Saturday, December 28, 2013

The Longest Run I Ever Ran Before My Longest Race (My 20 mile training run)

Before we start, I have something exciting to tell you, if you don't follow me on Facebook:  my kind friend Pavement Runner nominated me for the Hilarious Health Activist Award at Wego Health!  I would love it if you would take a moment to endorse me.  It's just a simple click, and you can also endorse your other favourite health activists, or even nominate one!!  Click here!
Thank you!  And now, on with the post!

Hello friends.  I hope you're all enjoying a nice holiday with your families.  Since this is usually a time of year for reflection, it seems appropriate for me to go back in time to the summer, and review my training...


Actually, that is a lie.  I'm sorry. 

The truth is, this is my first opportunity to write about the training; the timing is just coincidental.  The next few posts I write will detail some of my very long runs. Let's start with the longest training run, shall we?

The date:


The plan:



Up to that point I had run one successful 15 miler, then did not complete my next 2 long runs (I was on vacation and between my training, walking an average of 8 miles a day sightseeing, and the humidity, I had a rough time.  I know, send the whaaambulance.)  Since I was not at all anxious in any way about this run, I had convinced Ann Marie that we should do it together.

The whole way to her house I couldn't shake the feeling that I was forgetting something. Then I remembered what it was.



Also, my earbuds.

Since everyone has 50 billion pair of these, Ann Marie hooked me up.  We headed out, but I was still feeling nervous and fidgety.


In hindsight, maybe we both were.

Our route was basically 2 laps of a 10 mile loop, that included a drawbridge that never opens...unless you need to run across it.

Twice.


Aside from the bridge, we had to stop for occasional traffic lights, and multiple water refills.

At that point in my training, I had developed blisters upon blisters on my big toes.  They would typically numb up after a few miles, but each time we had to restart running, it hurt.  Ann Marie was hurting too.


We were taking our run in 4 mile chunks, just as Erika had instructed us:

Chunk One:  4 mile warm up.


Chunk 2:  4 miles at 10:20 min/mile pace.


Chunk 3: 4 miles at 10:15 min/mile pace.


Chunk 4:  4 miles at 10:10 min/mile pace.


Chunk 5 was, mercifully, a 4 mile cool down.

At Mile 15.1 I made a comment proclamation.


We decided we should high five to commemorate the occasion.


We discovered it was surprisingly difficult to connect when both people were moving.

At Mile 16 we found blackberries along the trail!



They actually grow wild here.

We stopped our watches and made like squirrels preparing for the winter freeze.



They were, without a doubt, the very best blackberries I have ever had in my entire life.


Ever.

Feeling refreshed and hopped up on natural sugars, I was sure that the 4 mile cool down would be a breeze.

I was wrong.

By Mile 18 I was ready to be done.


So ready.

It didn't help that by that point on our route we were on a very popular recreational trail. Also, I kept looking at my Garmin every 0.2 miles.


But we slogged on, and in just 3 hours, 33 minutes, and 14 seconds we were DONE!

We limped our way back toward Ann Marie's place, agreeing that it felt like we had growing pains in our legs.  It was a strange sensation but it didn't last too long.

And then we high fived.


Successfully. Because we were standing still.


Ok, don't forget to endorse me! If you want to.


UPCOMING POSTS:  RUNNING IN FRANCE, YEAR IN REVIEW

38 comments:

  1. Great post. Interesting and funny. Helps knowing that you too feel pain when you run even though you seem to achieve so much.

    I am planning on a marathon in May but think I will probably end up doing a run/walk version. I have a standard training plan that I am sticking too but can you recommend a run strategy - like the one you have just done? I can google but always helps if someone has one to recommend. Thank you and love your blog.

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    1. Thanks Moonboots! Do you want to email me and we can chat more? I'm not sure I can provide a lot of help, but I'm happy to try! My email is trigirl(at)tri-ingtobeathletic(dot)com

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  2. Oh I would have gorged too! I've found wild blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. I've even emptied out my water bottle just to fill it with berries. And now I miss summer. How many months till we can find berries again????

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    1. Now I'm jealous that all I get are blackberries! I think I've got 7 months until they are back :(

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  3. Isn't it amazing how sweet and amazing ANYTHING tastes in the middle of a long run?! Nice work... the first 20 miler is one of the hardest runs to get through!

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    1. Yes--it's insane how delicious stuff tastes! I'm now excited for my next training cycle so I can be a bit more technically inclined...hopefully :)

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  4. Consider yourself endorsed. Good luck in the contest. The 4 mile chunk thing was new to me. I have no idea how you continued to run on with blisters. If I so much as have an itch, run over. I would have been afraid to eat the berries in fear that I mistook them for some sort of poison berry.

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    1. Thank you Pickleope! I just grit my teeth and keep going until I don't feel them anymore :) The blackberries are rampant here, so everyone knows they're edible...I never used to eat wild berries for that same reason :)

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  5. Ah, good for you both! Love wild blackberries and we have them here too, just before Fall. I always love your stories. Hope your blisters heal up soon.

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    1. Thanks Elle! Wild blackberries are the best! The blisters did heal--after my marathon :)

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  6. I love you. I love your running. I love your photos. I love your ambition. I love your spunk. I love your crazy adventures.

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  7. Ugh, that is way too many miles. But I strongly approve of the blackberry snack break.

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    1. I know, it's completely ridiculous. But, the blackberries tasted sooooooooo good because we ran so far.

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  8. Hahaha congrats on an AWESOME milestone girl! You've got this in the bag for sure!

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    1. Thanks Katrina! This was kind of a rewind post...I ran the race in October and I *did* finish it!

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  9. I just love looking at the pics of do here - so fun.. on the running - holy cow!!!! :) I endorsed!!!!

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    1. Thank you for the endorsement!! And the kind words :D

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  10. Great job!!! Your pics are too funny! I endorsed you!

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    1. Thanks Mindy! And thank you for the endorsement!!

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  11. I added my click as well. Plus, I'm pretty certain I couldn't do 20 miles. But I did do 5K before, so I guess you have to start somewhere. :)

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    1. Exactly! If you wanted to run farther, you could. Baby steps :) Thanks for the click, Ken!

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  12. How about I skip all running and simply eat the berries? I like that training plan, especially as I used up my energy laughing, then endorsing you. Hope you win. Or at least cross the finish line of humor blogger-estest!

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    1. Yay, thank you Kymberly! I don't necessarily see myself winning, but it is fun being included :D

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  13. HAhahaha ... I can't believe you ran that far in that short a time! So whenever you feel discouraged, just remember that down here on the other side of the world is someone who finds your achievements STAGGERING!! Happy New Year!!

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    1. It didn't feel like a short amount of time, I'll tell you that :) But thank you for your support, Red! I really appreciate it! Happy New Year to you as well!

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  14. oh man I am SO bad at looped long runs or races, i love just going out...out....ouuuuut and then being like well you have no choice but to run back, ha!

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    1. I definitely used to feel that way too, Amanda. I think it depends on the loops for me, as sometimes there's a sense of accomplishment knowing exactly how much I've done...but then knowing how much is left can be rough too!

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  15. I endorsed you. You are hilarious!

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  16. I admire your toughness so much. Those berries must have been a fantastic little break.

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    1. Thanks for that Marcy! Yes, the berries were amazing!!

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  17. I seriously loved this. Love your sense of humor and the drawings are an awesome touch to your blog posts. Visiting from Yeah Write grid. Happy weekend!

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  18. As fun as it sounds, I still have no desire to run 20 yards, let alone 20 miles. I'm sorry…so sorry to disappoint...

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    1. Not disappointing at all. We all have things we enjoy :) Although, I wouldn't say I necessarily *enjoyed* all 20 of those miles!

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  19. I don't think I'll ever run that much (lack of patellar cartilage), but this has inspired me to push my limits a bit more...I've been stuck at three miles for quite a while.

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    1. Yay!! Do it!! Watch out for that knee though, of course. That sounds awfully unpleasant.

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  20. Absolutely that person and they do. Depending on the type of training. I would call myself trained, the maximum speed I can run without stopping is 50 miles.

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