The Longest Run is DONE!

It's all downhill from here.  I just completed 23 miles, taking some walk breaks, but overall at a strong pace and feeling pretty good.  If not for the winds, which were overwhelming at times, I think I would've fared even better.  But I accomplished 23 miles in about 3 hours and 40 minutes.

At the beginning of my training, I set my typical three event goals:

• The goal I can live with:  To finish the race.
• The goal that will make me happy:  To finish the race in under 5 hours.
• The goal that will be cause for celebration:  To finish the race in under 4 hours 30 minutes.

It looks like I am well on my way to celebration on event day.  Even though it was tough to do 23 today, I'm glad I tacked on the extra 3 miles rather than sticking to another 20 mile run -- as many marathon training plans advocate.  It gave me a little taste of feeling so beat up and tired that you don't want to take another step, but you do anyway.  I'll need this for the extra 3.2 miles on race day.

So the hard work is over.  I've put in my training, and I have a nice, restful (somewhat!) taper ahead of me.  I start to cut back my miles with the Lake George Half-Marathon this weekend.  I'm not saying it will be easy; it will just be a nice change of pace and a good trial for my fueling and hydration strategies.

Today I think I nailed the fueling.  I filled my CamelBak with Gatorade and brought a Clif Shot for about midway.  The only flaw was that I ran out of Gatorade at about mile 18.  However, if I supplement my hydration system with on-the-course Gatorade at the aid stations, that should work perfectly.

Another happy note -- Mama's Ice Cream in Burnt Hills is now OPEN!  My mid-week 10 milers are much easier motivation-wise, because instead of bringing my Gatorade, I pick up an Only 8 cone at the halfway point.  Yummy!  If you have never had Only 8 Frozen Yogurt, you need to try it.  It only has 8 all-natural ingredients and 32 calories per half-cup serving.  I estimate a small cone has about 100 calories.  I am totally obsessed.

Anyway, with less than a month left before the big day, I'm feeling pretty good about where I am and I'm ready to tackle the race!

The Runner's Toe Trilogy

Four out of 10 toenails are now black.  See the fun picture here...the second and third toes on each foot are now afflicted with the aesthetically icky, yet painless condition.

I had thought that getting new running shoes back in August would've cured this -- after all, that was my impetus for getting fitted for new shoes in the first place.  A solitary toenail had changed colors, so off I went to Fleet Feet for better kicks.  And that resolved the problem for a while.

Then you'll remember a few weeks ago I got it on another toe.  And now two more.  So something clearly was not right -- and I found myself loosening the shoelaces of my regular sneakers during the day because they felt tight around my feet.

I returned to Fleet Feet and, come to find out, my feet have grown a half-size since August when I was last fitted.  The explanation?  The constantly-swollen state of my marathon-trained feet are making my current shoes too small.  Which leads to more runner's toe.  So I got a new pair of shoes (the same ones I wear now, just a half size bigger) and tested them out on my run today (they were super comfy).  And that brings us to...

Today's Run

I had 14 miles on the agenda for today -- shorter than usual because this is a recovery week.  However, this was an excellent opportunity to test my pacing and fueling for the Lake George Half-Marathon in two weeks.  This race will be my "staging race" for the big day in May, to give me a feel for racing at a longer distance and a last chance to iron out the details.

I did a few things differently today.  First off, no iPod.  Many of you are probably like, "WHAAAAT???" but I did this for a couple of reasons.  Some of my upcoming races are official USA Track and Field events and do not allow headsets on the course.  The second reason was that I noticed over the past few weeks that I'm not really listening to my music anymore.  I'm zoning in on my pace, my form, and paying more attention to my running and less attention to the music.  Truthfully I can say I didn't miss having music and will probably continue to run without my music machine.

Secondly, I actually PACED myself today (novel concept, right?).  Even though I felt like I could maintain an 8:30 minutes per mile pace right off the bat, I forced myself to slow down to 9:00.  This way, I felt strong at the halfway point and most of the way through the last half.  I did slow down near the end though (more details on this in a sec), but completed the run with an average pace of 9:16 minutes per mile...AND finished the 13.1 miles of a half-marathon distance within two hours, so that will be my target time on race day.

As for the sluggishness over the last four miles of the run, I attribute that to my change in fueling today.  I am getting quite sick of Gatorade, and today the idea of it made me very nauseous.  So trying something new, I filled my hydration pack with plain water and brought only Clif Shot gels as fuel.  I think my body missed the electrolytes because, even though my cardio and my legs were still strong, I started to feel a little light-headed and walked a bit near the end. 

Next week, I am going to try adding diluted Gatorade to my hydration pack and only using one gel.  The second gel almost made me sick today.  What ISN'T going to turn my stomach????  It's also getting pretty warm out when I do my runs, so I'm going to add some ice cubes to the bladder of my hydration pack to keep my water cool.

I only have ONE MORE long run in my training plan before I begin to taper (which means cutting down my mileage slowly to allow my body to heal for the race).  The marathon seemed so far away when I started; it's hard to believe it's almost here!

20 Miles of Potty Mouth

Today was the monumental 20 miler, and it did not go as well as expected, for the following reasons:

1. Coming off of last week's excellent 18-mile run, I expected 20 to feel just as good.
2. Despite my reading otherwise in many, MANY different marathon training guides, I did not pace myself correctly in the first half of the run.  I went out way too fast because I was feeling good and was overconfident from last week's great run.
3. My negligence to research my routes' topographies finally bit me, and this route had more steep hills than all my other runs put together.
4. I forgot that last week's run followed a "recovery" week, and this week's run followed an 18-mile run.
5. The wind!  Maybe not a huge deal to the passerby, but those big wind gusts can be crushing to runners.  Especially at the end of the run.  And especially when that last part of the run is INTO the wind.

All complaining aside, I did finish faster than I expected.  And, even though the last 10 miles were hell on Earth and I had to use every mental trick to keep putting one foot in front of the other, my average pace was only 10 seconds per mile slower than when I did my awesome 18-mile run last week.  Who cares if I was dropping obscenities for an hour and a half straight?  Yes, I was swearing at the wind.  A lot.

On the plus side -- I had to buy a carabiner at the hardware store, so I planned my route so it went right by Aubuchon.  What better way to run an errand than on foot?  Even though the hardware dudes gave me some weird looks.  They were probably just jealous of my CamelBak.

By the way, does anyone reading this drive a red truck with a bumper sticker on the back?  This is like the third time this truck has passed by me while I'm running and laid on the horn like crazy.  If I know you, sorry for not waving back -- I can't get a good look at you to see who you are!  Or maybe it's just a very supportive person who doesn't know me at all!

So -- the 20-mile run is done, and while I finished it (and with a respectable time at that... just over 3 hours), I am determined to feel better running this distance.  After all, the marathon is 6.2 miles longer than this!  My next long run is in two weeks.  This week is another recovery week, ending with a 14-mile run, and then the following week I will do either 22 or 23 miles...I have not decided yet.  I will try to make that one the best run yet.  Because after that, the long runs are over and I have to rely on all the training I've done up until that point to serve me well on marathon day.

I'm also starting a new workout program to assist with my cross-training.  I attribute cross-training to the fact that I have not experienced a serious injury during this whole marathon training plan.  Anyway, the program I'm starting is called Rip:60 (you can take a look at it on http://www.rip60.com/).  By the way, this is the reason I needed the carabiner, in case you were wondering. 

The Rip:60 infomercial boasts that it's better than both P90X and Insanity...a statement that's gotten them in hot legal water with Beachbody.  As a lover of both P90X and Insanity, I'm eager to give it the true test and see how the thing holds up against my two favorite exercise programs.  Upon inspection of the DVDs and documentation, it's based on solid exercise and even more solid nutrition, so right away that's a good sign (no miracle pills or potions).  I'll let you know how it goes.

Bonk!

So today was my mid-week mid-distance run.  Ten miles -- no biggie.  I was so certain it would be cake, that I didn't even bother adding Gatorade to my waterbottle; I just filled it with plain water.

And I was going strong... until after mile 7, when I began to bonk.  If you're not familiar with the term "bonk," it's basically a word that describes when your muscles run out of stored carbs for fuel and you begin to essentially "run on empty."  Your muscles won't respond well, your mind gets foggy, and every step gets hard.  This was my situation during miles 8, 9, and 10.

BUT, looking on the bright side, as I try to do occasionally, I kept telling myself, "What if this happens in the marathon?  Do you expect to feel fantastic for all 26.2 miles?"  And in reality, this tired, heavy, hopeless sensation is probably close to how miles 20-26.2 will feel.  So I pretended I was in my race and I HAD to finish.  I kept putting one foot in front of the other and plowing through it.  I played games -- run hard 30 seconds, run easy 30 seconds, keep alternating, keep going. 

And it worked!  Not only did it work, but I finished this 10-mile run (ACTUALLY, 10.5-mile run.... THANK YOU MapMyRun.com for your accuracy...) with an average pace of 8:44 minutes per mile, which is a pretty speedy pace for a long training run for me.

This weekend:  20 MILES!  THE MONSTER!!! DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNN!

18 Miles - DONE!

Wow, I have to say there isn't a rush quite like the feeling of accomplishment you get when you do something beyond the realm of normal, and running 18 miles straight would fit that bill.  My run today was in great weather.  There was a little wind, but it was tolerable.  The temperature was cool with the sun shining for most of the duration.  And I felt GOOD!  I ended the run feeling very strong.  My average pace was about 9:11 per mile, which is actually pretty quick compared to my typical 10 minutes per mile pace.  I wasn't concerned with running fast -- I just ran how my body was telling me to run and it came naturally.

I won't go as far to say that 18 miles felt EASY, but it felt easier than when I did 16 a couple of weeks ago.  And I am really zoning in on my fueling strategy.  Usually I fill my CamelBak with Gatorade (probably 20 oz.) and bring a Clif Shot gel for the midway point.  But sometimes that makes me nauseous, so I began to wonder if it was just too much Gatorade.  Today, I filled the CamelBak with JUST water, brought my gel, and also brought my handheld 10 oz. waterbottle filled with Gatorade.  It's a compact design, so I could stash it in the pocket of my CamelBak when I drained it empty.  And this worked perfectly.  I felt strong the whole time, not nauseous or bloated.  So this will be my new fueling strategy going forward, and if I need additional fuel, I'll bring 2 gels rather than 1.

I'm also learning that as I extend these runs (today's run was about 2 hours and 45 minutes), I need to plan my route so I have a "pit stop" where I can take care of business at about the halfway point.  Today's route brought me right by the Dunkin' Donuts in Ballston Spa.  I was prepared to buy a bottle of water in order to use the facilities, but the counter help seemed pretty distracted so nobody minded me slipping into the restroom and then quickly out.  Nobody except the two ladies sitting with their coffees who looked at me like I had five heads.  I guess it's not an everyday sight to see a girl with a reflective vest and a backpack with a hose out the back, red-faced and sucking air, heading into the Dunkin' Donuts restroom...arriving and leaving on foot.  Luckily the marathon will have port-a-potties at some of the aid stations where I won't be judged, lol.

With another successful run under my belt, I'm one step closer to my goal.  After running almost the equivalent of six 5Ks back to back, it's hard to believe I still have to add 8.2 more miles to make this a marathon distance.  Next week I take another step forward with 20 miles.

18 Miles?!?!?!

The runs are getting longer, and I've got the longest one yet coming up this Sunday -- 18 miles.  I just finished 9 today and felt pretty darn good.  My pace was fast without pushing hard, and I felt strong all the way through.  Seems weird to be going twice as far in only a few days, but I've put in the training so I should be ready.  I'll let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, the Spring race season is gearing up.  I accidentally (yes, this can happen) scheduled a race for just about every weekend in April...but those of you who know me well know that I'm grinning ear to ear at the prospect.  I did this in October and had a great month, with a race to look forward to every weekend.

Here's my April agenda:

• 4/9:  Bust-a-Move 5K at Russell Sage
• 4/16:  Dodge the Deer 5K -- which will be my friend Emily's first 5K race.  YAY EMILY!
• 4/23:  Lake George Half Marathon -- the "practice race" for my marathon, during which I'm going to fine-tune my pacing, fueling, and all the little race day details.
• 4/30:  Albany YMCA 5K -- the last race before the BIG DAY IN MAY!  This race is in Washington Park and is a BEAUTIFUL, scenic course.  Last year the tulips were in bloom!

I hope that you're keeping active too and looking forward to the upcoming warm weather...after tomorrow's (final?) dumping of snow, that is.

So, a funny thing happened...

I went to the Running of the Green 4-Mile race at Green Island on Saturday.  While I was there, I ran into my cousin Joe, who was helping at the ARE booth.  I knew Joe was an accomplished runner, but I did not know that he was an ARE member and assisted with these events.  Knowing that I was training for a marathon, he invited me to join their 15-mile group run the following day (Sunday).  Since I had to do 16 miles, tacking on an extra mile at the end would be no problem, so I happily agreed.

Normally accustomed to running my long runs solo, it was an interesting change to run with a group.  The course consisted of 2 7.5-mile loops.  I ran the first loop at a faster clip (faster than I should have, but I was feeling good) with a friendly trio.  And the second loop, I ran more at my pace with another group of experienced runners.  All of them had been through marathons before and had great tips.  I used the opportunity to soak in what knowledge I could (one of the recurring themes seemed to be the importance of ice baths post-run).  At the end of the run, I was sore and tired, but feeling upbeat and confident about my training.

Today I'm sore, but not as sore as last Monday.  I usually make it a point to stay on my feet after my long runs as opposed to crashing on the couch.  I'll do chores around the house (yesterday I was cleaning, dusting, vacuuming, etc.)  I find that moving keeps my legs loose so that they don't tighten up the next day.  I wasn't brave enough to attempt an ice bath, though!

I'm going to enjoy the upcoming "down" week.  Twelve miles will be my long run this week.  It'll be interesting to see if I notice any difference between this week's 12 miles and my 12-mile run from a few weeks ago.