It was a great Easter Sunday. I started off with a packed Easter mass with the Cardinal. That was pretty cool. I then got out for a though 20 mile run in the afternoon. I ran Forbidden Drive and West River Drive on this route.
I wanted to get in a hilly long run, since the marathon I'm training for will have hills (mostly downhill thankfully). Therefore, I parked near Falls Bridge and started towards the Lincoln Drive path. That is paved until Forbidden Drive. I carried a 12 ounce Gatorade with me to start, so that was a little difficult. At least I had some good hydration early. That didn't hold up throughout the run.
Forbidden Drive was nice as peaceful. It was fairly crowded, but overall not too bad. The trees still aren't quite in yet, but they did at least provide some shade from the 75 degree temperatures. It hasn't been close to this warm for quite awhile, but I managed to survive. Having on a singlet was definitely a help.
The Forbidden Drive stretch was definitely tough. The hills actually didn't bother me as much as I thought they would. They seemed much tougher months ago when I didn't have much hill work. I've clearly made progress in that area. Running the trails around Forbidden Drive has been a huge plus.
Slowing my pace down helped too. That said, it was still a big struggle coming back. A guy came off the road near Valley Green and ran near me. I stopped at the water fountain after passing him. It wasn't working, so I went back to running. I caught back up to him and passed him again. I'm not sure if it was him or someone else, but a runner was right on my heels heading downhill. I lost him though on the uphill and he got off the road.
When I hit mile 9 of the run, I was really wondering how I'd finish. My left calf was sore as was my right hamstring. They seem to always be a problem and get close to cramping when I don't hydrate right. Even though they are different muscles on different legs, they seem to always act up together. I made it through mile after mile though. My main focus was to just get to mile 14 and back to my car for some Gatorade.
I made a brief stop to grab another 12 ounce Gatorade. I polished that one off very quickly. I was quite thirsty. I still have to find a better way to hydrate. Handhelds are uncomfortable and I always have to switch hands. The belts aren't bad, but my IT band often acts up.
I was relieved to find a trash can just past Falls Bridge. I ran on West River Drive, because it was closed to traffic. That is nice, but at the same time, there was no shade in this section. I wondered how I could make it much further, as the hydration didn't seem to help much. I just keeping going though. Several times, I thought about turning around before the 17 mile point. I knew the further I went though, the less miles I'd have to add when I got to my car.
I was about to turnaround early at mile 16.5. Then I noticed two attractive girls on the path. I had to pass them, so I kept going. I went the final half mile and turned around on the path, just past where the road was closed.
As I was headed back, a park ranger was taking down signs on the road. It opens to traffic again at 5 PM and it was right around that time. I elected to head back on the path for the rest of the run. There was a water foundation that another runner used right by the Columbia Bridge. I forgot about it. I stopped and got a drink. that probably would've been helpful on the way out too.
The last few miles were grueling, but I kept a pretty solid pace. I was under control on this long run for a change. I actually felt better than last week's run, even with all the hills in this one. Running more controlled was probably part of the reason. Last week's run was too flat and fast.
I just kept focusing on the next mile. That was the only thing that got me through. When I got a little sorer, I slowed down a bit. I still finished fairly well, even though I was exhausted.
I concentrated on my form at the end of the run. I need to do that more. In addition to not hydrating enough, I think my other problem is tensing up. I get sloppy with my form as I tire. I end up becoming tense, instead of relaxing. I tried working on that today and it seemed to help. I need to do even more of that.
It was an amazing run. I was just thinking of how far I've come in the past year. Last Easter, I couldn't even run at all. Now, I'm finishing up a hilly 20 mile run in preparation for marathon number 2. I think if I wasn't injured and got a few more 15+ mile runs in, I'd feel even better right now. I still have a pair of 20+ runs and an 18 miler before the race though. I should be good to go.
I'm a little sore as I write this, but my body has definitely adapted to this. I feel better than I did after 12 mile runs last fall. Even after being on my feet all day yesterday, I'm still pretty good.
Tomorrow is an easy 4 mile recovery run. Since this is so short, I need to get up and run before work. I want to add some strides and such on the grass with my Vibram Five Fingers too. That will be a nice and soft way to test them out.
20 miles - 2:46:44 (8:20 pace)
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