Not an official race, just went out to one of my favorite trails (the Bear Valley fire trail in Stinson Beach, out to Arch Rock and then headed north along the coast, turned around and headed back) and kept running. 160 minutes at an 8/1 interval (suggestion from a friend who is doing the Marine Corps Marathon soon), based on my pace (10 min mile over that same route) I estimate approximately 14.5 miles total distance, that’s rolling hills, fire trails and dirt tracks.
The interval running was something new and felt pretty good (I’ve done 10+ miles at a constant jog before). No blisters but one or two hotspots, stopped for a minute and aired out one foot, that really helped. Parts of the trail are basically sand and especially uphill that sucks.
Had some chafing on my thighs for the first time; I was wearing shorts with a liner brief, next time I’ll switch to shorts with a pair of wicking compression “boxers” (fit tight and extend to mid-thigh) to mitigate that.
Legs are pleasantly sore right now, as are my shoulders - for the first time I took my big Camelbak along for a run which was definitely a good idea, I went through most of a 100oz bladder plus 40oz of gatorade. The 1 minute walks were the perfect time to take a sip of each and so maintain hydration. Pace was perfect from an aerobic standpoint, aside from the first couple of minutes (the first 2+ miles of the trail are uphill) I was breathing normally and muttering along with my MP3 player. Never out of breath, no abdominal stitch.
The last half mile I could feel my calves starting to tighten up and I got a little careful about my gait. I was pretty sure that the instant I stopped running I would get a massive double charley horse which didn’t happen - I ran right to my truck and immediately went into some stretching which I think saved me from flopping around on the ground like a fish. Kept flashing back to a marathon I saw on TV years ago where two people simultaneously bonked 100yards before the finish line and crawled/dragged themselves to the end. Very heroic in a race but probably not on a casual weekend run.
Everything involved is dirty, sweaty and stinky (including me) so everything into the wash/shower. Now squeaky clean and anticipating pizza; I had a good breakfast and no lunch and have paid a pretty hefty calorie tax today
Hitting this distance was a “Yeah, maybe I can do that someday” goal a while back. 2 years ago I was about 212lbs with high cholesterol. Now I walk around at under 175lbs and cholesterol is normal. This is a nice personal victory. Just felt like sharing.
Good job! No, Great Job! The number of overweight people in this country with high cholesterol verifies the difficulty of your achievement.
Some advice, find some sports lubricant (no, not that kind of sport!) at a running shoe store. Then you can use any old shorts. Drink 2% chocolate milk afterwards. It really is the perfect mix of protein, fat, and carbs to recover quickly.
Thanks! It definitely felt like more of a milestone than any particular amount of weight I lost (up there with getting my cholesterol down).
I assume you’re talking about BodyGlide or one of the other slippery gels? On my next comparable run I’m going to use the clothing approach I mentioned (I do this a lot, just didn’t happen to wear it this time) and see how it goes. I did get some stuff called “blister guard” for my feet - it’s a fine powder made of teflon and wax, you put a spoonful in each sock (I’m already a sock maniac, all my socks are wool trekking socks and I use polypro liners when going for longer runs and hikes).
No bleeding nipples, I’m happy to say (no cotton shirts).
To be honest, I don’t think that milk would have gone down very well afterwards. I had a clif bar when I stopped and more water, then had a craving for sugar, salt and simple carbohydrates so I pulled into the general store down the road and got some Sprite and potato chips. My old college roomie (runner, adventure racer) and his former g/f (triathlete, ultramarathoner) said that the food stations on a lot of long runs are stocked with french fries and oreos, I thought those’d be the worst things to eat but now I can totally understand it.
There’s not much that tops the sense of accomplishment that comes with setting a goal for yourself, doggedly pursuing it, and then kicking it right square in the ass.
Yes, BodyGlide, or any of the various similar products. I used to wear socks that were kind of double socks. They had an inner and outer layer that were separate. I now just wear thin socks. I think I blister less. (I tend to blister only when I run downhill at high speeds for a fairly long distance. I wear orthotics and the repeated impact creates a hot spot at my arch, but I would also get them on my heel when running the Pikes Peak Marathon.) I’ve don’t put anything on my feet or in my socks. A friend of mine will use deodorant on his feet. Hey, whatever works is good, but try experimenting with lighter, thinner socks.
This has never been a problem with me. I dunno, maybe I hunch my shoulders too much. Maybe I’m too manboobless.
I’m blessed with the ability to eat almost anytime, anywhere. It is one of my true gifts. I wouldn’t try chocolate milk until at least 15 minutes after a long run, unless you share my gift. In ultras, a lot of guys now seem to stick to soups and things like jelly sandwiches, because their stomachs get on edge. I think all the sugars in the gels does it, personally. The first time I bonked, before I was a runner but took a long bike ride, my college roomie had a good laugh. I ate absolutely everything in the fridge. What got him was when I grabbed the first thing I saw - a head of lettuce - and started eating it like an apple, while I made some kind of health food like Kraft Mac and Cheese. (The only thing we had that would satisfy that salt craving.)
