I can describe my 22 mile long run in two words: IT SUCKED! I did everything that I was supposed to do to prepare for the long run. I drank a lot of water and gatorade in the days leading up to the long run, carb loaded all week, took 2 days off from running before the long run and even got a good night's sleep. I had everything set out and ready on Friday night including my running clothes, sneakers, Gu, water bottles and hydration belt. I wokeup on Saturday morning and I was feeling a little bit nervous about running 22 miles all by myself, but I was as ready as I was ever going to be. A trip home for the weekend meant that I would not have any running buddies with me for the first part of my run and I was going to have to tackle 22 miles all by myself. I had such a great 19 mile run that I thought that 22 miles would not be too bad, but mother nature had other plans for me on Saturday.
I set out for my run around 9:45am and right away I knew that I should have started at least 2 hours earlier than I had. I was only 1 mile into my run when I realized how difficult this run was going to be. The temperature was already over 60 degrees, or at least it felt like it. I was dripping sweat already so I decided to head back to my parent's house to change into a running tank instead of the t-shirt that I was in. I had my favorite Pandora station on and I continued on my way. The beginning of the run was not too bad and I was doing a pretty good job pacing myself. I was going slower than normal because I wanted to make sure that I had enough energy left at the end of the run. I was feeling really good for the first 8-10 miles, but the temperature was beginning to rise pretty quickly.
Most of my run ended up being in the direct sunlight and it was over 70 degrees by the time that I finished. This meant that I needed to drink more fluids than normal during my run. My hydration belt holds 40 ounces of liquid so I had 30 ounces of water and 10 ounces of gatorade with me. I also carried a large water bottle that holds about 32 ounces. I thought that this would be plenty of water since I usually drink 2-4 ounces of water at every mile. I was only a few miles into the run when I began drinking water every 1/2 mile, which is something that my body is not used to. I was not going to let myself get dehydrated on such a long run on such a hot day. It was so hot out that the Gu at miles 5 and 10 did not make much difference. It was around the half marathon mark that I realized that the rest of my run was going to be a pretty big struggle.
I was hot and tired and losing motivation around mile 14. I also was beginning to run low on water. Luckily, I decided to stay on one side of town so that I would be close to family. My route kept me running the roads between my parent's house and my brother's house. I made a quick phone call to my dad and he drove out to meet me and bring me some water. I filled up my water bottles and got ready to continue on my run. At this point, my body had too much water and not enough water at the same time. I was so full from all of the water that I skipped my Gu packet at mile 15. I was still 7 miles away from my goal and was really doubting my ability to be able to finish this run.
The next 7 miles were far from pretty. My legs were just automatically moving without me even needing to think anymore. I will admit that I had to briefly walk a couple of times during my last few miles. There was no way that my body was going to be able to run all the way to 22 miles on such a hot day without slowing down. I did manage to have some more Gu around mile 17 or mile 18 and I started to get some energy back. When I reached 19 miles, I was really excited because I was about to run further than I have ever run before. The next 3 miles were the longest 3 miles ever. I did enjoy seeing my best friend and her boyfriend during the last stretch of my run. I was so in the zone and focused on finishing that I am pretty sure that I jumped 2 feet in the air from being scared by the car horn. They drove alongside of me for a couple of minutes and that gave me enough motivation to keep moving my legs.
I was back at my parent's house around 21 miles and was disappointed that I was not done yet. I wanted to be near my parent's around the last couple of miles because I had never run that far before and wanted to be on the safe side. After alternating some walking and running during the last few miles, there was no way that I was going to let myself walk any of the last mile. When MapMyRun announced: "Distance: 22 miles, Time: 4:06:42, Average Pace: 11:12 min/mi," I could not believe what I had just done. The run that had been so much of a struggle for me was finally over and I had actually completed my long run. I was so proud of myself for completing 22 miles, but I was also a little disappointed that I had not run the whole thing without walking. As I completed my mile cool down walk, I reminded myself that it did not matter because 22 miles was a huge accomplishment for me.
The hours following the long run were a little bit more difficult than the last few miles of the run. However, I learned some valuable lessons on Saturday about long runs. I will never complain ever again about getting up early to do a long run. If I had gotten up earlier, then I would have avoided the hottest part of the day and would not have struggled as much. I do not think that the actual marathon will be too bad because it starts pretty early in the morning. The other mistake that I made was not wearing sunscreen on such a hot day. When you are preparing to run 22 miles, you do not even think about needing to wear sunscreen. Needless to say, four hours of running will result in sunburn.
I really think that the heat and the sunburn were what caused me to have such a difficult time. I was not too sore after the run and am not even really sore today. I did have some difficulty walking up and down the stairs Saturday and yesterday, but my legs feel great today. When I was done running, I had to have my brother take off my sneakers for me. I knew that once I sat down that I would be done for the day. After a shower, I ate half a banana, kept drinking water and took a nap. I finally had a meal about 3 hours after the run and began to replenish all of those calories that I burned off. It was a little difficult getting out of bed on Sunday, but my body is in much better shape today.
I cannot believe that I ran 22 miles this weekend. I never would have imagined that I would be training for a marathon one day and here I am at the peak of my training now. It was much more difficult than I thought that it was going to be. Based on how my training has been going, I really expected to be able to complete 22 miles in about 3:45. I do not think that 4:06:42 is too bad for a 22 mile run because this was my first time ever running that far. My only goal for the Buffalo Marathon is to be able to finish the race. I do not care how long it takes me. I have spent many weeks preparing for this and I did not exactly have the most ideal conditions for 22 miles. Even though I struggled a lot this weekend, I am more than ready to conquer 26.2 miles. I know that race day is not going to be easy, but I've worked so hard to get this far. It will also help that my mileage is beginning to cut back now so that my body has some time to recover and rest before the big day. IT IS OFFICIALLY TAPER TIME!!!!
441 miles complete in 70:52:57 and only 26 days until conquering 26.2 miles!
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