This past weekend I was scheduled to run the dreaded 20 miler, but I had to postpone the long run since I was in Chicago celebrating an extravagant Greek wedding of a good friend (Acceptable excuse, right?) Greeks surely know how to party it up at ALL ages!! ... If this were earlier in the marathon training I would have just skipped the long run and moved along to the next week. Since I only have one 20 miler scheduled and this is the longest run prior to the race, there were no exceptions in skipping out on this one. No exceptions meant running this mid-week during a busy work week! :( ... I'm less than 4 weeks away till the NWM and I wanted to get this daunting run over w/ so I can begin tapering! Aww, the idea of tapering the long run mileage makes my heart cry w/ happy tears :) haha!
This morning I headed out and laced up my running shoes for the 20 miles around 7 am. With an uninterrupted 8 hrs of good sleep, it wasn't too challenging to get up this morning. Still dark outside, there was some morning fog and the air was nice and crisp - it was a sure sign that Fall has arrived!! Ever since I experienced a true east coast Fall while doing my rotation out in Providence, RI, I've learned to LOVE Fall - the early morning fog, crisp cool air, and the changing of the leaves! It's also Pumpkin Spice season, and I LOVE anything pumpkin!!!! (Ok, I digress!) ... This morning fall lasted for about 30 minutes before the sun came out and the temperature began to rise. Typical California weather :)
It took me 3 hours and 25 minutes to complete the 20 miles. The first half I race a steady 9:30 ish pace and as I approached 10+ miles the pace started to slow down to under a 10 minute mile. A few weeks ago I started implementing a run-walk-run method into the longer runs. This totally works and helps make these runs physically bearable! After 14 miles, my pace usually comes to a snail's pace at an 11+ minute mile. Instead of expending energy chugging along in misery, I walk an minute and run 10 minutes. I noticed this gives me more endurance to preserver and push along so I don't hit a physical wall. The post-run recovery isn't too bad either b/c I'm still functional most of the day too :) Needless to say, 400 mg of Ibuprofen does some magic too!
The most challenging part today came at mile 18. It was totally mental b/c I knew after 18 miles I was going into a foreign distance - miles 19 and 20. During the run I had broken it up into four 5 mile legs. Legs one and two were a stroll in the park (just 10 miles, right?), but as I ended leg 3 and started leg 4 the pain started kicking in and feet felt every little blister pounding the pavement. There is something more manageable telling yourself 2 legs completed, 2 legs to go than TEN more miles! As I hit mile 18, my feet where struggling to lift the ground and I was cramping up in my right hip joint area. This pain is not new, but the sharpness of today's cramps became unbearable at moments. The pain is isolated to the area where all the hip joint ligaments attach. Just 2 more miles ... Jammin' along to Rhianna's new song Only Girl in the World, I managed to distract myself from the exacerbating pain. Before I knew it ... just 1 more mile! .... Then I was DONE! It's very anti-climatic to finish a 20 miler when you're running alone. The running itself can be very therapeutic, but who's gonna celebrate w/ you at the finishline?! :)
Mission completed. 20 miles accomplished :) ... Now it's time to taper the long runs leading to the NWM! 16 miles, 14 miles, and 10 miles!
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