August was an incredible month of running. I ran my most miles all year - 122 miles. This was more than June and July combined - which were a bit short due to vacation and other things.
Today's long run was to be 17 or 18 miles - depending on how well I was feeling. After a pretty good night's sleep I woke up at 5 am to prepare for my run. I was out the door and running by 5:40 am.
I decided to do my run in two parts - the first a 9 mile route down my usual Lockwood Blvd but with a little extra added to get to 9 miles. I would then stop at the house for refills and then do another 8 or 9 miles. Most of the first 9 miles were done in the dark, with the daylight arriving around 1 hour into the run. After the first 9 miles, I changed shirts (I could wring out the one I had on...) and refilled water and Clif Blok supplies, grabbed my sunglasses and headed out. It was a warm morning - but there were some clouds around that helped reduce my exposure to the heat of the sun. I felt okay after 9 miles but a bit tired. I decided 18 miles might be too far.
I began to lose steam around 12 miles in and seriously considered cutting the run short, but I pushed...telling myself that I was now in mental training. My legs were feeling tired and heavy and temperature was beginning to rise. By 14 miles, I could no longer maintain my run 5 min walk 1 min routine. I walked for about 3 minutes in the middle of mile 14, then opted to run 2 minutes and walk 2 minutes. That pace did me well for the rest of the run.
I even had in my arsenal a Power Shot gel - it was some Tangerine / Orange flavor with double the caffeine. I normally don't run with caffeine, but decided to take this along for the end in case I needed the boost. I finally downed it at mile 15. And, as I expected, it was pretty nasty. However, I think it helped me through the last couple of miles.
My final time for 17 miles was 3:42:10 - a 13:03 min/mi pace - which I was surprised by given my slow finish. With all the walking, my pace never exceeded 14:31 (miles 14-15) and I finished the last mile in 12:23 min.
The stats:
17 miles
3:42:10 / 13:03 min/mile
AHR 157, MHR 174
2593 calories burned (according to Garmin)
2 packs Clif Bloks, 1 Power Gel, 64 oz of water
Ice bath afterwards
10 comments:
Great Run!!! Incredible that you got through all that with the heat and humidity. It is 84F here and 40% humidity. I am going to attempt a long run late this afternoon. Best humidity here in a long time. Keep up the great running. Look forward to running together at the Florida Half Marathon after Christmas.
Good going in that heat! Well done! I abandoned my 18 miler yesterday with far less good reason so you inspire me to try again on Friday. Don't you just love those Clifbloks!
Thanks for the supportive comment - appreciate it.
What a great month you had. Coincidentally, I also ran 122 miles last month. You are doing fantastic with your training!
Good job on your long run today. Nothing like starting out the month with a huge run. It's great motivation to keep things going for the rest of the month!
Wow way to go sister, great run, way to go on the hard work this month.
Nice job. Way to not let the mind dominate the body. Very impressive. I have to agree about the Powergel. I have sworn off the things....for now I am into Cliff bloks...see how long that lasts.
WOW! I'd take it! And look at August - in the heat - impressive! You are going to ROCK San Antonio.
Yes, with the horrible heat & humidity, it is really more mental, I think. Great job getting the run done. San Antonio will surely be cooler and feel easy compared to running in FL during the summer!
Yay you're putting up good numbers for the Bad Girls!
Those are some serious miles. What plan are you training with this time?
I am using a variant of Hal Higdon's Intermediate II program. I am also probably a week or so ahead of schedule for length of long runs - I could almost run a race in late October at this rate. I need to be careful not to burn out too soon. I feel I am going to peak this month - but I need to save gas to get me through Goofy in January. We will see :-)
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