Come tomorrow morning I’m sure my head will be pounding. The pressure will be coming from inside my skull – between my eyes – and trying to bore a hole through my temples to create a vent and alleviate the pressure.
In the meantime, the pounding will feel like a jackhammer without the noise or road closures.
Yeah, you guessed it. Caffeine withdrawal.
In order to ensure that I get to bed before midnight and get proper sleep in order to be ready for Sunday’s race, I haven’t had any caffeine since Monday. Actually, I had two venti decaf coffees from Starbucks, which has some caffeine, but not enough to stop the headache.
So in attempt to get extra sleep I could be thwarting my plan by keeping myself awake with the pain in my head. Nonetheless, tomorrow will be a caffeinated morning. I’ll go to bed before midnight tonight, get up early, and drive as fast as I can to Starbucks for the regular cup of coffee. How can I get ready to race if I don’t feel like myself?
On another note, I haven’t taken any Ibuprofen in two days, either. Not that I’m a pill popper or anything, but good ol’ vitamin I has aided my recovery during the long training process. I’m not sure if it works or not, but I’ve recovered from run to run better this time around than ever before. That could come from an improved diet and not as much wear and tear on my body, too. However, I plan on popping four Ibuprofens on Sunday morning when I have my breakfast coffee and Clif Bar before the race.
As far as other health issues go, I noticed that I didn’t spit or blow too many snot rockets during an easy 10k in 41:59 even though my throat doesn’t feel too good and my hamstring and hip were tight after my ART appointment.
Hopefully tomorrow morning’s cup of coffee makes everything all better.
Running nugget
Bill Rodgers chatted with The New York Times and says he still loves to run. That's pretty evident for anyone has a conversation with the great marathoner -- no one needs the Times for that.