My Belated Weekend Review

This past weekend was quite interesting to say the least. Goals were met, and surprises were forthcoming. Setback also occurred...

Saturday morning, I woke up at the crack of dawn to get ready for a planned long run. Earlier in the week, I received a group message from Brian at the Y. Because of the monthly runners' social, he requested that we all show up at 7h00 to run as much as possible before starting off at 8h15 to do a 21k route.

The planned overall distance for marathoners in training for the Mississauga Marathon was 32K. My original plan was to start off from home around 6h30 and follow a 15K route to the Y. Because I started off late, I ended up cutting the route short and running an 11K route to start off. I made it to the Y just as the group started off. This did not give me time to put a few stuff in the locker so I carried everything with me.

The starting was nice and slow. However, things turned chaotic within five minutes when we approached a major intersection . The sidewalk at this intersection was sloped downwards and there was a large sheet of ice just waiting for us. One of our runners, Andy, went down and hit his head quite hard. The impact was hard enough to break his shades in two. He appeared to be quite coherent and did not lose consciousness and he walked back to the Y from there as the rest of us continued on.

I ended up running with Sadhu and another guy for the entire distance. We were the front runners and the guys were pulling me along with them. The pace was a little quick at times but the guys were very kind. They waited up for me and never let me get too far behind them.

Upon our return to the Y, I immediately retreated to the locker room and changed into a dry t-shirt before shooting the breeze with the other runners. We then gathered for the social where we were served muffins, coffee (I elected to buy hot chocolate so that I can mix my Rice Protein powder), and birthday cake for one of our volunteers and fellow runner. We were also brought up to speed on Andy's condition. When he returned to the Y, he requested an icepack for his head. EMS was called and within two minutes of their arrival, they took him to the hospital. While he was coherent and conscious, he could not remember the combination to a lock that he had for quite a long time. Brian mentioned that he should have walked back with him at the time instead of allowing him to walk back on his own. Andy returned sooner than we expected and joined us for the rest of the social. He told us that he has a slight concussion. After the social was over, I walked around the track for 1Km before gathering my stuff to head home.

The run home was the worst. I extended the return route home because I shortened the first leg. It rained and poured the entire time I was out there. Good thing I had the poncho. The poncho saved me from getting severe hypothermia. The park path also had some considerable ice patches on it. I got off the path after awhile and continued on the roads. I was so happy to make it home, and exhausted at the same time. After measuring the total distance, it was determined that I was on my feet for 30 miles. Wow...

Sunday was something else. With the shift to daylight savings time, I lost an hour of sleep. Besides, I needed the rest. The original plan was to scout a part of the Bruce Trail and see if it would be runnable for the most part. That did not happen. While I was in the kitchen, I turned my head and pinched a nerve in my neck. Ow, the pain! It remained stiff and sore for about a day and a half. This meant that any plans to pool run would be quashed and substituted with a prolonged trip to the hot tub.

On Monday, while the pain in the neck was subsiding, the cold that was festering in my system finally bubbled to the surface. My nose was catching up on speed work and running as fast as ever, making me feel miserable. Lorene actually did me a favour by cancelling the pool running session last night. She was also recovering from a cold that had her down for the last few weeks.

So for today... I am home from work and focusing on rest at this moment. Later on, depending on how I feel, I may venture over to the gym for a light workout, followed by some heat therapy courtesy of the hot tub. The rest of the week will be a period of rebuilding. My goal is to gain enough strength in order to get through this weekend's workouts. I will be taking those workouts nice and being mindful of the messages my body is trying to tell me. The workouts will be intense but easy at the same time.