A New Reason Not to Run
Things I learned on my first run:
1) always have water with you
2) listen to your body
3) know where the bathrooms are
So my first practice with the team didn't go so well.
The practice was on Wednesday night. Monday of that week, I got sick. Tuesday I stayed home from work with a low-grade fever. By Wednesday my fever was gone, I went back to work and felt fine, though a bit dehydrated. I drank tons of water and ate well in preparation for the run.
The team met at a great store on the Upper East Side called Urban Athletics. As we all gathered -- there must have been about 50 of us -- the small store got hotter and hotter. And I started sweating. And got very thirsty.
I had brought water with me, but in my heightened state of anticipation, I forgot about it. It seems really strange to me, in retrospect, that you can be as thirsty as I was and not remember the great big bottle of water in your bag. Hot, sweaty and thirsty, water within my reach, but not a drop to drink.
The run was three miles for us beginners. I was near the back of the pack from the very beginning but there was no surprise there. It wasn't long, though, before I felt like I might be heading for trouble. I needed water.
Surely there would be water fountains.
Where are the water fountains in Central Park? Nowhere near the loop where we were running. Every now and then I would see one off the path a ways, but as much as I wanted a drink, I didn't want to get too far behind (not to mention add the distance to and from the water fountain to this seemingly endless run). I got more and more dehydrated, but I didn't want to stop. If I could just finish the run, get through the night, not humiliate myself by having to drop out.
Speaking of humiliation...
I made it to the turn-around point (1.5 miles), still running, but barely. I managed to hook up with another slow runner, and we chatted a bit. I thought maybe I could make it through the rest of the run if I ran with her.
Suddenly, my stomach felt funny. And everything that was in it seemed to move -- south.
"I think I'm going to walk for a while," I said, trying not to sound alarmed. I started walking, only to find that I was still keeping pace with the runner! We had been running that slowly!
I slowed my pace to let the runner get ahead of me. I didn't want to make her feel bad, but I also wanted to be by myself in case...
I hoped "in case" wouldn't happen, but every three minutes or so I was sure it would. I was afraid I was going to have to disappear into the bushes and wasn't sure if I'd be able to come back out. It was clear that this night could easily turn into the most humiliating of my life.
I'm sure the suspense is killing you, so I'll let you off the hook. I made it back without incident. But it was the longest mile I have ever walked.
1) always have water with you
2) listen to your body
3) know where the bathrooms are
So my first practice with the team didn't go so well.
The practice was on Wednesday night. Monday of that week, I got sick. Tuesday I stayed home from work with a low-grade fever. By Wednesday my fever was gone, I went back to work and felt fine, though a bit dehydrated. I drank tons of water and ate well in preparation for the run.
The team met at a great store on the Upper East Side called Urban Athletics. As we all gathered -- there must have been about 50 of us -- the small store got hotter and hotter. And I started sweating. And got very thirsty.
I had brought water with me, but in my heightened state of anticipation, I forgot about it. It seems really strange to me, in retrospect, that you can be as thirsty as I was and not remember the great big bottle of water in your bag. Hot, sweaty and thirsty, water within my reach, but not a drop to drink.
The run was three miles for us beginners. I was near the back of the pack from the very beginning but there was no surprise there. It wasn't long, though, before I felt like I might be heading for trouble. I needed water.
Surely there would be water fountains.
Where are the water fountains in Central Park? Nowhere near the loop where we were running. Every now and then I would see one off the path a ways, but as much as I wanted a drink, I didn't want to get too far behind (not to mention add the distance to and from the water fountain to this seemingly endless run). I got more and more dehydrated, but I didn't want to stop. If I could just finish the run, get through the night, not humiliate myself by having to drop out.
Speaking of humiliation...
I made it to the turn-around point (1.5 miles), still running, but barely. I managed to hook up with another slow runner, and we chatted a bit. I thought maybe I could make it through the rest of the run if I ran with her.
Suddenly, my stomach felt funny. And everything that was in it seemed to move -- south.
"I think I'm going to walk for a while," I said, trying not to sound alarmed. I started walking, only to find that I was still keeping pace with the runner! We had been running that slowly!
I slowed my pace to let the runner get ahead of me. I didn't want to make her feel bad, but I also wanted to be by myself in case...
I hoped "in case" wouldn't happen, but every three minutes or so I was sure it would. I was afraid I was going to have to disappear into the bushes and wasn't sure if I'd be able to come back out. It was clear that this night could easily turn into the most humiliating of my life.
I'm sure the suspense is killing you, so I'll let you off the hook. I made it back without incident. But it was the longest mile I have ever walked.
posted by jolott at
3:28 AM
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