I was a bit concerned going for a long run because I have been having a little pain in my left foot and left leg when I run slower, so I was very cautious and paid close attention to what my body was telling me. I don't want to hurt myself this close to my first Half Marathon.
All in all my run went really good, until near the end. I ran the first 2 miles a little fast which I think caused me some issues at the end, not to mention the steep hills I had at the very end. I didn't hydrate till after the first 7 miles. I felt fine before then, but looking back should have probably drank some water and and a GU pack a bit earlier. At the 7 mile mark I stopped in and bought a gatoraide and water and drank the gatoraide with a gu pack (yea, probably not wise either - will not do that again) I kept the water and used it with another GU pack at about the 11 mile mark. I will have to work on the spacing of these a little better in the future.
I was hurting pretty bad at the 13 mile mark, and had to walk about a tenth of a mile up the steepest hill of my entire run, and about 13.5 my calf was tightening up and causing a lot of pain. I was able to persevier and finish the 14 miles in 2:22:54.
Following the run I drank a quick protein shake and had a banana. I stretched and was hurting pretty bad. I didn't sit around, but rather took care of some errands which kept me out and about much of the next 5 hours. I think this was a good thing because all I wanted to do was just crash.
Well, that is it for now, if you are a runner reading this blog, I really appreciate it and would love any feedback that you can offer.
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