Today was a weird one

I don't know if I'm just feeling run down because of a lack of sleep (which happens a lot when you have two young kids) or if I am getting sick. But whatever it is, today was a weird day.

It actually started last night. Yesterday was Matty's birthday party. We had a barbecue with family. I ate way too much cake, which is a big no-no, since I had my gall bladder removed in November (two weeks before I started running) and I cannot digest fatty foods the way people with gall bladders can. Maybe the cake is to blame for all. By 9 p.m. I was feeling really tired. I was getting dizzy and sick to my stomach around 10, and was sound asleep by 11 p.m., which is very early for me (yes, I'm a night owl).

Matty woke up around 2 a.m., and Tim was still awake playing on the computer. I got up to feed and change Matty, and I prayed he would go back to sleep soon because I was one step away from delirium. Well, he didn't. He wanted to play. Tim came in the room when he realized I was still up with the little guy, and he finally offered to take him so I could collapse back in bed. So I did. I didn't get up until around 10 a.m., when Kara started moving around in her room.

I felt OK for a couple hours, but then I got dog tired again. In the afternoon, while Matty was napping, I lied down and slept on the couch. I woke up around 4:30, thought "Crap, I'd better get my rear in gear if I'm gonna run," and got ready. I can tell you I was not looking forward to it and I wasn't feeling like myself.

But still I got myself ready and headed out the door. I had no idea where I was heading or how long I thought I would run. Luckily Garmin was all charged and ready, so that was great.

The first mile or so, I almost threw in the towel. I was feeling so strange, my stomach was all sorts of yucky (Chad can probably relate to that!) and I just wasn't feeling inspired to keep running. Partly because the wind was pushing me all around (and I am not a tiny person, so it was a very strong wind). But I told myself that I would give it another mile or so and see how things were going. Around 1.70 miles, I did walk up a hill (stopped the Garmin, though) and felt like I could keep going, so I did. I then figured I'd run three miles and call it a day. I got to three miles, but then I realized it wouldn't be much farther to four. So I kept going. Around 3.75 miles, I walked up yet another hill (again, stopped the Garmin because I only wanted to track distance and time I actually ran) and started running again. Once I hit four miles, I made one last decision to run another 1/2 mile. I eventually stopped at 4.5 miles and walked home. My stomach was protesting too much and I didn't want to push it.

I originally had today set aside for a six-miler, since my 10K is in three weeks. But I am glad I got as far as I did, considering I could have just stayed on the couch. Next weekend I will aim for the big six!

Today's stats:
Distance: 4.5 miles
Time: 54:23
Pace: 12:05 minute/mile