That being said, all these public spankings I've been taking aren't very good for me. They get me down a little. They plant little seeds of doubt, even though I should just take them for what they are and move on.
So today was a 20 miler. It was scheduled for tomorrow, but because of our trip, I moved it back to today. It would be solo, as Michele is still running hers tomorrow, except for a 5 mile loop in which I planned to meet up with her, Tracy, Mike, Amy, and Mary Beth. It would also be somewhat of an experiment because I had decided to wear my Fuel Belt and take along OS Endurance instead of my normal Gu and water. I am trying to pinpoint what is causing the nausea during my long runs, and this was my first shot at something different. It would start at 4 a.m. from my house.
I knew this was an important run for my confidence, and I was a tad bit excited. I had my iPod loaded up and my phone in my Fuel Belt pouch - I always carry my phone when I run alone. I took off and immediately noticed the beautiful, moonlit sky. It wasn't scary-dark like it was Monday, there was moonlight all over. I tried to snap a pic (above) during the first mile, but it doesn't do it anywhere near justice. My plan to was to take it easy and enjoy this 20 miler. Just look at it as 3+ hours of alone time. Time to think about our trip, reflect on the past week, and just have some good general conversation with myself, which I LOVE to do, by the way. I wasn't worried about pace as long as it was near the 10:00/mile mark. I think Pfitz suggested that we run our long runs quite a bit slower than we have been doing anyways, so it sounded good to me.
During the first 3 miles, my left knee area felt very uncomfortable. Tight tendons and tight IT band. Some dull pain on the back side of my knee. It worried me, but after a while it got warmed up and felt better. I was able to pick up the pace some after that, and then met my friends around mile 6. I ran a 5 mile loop with them, and the company helped occupy my mind. They dropped off when I was at mile 11, we said 'goodbye' and I kept plugging. I did another loop down Interstate Dr. , back to Hwy 41 where I snapped a pic of the sun coming up, and back down Oak Dr. As I was running down Oak Drive on mile 15 I started to wonder if I would make it. I had to start conserving my OS drink because 4 bottles for a 20 miles is really stretching it a bit, and it just seemed like I had been running so long and I was getting bored. But I regrouped and said "Look, your legs are fine, your heart rate is fine-why wouldn't you make it?" That logical thinking gave me a boost, and I really had no more problems to the end. I guessed the distance just perfect. I hit 18 miles at the bottom of Jail Hill, and I saw Amy and her kids as she was taking them to school. They yelled at me and I told her "This is it-2 more". Mile 20 was a little slower because of a hill that is somewhat unpleasant, but I really felt like I finished strong and was happy with the result. 20 miles with a 9:56/pace. Not 4 hour marathon fast or anything, but this is the 1st of 4 twenty milers. I needed to finish this one and feel good about it.
I got home as J.T. was walking out to take the boys to school, and their little smiling faces were just what I wanted to see. My stomach felt fine the whole way - no nausea, and no feeling hungry. I think the OS worked great. I did, however, have to make a sprint to the bathroom as soon as I walked in the house. I took an ice bath that felt great and not like torture, drank an Accelerade, then got ready for work. I am glad I sit fairly close to the restroom today, because I've been running back and forth regularly...LOL. But that's fairly common for me after a long run. I can deal with post run tummy issues a lot better than the ones that come up DURING the run.
So - I'm traveling tomorrow, gonna run 6 Saturday, 14 Sunday, and 6 Monday while at Universal. The 6's are recovery pace. Then we'll get back in the swing of things when we're back. Stats below:
Activity
|
Posted from bimactive.com |