10K Training - Week 1 Run 4 (Long Run)

I got up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning and went for a 3 mile "long run." It kicked my ass! My legs were fine, but my breathing was labored. I guess I lost more cardio endurance during my 2 week hiatus than I thought. But I did finish it! :)

Let's count the ways this run sucked:

1. I couldn't get my breathing right; I think I was out of breath after 2 miles.
   
2. The foot pain came back after the first mile or so. I think it went away, but I really need to figure out how to keep this from happening every time.
3. I got side stitches--on BOTH sides!
4. I could hear the right headphone (and maybe the left one at the end) moving around in my ear and it was driving me crazy. This has been happening for a while and I do not know how to stop it. It did not happen when I first started running, but I think it manifested itself as I started running longer and faster. I got new Nike Sport headphones because I thought it was my old headphones, but it is still happening. It is the most infuriating thing ever and I can't seem to ignore it.
   
5. I brought my water bottle and the sloshing of the water was driving me up a wall too. I am tempted to get a hydration belt, but I am sure that will have the same problem. However, at least I wouldn't have to hold anything, which is another annoyance in itself.
6. In fact, I seemed to be hypersensitive to everything today because even my running shirt, which I've worn for the past 3 runs was bothering me.

With about 1/2 a mile to go, I veered towards my driveway, yanked the headphones off my ipod and and toss them with the bottle on top of my car. I felt like I was standing still during parts of that last 1/2 mile, but I forced myself to finish it. I feel fine now, but I am rethinking running a 5K race on August 17th. I think I should focus more on building my endurance backup before derailing it with a hard run on a 5k race. So I think I'll do one in September instead.

Weekly summary:

• Mon - run 1.5 mi
  
• Tue - rest / bike 5 mi
• Wed - run 1.75 mi / bike 5.2 m
• Thu - rest / bike 5.2 mi
• Fri - run 2.12 mi / bike 4.8 mi
• Sat - run 3 mi
• (Sun - rest/yoga)

Weekly Totals:

• run = 8+ miles 
• walk = 2+ miles (warm up / cool down)
  
• bike = 20+ miles