Now, to be upfront, I would not recommend this method to anyone, and it wasn't exactly supposed to happen this way. My friend is trying to get in reasonable shape for a marathon in January that snuck up on her. Her pace is pretty easy for me, so I agreed to accompany her on this crazy training plan.
Last Saturday I hit a mileage PR with a 14 Mile run. This weekend was supposed to be 16 miles. But this weekend is a little up in the air for me and was becoming a bit of a scheduling nightmare for a long run. So with Remembrance Day yesterday, it freed up my schedule and was good timing for a long run. Some times you have to roll with the punches.
It was A-W-E-S-O-M-E! To be honest, it did not feel any harder than last weeks 14 miles ... maybe even easier. Seriously? How can that be?? I don't know, but it was. So nice to have someone to run with that I can talk to for close to 3 hours. I know I could do this alone ... but it's so much nicer with a friend.
The weather was absolutely perfect, quite cool (felt COLD to start) but after a mile I warmed up nicely. We ran a series of backroads from her house and round-about past mine, then back to hers. It was a great route in that we left extra fluids & nutrition in my mailbox and were able to stop there at about the 6 & 12 mile markers to re-fuel. I learned that I can put an awful lot of stuff in my mailbox.
I felt great the entire run and will definitely try everything that I did on this run again.
NOTES
Consumed prior to run: toasted english muffin with peanut butter & nutella (mixed), 1 cup black tea
Consumed during run: 2 water bottles filled with Gatorade, few pretzels, 3 Clif Shot Bloks (will review these later)
Immediately after run: copious amounts of tea
Approx 1 hour later: still drinking tea :) I didn't re-fuel properly at all .. but I felt good and didn't get ravenous later in the day. I think this is because of the pre-run meal and adequate fuel throughout the run.
Stomach issues: none (yay!), although needed 2 potty stops. After you've had babies, fluids just don't last hold that long.
Energy level during run: 100% Perfect!
Muscles: A little tight in the last 2 miles. We had 4 stops total - two for water/fuel, 2 for potty. After the 3rd stop my legs had a little tightness to them. The 4th stop, at about 14 miles, my legs were really binding up and getting started again was a little tricky. At the end of these long runs we always make sure to do a good 10-15 minutes walking before we stop. This seems to really help with that binding you can get that makes you feel like you're going to crumble after a run. Definitely a necessity after a long run.
Aftermath: Everything just felt great. My legs feel like they worked, but no pain. Behind my right knee is pretty tight, but some extra stretching should work that out tonight. Best of all ... no headache, no nap required.
Things to try on next long run: hmmm, I think I'll give this formula another go since it worked so well.
I can't believe I'm up to 16 miles and feeling great. This weekend I will just do shorter runs like I normally would have mid-week. Then next weekend is a bit of a step-back week and will be a little less mileage. Even though this plan brings the mileage up quickly, we are being careful and remaining injury free is the #1 priority. Slow, easy, lots of stretching and a good focus on recovery.
Keep Active!
HAVE A FANTASTIC WEEKEND
Heidi
♥♥♥♥♥
13 comments:
Wow...so motivating to read! 16 miles is so far! The furthest I ever ran was 17 km - that was when I ran all the time.
Hopefully one day I'll be able to run 16 miles too!
Have wonderful and restful weekend!
Whoah! Congrats on the 16 miler! Incredible! Even better is how great you felt throughout the distance. Love that you stored your fuel in the mailbox. LOL
Woohoooooooooo 16 miles! When I read the name of your topic I thought: 16 miles? It's Friday how can that be? But I found out soon enough :)
Great job Heidi, you're amazing and inspiring!
PB + nutella on an english muffin (or bagel) is my FAVOURITE pre-long-run breakfast. Yummy!
Awesome job on the strong 16 miles and new distance PR!
congrats on the awesome 16 miler! yay!!!
i agree with marlene's comment, nutella is awesome before running! try it out :)
have a wonderful weekend
To answer your question: yes 12K is my longest run up till now. Tomorrow I have scheduled 13K and then next week 15K. Up to next year it won't be more than max 15K and after the New Year there will be longer runs.
I hope it's dry tomorrow as we have a strong wind and I don't mind wind or rain but not together :)
That is awesome!!!!!! 16 miles...you rock!!!!!!!! I'm starting over again, so to speak....so my long runs won't start building up again for a little while. :-)
Sounds like a great run - it's easier with a buddy, isn't it? :)
Congrats on the 16. I'm always amazed at how our bodies adapt. What once seemed impossible becomes doable. I always love how we start saying Only 10 miles or whatever.
Yay! Sixteen miles....doesn't it feel great when you go such a distance and feel wonderful after! I am glad that you had such a great run...just think, just a few more miles and you ran a marathon:)
I hope that you have a wonderful weekend Heidi!!
I can't imagine running 16 miles in one shot. Hopefully one day I will be able to ! Your amazing!
Great job on the 16 miler! I love that it was maybe even easier for you than the 14! I have come to decide that it's truly mental. You tell yourself you can run 16 and bam you can. And I felt like several times that my longer runs were easier than the prior long run. Funny how that is. Keep up the good work Heidi! :)
You continue to amaze me! Great job. How nice to have a friend to run with as well!!!
Post a Comment