Sunday, November 23, 2014

Meanwhile, eleven miles later...

Today's long run was great (now that it's done). At different points during the run I felt like it was as challenging as my first half. Not the entire time but for 76% 86% of the time. My left hip and left ITB have been bothering me since my evening run on Thursday. They haven't been painful, but felt "tight" (that's the best way to describe it). So going into the run already feeling "off balance" gait-wise was hard mentally for me because I didn't feel 100% confident I would be able to complete the mileage (and that's never a good way to start)...
(within reason of course, don't do anything silly like ignore an injury!)

I wore my compression sleeves again because even though I still have some initial transient pain in my shins for the first 3 miles, the recovery time was much faster this past week...

I was a well behaved marathon trainee today and stuck with my 4:1s pacing group 99% of the time. There was a brief period where I was a little ahead so I dropped to 3:1s. Once I was back in sync with everyone we were approximately 1.5 miles away from completing the training mileage goal of 11 miles! It felt good to finish strong as a group.

Summary pics...

Pace per mile breakdown...

It was insanely windy along the beach before, during, and after our run. I took a few before pics to try and capture the waves and the trees billowing in the wind...

And my pre-run selfie...

Once I got home I took a nice relaxing hot shower. And then I filled the tub with hot water and did a hot-cold soak to help remove the lactic acid from my legs. A lot of people have told me about this so I figured I would try it. It's supposed to help with the recovery process so I'll let you know how my legs feel throughout the week.

I also spent some time hydrating and refueling...

So I have some important information to share (well I think it's important):
When I stepped on the scale after my run there was a 4 lb difference between my weight post-run and my weight yesterday morning. That's probably mostly water weight (despite the fact that I drank consistently throughout the run...both my bottles were empty by the end). Losing that much water weight is not a good sign. Also (and I apologize in advance if you think this is too personal) my urine post run was really dark. Which means I probably wasn't hydrated enough BEFORE my run (my own fault because I know better). 
Hydration is so important. Don't underestimate how much water you should drink in the days leading up to your long runs and your races. Another sign that you probably didn't drink enough is if you get dizzy during the run (which has happened to me before also). If that happens SLOW DOWN (or cut your training distance short that week). It's better to take a long time to get to the end of your run than to not get there at all. Running should be fun. Don't allow simple mistakes to take the joy out of it for you or put you in danger. Always remember that your performance during training and during your race (among other things) depends on how well you listen to your body and your coaches/physical therapists/doctors etc. {OK, I'm off my soap box now}

The rest of the day was spent relaxing. I'm a bit homesick so I worse my favorite Jamaica top (and matching earrings)...

I also cooked (yay)! It's hard to believe eleven miles later I still had a desire to be on my feet in a hot kitchen cooking Sunday dinner. But I did, so I made Chicken Tikka Masala, Baked Potatoes (sweet for me, irish for everyone else), Plantains, and Arugula Salad (with Chick-fil-A sauce for my "dressing").

How was your Long Run today?
What's on the menu for Sunday Dinner?
What do you like to hydrate with (water, Gatorade, coconut water etc)?

2 comments:

  1. Hehe @ the eat like no one's watching. <3

    Sunday dinner = PHO! HOORAY!

    I hydrate with water. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pho is yummy! Nice :) Do you ever have gatorade on the course? or do you use energy chews/gu etc?

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