10/30/05: My Longest Run to Date—12 miles!
I HAD to sleep in because I had a long and crazy weekend (saw U2 on Friday-INCREDIBLE! Then the kids I teach had a contest on Saturday) so I DESERVED to sleep in until 11am! (plus we got that extra hour of sleep due to the time change-ROCKIT!) Needless to say, I didn’t get to running until 5:30 at night (already starting to get dark at that). But it was all good since I had nothing else to do other then clear my mind and enjoy the run).
I did the run from my house, to Memorial Park and back (the normal 10 mile route) and added 2 extra miles by running to-and-back from the Tennis Courts. The first half of the run felt fine-my legs felt energetic and fresh. But, it was at the half-way point where I felt my energy crater. I couldn’t quite understand it because I took a Carb-Boom about a mile earlier and had been drinking plenty of water via my Camelbak. But I didn’t let my energy level affect me and I kept going and pushing on.
At about mile 11.5, I almost fell over. My stomach was starting to cramp up, my legs were tired and heavy, my knees were aching. The worst part was my lower back was on fire and killing me. When I finally got home and stopped running, I was limping as I walked. I was (and still am) in some serious pain. The funny (but not really) thing is that I am not sure why I was hurting so bad. I can figure my stomach MIGHT have been hurting from the gu…and I can figure my back MIGHT have been hurting since I was leaning forward a little while I was running…but I am not really 100% sure on either of these.
All I know is that I am in more pain than I have ever been in JUST from running...now I am scared that I might feel like this on the BIG DAY…yeah I can get through 13.1 miles at this point, but the last thing I want to do is feel like THIS when I get through it…
The STATS:
2:03 total running
12 total miles
ave. 10:15/mile
Heart-rate: 171/ave, 184/max
Weather: cool. Upper 70’s.
I HAD to sleep in because I had a long and crazy weekend (saw U2 on Friday-INCREDIBLE! Then the kids I teach had a contest on Saturday) so I DESERVED to sleep in until 11am! (plus we got that extra hour of sleep due to the time change-ROCKIT!) Needless to say, I didn’t get to running until 5:30 at night (already starting to get dark at that). But it was all good since I had nothing else to do other then clear my mind and enjoy the run).
I did the run from my house, to Memorial Park and back (the normal 10 mile route) and added 2 extra miles by running to-and-back from the Tennis Courts. The first half of the run felt fine-my legs felt energetic and fresh. But, it was at the half-way point where I felt my energy crater. I couldn’t quite understand it because I took a Carb-Boom about a mile earlier and had been drinking plenty of water via my Camelbak. But I didn’t let my energy level affect me and I kept going and pushing on.
At about mile 11.5, I almost fell over. My stomach was starting to cramp up, my legs were tired and heavy, my knees were aching. The worst part was my lower back was on fire and killing me. When I finally got home and stopped running, I was limping as I walked. I was (and still am) in some serious pain. The funny (but not really) thing is that I am not sure why I was hurting so bad. I can figure my stomach MIGHT have been hurting from the gu…and I can figure my back MIGHT have been hurting since I was leaning forward a little while I was running…but I am not really 100% sure on either of these.
All I know is that I am in more pain than I have ever been in JUST from running...now I am scared that I might feel like this on the BIG DAY…yeah I can get through 13.1 miles at this point, but the last thing I want to do is feel like THIS when I get through it…
The STATS:
2:03 total running
12 total miles
ave. 10:15/mile
Heart-rate: 171/ave, 184/max
Weather: cool. Upper 70’s.
posted by Jessica, a Austin Runner AND triathlete at
9:10 AM
6 Comments:
The cramping in the stomach could have been from too much hydration. With the cooler weather, you probably don't need as much water any more. I find that I drink significantly less in the colder weather.
You'll be fine for the big day. :)
By
Erin, at Mon Oct 31, 07:46:00 PM
Maybe the hectic weekend before the long run wasn't such a good idea. Learn from the experience. You may want to get rid of the camelbak for the longer runs and just use a small bottle that you can fill up every 3-4kms. This gives you chance to stop and rest and stretch and simulates the distance and time between water points in a race.
By
Anonymous, at Tue Nov 01, 07:42:00 AM
It's tough to try a long run after an already hectic weekend. I would scratch this up to being NOT the norm. Race day will get you going like nothing else -- adrenaline does wonders. :)
By
Sarah, at Tue Nov 01, 10:56:00 AM
Wow! I hope you are feeling better and it does not happen again! You are a strong woman and I know you will be fine for the marathon!
By
Michelle, at Tue Nov 01, 02:51:00 PM
Thanks for the comments, all. The anonymous comment was particularly helpful as it appears I am going to have to figure out ‘how’ I want to run the Half. My original plan (and still is) is to run the 13.1 miles without stopping and to carry my own water.
However, with a Camelbak, it is hard to moniter my water intake. I also wonder if I should try training with sports drinks. I’ll have to experiment on my next long run (I’ll be doing 10 miles on Sunday, although unfortenetly it’s going to be after another long, exhausting weekend. ARGHH.)
-Jessica
By
Jessica, a Austin Runner AND triathlete, at Tue Nov 01, 03:59:00 PM
yeah...what they all said. :P
Those runs just seem to creep up out of nowhere sometimes. As was said earlier, it was an unusual feeling, so don't dwell too much.
See ya on the roads! God Bless!
By
Sam, at Thu Nov 03, 12:54:00 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home