Cha-Ching! Another 22 is in the bank!

Yesterday I felt like a million things went wrong on my long run. I was looking forward to this being my last 22 mile run before Eugene. My first two 22 milers went pretty good so I was anticipating this run to be a complete breeze.

WRONG!

My husband had a football game up in North Spokane so I knew in order to make his game I had to be out the door by 7 am. That meant I had to be up at 6 am because I needed to eat some oatmeal and let it settle before I left. The weekend before I didn’t eat any breakfast and that was NOT a good idea- lesson well learned. Never run 22 miles on an empty stomach.

I headed out the door right on schedule. My first 11 miles had a target pace of 8:00- 8:30. I felt great, but a little tired from racing on Saturday (there is a reason why I never race hard the day before a long run).  

As I got a couple of miles into this run I realized that it was a touch warmer outside than I was anticipating. I was wearing double layers with a fleece lining & vest, fleece headband to keep my ears warm, spandex leggings, and my North Face gloves. Definitely not an outfit to be wearing when temperatures are pushing the upper 60s! I tore my gloves off before I hit mile 1. At that point, I almost turned around to go home and change into something else, but I decided to keep going.

BAD IDEA.

So much for staying up the night before to watch the weather at 11 pm, but maybe I wasn’t really paying attention. Who knows?  All I know so that I got HOT out there.

Cruised through my first 11 miles at an average pace of 7:57. Not bad. Mostly ran this portion through the upper s. hill. Average pace was 7:57 so I was a touch under my target pace.

As I was heading downtown I started the second half of my run that had a target pace of 7:20- 7:30. At first I felt pretty good. I ran through downtown and started on the Bloomsday course. This is where everything started to head south. I hit the first hill and felt decent. Once I hit the second hill I started unraveling. On the third hill I felt screwed.  By mile 15 my legs were giving out and I was sweating like crazy. I really wanted to ditch some clothing along the way and I was kicking myself for not stopping back by my house to change shirts. I told myself that I had less than a Bloomsday left to run, but that trick was not working. 

Did I mention that it was hot?!

When I had less than a 10K left to run I was completely out of my water and Gatorade. CRAP. I felt like I was barely moving, but according to my garmin I was holding steady with a 7:23-7:35 pace. I really don’t even know how I was moving, it felt like I was running 10 + minute miles. I felt like crying. I felt like stopping. I felt like giving up.

With 3 miles left, I came to a stop light so I texted my husband and told him to puh-leez have my Gatorade out with him on the football field.  I told him that I felt like I was going to pass out from dehydration and that I wasn't feeling very good. The next 3 miles felt like the longest 3 miles of my life.

BUT, I didn't give up. I didn't stop. I found my strong and I finished.

After downing down an entire bottle of Gatorade in one huge gulp I gave myself a little "high five" for banking my third 22 mile before Eugene. I have (2) 24 milers and then the fun of tapering begins. YAY!!!

I finished my last 11 mile portion of the run with an average pace of 7:23. Right on target! I just didn't feel good about the run because the last 7 miles killed me. Again, there is a reason why I do nothing the day before a long run. Racing on Saturday was fun and I loved getting a shiny new PR, however, I don't think I will be doing that again. Another lesson well learned.

I am proud of myself for sticking this one out. It would have been so easy for me to just text my husband and have him pick me up or just stop and walk the rest of the way to his game. It was a roller coaster of a week for me so to even be out there running is a huge blessing. Less than 5 weeks until the Eugene Marathon!

Questions for you:

What do you use for long run hydration?

Ever have to stash clothes along a long run route and then go back and pick them up?

How were your weekend workouts?

--Tasha