Dreadful Long Run
Posted by john on August 25, 2008 in Running
Yesterday I went out for a 16 mile long run. My course was to leave the house, run down Monroe to East (near the Liberty Pole), run along East Ave into Pittsford, head west on Monroe to Schoen Place, take the Canal Path to Winton and come up through 12 Corners to home. A fairly ambitious run!
As soon as my first foot hit the pavement, I was in a bit of pain. Apparently the race the previous day really took its toll on my leg. I figured the pain would go away after a few miles, so I pressed onward, though somewhat slower than my goal pace (10:15 as opposed to 9:30-9:45). After 9 miles, the pain finally subsided, and I was just about in Pittsford. I should note that on my long runs, I have been running on the grass adjacent to the sidewalk whenever possible, to help protect my legs. Once I got on the Canal Path, things were still going good and I had brought my overall pace down to about 10:00 minute miles (my trusty GPS watch tells me cool things like that). Unfortunately, this is where things started to break down. I had not consumed any gels (when am I going to learn?!?) and my body started to let me know. I suspect that even though I fueld properly the day before, my 5K race had fatigued my legs substantially. Around mile 10.5, I started to slow down (though not too bad). By the time mile 12.75 came up, I was wishing I had a cell phone to call someone to pick me up! At mile 13, I left the Canal Path at Edgewood and walked for a short bit (I also celebrated at Salvation Font at Clover, just a mile earlier). The stretch of road on Edgewood between the Canal Path and Monroe is cursed. Both times I left the Canal Path at Edgewood, my running went to poop. I was able to shuffle to Fleet Feet on Monroe, but I was spent at that point. It was 15 miles, with a pace of 10:34 (which is roughly my full marathon pace from last year). I ended up walking home from Fleet Feet, stopping to drink 2 bottles of Gatorade along the way.
I still struggle with longer runs - part of it might be in my head, but part of it has to do with my endurance and fueling plan. For my next long run, I should not race the day before, and be dilligent about when I take my gels. Hopefully I will be doing 17-18 miles next Saturday (and I will not be running Friday!).
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