Distance Run

Today was my longest pre-marathon training run.

26.5 miles.

It’s all down hill from here until marathon day.

The run was a little tough toward the end, but the lure of completing my first marathon-distance run was enough to motivate me onward.

My run began at about 6:40 in the morning. I ran 7 miles from my apartment down to the Iwo Jima memorial to meet up with my running club’s Saturday Long Run (SLR).

I then ran 14 miles with the group. Running with the group was nice because I actually had people to talk to :) It kept boredom to a minimum :)

Me and the two women I was running with (Winning and Emily) spotted Benjamin Bratt being filmed on the 14th street bridge… I wonder what movie he’s doing. It’ll be neat if we made it in as inadvertent extras!

After the run I filled one of my fuel belt bottles with Gatorade and headed back to the Crescent Trail to complete 5.5 miles back up the trail.

The Gatorade didn’t last more than 2.5 miles and I was very thirsty the last 3.

Fortunately, just past the finish line some other group must have had their staging area. There was a 3 gallon water container on the side of the trail. I didn’t see anyone around to ask, so I helped myself to 7oz :)

I walked the last 1.5 miles with a big smile on my face.

Well, I walked the first half mile with a smile on my face.

But then I saw my ex girlfriend heading toward me on the trail.

We had just decided about a week earlier to spend some time apart, and I was really rather unhappy about it.

In any event, she pulled me over and gave me a big hug. We spent about 10 minutes talking before we headed our separate ways.

Watching her walk down the trail away from me was one of the hardest moments of my life.

It drove home the fact that running is just one part of my life.

The last mile was spent in a mix of joy and sorrow.

Certainly emotional pain is greater than physical. At least it was today.

A note about the food on this run…

I’ve been experimenting with different nutrition schemes, and today I used the following:
5:45 (one hour before starting) – 1 Power Bar with about 12oz of water.
Every 45-50 minutes I consumed 1/2 Power Bar or a gel with 7 oz of water in the following order:
:45 – Gel
1:30 – 1/2 Power Bar
2:15 – Gel
3:00 – 1/2 Power Bar
3:45 – Gel

This scheme worked pretty well. Using too many Power Bars leaves my stomach feeling like I had eaten a brick. And they contain way too many nutrients, and I worry about overdoing it.

The Gels I used are good because they are a pure energy food, and don’t contain too many nutrients.

The only issue I had was that I ran out of water. The four 7oz bottles of water in my Fuel Belt were not enough to cut it on a run of this length. I hate dehydration, and will have to consider my hydration scheme as the warmer weather approaches.

This is the scheme I’ll use during Charlottesville.

This past Saturday I completed a 23 mile run.

For the three nights before the run, I woke up in the middle of the night wondering if I could complete that distance.

I should have relied on my training which had fully prepared me for that distance. But for some reason 23 seemed insurmountably longer than 20 miles.

Despite my apprehension, the run was actually quite easy.

I ran from my house down to where my running club begins it Saturday Long Run. That was 7.5 miles. I arrived at the starting area about 2 minutes before the 15.5 mile run began.

I ran the 7.5 mile leg as slowly as I could go, but averaged about 9:05/mile. That’s pretty normal for me, and probably a little faster than I should have run my first 7.5 miles.

The 2 minute rest at the starting area gave me the chance to regroup. A couple of my normal running buddies were there, but they typically run between 8:30 and 8:45.

I ran with them for a few minutes, but within the first mile or two said goodbye to them. I slowed my pace to a comfortable level, given the length of the run ahead of me.

At about mile 4, a girl in our club passed me. We were both running alone at this point. I hadn’t had the chance to meet her yet, so I paced her for a little, expecting to catch up with her at a long hill in the course around mile 5.

Sure enough, my Charlottesville Marathon training paid off… She slowed markedly on the hill and I was able to close the 100 yard distance in just a few minutes.

Anyway, she and I got to bond for a little while until two of her running partners also caught up. I ran with the three of them a bit. One of the three was very new, and had only been running a few miles at a time prior to today.

I was apprehensive of his ability to run a 15.5 mile run out of the gate, but he seemed determined.

A little later in the run, about mile 7 or 8, he dropped out, probably to his benefit. By that time, the other two were at least a half mile ahead.

I ran solo for the second 8 miles. Of course, that’s not such a bad thing, as by that time the endorphins were surging, and I was having some very pleasant conversations with myself.

After mile 8 (mile 15.5 of the total run) I knew I was going to complete the run, and I was elated…

One of my regular running buddies was at the start area when I completed my run. He gave me many compliments. He told me I wouldn’t have anything to worry about at Charlottesville. This was hugely motivating!

Learning Lessons:

Lesson 1: I practiced my eating on this run. I consumed 1/2 PowerBar each 45 minutes, and 7oz water to accompany. That much PowerBar killed me. Lots of nutrition, but they felt like bricks in my stomach. I think I might try alternating gels and PowerBars. I may even try to find a solid, non-PowerBar alternative. PowerBars have 100% or more of many nutrients… Eating a total of 3 in a day may be too much for my body. I’ve heard that carrots and raisins are very high in sugars, and much easier on the stomach.

Lesson 2: More water will be needed on warmer days. The 4 7oz bottles of my Fuel Belt were reserved for helping get the PowerBar down. (PowerBars are tough little buggers to swallow when your mouth is dry!) This left no water for other times, and left me running the last 30 minutes with no water :(

Lesson 3: I began to feel some discomfort in my knees close to mile 10 to 11 of the second leg (miles 17 to 18). I’m not sure of the cause, but I think it has something to do with either my shoes or my stride. In any event, I had great discomfort in my left knee Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. By Wednesday the pain was nearly gone, and I’ll try a 4 mile run Thursday morning, but the whole experience got me very worried. I plan on seeing a specialist in the next week.

Lesson 4: Never compromise on shoes. I suspect that some of the discomfort I felt in my knee was a the new shoes I was wearing. Though I had broken them in, they were not providing the level of stability and control as the previous pairs I had been wearing. I decided to keep these because the felt comfortable. I need the stability though, and I should and will not sacrifice the stability and motion control again. See my posts comparing the Saucony Hurricane 6 and 7 for more details.

Training for the Charlottesville Marathon is going well.

This coming Saturday marks the 6 week point.

Saturday I’m scheduled to run 23 miles, and I’m ready for it.

On President’s day, I drove down to see the Charlottesville area and got a better feel for the terrain. It certainly appears that the course will be hilly, but not mountainous.

I have done a few long runs that were relatively flat, but my race club does a good job of incorporating hills into its routines.

After President’s day I took the added precaution of moving all my mid-week runs to the hilliest routes I know.

This past Monday, and tomorrow I will run in a neighborhood I’m particularly fond of. Not only does my girlfriend live in the neighborhood, but it also happens to be Very hilly. Certainly it is hillier than anything I saw in the Charlottesville area.

After both of my runs on hillier terrain, I felt very strong.

My first run I started out much quicker than I should have, and by the time I was getting toward the end, I was quite fatigued.

The second run I did much slower, focusing all my energy on my up and downhill form.

I felt very comfortable with the stride length and energy burn on that second run.

I’ve decided that I may shorten my eating intervals during the marathon in order to compensate for the added fuel burn in the hilly terrain. I’m considering eating every 30 to 35 minutes rather than every 45… I’ll consult some more seasoned runners and get their advice on this one.

The Marathon will have 13 water stops, which I assume will be placed at two mile increments during the race. That should mean that adequate hydration should not be a problem. If I maintain a 9:15 pace, that’s water/Gatorade about every 20 minutes…

I’ll have to do the math to figure out the gel/Power Bar mix I’ll need for race day. I don’t want to be munching a Power Bar midway between water stops… Yuk!