Tuesday, October 10, 2006
The big 2-oh
Saturday I ran the 20! I decided to do this on the bike trail that caused so many aches and pains in last week's 14 miler. Though this was somewhat of a risk, I eventually chose to do it because any 20 mile route around where I live was going to include some serious hills, so I might as well use a route that was familiar.
In order to achieve the mileage I had to run out 4.5 miles and back, repeat, then run 1 mile out and back. The 4.5 legs were almost completely downhill all the way out. I chose a deliberately stepped back pace, to minimize the risk of injury. The first out and back went well. The second out was good, but the return became more and more of a challenge. By the time I finished this leg, I knew the final two miles were going to be tough. I felt a slight bit of numbness in my legs. At one point, in the 20th mile, I had to stop to let a car pass, and it was really hard to start running again. I've never been like that before.
And so the inevitable question afterwards, that I ask myself after every milestone, if this had been the marathon, could I have finished the distance? I think I could have done 6 more miles, but it would have been very tough, and I might have needed to walk a bit. I was probably too conservative with the energy gels, so if I had taken one more the finish wouldn't have been so hard, and I might have felt more positive about what 6 more miles would be like.
However, I feel very good about the run. First, the pace averaged out to 8.5 minutes per mile-- if I can do this in the marathon, I could do the last 6 miles at a 10 minute pace and still get in under 4 hours. Second, even tho I was quite beat afterwards, the soreness didn't seem to last as long as from last week's 14. Finally, I have faith that the taper is going to put me in a better place on Oct. 29
A note on this blog. Most of the recent posts have been on the nitty gritty details of the marathon training. I have been thinking a bit about another topic which I had hope to explore through this blog, namely weight loss maintenance (specifically eating mindfully). I haven't had time to write on my thoughts. But it is obvious that after the marathon this will be a critical concern for myself. The sudden drop in mileage will coincide with the proliferation of holiday food, etc.
In order to achieve the mileage I had to run out 4.5 miles and back, repeat, then run 1 mile out and back. The 4.5 legs were almost completely downhill all the way out. I chose a deliberately stepped back pace, to minimize the risk of injury. The first out and back went well. The second out was good, but the return became more and more of a challenge. By the time I finished this leg, I knew the final two miles were going to be tough. I felt a slight bit of numbness in my legs. At one point, in the 20th mile, I had to stop to let a car pass, and it was really hard to start running again. I've never been like that before.
And so the inevitable question afterwards, that I ask myself after every milestone, if this had been the marathon, could I have finished the distance? I think I could have done 6 more miles, but it would have been very tough, and I might have needed to walk a bit. I was probably too conservative with the energy gels, so if I had taken one more the finish wouldn't have been so hard, and I might have felt more positive about what 6 more miles would be like.
However, I feel very good about the run. First, the pace averaged out to 8.5 minutes per mile-- if I can do this in the marathon, I could do the last 6 miles at a 10 minute pace and still get in under 4 hours. Second, even tho I was quite beat afterwards, the soreness didn't seem to last as long as from last week's 14. Finally, I have faith that the taper is going to put me in a better place on Oct. 29
A note on this blog. Most of the recent posts have been on the nitty gritty details of the marathon training. I have been thinking a bit about another topic which I had hope to explore through this blog, namely weight loss maintenance (specifically eating mindfully). I haven't had time to write on my thoughts. But it is obvious that after the marathon this will be a critical concern for myself. The sudden drop in mileage will coincide with the proliferation of holiday food, etc.
