Well I really couldn't ask for a better day for a long run. Yesterday I ran 22 miles. The weather was near perfect. It was sunny, low to mid-30's about 5-8mph winds. It was a really really nice day. The roads were dry, except for a section here and there where the snow has drifted and not melted.
I was hoping this 22-miler might be like my last 22-miler, last spring when I was three weeks out from the Lake Geneva Marathon. I felt so good that day I could have gone forever. That's how you like to feel after a long run. Yesterday, I felt pretty good, but felt a little slow. Of course, it's a long run and it's supposed to be slow, but I still felt obligated to maintain a certain pace. I did fall off about 30 seconds per mile the last two or three miles. My last mile was good, right up where it was at the beginning, but the 20th and 21st miles were a little slow. My groin/hip flexors were definitely hurting when I got done. But it's 22 miles. It's not supposed to be a walk in the park. I took my time stretching afterwards, and this morning I don't feel any acute pain, just general soreness. My 5-miler today should be slow and painful for the first mile or so, and then hopefully just slow after that. I did have some pain and extreme tightness in my ankles after I'd been sitting for awile, which is odd. I don't usually have any aches and pains in my ankles. They seem to be okay today.
I also started to feel a sharp pain in my right temple every so often starting about mile 16. It was distracting. I drank a little more water, thinking maybe it was a dehydration issue. It hurt for the rest of the run and then the rest of the night, so I need to find out why I got a headache in the middle of my run. I didn't like it and I don't want to do it again. It probably was dehydration. Of course, the exertion could be a part of it too, but I don't remember ever getting a headache during a run before. I have before and after, but not during. Strange.
So 22 miles are in the books and I'm none the worse for wear. Still wondering how I'm going to run a race more than double that distance in a few short months. I really feel the need to get on the trails and get to the right pace and start a run/walk strategy. I haven't practiced any of that yet.
I ate pop-tarts for my fuel. 2/3 of one at 7 miles, another 2/3 at 13 and the final 2/3 at 19. I didn't feel like I hit a wall or crashed or anything like that. During the race, I'll have to take a look at where the aid stations are. I'll be eating at each one, probably. Fuel early and fuel often. I sure don't want to bonk when it's preventable. I'm still treating this like marathon training. I can't wait to start getting on the trails. With all the snow here, it'll be a while yet, though.
Next snowstorm is tomorrow. Good thing Tuesdays are my rest day.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Kindle Fire to the rescue!
So the windchill was below zero all day, winds were gusting up to 40 mph and there was snow blowing all over the place. So needless to say, I chose to run on the dreadmill tonight.
I've been dreading this workout all day, knowing from the time I looked at the weather report this morning that I wasn't going to be running outside. Nine miles on the mill. Ugh.
But on the way home, a thought occurred to me. I have this pretty new Kindle Fire and I can watch video on it! I thought, hey I can watch some TV shows or a movie while I run! And so I did, and let me tell you, 9 miles never went by quicker on the treadmill than they did tonight. What a revelation! Not boring at all! The only downside was that I couldn't hear that well over the sound of the treadmill running, but I got the gist of it, so all was well. I was very pleased and my run wasn't nearly as miserable as I had been anticipating.
Using the Kindle Fire to avoid the misery and boredom of the treadmill makes that purchase way worth it!
I've been dreading this workout all day, knowing from the time I looked at the weather report this morning that I wasn't going to be running outside. Nine miles on the mill. Ugh.
But on the way home, a thought occurred to me. I have this pretty new Kindle Fire and I can watch video on it! I thought, hey I can watch some TV shows or a movie while I run! And so I did, and let me tell you, 9 miles never went by quicker on the treadmill than they did tonight. What a revelation! Not boring at all! The only downside was that I couldn't hear that well over the sound of the treadmill running, but I got the gist of it, so all was well. I was very pleased and my run wasn't nearly as miserable as I had been anticipating.
Using the Kindle Fire to avoid the misery and boredom of the treadmill makes that purchase way worth it!
Sunday, February 10, 2013
20 Miles in the rain and wind
Well today's run was miserable, which I expected. It was cold, windy and rainy. And it was the longest run of the training program so far, which means it hurt. Oh, and my Mp3 player wouldn't turn on, so it was also boring because I couldn't listen to my book. Thank God it's over.
I expected, after my 18-miler two weeks ago, in which I death-marched it in the last three or four miles, that today's run was going to be similar: painful, especially in my hip flexor/groin, which is where I am always the most sore after long runs. Today, though, there was no death march. And I think I know why, which is even better! On my 18-miler, I think I started off with a pace that was just a little too fast, which led to slower second half averages and a decided decline in pace in the last couple miles. Today, my average first half time was slower, which bothered me a little bit at the beginning, but I was able to maintain that pace pretty consistently throughout the entirety of the run, finishing without hitting the wall or feeling any pain out of the ordinary long run pain. Yay! A little disappointing is the fact that in previous marathon training programs, I've run the 20-milers at faster paces, but I have to take into account that those 20-milers didn't come until three or four months into the training program, and I'm currently about a month and a half to two months in, without building much of a base prior to starting this program. So, I'm okay with it. I have plenty of long runs throughout the program. And as soon as I get on the trails, there won't be any comparison anyway. It'll be all learning from scratch, with nothing to judge against. And I haven't started practicing any run/walk strategies yet. So, that, too, will slow down my overall pace.
So today was in the mid-30's for most of my run, with 20mph winds, so the windchill was down in the 20's. and it was raining. It rained the entire run. It started raining hours before my run, and it's still raining now, hours after my run. At times, just a drizzle, at times, really coming down. I was soaked a few miles in. I tried to keep from running into any puddles to keep my feet as relatively dry as possible for as long as possible, but pretty soon I was hearing the squishing, and feeling it in between my toes, and I just hoped that the softening of the skin from the water wasn't going to lead to blisters. I think I might be okay. A few toes had some tender spots in between them, but no full blown blisters, yet, so I think I lucked out. It might not have been as bad if it hadn't been so windy. It was hard to run with the rain blowing into my face. And hard to breath, and eat and see. I was sniffling most of the run, my nose was running so bad. I should really learn to blow snot AND ockets. I spent most of the run hunched over, just looking about two feet in front of my feet, sometimes not even that far. I was not a defensive runner at all today. Usually I'm paying very careful attention to the cars, but today I just hugged the side of the road and gave no more than a cursory glance at the cars as they neared.
The other major bummer about today's run was that my mp3 player wouldn't turn on for some reason. I think somehow it unformatted and the content got deleted. Happily, I only have one book on it right now and I just downloaded it from the library this week, so I was still able to transfer it to my mp3 player. After a week it goes back to the library. Most of the books I listen to I have to get on a weeks-long waiting list and so it could have been quite inconvenient. So I re-transfered my book over to it and it's working fine now. I don't know what happened. But it's too bad that it did, because my run seemed long. I like listening to books because they keep my mind occupied and make the miles go by a little quicker. Not today. Today I had nothing but my thoughts. And they were boring, lol!
So, overall, it was one of the most miserable long runs I've had. I can think of one or two ways in which it could have been worse, but not any more than one or two ways. At least there was traction today. Last weekend we'd just gotten all that snow, and there were parts of the roads that led to treacherous footing. I didn't have that problem today, so there, it could have been worse. But it's over and now I'm warm and dry and showered and cooking food because I'm famished and can't wait to eat. Next weekend I have a 5K race on Sunday, so my long run will be on Saturday, but it's only 14 miles, and hopefully we'll have some better weather.
I expected, after my 18-miler two weeks ago, in which I death-marched it in the last three or four miles, that today's run was going to be similar: painful, especially in my hip flexor/groin, which is where I am always the most sore after long runs. Today, though, there was no death march. And I think I know why, which is even better! On my 18-miler, I think I started off with a pace that was just a little too fast, which led to slower second half averages and a decided decline in pace in the last couple miles. Today, my average first half time was slower, which bothered me a little bit at the beginning, but I was able to maintain that pace pretty consistently throughout the entirety of the run, finishing without hitting the wall or feeling any pain out of the ordinary long run pain. Yay! A little disappointing is the fact that in previous marathon training programs, I've run the 20-milers at faster paces, but I have to take into account that those 20-milers didn't come until three or four months into the training program, and I'm currently about a month and a half to two months in, without building much of a base prior to starting this program. So, I'm okay with it. I have plenty of long runs throughout the program. And as soon as I get on the trails, there won't be any comparison anyway. It'll be all learning from scratch, with nothing to judge against. And I haven't started practicing any run/walk strategies yet. So, that, too, will slow down my overall pace.
So today was in the mid-30's for most of my run, with 20mph winds, so the windchill was down in the 20's. and it was raining. It rained the entire run. It started raining hours before my run, and it's still raining now, hours after my run. At times, just a drizzle, at times, really coming down. I was soaked a few miles in. I tried to keep from running into any puddles to keep my feet as relatively dry as possible for as long as possible, but pretty soon I was hearing the squishing, and feeling it in between my toes, and I just hoped that the softening of the skin from the water wasn't going to lead to blisters. I think I might be okay. A few toes had some tender spots in between them, but no full blown blisters, yet, so I think I lucked out. It might not have been as bad if it hadn't been so windy. It was hard to run with the rain blowing into my face. And hard to breath, and eat and see. I was sniffling most of the run, my nose was running so bad. I should really learn to blow snot AND ockets. I spent most of the run hunched over, just looking about two feet in front of my feet, sometimes not even that far. I was not a defensive runner at all today. Usually I'm paying very careful attention to the cars, but today I just hugged the side of the road and gave no more than a cursory glance at the cars as they neared.
The other major bummer about today's run was that my mp3 player wouldn't turn on for some reason. I think somehow it unformatted and the content got deleted. Happily, I only have one book on it right now and I just downloaded it from the library this week, so I was still able to transfer it to my mp3 player. After a week it goes back to the library. Most of the books I listen to I have to get on a weeks-long waiting list and so it could have been quite inconvenient. So I re-transfered my book over to it and it's working fine now. I don't know what happened. But it's too bad that it did, because my run seemed long. I like listening to books because they keep my mind occupied and make the miles go by a little quicker. Not today. Today I had nothing but my thoughts. And they were boring, lol!
So, overall, it was one of the most miserable long runs I've had. I can think of one or two ways in which it could have been worse, but not any more than one or two ways. At least there was traction today. Last weekend we'd just gotten all that snow, and there were parts of the roads that led to treacherous footing. I didn't have that problem today, so there, it could have been worse. But it's over and now I'm warm and dry and showered and cooking food because I'm famished and can't wait to eat. Next weekend I have a 5K race on Sunday, so my long run will be on Saturday, but it's only 14 miles, and hopefully we'll have some better weather.
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