That’s right. My last long run is in the bag. 20 solid miles at an 8:59 pace. It turned out to be my fastest 20 mile run ever. So, I guess I’m improving? Can I also add bonus marks for doing speedwork the day before (deliberate choice – I sorted of wanted tired-ish legs), and running ALONE WITH NO MUSIC for all 20 miles? I even tempoed the last 5 miles, but that was rough, and I didn’t really enjoy that part at all. Once I was finished, I had a total runners high and far too much excitement to get an effective nap in. This proceeded to ruin the rest of the weekend. Running is stupid.
I did try out a couple of new mid-run snacks. (I’m sorry, I kind of hate the word “fuel” when it relates to running. It’s food. Fuel is what goes into cars and planes). I completely broke up the run into 5 mile increments, and at the end of every 5 miles, I would get a sugary treat. Yes, this is a healthy approach to running. Anyway, the first new snack I tried was the Powerbar Energy Blasts in Strawberry Banana. I have lots of Power Bar Gels in my “bag of free running food I’ve picked up at Expos that I might eat during the apocalypse, but most likely not before”. I think they’re disgusting – the consistency is all wrong. However, the Energy Blasts are totally delicious in a Haribo kind of way, and are likely to become my favorite running food. Even though I’ve stuck with gels throughout my previous races, I think I’m going to switch to these for Wineglass.
The second energy-laden sugar high I tried was the new Salted Caramel Gu flavor. Hmmmmmm. The jury is out on this one. I found it impossible sweet to try and take in, but really liked the additional sodium, and the fact it played nicely with my stomach. It really was quite hard to choke down. I think that if I had taken earlier in my race I would have done better, but the last food stop is always hard for me to get anything down.
Weird but true: instead of fantasizing about the post-run carb fest I would have, I actually ended up focusing on what I was going to wear as my post run recovery wear. Intense debate for multiple miles on whether I should wear snuggling warm leggings or shorts and compression socks. Oh, and which hoodie to match all this with. Weird things that your brain does while running, but I love that getting warm and cozy are now part of recovery rather than continuing to sweat in the 90% humidity.
The next two weeks are about taper. My taper plans still involves a fair amount of running this week, and 13 miles on Saturday. Anyone want to run a half marathon with me?
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