Week 9 - Day 4 - 16 Miles

“I’m never going to run this again.” - Grete Waitz, after winning her first of nine New York City marathons

We meant to head out at 7:30am but it turned into 9am. Last night I couldn't sleep and watched a "Say Yes to the Dress" marathon till 1:30am. I guess that explains the late start. This choice did not serve me well however. The brutal sun, at first buried behind a gorgeous Oregon cloud cover, could not be held back. By 10:30am he began his assault on my lilly white skin. Why not use sunscreen you ask?

I got nothing.

That being said, I ran my heart out, almost literally. We ran a new part of the Spring Water Corridor out to the small suburb of Gresham. It was quite beautiful and it was nice to see a new part of the trail. I just ran 15 miles a couple weeks ago, I can certainly add 1 more right? Well why not add 3 more and make it 18? I am not sure what propelled me to 18 miles but there you have it. As I completed the 15th mile my body started to get very confused. My skin was getting burned but I was still sweating and there was a nice gentle breeze so I had chills all over. This felt like the beginnings of a flu. Not a fun way to run another 3 miles, but I kept moving. At 17 I figured I could walk the last, but hey, I made it to 17, I could keep going. I found my eyes wanting to close at the end, this happens to me when I hit extreme fatigue, so I fought the urge, lest I pass out right on the trail. Those last 3 miles were completely a force of will, I had nothing left in my body. Even the energy gummies were no help at that point. But somehow I found myself at the end of the trail in one piece.

Runs like this are really good for me because they allow me to question my prep habits which look like this:

Night before long run:

Eat LOTS of carbs, pasta with bread

Get a good night's sleep

Morning of the long run:

Hot shower to loosen up the bod

A few sips of water (don't want to have to pee during the run)

An energy bar

An early start

During the long run:

Sip water ever few miles (I finally bought a water belt for this purpose)

An energy gummy every mile

This routine has served me well in the past however I believe that with runs over 15 miles I need to start eating more before I head out, which means giving the food time to digest, which means getting to bed earlier and NOT getting sucked into any sort of reality TV marathon the night before. Oatmeal has served me well in the past so I believe I will add it to my long run prep.

During the run I believe I will need more than the energy gummy's and will have to get over my aversion to gels. Let me tell you something about gels. They are disgusting. It's like swallowing an artificially flavored banana/strawberry slug. I need to try some new brands and hopefully find one I can tolerate.

In 2 weeks I will get the opportunity to try out my new plan, that's when I hit 20 miles.