18 miles on the schedule today.
Last night for dinner, I knew I wanted to eat a lot of calories (mainly carbs) and salt. I decided to make homemade whole wheat pizza crust and top it with my favorite pizza toppings--sauce, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and feta cheese. And a No Pudge Brownie for dessert. It was heavenly!
I was trying not to think about the run, because when I get worried about it, I don't sleep well. I set the alarm for 6:00 a.m., hoping to be out the door at 6:45 and start running just after 7:00.
This morning, I had oatmeal and a banana before heading out; and I took along Gatorade and two Gu's (one chocolate, and one peanut butter). My plan was to do pretty much what I did for my 16-miler (a T-shaped run), only adding an extra mile on the first out-and-back part. So I would run 4.5 miles from my car, turn around, run to mile 13, and then turn around and run back to the car. If I did it that way, I would have a water fountain to refill my bottle at mile 12.
As soon as I stepped out the door, I nearly choked on the humid air (okay, I'm totally exaggerating, but it was VERY humid this morning compared to lately!). Just as I was pulling out of my driveway, I realized I forgot my extra water bottle--I don't always bring it, but it's nice to have a bottle to drink on my way home after my run, so I stopped and went back in for it.
After I parked, I started running, and the first couple of miles went by really fast. I was really hot though, and sweating sooner than normal. Usually, I don't even take a sip of Gatorade until about 8 miles into the run. After just 5 miles today, I noticed that I had gone through half of my Gatorade... which was a bad thing! There aren't any water stops (water fountains, public bathrooms, etc) until mile 12, inside the Metropark.
I started to worry about not having enough water, and that I would dehydrate like I did on the last 18-mile run I did. I was debating whether to try and ration what was left of my water and try to make it last, or to go a mile out of the way back to the car and refill with my other water bottle (the one I had run back in the house for!) before heading to the Metropark. I decided to play it safe and go back to the car. I ate my first Gu at mile 8, a mile before the car.
I really didn't want to have to go to the car and then head out for another out and back, but that's what I had to do. So I followed the same route back to my car, refilled my bottle with water, and then started the next 9-mile out-and-back. It was right after that when I really started to feel horrible. I was so tired, and I was only halfway done.
I kept thinking, I could just go home and finish it out on the treadmill, in the air conditioning... but regardless, I would have to run 18 miles today (outside or inside), so I just stuck it out. There were a ton of people riding bikes on the path today. It was a nice day for riding (not so much for running). I just kept focusing on making it to the water fountain at mile 13 (it would have been 12 if I hadn't had to go back to the car).
When I got there, I refilled my bottle, and also went in to the bathroom (better than peeing in the woods, like I had to last week!) I splashed water on my face and arms, to cool off a little, and then kept running. I turned around at mile 13.5, and then it was a straight shot to the car from there.
I was tempted to call Jerry to come pick me up, but I knew I was just being a baby about the humidity, and that I could finish it out. A couple of times I was completely exhausted, and I noticed that my heart rate was pretty high (high 160's, which is almost 90% of my max!). When it got up high like that, I took a short walk break to bring it down to 155. I told myself I could do one short walk break each mile of the last 4 miles--and that really helped me, mentally and physically.
I finally reached the car, and somehow screwed up the mileage when I recalculated things in the beginning, and I had to circle the parking lot once. That was kind of like torture, but I wanted my Garmin to hit the 18 mark, so I did it.
I'm really happy with my pace. For my 14-miler and my 16-miler, I kept a 10:20/mi pace. Considering I really struggled on this run, a 10:28 pace is really good!
My splits were really inconsistent, but all things considered, I don't give a shit how inconsistent they are!
I was super excited to see my calorie burn of 1,573. That's a LOT of calories burned! But I just wish that I was able to burn more, like a "normal" person. The average person would burn more like 1,800 calories on this run. And an overweight person would burn even more than that. My metabolism just sucks! But I've learned to live with it--I just like to bitch about it sometimes ;)
I'm so glad this run is over, and next week "all" I have to do is a half-marathon! I haven't decided if I'm going to run hard or not. If the atmosphere is super fun, I may just treat it like a training run. But if there isn't much going on, and I feel good, I may run hard. We'll see on the morning of, I'm sure. I'm super excited to go! Not for the race, but mainly to hang out with Renee and my brother's ex-wife, Danielle (oh, and I guess it would be cool to see my brother, too ;) ).
I'm already getting uber-nervous to fly again, though. Last time I was on a plane was coming home from The Dr. Oz Show! I'm getting better about it though. A few years ago, I wouldn't get on a plane for a million dollars, and now I'm doing it voluntarily!
Last night for dinner, I knew I wanted to eat a lot of calories (mainly carbs) and salt. I decided to make homemade whole wheat pizza crust and top it with my favorite pizza toppings--sauce, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, and feta cheese. And a No Pudge Brownie for dessert. It was heavenly!
This morning, I had oatmeal and a banana before heading out; and I took along Gatorade and two Gu's (one chocolate, and one peanut butter). My plan was to do pretty much what I did for my 16-miler (a T-shaped run), only adding an extra mile on the first out-and-back part. So I would run 4.5 miles from my car, turn around, run to mile 13, and then turn around and run back to the car. If I did it that way, I would have a water fountain to refill my bottle at mile 12.
As soon as I stepped out the door, I nearly choked on the humid air (okay, I'm totally exaggerating, but it was VERY humid this morning compared to lately!). Just as I was pulling out of my driveway, I realized I forgot my extra water bottle--I don't always bring it, but it's nice to have a bottle to drink on my way home after my run, so I stopped and went back in for it.
 |
| The sun was just coming up when I started |
I started to worry about not having enough water, and that I would dehydrate like I did on the last 18-mile run I did. I was debating whether to try and ration what was left of my water and try to make it last, or to go a mile out of the way back to the car and refill with my other water bottle (the one I had run back in the house for!) before heading to the Metropark. I decided to play it safe and go back to the car. I ate my first Gu at mile 8, a mile before the car.
I really didn't want to have to go to the car and then head out for another out and back, but that's what I had to do. So I followed the same route back to my car, refilled my bottle with water, and then started the next 9-mile out-and-back. It was right after that when I really started to feel horrible. I was so tired, and I was only halfway done.
I kept thinking, I could just go home and finish it out on the treadmill, in the air conditioning... but regardless, I would have to run 18 miles today (outside or inside), so I just stuck it out. There were a ton of people riding bikes on the path today. It was a nice day for riding (not so much for running). I just kept focusing on making it to the water fountain at mile 13 (it would have been 12 if I hadn't had to go back to the car).
When I got there, I refilled my bottle, and also went in to the bathroom (better than peeing in the woods, like I had to last week!) I splashed water on my face and arms, to cool off a little, and then kept running. I turned around at mile 13.5, and then it was a straight shot to the car from there.
I was tempted to call Jerry to come pick me up, but I knew I was just being a baby about the humidity, and that I could finish it out. A couple of times I was completely exhausted, and I noticed that my heart rate was pretty high (high 160's, which is almost 90% of my max!). When it got up high like that, I took a short walk break to bring it down to 155. I told myself I could do one short walk break each mile of the last 4 miles--and that really helped me, mentally and physically.
I finally reached the car, and somehow screwed up the mileage when I recalculated things in the beginning, and I had to circle the parking lot once. That was kind of like torture, but I wanted my Garmin to hit the 18 mark, so I did it.
I was super excited to see my calorie burn of 1,573. That's a LOT of calories burned! But I just wish that I was able to burn more, like a "normal" person. The average person would burn more like 1,800 calories on this run. And an overweight person would burn even more than that. My metabolism just sucks! But I've learned to live with it--I just like to bitch about it sometimes ;)
I'm so glad this run is over, and next week "all" I have to do is a half-marathon! I haven't decided if I'm going to run hard or not. If the atmosphere is super fun, I may just treat it like a training run. But if there isn't much going on, and I feel good, I may run hard. We'll see on the morning of, I'm sure. I'm super excited to go! Not for the race, but mainly to hang out with Renee and my brother's ex-wife, Danielle (oh, and I guess it would be cool to see my brother, too ;) ).
I'm already getting uber-nervous to fly again, though. Last time I was on a plane was coming home from The Dr. Oz Show! I'm getting better about it though. A few years ago, I wouldn't get on a plane for a million dollars, and now I'm doing it voluntarily!
