Sunday, June 29, 2014

The Importance of Calories

Today was my last scheduled long run.  The plan was for 23 easy miles.  I couldn't get up in the morning, so I didn't run at Eddyside.  I walked out the door with all my gear at noon.  It was so hot, so I walked back inside.  I decided that I'd run in the evening or even the dark.  That wasn't the worst idea.

It was cool when I first started, at least by current standards.  It was still hot enough to go shirtless and of course my shorts were still completely soaked by the end.  I hate summer so much.

I didn't eat dinner before the run.  I would end up paying for that.  I headed to Northampton for the run.  I figured that I could run on the D&L, Ironton Rail Trail and Nor-Bath Trail from the middle of Northampton.  It would take a little distance to get to each trailhead, but that was fine.  I could just about divide the run up nicely into thirds.

I parked next to Northampton High School's baseball field.  I put on my headband, filled my handheld and grabbed some GU Chomps.  I ran toward Main Street to start out.

The plan was to go out to 3.5 miles and turn back for the first segment.  I'd head over to the D&L first.  I'm not crazy about that surface, so it was a good place to start.

I felt good as I ran through town.  I was on the D&L fairly quickly.  I opened with a nice 8:10 mile.  The legs were sharp.  It was still a little hot, but in general, not too bad.  I could deal with this temperature and humidity all summer.

I cruised along up the trail.  I was relaxed and not looking at my watch too often.  The cliff along the trail blocked a lot of the early sun.  The run was going well.  I began clicking off miles at sub 8 minute pace.  I was working at a comfortable effort too.

There were a few people out on the trail, but I was surprised that there wasn't much traffic.  It was rather light.  I got out to 3.5 miles in no time and I turned back around.

Heading back to Northampton wasn't bad.  This first segment was nice.  As long as I focused on getting to the end of it, things were good.  It was when I realized how much more mileage I had left overall that gave me problems.  It seemed overwhelming.

I was back at my car just past 7 miles.  I was a little sweaty and exhausted.  The stop was good though.  I dried off, refilled my water and grabbed some more GU Chomps.

Next on the agenda was to run the Ironton Rail Trail.  This would be a little more challenging.  I'd have to run over the river on the bridge and then go down and find the trail.  I ran through Northampton, to the bridge.  I had a nice downhill segment.  I wasn't crazy about climbing this later.

I crossed over the bridge.  I saw some stairs, but then I realized that they were closed.  I started running on the road parallel to the trail.  There was a road that didn't look like it went down to the rail trail, or rather it looked like it was fenced in.

I continued on along the road.  There were lots of houses, but no path to the trail.  I was over 1.5 miles out from my car at this point.  I passed a few kids playing catch in the street.  Finally, at a dead end, there were steps down to the trail. 

I began running the trail in the clockwise direction.  I couldn't believe that I wasn't at mile 10 yet.  I had a long way to go yet.  The good thing is the sun was setting and it was getting cooler and cooler.  I felt good and at times, I was almost chilly.  This trail was quite busy.

It was slow early on, but I got into a groove and cruised along.  I was thrilled to get to mile 10.  Then I hit the halfway point at 11.5 miles.  Getting to 13 and 13.1 miles was nice too.  I tried to focus on making it to the main parking area.

That actually occurred right before 13 miles.  I wanted to get there, so that I could drink some cold water.  That brief stop was refreshing.  I was feeling a little beat though.  I was hoping to be fresher at that point.

I finished up the loop.  When I got to the bridge, I saw that the road I was looking at earlier, went up to the bridge.  I took that route.  I figured that I'd arrive back at my car around mile 15.  That would be nice.

I decided that I wanted a little more distance.  Therefore.  I ran to Route 329 and then down Laubach, back to the high school.  That got me very close to mile 16, when I was at my car.  I did a short out and back to hit that mark.

It was good to have 2 of 3 segments done.  I threw my headband off and dropped off my handheld too.  It was getting very cool and nearing darkness too.

I was shocked at how wiped out I was at this point.  I almost considered quitting right there, but I decided to tough it out.  I hoped that the break would be a big plus.  I toweled off, drank some more and popped a couple GU Chomps.

I took off for the Nor-Bath Trail.  The downhill start was excellent and I felt much better.  That didn't last at all though.  I began to feel awful on the side of Northampton High School.  I was only about half a mile into this segment.  I was completely exhausted and having some minor stomach issues.  I just turned around to go to mile 17.  I was very disappointed.

I ran to mile 17 to finish the run.  I ran very slowly up the hill to finish up.  I was quite disappointed.  The heat might've taken some toll, but I was done in mostly by not eating dinner.  I definitely needed more calories in my system, than the few I was getting from GU Chomps.  I usually don't worry about calories and I don't have a problem with them.  Without eating though, I crashed big time today.  I was even still exhausted when I got home.

I do have to laugh a little that I ran 17 miles and I'm disappointed.  I came up 6 miles short of my goal.  I could've struggled badly and made it to mile 20, but that would've been pointless.  I just called it a day.  This was supposed to be my last long run before the marathon.  Therefore, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Tomorrow, is normally my off day.  However, I'm busy on Tuesday.  Therefore, I'll probably take off Tuesday and run a bit tomorrow.  It would be nice to run twice tomorrow.  Maybe I can get up in the morning for a short run.  I'd love to hit 90 miles this week.  I think I might shoot for 20-23 more miles on Wednesday.  I don't think I can let this week go without running that far.  It just won't sit well with me.

17 miles - 2:14:18 (7:54 pace)

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