Keep Battling

Today was another good simulation for the marathon. I essentially ran the final 12 miles of it, with only a few minor exceptions. One of those exceptions was that I didn't run on roads. I ran an out and back on Kelly Drive through to Cotton Street in Manayuak and back.

I went out well and felt very good early on. Starting off downhill at the Art Museum really helps to get a nice pace going. That's exactly what happened. I didn't push myself too hard, but instead concentrated on running nice and smooth.

After Falls Bridge, things got interesting. Shortly after that point, it turns to sidewalks. The road is narrow, so running on the sidewalks is a must. I'm not sure if it was a result of running on a different surface, but I started getting disoriented. I eventually made it to the turnaround, but wondered how I'd make it the full 6 miles back.

On the way back, I ran on the side of the roads in Manayuak where I could. That sort of helped, but I still didn't feel well. I just decided to see if the surfaces were the issue. I figured if I got back on to the usual path and still didn't feel well, then I could walk.

Once back on the Drive, I started to feel much better (especially when getting in shade). I actually took it pretty easy for the next couple miles. I had a couple runners go by me, but wisely chose not to try to go with them. I hadn't drank any water, so I told myself I'd just run to the water foundation. I actually still felt very good when I got there, so I just kept going.

I had read that a lot of people make it through multiple miles by telling themselves, "just one more mile to go" over and over. I did that and it really worked. I finished the run very strong. As I got to the uphill before the Art Museum, I came across a women running at a nice pace. I followed her up most of the hill, before throwing on my patented finishing kick. I blew by her and finished strong, although tired.

I didn't drink any water and that might've been some of the reason for the disorientation. I did work on breathing better too, so that might've worked as well. I bought a hand held water bottle and need to try it out this week. I didn't want to do that on such a long run. I'll do it on a short run, possibly on Tuesday.

I didn't eat an energy gels either. Rather than eating them before long runs, I'm only going to use them during runs from now on. I think they might've been contributing to my bathroom problems. I didn't have any bathroom issues this time.

I didn't feel that I pushed hard in the second half, although the last two miles were pretty strong. However, I'm pretty sure I was faster in the second half of the run. That was quite surprising because I thought I slowed down.

I am very happy with my progress thus far. I feel like I'm already good to go for the half marathon. I still have 3 weeks before it too. I still would like to improve my speed some though.

Tomorrow is a scheduled cross training day. I'm going to count walking at the AMA Motorcycle race as cross training. I'll definitely be walking for over an hour. I actually did that today as well. I'm sore, but it's a refreshing soreness.

12 miles - 1:41:37 (8:28 pace)