelona, my time is worthless, I know exactly that it's over and I can't even reach the last 30, or even get close to the last longest distance. I try to accept that it didn't work out this time, but it's still a huge disappointment. I take off the knee brace and drink the remaining water. I glance at my watch before stopping it and saying out loud: you'll have to run 3.5 times that! 3,5x! That seems far away now, further away than it did last week. From where I am now.
Thanks to Miriam for keeping me well while I was writing.
https://www.strava.com/activities/10669163797
