If only I’d had my porridge!

Or maybe that should be ‘running out of fuel’. Yesterday the weather was predicted to rain from about midday, so I decided to break with my tradition of laying in until midday on a Sunday and go for my run at 9am. But in my excitement at actually sticking to my word and heading out in the AM, I made a rookie mistake. I forgot breakfast.

Up to mile 5 I was feeling pretty good. I even did a bit of overtaking on the hills – and that was rookie mistake number two. My pace was way too fast. I’d got overconfident and complacent with the 11-mile loop that I’ve been doing for the past few weekends and I was about to pay for it. At about mile 8 it started to feel like a struggle and I still had a long uphill to contend with. Instead of enjoying my weekend long run as I usually do, it became something to be endured.

As I got home I wiped my brow and there were some serious salt crystals on my forehead. This plus a lot of swaying told me I wasn’t in good shape. So I downed a dioralyte and whatever food was close at hand. It took all day for me to feel back to normal. I had a stinking headache until 8pm and what can only be described as a ‘running hangover’. Lesson learnt.

The number one error I’ve made this weekend was not respecting the distance. So I’m off to fill by cupboards with runners nutrition, gels and Gatorade.