Week 7 Day 48 - Long Run

Excited.

Pumped.

Thrilled.

PROUD!

Tonight I ran 13.1 miles for the first time ever! WAHOO!

I was scared because of the fiasco the last time I tried to run 12 miles and fell short. If you remember- I could barely walk and I had only gone 11 miles.

That was two months ago (September 13th) and I know I've trained since then and should be much stronger. So, I headed out with my fuel belt on and a new book downloaded to my MP3 player.

The first 5 miles felt great. I was still finishing my last James Bond book from a few days ago and I was trying to take it slow.
11:27
11:41
11:31
11:23
11:20

After mile 5 I took a break to stretch my hips, eat some GU and drink some agua. I kept the clock ticking though because I wanted my overall time to be as accurate as possible. During the marathon, I plan to stop periodically to stretch and consume some refreshments, so I want to see how I do overall even with those pit stops.

13:28 (break)
11:43
12:38 (more water)
11:54
11:51

After the next 5 miles, I stopped again. I took another GU and drank some water at which point I had realized I was totally out of water. On the corner, there was a gas station so I ran inside and bought a bottle of water to fill my fuel packs. I did stop my Garmin at this point b/c I figured this would not be a normal stop during the marathon. I won't have to worry about taking my belt off, unscrewing the caps to each bottle, filling them, then reassembling the belt.

Once I filled my water bottles, I felt great! I had 2 miles left and realized- I CAN DO THIS! I felt an extra pep in my step the final two miles went fairly smoothly.

13:27
11:20
11:29
1:07 (.1 mile)

Total time = 2:36:25, Avg pace = 11:56/mile

When I reached my distance, I stopped, reached my fists into the air and screamed! I'm totally proud of my time since it was my first time running that far. My goal is a 12:00/mile for the marathon so I mean, you can't get much more consistent than that! HELLS YEAH!

Physically, I also felt great. No quad pain AT ALL! What a relief. My hips do tend to get tight every few miles so I have to stop and stretch but I'm okay with that. And once I stopped to walk after the 13.1 miles, my knees started to hurt, but not until I stopped running.

I came home, took a long hot bath, and then iced my knees.

One thing that's crazy to me is my weight. I weighed myself before I left and than once I got back (but after I ate a South Beach bar and drank some Powerade). I had lost 8 POUNDS! EIGHT! Isn't that crazy? I mean, I know it's normal when you run that far, but it's still crazy to me. I ate dinner after I got out of the tub so I'm sure I've gained most of it back, especially since I drank a ton of water and Powerade since. Just proves why it's so important to continuously replenish your body when running long distances.

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn