Another personal record for me today with the longest run I’ve ever done (in my life!). I’m getting up into the crazy miles now with a 17 mile run today. It’s hard for me to comprehend these distances! Yet, I keep reaching my goals and surprising even myself with my body’s ability to move for that distance and time.
Run prep and run fueling
First, I made sure that I had plenty of water with electrolytes in my backpack bladder. I topped it off with a little more than 32oz, plus the ice that would melt along the way. I ate a full breakfast and drank a pre-workout drink in the car on the way to my running spot.
On-the-run nutrition would consist of 3 Huma gels, 1 Maurten Gel 100 and 2 Van’s gluten free waffles. My plan was to have a gel at miles 4, 7, 10, 13 and a waffle at mile 16. The second waffle was for eating during my cool down walk. I also had 4 Salt Stick Fastchews for in between gels during the higher miles.
Post run fueling consisted of a Skratch vegan chocolate shake and a Nelly’s Peanut Butter bar. There was a time in my run when I thought of the snack waiting for me in the car and it was the only thing keeping me going for that moment. I only eat Nelly’s bars on long run days, so I have something to look forward to after the run as my mini reward.
A close call
I moved to a different bikeway path today, now that I no longer need to train on hills. This bike path is completely flat and runs along a bird estuary near the beach. I’ve run here many times before but I’ve never gone out as far as today. At just over the 9 mile mark my foot hit a divot in the side of the path where I was running and I rolled my right ankle really far. I felt the outside and top of the side of my foot roll on the pavement, if you can even imagine such as feat.
Thankfully, I didn’t fall and I was able to regain my upright position quickly but it tweaked my ankle and it hurt the side of my foot. I stepped off the path and walked around a bit to see if there was any pain. Everything seemed in order and the pain subsided pretty quickly. When I looked back at where I had stepped I saw the dip and it was pretty deep but a small diameter; just big enough for my foot. It blended right in with the blacktop surface, so it was easy to miss.
After walking it off, I kept going and I was able to finish my run without further incident and, thankfully, no pain.
Run musings
I’m continuing to feel the fatigue of longer weekly mileage. My legs were heavier today than they felt last weekend for the half marathon. However, I’ve been running all week and I only had one rest day before today’s long run.
I felt like today’s run was more of a mental challenge than a physical one though. I kept checking my watch for distance and pace between gels. I finished my Harry Potter book but had not downloaded the next book in the series yet. So, I started a new book by David Goggins called, “Never Finished”. I like the format of the audiobook version where he adds a podcast style interview in between chapters to give more background to what we just listened to in the chapter. I listed to his first book, “Can’t Hurt Me” in the same format and think more books could benefit from this unique format.
As I neared the end of my run I was ready for it to end but I always try to leave a little bit of energy to pick up the pace at the end, even if only by a small amount. Knox Robinson is a trainer on iFit and a professional runner. He said during one of the workouts I did with him that his dad taught him to always save a little for the end. He said, “Save some gas in the tank for the fans in the stands!”
It’s just always stayed with me and I think about this as I near the end of a hard run or race. I find it gives me a little energy to finish strong even when I’m tired. Thanks for the pep talk Knox!
Post run recovery
I’d preplanned my nutrition so I was ready for a healthy and on-plan meal when I got home. The temperatures weren’t too cold on my run and the sun was out but I was shivering and cold when I got home. I immediately jumped in a hot shower to get my core temperature up. I also soaked in an epsom salt bath for a while to soothe my sore leg muscles.
From there, I focused on lots of hydration. I thought that I had run out of fluids on my run but when I took my bladder out of the backpack there was still plenty of fluid left. I guess it had gotten tweaked and became difficult to get fluid through the tube so I thought it was gone. Therefore, I realized I had sorely under-hydrated on my run but hadn’t realized it. I needed to replenish those fluids as soon as possible.
The rest of the day consisted of foam rolling my calves, legs, hips and glutes; once after my shower and again just before bed. I stretched my hips and calves several times throughout the day, too. I also wore my calf compression sleeves for several hours to help with circulation. I was pretty stiff when I went to walk the dog that evening but I knew it would be good for me to move gently by walking.
I’m hopeful that my recovery plan will pay off with less soreness tomorrow. After rolling my ankle and walking (running) away from it unscathed, I’m convinced that my MOBO board work and runner’s strength training is paying off through improved resiliency and durability. I feel like my Sunday workouts are more important than ever now and I don’t want to be too sore to do them well.
Workout
- 17 mile long run at conversational pace