Had an eventful 17 mile marathon training run this morning. Started last night at 9:30 as I was stashing drinks & snacks for the run. My husband thinks this method is crazy and we should invest in camelbacks. He has a point. However, those little grocery bags with drinks & treats is often our bright spot on these long runs that gets us from point "a" to point "b". Anyway have any feedback or good ideas about bringing drinks/snacks on long runs?
Then we met at 4:15 am to start our run. 3 of us. Got the route online and really appreciate the runner who posted it. It was very accurate and a nice run. We started at a church on Bluff St., went up through Snow Canyon and took Hwy 18 back to the church. Some steep uphills inside Snow Canyon, but only for a couple miles. The whole 2nd half of the run was downhill.
Chris & I started at a good pace, but Heather was lagging from the get-go. She has had a cold and I think that compounded with a demanding baby has left her depleted. Don't blame her. It was dark so we had a small flashlight that we were trading off carrying. Unfortunately Heather was far enough behind that her path wasn't lit very well and she fell over a speed bump entering Snow Canyon. Biffed it pretty bad, skinned knee, lots of blood. Rocks embedded in her hand. Ok- she already was having a cruddy run, but this was the last straw. After she fixed her cell phone (which broke in the fall) she called her hubby to come get her. This was only about 5 miles into the run. So Chris & I were looking at 12 miles, just the 2 of us. Chris stated it best- when you lose a member of the "team" it takes some of the energy from you. We were bummed for Heather, but I esp. felt guilty because I was holding the flashlight when she fell and was too far ahead of her AND I should have pointed out the speed bump better! I did mention the bump, but she didn't hear me. OH WELL- At least she's leaving for the beach & Disney today for a long weekend and should come back a new woman.
So Chris & I plugged along after Heather left us. We were getting to the tough up hill now so conversation was limited. But Chris is cool to run with because its easy to have comfortable silence with her. We were so happy to make it to the end of the park and hit Hwy 18 where it was all downhill! Yeah- it was starting to get light and the commuters were flying by so we had to be careful along the narrow side of the highway. I was wearing black & white which is really good to wear when you run along a black & white highway (NOT).
Then at mile 12 that's when my bowels screamed "THAT'S ENOUGH"! Never fails, no matter what I eat before a run, around mile 11/12 I gotta find a potty! This wasn't something I wanted to take care of behind a bush. Sorry- I know this is way too much info-but I also know alot of you runners can relate. So anyhow- that slowed me down for a couple miles while my eyes scanned the horizon for a port a potty. At about mile 13/14 I finally saw a porta potty- never been so happy to see one in my life! Afterwards felt like a new woman and could once again enjoy my run for the last 3 miles!
It ended up taking us about 3 hr. 40 min. which is a 12/13 min. pace. We were hoping it would take less than 3:30. But of course Heather's injury, potty breaks and 5 food/drink stops took up quite a bit of time! I think when Chris & I we were actually RUNNING, it was probably about a 10-10:30 min. pace. I'm not too concerned about our pace, but wonder if this kind of SLOW training run will really do much good to help prepare us for the marathon? I'm the only 1st timer, Heather & Chris each have a few marathons under their belt. So I'm following their lead...
Anyway- overall it was fun (although I still feel bad for Heather) and a GREAT scenic run, would even be better in the light of day- ha ha! My body felt good the whole time, didn't get sore of chaffed (last long run my shorts chaffed my legs- wore different ones this time) My feet are blistered ( I think I'm in the wrong shoes- never had a problem before w/ blisters in Asics, currently I'm in Saucony) and my toes feel bruised. But not bad and I really plan on getting some new shoes in the next week. Anyone have feedback on bruised toes? I seem to get bruised toes occasionally no matter what kind of shoe I wear. Does this mean my shoes are too big or too small- or is it just unavoidable?
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