I wanted to leave the house at 6:00am, knowing it would take around 3 1/2 hours to run that distance, but with the cold and the dark I waited until 6:40. I knew I needed to eat before hand so I had a Clif bar - This is my new favorite flavor. But because it is only seasonal, I bought a box so I can enjoy them longer. I am still experimenting on what to eat the morning of the race.
I had a hard time deciding what to wear today. I wanted to be warm enough, but not too warm. It was 44 degrees when I left but I knew I would have plenty of time to heat up. I ended up wearing capri pants, long sleeve tech tee and a lightweight tech pullover. I warmed up quickly and was happy with what I chose. It ended up to be a beautiful morning! I wore my 4 bottle nathan fuel belt filled with orange G2 and my ifitness belt to hold my Ipod.
The first 12 miles felt good. I wasn't breaking any records, but I was keeping a decent pace. I had to take a bathroom break at the end of mile 12 and walking felt good. Starting back up again I was slower, but steady. I did take a few brief walk breaks during the last 6 miles. I feel a little bad about this, but it was what I thought I needed at the time.
I don't know if I am fueling correctly. With it being cold, I did not drink very much the first 6 miles. I ate 6 Honey stingers (orange blossom flavor) at mile 11 and chased it with some water.
The rest of the run I sipped orange G2, consuming 24 oz during the run. How do I know if I am not eating/drinking enough? What does it feel like? These long runs are hard, but I expect them to be challenging due to the distance. If you have any advice about this, please share.
The underside of my right thigh started to feel sore around mile 13, but it was manageable and did not hurt after I was done. My biggest challenge is to continually pick up my feet and keep moving forward as I get into mile 14+. My lungs feel good, but I have tired legs. On the plus side, my recovery today was much better than it has been. I took a short nap after getting clean, but I was actually productive today.
I have two more weeks of training before I being to taper, with one more super long run in 2 weeks (20 miles). The race is getting very close. Just a little over a month!!
Here are the stats from today:
Split | Time | Distance | Avg Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | 03:27:36 | 18.00 | 11:32 |
| 1 | 00:11:25 | 1.00 | 11:25 |
| 2 | 00:10:58 | 1.00 | 10:58 |
| 3 | 00:11:03 | 1.00 | 11:03 |
| 4 | 00:10:46 | 1.00 | 10:46 |
| 5 | 00:10:43 | 1.00 | 10:43 |
| 6 | 00:10:47 | 1.00 | 10:47 |
| 7 | 00:10:42 | 1.00 | 10:42 |
| 8 | 00:10:57 | 1.00 | 10:57 |
| 9 | 00:11:14 | 1.00 | 11:14 |
| 10 | 00:11:31 | 1.00 | 11:31 |
| 11 | 00:11:22 | 1.00 | 11:22 |
| 12 | 00:13:12 | 1.00 | 13:12 |
| 13 | 00:13:10 | 1.00 | 13:10 |
| 14 | 00:11:48 | 1.00 | 11:48 |
| 15 | 00:11:50 | 1.00 | 11:50 |
| 16 | 00:11:31 | 1.00 | 11:31 |
| 17 | 00:12:51 | 1.00 | 12:51 |
| 18 | 00:11:33 | 1.00 | 11:33 |
| 19 | 00:00:00 | 0.00 | --:-- |
Way to go on 18 miles!! :) Don't feel bad about the walk breaks, if you felt like you needed them, then you should take them - you are still running!!
ReplyDeleteI don't know about properly fueling, but I would check out the Runner's World website, because they probably have some info on it.
I am LOVING your blog!! 18 miles!!! That is AWESOME!! About fueling...I think everyone is different and there comes a lot of trial and error. Can't wait for your marathon!
ReplyDeleteyeahhh for another long run in the books!! I think fueling in winter is harder, i don't notice my thirst or feel th energy need in the same way as when I'm sweating so much.
ReplyDelete