Friday, September 22, 2006
Did the 18
Whew! Well, I'm getting the feeling I should give up on the hopes of an 8-minute mile marathon, as today's run averaged about 8:24/mile. Still, if I could repeat this on marathon day, then take a big 10 minutes per mile for the remaining 8.2 miles, I will still finish sub-4 hours! So that goal is still a viable one. This is the longest run I will attempt before work (actually I planned on coming in an hour later today). It was fun driving in early again, and I started the run in near darkness, an new experience. I saw the sun rise under the Leonard Zakim Bridge, as I crossed the river by the Museum of Science, a memorable experience.
It was an odd run. First, one minute into the run I realized I did not bring my gel packs, so I had to double back and restart the run. Good thing it didn't take me longer to realize I didn't have them. Overall the rest of the run went well, except that about the 10 mile mark I sensed a little trouble in the lower intestines. I hoped I could finish the run without addressing it, but it didn't get any better as time went on. Fortunately, I had planned my run to consist of a big 16 mile loop along the Charles River, followed by a short 2 mile segment by Fresh Pond, passing the office in between. So, I had to make a pit stop at the office building at mile 16. It felt weird starting again after the "break", but I did it.
I wonder how my time would have been different without the intestinal trouble and the stop. I'm guessing it would have been a bit better. The few minutes of rest probably didn't help enough to compensate for the loss of momentum. Also, when I wasn't feeling my best I probably was not running my best either.
I took two doses of the gel pack, 45 minutes apart. Is it helping? I can't say, because I have not run 18 miles witout gels. My impression from limited experience is that I prefer the Gatorade, but the gels are easier to carry and dose. I don't want to carry my fluids in the Marathon, but I could manage some gel packs.
It was an odd run. First, one minute into the run I realized I did not bring my gel packs, so I had to double back and restart the run. Good thing it didn't take me longer to realize I didn't have them. Overall the rest of the run went well, except that about the 10 mile mark I sensed a little trouble in the lower intestines. I hoped I could finish the run without addressing it, but it didn't get any better as time went on. Fortunately, I had planned my run to consist of a big 16 mile loop along the Charles River, followed by a short 2 mile segment by Fresh Pond, passing the office in between. So, I had to make a pit stop at the office building at mile 16. It felt weird starting again after the "break", but I did it.
I wonder how my time would have been different without the intestinal trouble and the stop. I'm guessing it would have been a bit better. The few minutes of rest probably didn't help enough to compensate for the loss of momentum. Also, when I wasn't feeling my best I probably was not running my best either.
I took two doses of the gel pack, 45 minutes apart. Is it helping? I can't say, because I have not run 18 miles witout gels. My impression from limited experience is that I prefer the Gatorade, but the gels are easier to carry and dose. I don't want to carry my fluids in the Marathon, but I could manage some gel packs.
