Longest Run

Today was the big day (well the one other than the marathon anyways). It was the 20 mile run, the longest prior to the marathon and my new longest run ever. Oh, and of course it was raining. What would a Saturday long run be without the raindrops.

I saw that the forecast said it was cloudy in the morning with rain in the afternoon. Of course it rained a lot during the run. Most of the time it was just an annoying mist, but sometimes it came down at a good clip.

I started off nice and slowly. An attractive female runner passed me early on. She had a nice pace going, so I tucked in behind her and took it easy early on. That was a big help in the early stages.

The fuel belt was bothering me during that part of the run. I filled it completely this time and it was really heavy early on. After awhile, it's not too bad because you get used to it and plus it weighs less after you drink some fluid. It does put quite the strain on your body though. The first 5 miles felt like 10 miles without the belt.

After about two miles, I decided that I was probably getting annoying being right on the girl's heels. I picked up the pace and passed her. I would've been better off staying behind for another mile or so.

Just like last week, when I hit mile 6, I was already feeling it. My legs were pretty sore, although I think running on the soft track the other day helped them recover. I was wondering how I'd finish. The back half of the first loop seemed like forever. I never enjoy the West River Drive portion of runs. Everything is too much alike. Key markers are hard to find.

Initially, I was going to run two loops and then run to the grandstand and back to complete the 20 miles. After the first loop, I was feeling kind of tired and sore, but I was in a good rhythm. I decided it would be easier both physically and mentally to do the out and back to the grandstands in between each loop. That way, I'd have to finish 20 miles to get back home.

That strategy worked well and when I got back to Lloyd Hall, I decided to take and quick bathroom break and do some stretching. I spent about 5 minutes total doing both. I think that was quite helpful.

On the second loop, I just took it short segment by short segment at a time. There were markings every quarter mile that said how far it was back to Lloyd Hall. That was kind of maddening early in the loop, but as I got closer to the finish, it was a huge relief.

Just trying to make it to Falls Bridge was a huge goal. West River Drive was lonely during the 2nd loop. I did pass quite a few runners multiple times. I'm betting a lot of them were on their long runs too.

On the way back, I just focused on the usual landmarks. First it was the Strawberry Mansion Bridge. Then came the grandstands, followed by the Girard Avenue Bridge and finally the start of Boathouse Row.

I was very sore from miles 16 on. As I got further and further though, it was rewarding knowing that only once I went farther in my whole life. Even as slow as I was going, I actually still passed a few runners. At one point, I decided to pick up the pace. That works wonder for your muscles. You wouldn't think that running faster after 16 or 17 miles would help, but impacting the ground in a different way is a huge plus.

I was quite sore, but my energy wasn't too low. I ran out of liquid at the end. I brought three GU gels this time, but unfortunately, I dropped one out of my fuel belt. I still felt that I could've pushed harder at the end though, if needed.

After finishing the run, I did longer stretches than usual. My legs are still very sore though. I can't imagine what they'll be like after marathon day.

I tried to take an ice bath after I was done watching a football game. I put in too much water and didn't have enough ice though. It just ended up being a cool bath. It still might've helped some.

Finishing this run was a huge relief. A few weeks back, I was riding my bike and nursing my sore leg. I was unsure if I could get to this point, let alone complete the marathon. Now, I know I can do both. This was huge, both mentally and physically. I'm really looking forward to the taper period now.

If I can get up tomorrow morning before the Eagles and Giants game, I'm going to bike for an hour. It might be tough to do with the World Series on tonight as well. If I need to, I'll ride during the Packers and Vikings game. Hopefully, I won't forget this time though.

20 miles - 3:02:49 (9:08 pace)