9.5 Miles of Torture

Didn't really have time to post about this over the weekend, as I was too consumed by the N-word incident, but I ran my longest distance yet: 9.5 miles.

The other reason I haven't posted about it is that it kinda sucked ass. I felt terrible afterwards. I ran it on the treadmill at the gym (the heat is killing me!), which sucked because I am not that fast a runner, and the treadmill is BO-RING. So, basically, i ran on a treadmill for just over two hours (yes, I am that slow), and watched teenagers attempting to play basketball with their pants down around their knees and their boxers hanging out. (Note to the Hoop Dreamers - I think Barkley etal dismissed with worrying about showing off their boxers to the girls on the bleachers and actually practiced playing basketball.) I digress.

So, yeah, the run sucked. I had plenty of water, but I definitely felt horrible after about 7 miles. And then, I am also am dealing with this new poop thing. I mean, if I run over 6.5 miles, my bowels betray me, and I have to stop to go to the bathroom. It is really not fun to run 6 miles and then go take a shit (public restroom, Jason B., public restroom!) and then get back on the treadmill and run another 3 miles. It's like the running high gets sucked right out of you. It was just horrible. And then there was like a point at about 8.5 miles, where I actually felt ill, which i haven't really run into before. I felt a little dizzy, slowed to a walk, and then had some cramps. I walked out about a quarter mile, then finished the rest of my last mile at a really slow jog. I did finish, though.

Usually, I kind of recover after I cool off and get a shower, but Saturday after that run, I was complete toast. Tired, sore, muscles aching. I was supposed to go out with girlfriends, but bailed (with many apologies! I am so sorry!) and I was in bed before ten.

So, my question for the running experts who are reading this. What am i doing wrong? I am not dehydrated. The last two times I have had to do my longer runs in the afternoon. Am i having the bowel betrayal because I have too much in my stomach? Should i be running on an empty stomach? At what point in distance does one start needing to eat something during the run? Is that what caused the awful dizzy, sick feeling?

Help me out here. I want to keep this up, because it is making me feel good, but this run was not good. A couple more like this, and I could be persuaded to Saturdays doing something else.