20:40 second run/walk ratio
1:42 hours
6.40 miles
16.0 minutes/mile
Pretty good run today! Actually kept up a good pace the whole way and felt pretty good.
I've been thinking about running out of steam on my last two mileage-increasing runs, and decided that I'm just not eating enough. I used to always take GU with me on any run longer than an hour—at least 1 GU per hour I expected to be running. I didn't always use all of them, but I'd eat all but one or two as I was running. This time, for some reason, I've been assuming I didn't need much food and only taking one or two gels or gummy packs along. So I ordered a 24-pak box of assorted GU and now have plenty to take along on each of my remaining runs and the marathon. Some of them have caffeine and some don't—I figure I'll use the non-caffeine ones early and the caffeine ones later when I need an energy boost. I usually avoid caffeine, but the GUs don't have a lot of it—20 mg in some, 40 mg in others—and I expect I'll burn it up while running so it won't bother me too much afterwards. I remember I used to save one caffeinated GU for around mile 18 of really long runs and really liked the boost.
I also ordered another pouch for my belt to carry all the GU and stuff I'll need for long runs. One of the reasons I haven't been taking a lot of food with me is that I just don't have room for it in my belt pack. It has one big pocket for my phone, and then one smaller pocket for everything else—once I stuff it with handkerchief, chapstick, battery stick & cord, keys, etc., there's no room for 6 - 7 GUs and gummies. For shorter runs, especially if I don't need the battery stick, I can manage, but for anything over 12 - 15 miles, I need more room. So another pouch will hold all the extra stuff I need.
For today, since it was just 6 miles, the regular pack was fine. I put coconut water in my water bottle and took one GU with 20 mg caffeine. Didn't think I would really need it for six miles, but wanted to experiment with foods and waters since there is not that much time left before the marathon. I also skipped breakfast—I meant to have a protein drink, but my stomach wasn't really ready, and I figured it would be a good test of whether GUs and coconut water alone could keep me going in later parts of longer runs. I drank most of the coconut water and ate the GU about halfway through the run. Had plenty of energy the whole way.
I got up at 5 AM and was at the park by 6:20 AM to start my run. Supposed to reach 90 F today, but with an early start for a short run, I was finished a little after 8 AM and before the morning started to get too hot. The only problem I had was some pain in my right groin area. I'd strained it during my 23-mile run last week, although I had no pain while I was running, after I stopped and my muscles cooled down, I had a lot of pain and soreness on both sides, but especially on the right. It got better after a few days, and I did both of my midweek runs without any trouble (on Tuesday and Thursday this week, because I was still pretty wiped out on Monday). But when I started out today, I had a very sharp pain as soon as I started running. I kept going, hoping it would work itself out, massaging the area while I walked and trying to run gently. It did ease up after a bit, and was mostly just a dull heaviness by the end of the first mile. It didn't seem to slow me down any.
I'm encouraged by the way things went today, and I have a plan to keep up my energy throughout the marathon. Of course, the 26-mile run will be the real test, but so far, so good!
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Week 20: Twenty-three miles
EDIT: I found my stats! Turned out I hadn't actually stopped the workout running on the app, it just got shoved into the background and paused. Once I finally closed the workout, my stats showed up in history. So here they are:
20:40 second run/walk ratio for ~18 - 20 miles? then walked the rest of the way
6:31 hours
22.47 miles
17.4 minutes/mile
That's not actually too bad, considering how much I slowed down for the last few miles, and stopped to rest a couple of times. Very close to getting the full 23 miles in.
-------
No stats today—my app got all screwed up somewhere along the way. My best estimate is 7 hours for 22 - 23 miles. Close enough.
I'm in Monterey this weekend, visiting a friend, and taking advantage of the cool coastal weather to do my 23-mile run. I ran up the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail, from Monterey near the Aquarium, all the way to the Starbucks in Marina on Del Monte and Reservation Dr. Got up at 6:30 AM and hit the road at 7:10 AM, running from her place up to pick up the trail near the Aquarium, and out.
The first half of the run was great! Beautiful cool weather, lovely scenery, and lots of fun taking a new route I'd never run before, especially one I could run out and back the whole way. I'd checked the map online and figured that the Marina Starbucks would be just about half way, and sure enough, my app told me I was halfway there about a block short of the Starbucks.
There my plans began to go awry. I'd brought a $10 bill with me to buy a cold drink and a snack at Starbucks, but I'd tucked it in the same pocket as my phone, and somewhere along the way when I took my phone out to check my distance or take a picture, the money had fallen out. So I arrived at Starbucks with no money. I did use the bathroom and refilled my water bottle, but no drinks or snacks for me! I'd only brought one gel and one pack of gummies along, thinking I'd have one halfway there, one halfway back, plus whatever I got at Starbucks. (I also drank a protein drink before starting out.) With no money, I ended up eating my second gel soon after the turnaround, with nothing more to eat for the second half of the run.
It was also around here somewhere that I hit the wrong button and my app flipped out. It was still timing my run/walk intervals, but had somehow decided I needed to run 18 more miles when I'd already gone over half way, and really only needed another 11-ish miles. Oh well. I'd gone halfway and turned around, all I needed to do was go back the way I came.
My phone battery was low, and I plugged in the battery stick. That worked well, although I wasn't sure it was going to at the time, because it didn't look like it was charging. It was, though—the app kept going the whole way back, and my phone was fully charged when I got home.
Around 11 AM, the overcast cleared up and I started getting some sun. Not anywhere near as bad as in Tehachapi, but the combination of no food and sun and my water bottle running low eventually did me in when I got near Fisherman's Wharf. My vision was going bright and I was feeling really tired. I'd already stopped for a brief rest, which helped me keep going a little way, and I was no longer doing any run intervals, but finally I had to stop again in a patch of shade, and had to squat down to rest, and started getting dizzy and almost passing out. A very nice guy stopped to see if I was all right. I managed to stand up and told him I'd just gotten dizzy, too hot and not enough water (although I had found a water fountain just shortly before, and refilled my bottle, but not soon enough) and no food. He wanted to call someone, I said I had my phone and maybe I should call my friend to come and get me. So I did.
I was already feeling better, and was able to walk back a bit and out to the street so my friend could find me. I only had no more than a mile and a half to go, and probably could have made it once I rested, but it was also nice to get a ride home and not have to try.
I think I still got my 23 miles in—my Step app says I did 23.1 miles today. So I don't mind cutting it a bit short, although I hope the getting dizzy near the end doesn't become a thing. I was also wondering whether doing my twenty-mile run in two sections six hours apart might make the 23-mile run harder. Maybe my body still thinks the 15 mile section is my longest run, which would definitely make a 23-mile run harder.
Anyway, it got done, and it was a a good run most of the way! Coming up to Monterey to do the long run was a good idea. If it's still hot in Tehachapi in three weeks, I might come back to do the 26-miler.
20:40 second run/walk ratio for ~18 - 20 miles? then walked the rest of the way
6:31 hours
22.47 miles
17.4 minutes/mile
That's not actually too bad, considering how much I slowed down for the last few miles, and stopped to rest a couple of times. Very close to getting the full 23 miles in.
-------
No stats today—my app got all screwed up somewhere along the way. My best estimate is 7 hours for 22 - 23 miles. Close enough.
I'm in Monterey this weekend, visiting a friend, and taking advantage of the cool coastal weather to do my 23-mile run. I ran up the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail, from Monterey near the Aquarium, all the way to the Starbucks in Marina on Del Monte and Reservation Dr. Got up at 6:30 AM and hit the road at 7:10 AM, running from her place up to pick up the trail near the Aquarium, and out.
The first half of the run was great! Beautiful cool weather, lovely scenery, and lots of fun taking a new route I'd never run before, especially one I could run out and back the whole way. I'd checked the map online and figured that the Marina Starbucks would be just about half way, and sure enough, my app told me I was halfway there about a block short of the Starbucks.
There my plans began to go awry. I'd brought a $10 bill with me to buy a cold drink and a snack at Starbucks, but I'd tucked it in the same pocket as my phone, and somewhere along the way when I took my phone out to check my distance or take a picture, the money had fallen out. So I arrived at Starbucks with no money. I did use the bathroom and refilled my water bottle, but no drinks or snacks for me! I'd only brought one gel and one pack of gummies along, thinking I'd have one halfway there, one halfway back, plus whatever I got at Starbucks. (I also drank a protein drink before starting out.) With no money, I ended up eating my second gel soon after the turnaround, with nothing more to eat for the second half of the run.
It was also around here somewhere that I hit the wrong button and my app flipped out. It was still timing my run/walk intervals, but had somehow decided I needed to run 18 more miles when I'd already gone over half way, and really only needed another 11-ish miles. Oh well. I'd gone halfway and turned around, all I needed to do was go back the way I came.
My phone battery was low, and I plugged in the battery stick. That worked well, although I wasn't sure it was going to at the time, because it didn't look like it was charging. It was, though—the app kept going the whole way back, and my phone was fully charged when I got home.
Around 11 AM, the overcast cleared up and I started getting some sun. Not anywhere near as bad as in Tehachapi, but the combination of no food and sun and my water bottle running low eventually did me in when I got near Fisherman's Wharf. My vision was going bright and I was feeling really tired. I'd already stopped for a brief rest, which helped me keep going a little way, and I was no longer doing any run intervals, but finally I had to stop again in a patch of shade, and had to squat down to rest, and started getting dizzy and almost passing out. A very nice guy stopped to see if I was all right. I managed to stand up and told him I'd just gotten dizzy, too hot and not enough water (although I had found a water fountain just shortly before, and refilled my bottle, but not soon enough) and no food. He wanted to call someone, I said I had my phone and maybe I should call my friend to come and get me. So I did.
I was already feeling better, and was able to walk back a bit and out to the street so my friend could find me. I only had no more than a mile and a half to go, and probably could have made it once I rested, but it was also nice to get a ride home and not have to try.
I think I still got my 23 miles in—my Step app says I did 23.1 miles today. So I don't mind cutting it a bit short, although I hope the getting dizzy near the end doesn't become a thing. I was also wondering whether doing my twenty-mile run in two sections six hours apart might make the 23-mile run harder. Maybe my body still thinks the 15 mile section is my longest run, which would definitely make a 23-mile run harder.
Anyway, it got done, and it was a a good run most of the way! Coming up to Monterey to do the long run was a good idea. If it's still hot in Tehachapi in three weeks, I might come back to do the 26-miler.
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Week 19: 1 mile + Magic Mile + 4 miles
20:40 sec run/walk ratio
1:43 hours
6.39 miles
16.2 minutes/mile
15:59 Magic Mile
Another recovery run done! I got up at 5 AM and got to the park by 6:20 AM. Even though it was only a 6-mile run, the high today is supposed to be 93 F, so I wanted to get an early start and get done before it started to get hot. I was actually kind of cold for my first mile or so—it was around 60 F when I started, but I wore my shorts and short-sleeved tee-shirt, because I knew it would get hotter soon enough. As soon as the sun came over the horizon, it warmed up.
I thought I would be able to go faster today, since I was running in mostly cool-ish weather, but I still ended up doing just over 16 minute miles. Hm. When I did my first 6-mile training run last spring, I did 15-minute miles. I was just looking at my old entries to try to see what the difference was. For one thing, it was cool all day so I didn't start until 10:30 AM, and I had a cool breeze all throughout my run. So that probably helped. Oh well, 16-minute miles are fine, too. Just getting the training done is the important thing!
1:43 hours
6.39 miles
16.2 minutes/mile
15:59 Magic Mile
Another recovery run done! I got up at 5 AM and got to the park by 6:20 AM. Even though it was only a 6-mile run, the high today is supposed to be 93 F, so I wanted to get an early start and get done before it started to get hot. I was actually kind of cold for my first mile or so—it was around 60 F when I started, but I wore my shorts and short-sleeved tee-shirt, because I knew it would get hotter soon enough. As soon as the sun came over the horizon, it warmed up.
I thought I would be able to go faster today, since I was running in mostly cool-ish weather, but I still ended up doing just over 16 minute miles. Hm. When I did my first 6-mile training run last spring, I did 15-minute miles. I was just looking at my old entries to try to see what the difference was. For one thing, it was cool all day so I didn't start until 10:30 AM, and I had a cool breeze all throughout my run. So that probably helped. Oh well, 16-minute miles are fine, too. Just getting the training done is the important thing!
Saturday, August 08, 2015
Week 18: Six miles
20:40 second run/walk ratio
1:51 hours
6.31 miles
17.6 minutes/mile
I decided to run at home this morning, because I had somewhere to be at 11:30 AM and I wanted to save a little time. I didn't use the GPS, and I'm pretty sure I actually went more than 6.31 miles, so my pace was probably better than that. I tried to count laps, but lost count fairly quickly, and decided to just go as far as the app told me to. I think I had done a little more than 10 laps when it told me I'd gone a mile, so I was probably doing more than an extra half-lap per mile. But in any case, I finished my run without any problems. I started a little bit late, around 8:12 AM, but the weather was cooler today, probably in the mid-70s when I was running, and there was still some shade at the back of the house and over the driveway, so I didn't get hot. I didn't take my water bottle or any food since it was a short run. And that's another one done.
Oh, I also realized this week that the battery stick/charger and the headphones do not actually use the same port. I don't even know what I was thinking. I decided to check online for a headphone splitter, so I could plug in both at once, and when I saw that they had the little round headphone plug, not a USB port, I slapped my forehead and went D'oh! Of course the headphones have their own place to plug in. So that's one problem, which was never really a problem, solved!
1:51 hours
6.31 miles
17.6 minutes/mile
I decided to run at home this morning, because I had somewhere to be at 11:30 AM and I wanted to save a little time. I didn't use the GPS, and I'm pretty sure I actually went more than 6.31 miles, so my pace was probably better than that. I tried to count laps, but lost count fairly quickly, and decided to just go as far as the app told me to. I think I had done a little more than 10 laps when it told me I'd gone a mile, so I was probably doing more than an extra half-lap per mile. But in any case, I finished my run without any problems. I started a little bit late, around 8:12 AM, but the weather was cooler today, probably in the mid-70s when I was running, and there was still some shade at the back of the house and over the driveway, so I didn't get hot. I didn't take my water bottle or any food since it was a short run. And that's another one done.
Oh, I also realized this week that the battery stick/charger and the headphones do not actually use the same port. I don't even know what I was thinking. I decided to check online for a headphone splitter, so I could plug in both at once, and when I saw that they had the little round headphone plug, not a USB port, I slapped my forehead and went D'oh! Of course the headphones have their own place to plug in. So that's one problem, which was never really a problem, solved!
Saturday, August 01, 2015
Week 17: Fifteen + Five Miles
20:40 second run/walk ratio
4:38:20 hours
15.90 miles
17.5 minutes/mile
35:65 second (appx) run/walk ratio
1:18:54 hours
4.7 miles
16.8 minutes/mile
Well, today's run was a big mess. I got up early enough—right at 5 AM, got ready, and was about to head out at 5:45, when my running app started acting up, demanding that I had to log in in order to start the app running. I futzed around with it for about 15 minutes, finally gave up and registered an account, then headed out, only to remember a few minutes down the road that I'd forgotten to bring my battery stick, and I knew my battery phone couldn't last for 20 miles, so I had to go back and get it.
Still, I got to the park by 6:30 and started my 20-mile run. It was hot today—forecast was for 90 F, but it was also supposed to be partly cloudy, so I was hoping for some shade. No luck! The only clouds were little wispy ones near the horizon, nothing to stand between me and the hot sun. It started getting hot around 7 AM. Still, I did my first 8 miles or so without too much trouble, but by the time I'd gone 10 miles, I was exhausted and ready to quit. I ate a gel at about 9 miles, and started drinking water, little sips at first, then more and more as the day went on.
At maybe 12 miles, I decided to stop at the restroom to refill my water bottle and pour water over my face and head. That helped, so I planned to stop every three miles to soak my head. (In this week's paper, there was an article about planned improvements at Meadowbrook Park, and one of their plans is to install a misting station along the trail. That will be awesome! But it won't be done until next spring, so won't help me at all for this marathon!)
I stopped at 15 miles, and noticed that my phone battery was very low. I splashed water on my face and head, but was still very hot and tired. It was already 11 PM and only getting hotter. I thought about heading home to wait out the heat of the day and finishing my run later, but had just about decided to stick it out, when I discovered that I'd brought the wrong cord for the battery stick—I'd forgotten that the iPhone doesn't use a normal micro-USB connection, and the one I brought wouldn't plug into my phone. So that was that. I jumped in the truck and came home. I plugged in my phone to recharge, then settled in to rest for a few hours until the day cooled down enough to finish my run.
I was hoping to get back out at around 2 PM, but it was still blazing hot so I waited until 4 PM, and it was still hot, so I waited until nearly 5 PM, and then decided to get started anyway, and just walk the remaining nearly 5 miles if necessary. The sun was still hot, but I had some shade from the oak tree and the hill behind the house, so I went ahead and did some run intervals. I was hoping if I left the app running but paused, I'd be able to just start it up again to finish, but somehow I ended up stopping it, so I just used my phone to count laps (44 laps = appx 4.7 miles), and ran about 35 seconds each lap, then walked the rest of the way. I felt much better than I did this morning, with shade to run in!
Anyway, I got 20 miles in, although there was a six hour break between the first 15 miles and the last 5.
4:38:20 hours
15.90 miles
17.5 minutes/mile
35:65 second (appx) run/walk ratio
1:18:54 hours
4.7 miles
16.8 minutes/mile
Well, today's run was a big mess. I got up early enough—right at 5 AM, got ready, and was about to head out at 5:45, when my running app started acting up, demanding that I had to log in in order to start the app running. I futzed around with it for about 15 minutes, finally gave up and registered an account, then headed out, only to remember a few minutes down the road that I'd forgotten to bring my battery stick, and I knew my battery phone couldn't last for 20 miles, so I had to go back and get it.
Still, I got to the park by 6:30 and started my 20-mile run. It was hot today—forecast was for 90 F, but it was also supposed to be partly cloudy, so I was hoping for some shade. No luck! The only clouds were little wispy ones near the horizon, nothing to stand between me and the hot sun. It started getting hot around 7 AM. Still, I did my first 8 miles or so without too much trouble, but by the time I'd gone 10 miles, I was exhausted and ready to quit. I ate a gel at about 9 miles, and started drinking water, little sips at first, then more and more as the day went on.
At maybe 12 miles, I decided to stop at the restroom to refill my water bottle and pour water over my face and head. That helped, so I planned to stop every three miles to soak my head. (In this week's paper, there was an article about planned improvements at Meadowbrook Park, and one of their plans is to install a misting station along the trail. That will be awesome! But it won't be done until next spring, so won't help me at all for this marathon!)
I stopped at 15 miles, and noticed that my phone battery was very low. I splashed water on my face and head, but was still very hot and tired. It was already 11 PM and only getting hotter. I thought about heading home to wait out the heat of the day and finishing my run later, but had just about decided to stick it out, when I discovered that I'd brought the wrong cord for the battery stick—I'd forgotten that the iPhone doesn't use a normal micro-USB connection, and the one I brought wouldn't plug into my phone. So that was that. I jumped in the truck and came home. I plugged in my phone to recharge, then settled in to rest for a few hours until the day cooled down enough to finish my run.
I was hoping to get back out at around 2 PM, but it was still blazing hot so I waited until 4 PM, and it was still hot, so I waited until nearly 5 PM, and then decided to get started anyway, and just walk the remaining nearly 5 miles if necessary. The sun was still hot, but I had some shade from the oak tree and the hill behind the house, so I went ahead and did some run intervals. I was hoping if I left the app running but paused, I'd be able to just start it up again to finish, but somehow I ended up stopping it, so I just used my phone to count laps (44 laps = appx 4.7 miles), and ran about 35 seconds each lap, then walked the rest of the way. I felt much better than I did this morning, with shade to run in!
Anyway, I got 20 miles in, although there was a six hour break between the first 15 miles and the last 5.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
