Last Thursday, I ran 8x400 on the treadmill. It was hard, but I got it done. 1 mile warm up at 5.5, 8x400 at 7.0 with a 90 second walk at 3.5, 1 mile cool down at 5.5. Nothing to write home about.
Yesterday, I ran 10.5 miles. I did a fabulous job on Wednesday eating the right amount of food in preparation. Spaghetti with french bread is the best dinner for me the night before a race or long run! I was sure to have two and a half + nalgene bottles and a glass of nuun as well. I thought I was well hydrated.
Thursday morning my alarm went off at 6:00 am. I got up and my first thought was, "Why am I doing this?" I remember thinking that it wasn't the way to start off a long run. Had a bowl of steel cut oats (microwaved from the day before) and a glass of water and then crawled back into bed for 30 minutes. I was hoping to fall back asleep (I set my alarm) but sleep eluded me. Got up at 6:45 and started getting dressed. I kept asking myself why I was out of bed instead of sleeping. It's been a rough week in the sleep department, hence the obsession with needing more sleep.
Headed out the door just a few minutes past 7:00. The sun was set to rise and I was trying to time my run so that I wouldn't start too early and have to wear the reflective vest, but I also didn't want to start too late and run in the heat. 7:00 was the perfect time this week!
I remembered to keep it slow and steady at the beginning. I always go out too fast and blow my wad early. I took gels at miles 4 and 8. I brought two flasks of water and two flasks of nuun. I did a great job with my pace. Miles 6 and 7 were slow, but not too horribly. I was struggling mentally then, but my pace was decent. Miles 9 and 10 totally kicked my butt. All I could think about was how much I wanted to get home. It was more of a mental struggle than physical. I remember thinking that my legs and lungs felt really great, it was my motivation that was lacking.
I finished up 10.5 miles in 2:03. Not bad for me. I am thinking about taking that second gel at 7.5 miles instead of 8 to help me out with the latter part of my run. Maybe that will help on my next long run? Also, my hands got really swollen. This happened to me in New Orleans as well. I will try to drink the same amount of water and nuun the day before, but also add a glass of coconut water. I have been finding myself obsessing about water in the last few miles of these long runs. Apparently, I'm dehydrating easily. I did notice a major sloshing in my gut in the last two miles and I did struggle with even more light-headedness than usual. I am light-headed on all of my runs. I assume that is normal? Maybe not? Who knows.
Next Thursday is 4x800 on the treadmill and the following Thursday is 12 miles.
It's a great day for running y'all!
