I was shooting for anything over 13 miles on this run. Thanks to my running partner, Mike, I've got a 2nd half marathon coming up in 2 weeks. We'll be running the Baltimore Running Festival Half Marathon on October 12, 2013, for my birthday. I'm pretty psyched about this one and looking forward to a much better performance compared to my first half a few weeks ago.
I needed to get the taste of bad training runs outta my mouth... From the half marathon of two weeks ago, which was completed in 3 hours and 6 minutes, officially, to last Saturday's training run of 8 miles in 2 hours and 10 minutes. Ugh!!
I had a good training week so far (4.53 miles on Monday and 5 miles on Wednesday) and wanted to end it with a strong long run. I was focused... From the time I woke up until I arrived at the beginning of my training route. I blended a protein shake and drank it around 5:45am. I wanted to start my run by 6:15, but that didn't happen and I finally left the house around 6:30. It takes about 15 minutes to get to the start location of my training route. I didn't start my run until 6:54am.
The run started with clarity, determination and hope. My mind was clear, my will was full of determination and I was hoping to reach my goal.
The first 3 miles breezed by... I have my Garmin set for a 12:30 minute pace and I was pretty consistent at this point. I took my first GU Energy gel as 45 minutes had passed at this point. I felt strong and worked my plan. I got to mile 4.5 and the water from the protein shake began to work within me. I had to go, but the urge wasn't that bad. I knew I would be coming up to a Burger King soon on my route and if I could hold it until then, I'd be fine. Success... I reached the Burger King at 5.39 miles and was pretty thankful that I didn't have to hold it any longer.
What I noticed throughout this run is that I used less water, than I normally would. I believe it has a lot to do with the cool weather and the fact that I hydrated well, all week long. I'll have to do further research on that and write an upcoming post about hydration.
A small suggestion when running is this: Always know where bathrooms are on your route and use the restroom before you start. Then, use it again.
I continued and the 6 mile mark was my turnaround for this portion of my training route. I felt fine throughout this point and was looking forward to continuing and seeing how long I could go before I started to fatigue.
At mile 6, I crossed the street and started back. I was making good time and my pace was pretty consistent. The next nutrition I would take is the margarita flavored Clif Shot Blocks. These work very well, when used properly. I took 3 shot blocks at the 1 hour 15 minute mark. This was just the second time I sipped water from my Camelbak. I was feeling ok, but I knew fatigue would be setting in soon.
I continued through miles 6.5 - 10 with no problems. At mile 10, I noticed my posture beginning to lean forward. I consciously corrected it and noticed that as I ran more erect, I felt renewed. I've read somewhere that runners should try to run more from their core, instead of just their legs. I don't know if that was what I was doing, but I remember feeling like i could run like that forever. My legs didn't feel that tired and I was keeping a slightly slower, but steady pace between miles 10 - 11.5.
By this time I had already run for over 2 hours, straight, non-stop (except for the Burger King bathroom). I was tired. I barely got to mile 12 and remembered thinking about how far I'd come on this run. I only had 1 more mile to go, in order to reach 13 and I began negotiating with myself.
I started saying that if I could get to mile 13 then I'd be that much closer to finishing. I was basically running on will at this point. No more smiles, no more thinking about the beautiful weather. I was interested in being done. The soreness of my legs and feet didn't stop me. I had to keep telling myself that "Pain is just weakness leaving my body". That was my mantra at mile 12.
I also remember thinking about the other races I did earlier in the year. The Charles Street 12 Mile Race was finished around 2 hours and 40 minutes; my first half marathon was finished in over 3 hours and last week's training run of 8 miles was done in over 2 hours. At this point, I had run close to 13 miles in less than 2 hours and 45 minutes. This was an encouraging sign, that this was a good run. And it confirmed my theory that my first half marathon was finished in over 3 hours mainly because it was not a road race. I can finish a half marathon around 2 hours and 30 minutes! Confirmed!
My watch died around mile 12.5 and at this point, I was using the Map My Run app on my phone. I normally use the app when I know I may not have charged the Garmin completely, as a backup. I had reached mile 13.1, finally. And at this point, I was not as far from my car as I was a few minutes ago. I had to figure this out. Would I call it a day, when I get to my car or will I push to reach my 14 mile goal.
I decided that since I had gone this far, I could go a little further. I went for the 14. As I pushed and pushed, it seemed the mileage was going nowhere. It felt like an eternity before the next tenth of a mile flipped over the screen.
I ran zig zag, up and down, side to side in the parking lot, in order to squeak out this mileage and finally, it was done. 14 miles is officially in the books!! Now, I know that I can do 14 and will be confident going into the Baltimore Running Festival. I'm contemplating on whether to shoot for another 14 miler for this Saturday, which is a week before the race, or if I should dial it back a bit. I'll pray for some guidance on this one and see how things shake out.
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