Well, Saturday was my first 15 miler. Provided I could complete it, I had a new personal distance record. Woot!
The last time I ran 13.1, I pulled up lame with a scorching case of ITBS, causing me to hobble to the end. So, I was a bit nervous about the 15.
My wife said to me before I left "you don't have to do this if you don't want to."
Me: "Oh, but I want to"
Her: "It sure seems like an awful lot of work."
Hah!
My goal was to take it nice and easy, and do 10:30 miles. No sense rushing things. The weather was about 34 degrees, with a light breeze, so I bundled up, and off I went.
I split this into 2 loops.. first was a 7 miler, generally uphill for the first half, generally down for the second half. I started bookin' along pretty good on the downhill section, and my mind was wandering what it would feel like during a marathon. Hrms hrms.
So, I finished that loop, as expected. I stopped at the homestead and had about a third of a quart of that Gatorade G2.. that low-cal stuff.
Note, for breakfast, I had a couple of eggs and a couple of pieces of toast. (A couple of hours earlier).
So, with 7 in the books, I was off to finish the back half, which was a flat route into and through town.
Things were going along generally OK until about mile 11. Maybe 11.5. At that point, I ran by a Dunkin Donuts, and I was thinking, "Damn, I'm really hungry". I mean, at that point, I could have sat my carcass down and ate an 'express dozen', along with a couple orders of hash browns. I was really freakin' hungry. It was close to the 2 hour mark (I'm not speedy like Lacey was on her 15).
I hit the 12 mile mark, and turned around, running past the DD again. The last 4 miles were pretty unremarkable, as I was thinking about eating most of the way back, along with just hoping I could make it home without tweaking something major.
About a mile from home, I heard a siren behind me, and I figured that someone had called the ambulance on me, thinking that I was due to collapse at any moment. Turns out it was just a police car, so I didn't get a free ride or any fluids there. Oh well.
My last couple of miles were about 45 seconds off pace.
I made it home, ate a bag and a half of rice and hosed off.
Also noteworthy was my first experience with nipple chafing. I didn't receive a case of bloody nipples, but they certainly were raw. Not in a good "raw nipples from Saturday activity" way, either. j/k!
So, later that night, my wife remarked that she noticed I was having difficulty going up and down stairs. Yeah, I really was having difficulty. Sunday too. I took some advil and rested. Good lord, everything hurt.
Final run time was 2:35:39, a 10:22 pace. About where I wanted to be, at least. Plus, a personal distance record!
Today, things are better. I see that 6 is on the schedule for today.. I think that may be a stretch, though.
So, I learned I need band-aids or a compression shirt or something like that.
I also need to figure out the whole hunger thing. Is that normal? Should I have had something more for breakfast? And is that why I tanked the last couple of miles? Should I have used Gu or something? I thought I had until like 18 miles to use stuff like that?
Oh well.. gives me something to research this week, I suppose.
Keep on rockin'!
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9 comments:
In my opinion, it sounds like you tanked. Try fueling every 5 miles or so. Great accomplishment, you should be proud. I know it's a fuel problem when I'm obsessing about food plus your pace dropped off. Play around with the fuel next time.
WOW i loved this recap!!! i read the whole thing to elliot! hehe. first we loved the conversation between you and your wife, heheh "a lot of work"... ohhh man she is right :) and then passing dunkin donuts,... MORE THAN ONCE... hahaha. way to get it done. it's just a really long time to be out on the roads. i have heard all sorts of different things about taking gels (or bloks or whatever you want to eat)-- at the hour mark ... every 5 miles... every 20 min... i dunno. i felt better after taking a gel at mile 10.5 ... as long as you are getting some fluids (water, gatorade),... i would experiment with gels or bars or whatever and see if it works for you! we did it!!!! go 15 milers!!!! and oh the pain :) i had chafing on my lower back where a lot of people get tattoos-- i have never had any sort of problem in that spot! it was so random! but in the shower when the water hit that is when i realized it was all raw- OWCH! def get a compression shirt!!!!!! :) ICE ice ice :) and stretch! that's all i did all day yesterday. wahooooo.
Nice job on the run. I think it is time to experiment with GU or Shot bloks and water/fluids. Go for a nice, easy, relaxed run and then get a good stretch in to help with the sore muscles.
Great job on the distance!
I like to have a gel of some sort if I'm going more than 10mi. Otherwise I get all slow & hungry & miserable.
Good luck with figuring out the nip thing.
Sorry about the nips, that sucks. But congrats on the long run!! Did you eat along the way? For a run that long you would probably benefit from a gel, blok, etc.
I used to always get hungry during long runs. I always packed extra gels to get my stomach to STFU LOL. I give you credit! There would be NO WAY I could pass up DD's if I passed HAHA
Great 15 mile race report. I remember how excited I was every time I made a personal mile record.
To answer your question about fuel, YES get some Gu or gel or shot blox or something. The body can only carry about 2 hours worth of fuel before it starts looking for other sources.
I started using stuff when I hit 14 miles. No necessarily because I needed it, but mostly to learn how my body would react come marathon day. If a full Gu (or Hammer Gel, which is what I used) is too much, I'd suggest Shot Blox. That way you can have a couple and get some much needed mid run calories.
great job on the 15!!
i usually take gu every 5 miles on long runs, and on any run over 8 miles. start testing different things out to see what works best for you, but i bet you will see a big difference in your energy if you start using some fuel.
and i hear bodyglide helps with guy's nip chaffing... eek doesnt sound fun!
wow, good job!! the DD temptation is almost cruel haha. i have heard every hour for gel or gu or whatever. that's what i tend to do. again, GREAT job!!!!
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