The Big 20!

9/16/13-Fleet Feet fun run

I headed out to Fleet Feet for the Pint Night fun run. The fun run would last between three and six miles depending on the distance people wanted to run. My marathon plan called for a five mile run so I went with the five mile group. Asics also had some reps there and people could try on a variety of shoes they had. I wanted to try out a neutral pair of shoes, so I went with the Gel-Lyte33 2.

Night time view of the lakefront on the fun run

The guy in the red in the picture led the five mile group run and he went out pretty fast. I tried my best to keep up with him, but I just could not. It felt good to push it a little and try to catch him; it felt like a little bit of speed work. I ended up losing the group and creating my own five mile run.

Asics Gel-Lyte33 2

The shoes felt pretty great. When I put them on before the run, I felt pretty weird in them. My feet were really close to the ground and I did not know how'd I feel about that (6" heel drop), considering at the time I run in the GTS 13's by Brooks. However, they ended up feeling good. They are also very lightweight. I probably would not run a marathon in these, but I think they would be good for mid-week runs during training.

Once I got done stretching and rolling out (and making a few purchases-more on that later), I headed to Benchmark with a few others who did the fun run. Depending on my work schedule, Pint Night fun runs are definitely something that I would do again. I enjoyed hanging out with other runners and fun run leaders while watching the Monday Night Football game. I tried not to have too much fun because I knew I would have to get a run in with my high schoolers.


9/19/13-Hazel run

Before I headed to Benchmark, I made a few purchases. The first purchase, actual running shorts.

Brooks Men's Essential 2 in 1 7" Short

I went the Brooks Men's Essential 2-in-1 7"shorts. Running shorts have always been something I avoided since I started running. They always looked too short and pulling off that look is something that I did think I could do. I settled on the Brooks partly because I know the brand, but also because they were recommended to me.

They got their first test during a six mile run with some of the cross country kids. It took a while to it being short, but I felt good in them. I never felt uncomfortable and I love the compression portion of the shorts. If someone asked me to recommend a pair or shorts, these are the one I would suggest to them first.

The actual run felt really good. We pushed it pretty good and kept it around a 7:33 pace. It could have been an even faster pace, but the head XC coach did not want to push them too hard. It is a good thing he led the workout, because I probably would have pushed them harder. We all did an ice bath after the run and I felt confident about my 20 miler!

9/20/13-20 Miler

And it's time for new shoes(has been for a while)

SaltSticks Capsules were the other purchase I made. I purchased them specifically for my 20-mile run and breaking through the wall during the marathon. One of the things I learned as a salty sweater is that I lose more salt than others. This may seem more like common sense, but this is just another lesson I have learned as a runner.

If the 20-miler were going to happen, it would have to happen after work. I had a weekend full of activities and would not really have time to run. While getting ready for work, I packed eight capsules in a bag because I did not know how much of them I would need; I planned on taking one every 30 minutes. Fast forward to finishing hours later, it would be time for the run.

The only mistake I really made is drinking a naked juice before the run. It would definitely come back to haunt me later. The first seven and half miles of the run went really well;this is when my stomach stopped thinking the run would be going well. It forced me to take a unwanted mini pit stop. Back to my regularly scheduled run.

Despite the humidity, I felt great during the rest of the run. I ended up taking six capsules during my run and I felt they really helped. I carried a water bottle with me (which I did not really care for) because I figured there would be very little water fountains to take the capsules. My legs felt great during the run and I never felt too fatigued.

I looked at the splits after my run and felt really good about them. There were only two splits I did not care for were the one with my stop and mile 16. I have to have the confidence that things will get better during race and I will hit my goal. When I got done analyzing my run, I walked around for quite sometime, stretched and ate two clif bars (White Chocolate Macadamia nut might be the best clif bar I have ever had). It is easy to just want to sit down after a long run, but that is not a good idea; keep your legs moving!

With the 20-mile run complete, I feel ready for the marathon. The picture above also shows that I am ready for some new shoes. It is probably a crazy idea to switch now, but the shoes are long overdue for a change. I am not sure what I will purchase, but it will probably be in the Brooks family of shoes.

9/21/13

I am including the day after the run because I learned a very valuable lesson. It is very important to drink lots of water after an extremely long run. I felt like I had, had enough, but I woke up feeling nauseous and dizzy. I talked to a few runners and they concluded I had been dehydrated. Normally I do a really good job of staying hydrated; my body felt otherwise. I drank a lot more water on Saturday and felt better about six hours after I woke up.

Hydrate properly!