"Start 45 seconds slower than goal race pace and gradually speed up to end at goal pace."
That didn't exactly happen on my run. These plans are written pretty generally, and usually my goal on the long run is just to survive all the way until the end. Also, they don't take into account things like bitterly cold weather (which wasn't the case yesterday, thankfully) and high winds (15 mph, which was the case yesterday) as I was running straight into them. Plus, I was tired from doing my tempo run the day before instead of Thursday.
So I started slower than the plan said I should, but I don't really care about that--especially since the first 7 miles were run straight into those damn winds. What I do care about is that I ended at goal pace, which is 10:00. The thought of maintaining that pace for 26.2 miles is a little daunting right now, but I have to keep reminding my shortsighted and idiotic self that I just ended my 5th week of training, with 11 more weeks to go.
Without any further ado, here are the lessons learned from this run:
- Where you put your phone matters. This was a run where I almost threw my phone out into the ditch rather than have to put up with it for one more minute. On the way out to the south, you see, I had tucked it into a front pocket of my jacket. With the wind coming right at me, I didn't feel it very much unless my right hand happened to have the Gatorade bottle at that point (see below for more on the Gatorade) and smacked into it on the way down because I was too tired to maintain proper form. However, after I turned around at the 7 mile point, it was slamming into the front of my body--specifically, it kept slamming into my bladder body part. Because I was wearing three layers, I stopped and put it in a back pocket of my second layer, where it then slammed into my ass over and over again. After contemplating calling my husband to come and get the damn thing (he's the one who makes me carry it, dammit), I finally remembered that one of the pairs of tights I was wearing had a butt pocket. Ahhh, phone bliss was achieved after I transferred it there (and forcing it into the pocket, making it fit).
- Gatorade just makes me thirsty. Instead of gels, I decided to carry a bottle of Gatorade with me this time (since I have read that gels and sports drinks don't mix; I really don't want to perform a running experiment to see if that's true). I also had a bottle of water in my dorky Batman-esque utility belt wrapped around my waist, which I was glad I had by the end of the run. I was glad I did, because that Gatorade only made me thirstier and thirstier--the only reason I kept drinking it was because of the sugars and electrolytes I knew I was losing just by running. In the last mile I grabbed the water bottle and guzzled it down in one long thirst-quenching drink. Next time I will be carrying a mix of the stuff with water.
- Mile-long downhills are wonderful. Route 72 is a main road near me, and I have realized that it is sitting in the lowest point of a valley. So, when I ran down to it (literally), I was running some pretty steep uphills when I traveled further south past 72. Those hills were a challenge, but one that I knew was necessary. The best part, however, was turning around and having a mile-long downhill during mile 9. My legs felt great, and it gave me much-needed training on running downhills. The only thing that sucked was realizing that I would have to run a gradual uphill to the north of 72 back to my house. I enjoyed that downhill while it lasted.
- Yes, I can do more than I think I can. My quads were pretty damn tired by mile 10. I didn't want to run uphill. I didn't want to run faster. But that's why I'm glad I don't have my watch programmed to show me my instantaneous pace during long runs--it just lets me focus on the run, and fall into a good pace without getting all mentally strung out by the numbers.
- My nose is capable of snot production of epic proportions. Snot rockets were plentiful and frequent, with the snot flowing freely and copiously. And I'm talking with hagfish-like proportions:
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| That's slime he's holding. Made by the hagfish in the tank. YUM. |
Needless to say, chapstick is now a "must have" item on my long runs because my nose gets raw wiping away all my snot-rocketing adventures.
- My Achilles issues and shin splint "hot spot" seem to have quieted themselves. I think this is nuts, especially since I am running more miles per week than I ever have been. I'm thinking I finally found the right combination of shoes, stretching, and recovery days to make them shut-up. While I have no scientific evidence to back this up, I'm thinking that the long runs in my Mizuno Wave Rider 16s are helping a lot--they are the nicest-feeling shoes I have ever had the privilege in which to run. Also, I wear calf sleeves by Pro Compression or SLS3 on every run now.
- Port-a-johns on a long run are bliss. I know you think I'm overreacting, but it was SO NICE to be able to use the facilities somewhere where it was actually legal to do so. And to be able to do it out of the wind, with real toilet paper, taking off my gloves without fear of frostbite and being able to readjust all layers properly before taking off again. It's the small things, really.
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| A bright spot on a long cold run. |
Compared to my 20-miler last weekend, this run was pretty short (even though it had its share of annoyances to make it seem a little too long). Now for two days of cross-training, and then it's back to running three days in a row next week. My goals for next week's training are:
1) Don't be a total wimp on the treadmill
2) Complete a treadmill tempo run actually at lactate threshold
3) Stop myself from letting loose snot rockets while running on my treadmill
4) Get ready for next weekend's 18-mile long run--which is a "pace" run.
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