Marathon Training Week 4 Recap: A Scare after the Long Run

Source

This morning, I ran 11.10 miles in 1:51:29 with my training group.  I originally intended to just run 9 and not bother making up for the missed mile from my weekly runs.  However, temptation got the best of me and I decided to run 2 more.  The temps were pretty hot and the patches of the trail without shade were definitely challenging.  Thankfully, I didn't have any issues during the run or immediately after.

I was a bit worried since I had been eating poorly over the last two days.  Yesterday, I thought it was a great idea to eat 3 donuts for lunch (apple fritter, red velvet and buttermilk old fashioned).  I figured that those donuts may come back to haunt me later, but surprisingly enough, it did not.

My splits were: 10:09, 10:28, 10:12, 10:14, 10:04, 10:22, 10:30, 10:20, 9:10 for the first 9.  I felt good and thought I'd just run 9 so I pushed it on the last and more hilly mile of our route.  The last two miles were run in 9:43 and 9:21.  The last .1 was in a 9:25 mile pace.

I felt like I hydrated pretty well during and after the run.  I had both water and Gatorade, but did not consume any fuel during the run.  I didn't feel like not fueling up during was an issue.  I suppose I could have drank more during, but I didn't feel like I needed it.  I'm not sure if eating GU would have helped me improve my performance.  I got home and ate a PB & J, a banana and some Greek yogurt.  I also drank more water and Gatorade.  I thought I was in the clear.

However, I developed a splitting headache.  I believe it may have been because I was dehydrated, but I wasn't sure why I since I thought I hydrated well enough.  I tried to ride it out, but eventually it got bad enough to the point where I decided to take an Advil to try to make it go away faster.

Then, things went from bad to worse.  I started experiencing nausea and I also began to dry heave and I felt like I was going to vomit.  It got really scary when water didn't even want to go down comfortably.  I began to freak out.  So, I sat down on the floor of my bathroom, which was cool and so that I'd be right there if something were to happen.  Luckily, nothing did.  Eventually, I was able to get off the bathroom floor and into my bed for a nap.  I napped for almost two hours and eventually, everything went away.

As I was sitting on my bathroom floor in pain, a few things ran through my mind.  First, I felt so terrified that if this was what happened to me after an 11 mile run, how would I feel after running 26.2 miles (especially if it is hot)?  The second part of me almost wanted to throw the towel in and quit so that way I don't have to run in the summer heat and possibly experience something like this again.  I can't even begin to describe to you how scary it was.  It sucked because I felt SO AWESOME today.  I felt like a total rockstar running those miles in the heat at that pace.

I read articles online about headaches and nausea after running and I think maybe I overexerted myself and that I wasn't hydrated enough during the run.  I'll have to correct these mistakes next time so I avoid a situation like this.

Despite, the scare, the week for running has gone well.  I ran 3 in just over 27:00 Tuesday (my fastest 3 in training so far), 3 in around 30 on the treadmill Wednesday and raced a 5K in 25:16 (a personal worst, but still 2nd place in my age group).  On to next week!

Does anyone else get splitting headaches after a long run?  If so, what do you think causes them and what do you do to treat them?  Have you even been nauseous after a long run?  What caused it and what did you do to treat it?