Regarding my Long Run

Sunday's Post


Today was my first *real* long run of my half marathon training. I really enjoyed it. I did another 8 mile run a couple of weeks back, but I was still in tri-mode. 

I had a few thoughts:

1.) I might need to work on my nutrition. I did 1 GU at the start, and 1 each 30 minutes. I didn't run out of energy as much as I was starting to feel it in my legs. However, it might not have been a nutrition issue (see #2). I have to learn this all over again. I used to take in too many calories, but I did it because I had severe anemia and didn't know. I'd run out of energy and think "I need to fuel more". Now, I have that problem fixed, but I don't know what I'm supposed to take in. Again, see #2 because this might not have been a nutrition issue. 

2.) Prior to my long run, my Saturday workout included a 1 hour LT bike workout + a 2.5 mile run. I had a great bike and run on Saturday. I noticed on Sunday, right from the start, my legs were a little heavier than normal. At first, I thought it was because I was carrying the extra weight of the water. Then, I started thinking that this is the first time in over a year that I've done a hard Saturday (bike/run) and then a longer run. I probably need to get used to it.
3.) I missed my pace (that was in my training log), but again I think this had to do with several things. 1.) I ran when it was hotter outside because the race is in Florida. My heart rate monitor kept beeping at me to slow down, but I felt fine. So, at mile 3, I decided to turn it off and just run as I felt. The result was that the first three miles ended up being quite a bit slower than I think I could have run. 2.) My house is at the top of a 2 mile long hill. My pace always drops off for the last 2 miles. The GOOD NEWS is that it's not dropping off as much as it used to. I was VERY HAPPY!

4.) I am enjoying running longer again. That's a really good thing. I had started to hate it. Now, I look forward to it. I'm really going to have to work on not going too slow because that's how I have always run. It will take me a little while to get out of the "plugger" mentality and to overcome the desire to just stop and walk for awhile. (I do stop when I take Gels or when I take water, but it's only for a few seconds.) In the past, I would just stop running and walk for a long time. Baby steps.

I'm going to call today's run a success. I felt really good about it. I know I have a lot of work to do, but I can see where I struggle. I think doing the short races with a few longer races mixed in is a really good idea for me. I'm not quite ready to jump into doing half marathons, but a 5k feels super short after running +8 miles.

7.7 miles in 1:30 = 11:40(?) pace. Goal pace was 11:15.