Monday, April 7, 2008

Driving Really Saps Your Strength

Saturday morning, I made the decision to drive over the mountain to see my grandmother. DH wasn't feeling up to the drive - he was exhausted after a long work week - so it was just the kids and I. The weather was a bit of concern - the forecast was for snow and chains or traction tires were still required over the pass. As it turned out, it did snow near Odell Lake (and again on the return near Sunriver) but nothing was sticking to the ground. There was very little traffic so the drive was actually quite enjoyable.

We stopped for lunch in Pleasant Hill and thereafter proceeded to my grandmother's home where both my dad and my uncle were staying. We visited for a about an hour - Grandma seems to be doing okay but is very tired. She has been trying to rest but is getting very bored. Like me, she is always active (crossword puzzles, quilting, knitting, reading, etc.). She says she just doesn't have the strength to do anything and it is now just so boring to sit all day.

Buddy was getting a little rambunctious and the kids started to ask, "When are we going to the next house?" So after about an hour we departed. We stopped at my mom's for another short visit and again at my brother's so the kids could burn off some energy with their cousins. All in all, it was a great trip - though much, much too short.

I don't know if it was the 5+ hours of driving yesterday or the poor running mileage in the weeks preceding but I was just so tired during my long run yesterday. I chose a route that relatively hilly - perhaps that contributed as well. I had to stop periodically to walk. My breathing wasn't labored but my body just felt so lethargic. I had hoped to cover 16-17 miles but as I continued I began to doubt that I would accomplish that. At 11.5 miles, DH and the kids met up with me and we began our typical loop. I told them I wanted to do another 5.5 with him but as we got going I just couldn't muster the strength. We thereby turned around for home at 13.5. When we arrived home, the Garmin reported 15.13 miles at 2:32:12 - an average 10:03 mile pace. Still within range for my long runs according to McMillan but I'm not pleased.

A multitude of factors likely lead to my fatigue. Oh well. The weeks mileage comes out to be 35.63. Good.

2 comments:

  1. Take it all in stride! As long as you stay in the range, you done good :-)

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  2. You were close to the target. Driving is hard..I've done a few long trips and have always felt exhausted on my runs the next day.

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