The trials and tribulations of my long run

[rubato]

Yesterday marked my longest run to date, 22 miles. I’m training for the Goofy challenge and still have a 24 miler in 3 weeks. I only became a distance runner this year, so am still learning as I go. Here are some observations from my run yesterday.

There is no possible way to dress properly for a 3 & ½ hour run in the winter. I started at 2pm and finished around 5:30. I was burning hot when I started and freezing cold when I finished. Something about the sun setting around 5ish makes it really tough.

I learned a great new way to dispose of my gel packs. I used Sports Beans for my first fuel and then, used my gels. That way, I could put the nasty sticky gel packs inside the reclose able bean pack. Too many of my fellow Kansas runners just throw them on the ground, and I just can’t do that.

The pain that I feel around mile 10-12 doesn’t really get any worse no matter how much farther I run. I am still dealing with this pulled/torn muscle area in my glute. It started hurting early, but it remained steady. It’s a very manageable pain, so at least now I know I can handle it on marathon weekend.

Two words for the ladies out there: nursing pads! I’m sure you all know what I’m talking about.

I cannot seem to find a hydration balance. I am either over hydrated and have to go to the bathroom every 20-30 minutes or I’m dehydrated. Yesterday, I thought I drank plenty of water, but didn’t go to the bathroom for 4 hours after I got home from running. Not good. I’ve still got 6 weeks to work on that balance.

How do you people run with a water bottle in your hand? I see people do it all the time. It drove me crazy yesterday. I have a belt with 2 bottles on it, but that’s not enough water for 22 miles. So, I just took a regular water bottle and it lasted me for 7 miles, but I hated it. I can’t run with anything out of place. And, it kept dripping down my hand because I didn’t want to stop to get a drink. Thank goodness that was the overly hot part of my run, huh?



I have a pacing dilemma and need some advice. I have read that negative splits are the way to go. I understand this because you don’t want to hit the wall, and you need to have something left at the end. I can’t seem to do this. No matter how hard I try I can’t slow down in the beginning of my runs. I am hoping for a 10 minute pace for the full and under an 8 minute pace for the half. I started out a 22 mile run yesterday at my half marathon pace. Everytime I would look at my Garmin, I would slow down, but when I wasn’t noticing, I would speed back up again. Eventually, I slowed down drastically because I ended up with an overall pace of 9 minute miles. So, my question is: Is this okay? I definitely hit a wall around mile 18, but I think that had a lot to do with the stress of getting off of the wooded trail before it was pitch black. There are no lights and it was getting spooky. I felt pressured to hurry up but couldn’t go any faster because I’d used up all my speed at the beginning. Is it okay to run a marathon with positive splits or does that just spell distaster?

 

[cewait]

First GREAT job on finishing your run.

As far as hydration, it is really more a matter of keeping your weight constant pre-raun vs post run. Judging by how fast you pee post long event is not a good method as you may still be over hydrating a bit. The body shuts off some of the kidney function even if proprerly hydrated and it does not want to shed axcess fluid until it really sees that you have quit running.

Many folks run with a handle for their bottle. Here are a couple links
http://www.ultimatedirection.com/product.php?id=12&page=all
http://www.amphipod.com/products/hydration/bottles-handhelds/handhelds
Simple cinch the strap up and you do not have to hold on.

The idea behind a negative split is that you are finishing strong on not death marching. I think that if you downloaded a set of results for any marathon you would find that once you found runners in the 8-10 minute range positive splits would become prevalent. (the 8-10 minute is a guess but that is kind of what I think) Think of it as a goal and only a goal to keep you from speeding out of the gate way too fast. The other theory is to hold yourself to your comfortable pace at the start and then bleed off speed as you fatigue (these guys are the ones who think you are leaving too much in the bag if you are not forced to slow up just a bit late in the race). The killer with that theory is that if it gets hot fast or your comfort speed is too fast you may hit the death march early. I honestly approach the Goofy marathon as a let’s see what the day brings event. I will check pace very often in the first mile and try to stay at training pace or just under while the body loosens up. Then I just let the legs go where they may (within reason). I find that they do not really want to run too fast but in a couple fulls I have had to pull back pace a few times early.

You may want to set a max pace alarm on your Garmin next long run and try to hold yourself below the alarm. What you are struggling with is that once you hit a pace and settle in your mind and body wants to go back to that pace. Your eyes are attempting to see the same pace and your legs are seeking to same turnover and stride length as you were just at. The body hates to change once it settles in on a constant work pattern. So you need to lock in on your days pace in the first half mile.

 

[johde]

I was going to recommend setting a training pace or alarm on your Garmin for your long run. If you set up an advanced workout, you can set a different "goal pace" for different parts of your run.