On Saturday, I needed to run 18 miles before getting on an 11am bus to Washington, D.C. I was pretty bummed about it because a) it meant I was going to have do the 18 miler the day after a hill workout and at the end of a week of pretty heavy mileage and b) I was going to have to do it ALL BY MYSELF! So, needless to say I was dreading it. Despite the fact that I trained for my first and second marathons almost all by myself, over the last two seasons I've gotten spoiled and have been spending most of the longer runs chatting it up with friends.
Anyway, I still got up Saturday morning determined to knock out my 18 miler with the 7 middle miles at around race pace, which I think should be between 8:35-8:45 min/miles (I'm aiming high!). I planned to run down the West Side Highway 9 miles and turn around, picking up the pace after mile 6. All went pretty well (except a pit stop at a portapotty around mile 5.5) until after my race pace miles. I was SERIOUSLY depleted and was doubtful about whether I was going to complete the full 18. It was also super swampy out and so I was sweating like a beast. My socks (which btw are sweat wicking socks) were SOPPING wet and with every step I took, I could feel them swishing. This didn't make me particularly happy considering I had just gotten a pedicure the evening before. Here a link to the run.
9.24 Lonely 17.5 Miler by kelila83 at Garmin Connect - Details
Basically my non-race pace miles I averaged between 9:16 and 10:25, and my race pace miles averaged between 8:31 and 8:43. As you can see, I seriously BONKED for the last few miles. I only ended up doing 17.5--partially b/c I was so tired, and partially b/c I needed to get back home to pack for my 11am bus. I thought my heavy legs and sluggishness was a result of a week of training and no break before the long run, but after talking to my friend Consuelo who is also marathon training, I realized it was more likely the result of not drinking any gatorade, not eating anything b4 I started running, and only using a few shot bloks and no gu during the run. I'm going to have to do better with my nutrition going forward b/c feeling like you have literally nothing left in you is no fun at all.
All in all though, I am pretty pleased with the run. Holding between an 8:31- 8:43 pace for 7 miles after already running 6 miles and then doing another 4.5 was pretty legit. Also, considering the fatigue on my legs and lack of any nutrition, I think it's pretty respectable. In 2 weeks, I have a 19 miler which I think 9 miles of which will have to be at race pace so that will be a good test of what I can accomplish on race day.
Heavy training ahead!! On deck for this week:
Swim monday. 5x 1 mile repeats Tuesday (+ warmup and an easy 2 miles between getting to practice and getting home), 7 miler Wednesday + bootcamp, 4 miler Thursday, 8 mile tempo Friday, and 20 miler Saturday. Lots to blog about for sure :)
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