It Wasn't Pretty, but It's Done. 22 Miles!

I've been both dreading and looking forward to today's run. 22 miles is a long way to run without a finish line waiting for you! Training Peaks said this about today's run: "Just focus on finishing. Remember, this is your last long run. When you finish, it's tapering time. Many runners mistakenly take advantage of their well earned fitness and run this last long run too fast. DO NOT make that mistake, save that effort for race day. (Pace:10:35-10:50 /mile)"

With that in mind, I planned my route for today's run.  When I leave my house I have two choices - up or down.  I chose to go up,  I knew that would keep me from running too fast.  I also ran with a light for the first 10 miles so I wouldn't fall again.  I was hoping to finish in about 4 hours, that would have been at the upper end of my planned pace.  If you read my weekly recap, you know that didn't happen!

I don't really like to overshare.  (So why am I a blogger, right?)  Anyway, in a nutshell, I am dealing with lots of side affects of peri-menopause, one of the worst being insomnia. Bottom line, I really didn't sleep much all week.  Some nights I'd get about 3 hours, others maybe 6, and those were interrupted.  It was the "stare at the clock and the ceiling" type, not worrying about anything, just not sleeping.  Definitely not enough sleep. It is what it is, other than taking a sleeping pill, there's not much I can do.  Fortunately, this only happens about once every other month so I'm very hopeful that I will be well rested on November 7th.

So, back to my run...

I woke up at 4:00 a.m. and after about 10 minutes of ceiling staring, knew I might as well get going.  I was out the door at 4:45.  My legs felt pretty good, my right knee is a little tender from Thursday's fall, but I can't blame it for slowing me down.

I ran the first 10 miles in 1:54:47, 11:30 pace.  Not great, but not too terrible because this had the biggest hill of the day in it.  I made a pit stop at home and exchanged my light for sunglasses.  I was still feeling pretty good about things at this point.

At the 14 mile mark a made another pit stop at the park.  My GI was a bit off, but I was determined to keep going.  This was my last chance for 20 miles or longer.  Mile 17 was my slowest because I started feeling sick to my stomach again!  I was pretty discouraged and feeling sorry for myself.  I really gave myself a talking to and reminded myself that my Mom went through menopause at the same time she was going through chemo.  That didn't make my stomach feel any better, but it did make me determined to finish!

One last pit stop just before mile 18 and then I was determined to get home.  Luckily I had run a big enough loop that the only way to get home was to finish my 22 miles!  No shortcuts at this point and Les was an hour away on a bike ride.  Mile 20 was my third fastest mile at 10:40. I was happy to see my pace drop to about 9:30 for a little bit during that time.  I hit 22 miles about a quarter of a mile from home but I stopped by watch immediately!  I was done.

I'm starting to wonder if GU is the culprit with my stomach issues.  Until late last year I'd always used Hammer Gel.  I'm going to use Hammer Gel next week and see how I do.  Although I used GU during my 25k and didn't have any problems, so I just don't know what is going on!

I've had several hours to think about this.  While my pace wasn't what I wanted, I'm glad I went the distance.  Surprisingly, my legs aren't feeling too bad.  My plan for the marathon will now include Imodium.

A bunch of data:

22 miles in 4:32:29, 12:23 pace
Ave HR 128
Max HR 151
Calories burned 1,116
1,129 feet ascending
1,207 feet descending
Recovery time 53 hours
Average temperature 76

To Interval or Not to Interval. Plus, I Get to Run, And Why

While we were finishing up our stay in Hawaii last week one thing I was really looking forward to was coming home to cooler temps.  I kept seeing low 60s in the morning.  That's pretty much perfect.  I got up this morning and checked my weather app:

Oh wait!  That's Honolulu... we're home in Simi Valley now:

This is a cruel trick of Mother Nature!  California hasn't gotten the memo that it's Fall now.  The highs have been in the 90s everyday since we got home and this morning was the warmest yet.  My schedule was intervals.  Mile repeats.  I was ready mentally until I saw the temperature.  That was warmer than last Friday when I started getting heat exhaustion.  I knew it would be a mile by mile decision.  I did my 2 mile warm up then hit the lap button to start running my first interval.  I started pushing the pace and felt okay for about a half mile when my heart rate started ramping up and I started feeling nauseated, again.  I'm really trying to be smart without being a major wimp, so I backed off and just ran easy for 7 miles.  I had water with me, but I think my body is sending early warning signals at this point.

This was a tough decision for me.  I really wanted to see improvement.  I wanted to feel like I was flying again.  But 79 degrees is not the day to find out if heat training has helped.  I got home to an email from MapMyFitness.com.  "6 Highly Effective Habits of a Consistent Runner."  It was exactly what I needed!  Point number one was on point:

1. Listen to your body.
Tweaks, niggles, whatever you want to call them … if your body is warning you that something may be off, don’t ignore it. Often times, when runners fear missing out on training, they’ll run through the pain, which, unless they are some sort of genetic freak, will almost always lead to injury. I prefer to take the cautious route and give any issues time to heal before I hit the road again.
By now, I know my body well enough to decipher between a serious threat and a minor issue. But even so, I’m not hesitant to tend to the sore area for a few days, cross-train, foam roll, get a massage. Sitting out of a workout or two can be frustrating, yes, but it’s a far better option than being forced on the sidelines for months further down the road.

So I'm not the only one who is cautious?  This was written by longtime runner and triathlete, Sarah Wassner Flynn.  I've DNF'd my share of training runs but I've never had a long term injury or stress fracture.  (Knocking on wood here!)  I need to remember this when I'm feeling like a wimp and realize that maybe I'm being smart instead.

One of the many thoughts going through my mind while I was running was, "I get to run."  Running isn't my job, I won't lose a paycheck because I didn't do today's intervals.  PRs and medals are cool, but running is much more than that to me...

On April 27, 1990, I celebrated my 26th birthday (I'll save you the math and tell you I'm 51 now.)  On that same day my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She was 50.  She fought an 8 1/2 year battle and we lost her on October 10, 1998.  My mom gave birth to four children in five years.  She loved her family and put taking care of us ahead of herself.  She struggled with obesity for years and lived a sedentary lifestyle.  I started running about a year before we lost her.  I knew that the odds for me were stacked because of Mom's breast cancer, but I also knew a healthy life style could make a difference.  (I've had annual mammograms since my 30s and they've always been fine.)

Mom's High School Band picture in 1956

I thought a lot about my Mom during this morning's run.  It's been 17 years and I always think about her even more during Breast Cancer Awareness month.  I may never win any races, there are plenty of people who are faster than me, but I still get to run and my number one "why" is for my health.  I'm dedicating the rest of my runs this month to her memory.  She's totally bald in the picture below, wearing a hat that said, "Another Bad Hair Day!"  She never let cancer take away her sense of humor.

What's your "Why" for running?  
Do you run through pain or are you on the cautious side?