Long Run DNF Turned Brick (M4T W9 Results)

I probably could have predicted this would happen.  I woke up super early this morning without my alarm, raring to go on my 20 miler.  I started out nice and easy, knowing it was going to be a while and not wanting to burn too many matches at once.  By mile 4 I knew I was going to be making a pit stop at home.  Hello GI distress, it's been a while...

At mile 4.5 I took care of business at home and headed back out.  By mile 7 I knew I was in trouble again.  Really??  My legs felt great!  I wore my new Bombas socks!  I was mentally prepared and my playlist was ready.  I think my legs and stomach have a secret agreement that at least once per training cycle they sabotage a long run.  It happened week 12 training for my first marathon (here,) it happened week 15 training for my second marathon (here) and it happened week 7 training for my third marathon (here.)  This is week 9.  Now I'm done with it!

I'm not sure what triggered today's problem.  I've eliminated any sugar alcohols (Xylitol, Sorbitol, etc.)  I ate my normal 2 pieces of pizza last night for dinner - no large amounts of meat or veggies. I was hydrated.  Again, I think it's just a little conspiracy that my legs and stomach have going on!

I ended up only running (and I use that term quite loosely) 9 miles. I was home for a little while and didn't want to throw in the towel completely, so I decided to finish my 20 miles on my bike.  No, it's not the same as running 20 miles, but I thought it would be better than nothing!  I don't have GI problems when I'm on the bike - running is more jarring to my system.  I noticed that I was also starting to feel dehydrated while I was out riding, which makes sense because when my stomach is sloshing around on a run the last thing I want to do is put more liquid in it!

Sunday - Rest Day
Result:  Rode 12.39 miles in 1:03:01, 11.8 mph
The one thing I miss when I'm training for a marathon is being able to ride my bike a little longer and harder.  Since last Saturday's long run was only 10 miles that I ended up doing very slowly, I rode a little longer and hillier route here.

Monday - 4 miles easy (10:35 pace)
Result:  Rested

Tuesday - Intervals - 8-9 miles
Result:  Rained out, so I rested again.

Wednesday - 3 miles easy (10:35 pace)
Result:  Ran  9.82 miles in 1:44:36, 10:39 pace
This was my interval workout.

Thursday - 4 miles easy (10:35 pace)
Result:  Rode 9.43 miles in 59:17, 9.5 mph
This was a trail ride.  Because of the rain we received earlier in the week the trail was perfect.  Only a couple of puddles, but not dry and dusty like it has been.  Les rode with me and he only had one hour between meetings.  I pushed hard to keep up with him and ended up having my best time on the 6.8 mile segment that is the actual part.  This was good enough for 8th woman overall on the Strava leaderboard!

Friday - Rest day
Result:  Rode 10.42 miles in 52:39, 11.9 mph
My usual Friday easy spin.  I like keeping my legs, heart and lungs moving without the actual pounding of running the day before my long run.

Saturday - LSD 18-20 miles (10:35-10:50 pace)
Result:  Ran 9 miles in 1:49:44, 12:12 pace and
Rode 11.51 miles in 1:09:52, 9.9 mph
Total 20.51 miles in 2:59:36.  The right distance, a little less time than it would have taken if I was running my planned pace.  My cycling miles were really high this week, but that's going to change.  We'll be in Hawaii for the next few weeks so I won't ride at all.

Total planned miles 40
Actual
Running  18.82
Cycling 43.75
Total 62.57

Last Week's Training and a Brick Workout

I decided to call last week a taper week - because my miles were really low.  The time change knocked me for a loop.  It just seemed SO dark and I had a really hard time getting out the door.  We also had Santa Ana winds with gusts of over 50 mph - NOT happening. I'll spare you all the details, I ran twice (14.01 miles), walked twice (6.01 miles), and rode once (10.31 miles) for a total of 30.32 miles. So far this week I have over 25 miles, so I think I'm adjusting.

This morning my plan was to go riding.  Les had a 7:00 meeting, so he couldn't go.  He mentioned going running when his meeting was over and I said I would join him, creating a Brick workout.  Bricks refer to training on two disciplines during the same workout, one after the other with minimal or no interruption in between, just as you would do in a triathlon (source.)

I headed out for my ride and there was no wind.  About 3 1/2 miles up the trail, the wind became fierce.  Since the trail isn't straight, the wind was constantly changing - from a headwind, to a tailwind, to a crosswind and back to a headwind.  9.42 miles later, I was home and the wind was getting stronger...

Les' meeting finished up and we headed out.  We were immediately blown around!  Since Les doesn't run often or long, I knew our route was going to be about 2 miles, I figured I could get through it.  The real "beauty" of a brick workout is how rubbery your legs feel on the run!!  We had one steep climb that Les went up without any trouble - I had to take a couple of walk breaks.  Then we turned a corner and were faced with our strongest headwinds yet!  We finished our 2 miles and I was ready for a break.

I do think this is another great way to train for a marathon.  Running on tired legs is going to happen during a 26.2 mile run.  I think riding 10-12 then trying to run 8-10 would be great practice, but for now riding 9 and running 2 was more than enough!