19 Miles: Just a Walk in the Park!

 I wish!! 

Well, the weather this weekend just plain sucked.  I was planning to run 19 miles on Saturday, but I had to make a decision…….

Saturday’s weather was warm – about 65 degrees, but it was 25 to 30 mph winds, with occasional gusts in the 40s.  I knew I would be miserable and exhausted running in those conditions, but my alternative was….

Sunday – Major cold front.  Temperatures would be around 32 with 12 to 15 mph winds – so wind chills were in the low 20s.

Neither option was great, but at the end of the day I decided to opt for Sunday.  While colder and still somewhat windy I knew I could bundle up and stay warm – there was nothing I could do to stay out of the winds on Saturday.  I took Jack for a short walk on Saturday, and it was miserable, it didn’t matter which way you were walking the wind surrounded you can just about knocked you off your feet – I was glad with my final decision.

The run went ok, I finished and that’s was the most important part.  I took my time – that’s for sure, and ended up averaging a 13:20 per mile pace.  Yes that’s SLOW.  It took me 4 hours and 14 minutes to do 19 miles.  Seriously, you fast runners don’t know how lucky you are.  Jim ran a marathon on Sunday too and finished nearly an hour ahead of me.  But that’s ok, my goal time for my marathon is around a 13 minute pace so I guess 13:20 for a training run is not too bad – especially considering the weather conditions.  I mean I was bundled from head to toe wearing two pairs of pants, a thermal compression top and fleece jacket, gloves and a warm winter hat.  Plus I had my camelback and food with me.  That’s a lot of extra weight to carry around on a run. 

As I mentioned in my previous post I decided to try out eating while on the run this week.  So I purchased some Cliff Mojo Bars (basically a trail mix bar – good carbs and some protein), Fig Newtons Strawberry Minis (good carbs, small and easy to eat), and some candy orange slices (got these for the pure sugar – 3 of those little babies is 130 calories so it was easy to get calories in).  I also brought along my GU Chomps.  I pulled the trail mix bar into tiny pieces and put everything in zip lock baggies.  I decided to eat every 2 miles – I would have 1 orange slice, 1 piece of trail mix bar, and 2 mini fig newtons and some Gatorade.  I would take a 2 minute walk break to eat.  Then at miles 5, 9, 13, and 17, I would eat a GU Chomp.  Mile 2 came and I tried to get my goodies out of my pack.  It was more difficult than I thought.  Trying to fumble the pack with my gloved hands proved impossible, so I had to remove my gloves and then pull out three separate zip locks.  Already, I realized this wasn’t going to be an easy process and I was going to have to come up with something more efficient for my next run.  My 2 minutes passed very quickly and when it was time to run again I still have the fig newtons and the orange slice to down – which I did while running.  Mile 4 was much of the same thing – fumbling to get everything open and in my mouth.  By mile 5 was time for my GU chomp, but I was feeling full….I didn’t want it.  Mile 6 came and I still wasn’t ready for more.  I just drank some Gatorade and kept moving.  About mile 7 I finally had a GU, and by mile 8 I ate again.  I don’t know exactly how many miles apart I was eating, but it was definitely more than 2.  That’s what the training runs are for – to figure all this stuff out.

The good news is that the food was very helpful.  I didn’t get all crampy and miserable at the end of my run and the food didn’t upset my stomach in the least.  I was tired of course at the end of 19 miles, but I felt ok.  After my 17 miler I didn’t think I could walk another step.  After my nineteen miles I was READY to be done, but know I could have done more if needed.  That felt good.  All in all it was successful, and I just need to keep working at it to determine what’s going to work for me on marathon day. I am pretty sore today, but nothing too bad.

CONGRATS TO:

Jim at 50 after 40!! (that’s my husband).  He set a PR at the Route 66 marathon in Tulsa!  It wasn’t the PR he was hoping for, but I think he’s pretty AMAZING!  He is the most consistent runner I have ever seen.  He put in some hard work on a hard course.  Way to go Sweetie!

Ryan my co-worker – remember the co-worker I interviewed a few months back after his first Ironman?  Well, he did IM Arizona yesterday finishing in 9 hours and 14 minutes!!!!!  He took almost 30 minutes off his finish time.  AMAZING!  I haven’t heard yet, but I think that should mean he earned a spot in Kona!

Just a cute picture of Jack as a puppy for no real reason at all.