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.
Hey Tim! Congrats on the blog! Just wondering, are you following a 1/2 marathon training plan? I was not aware you are supposed to run more than 13 miles this far away from the 1/2 marathon date. IF you are following, please share it with me, since I have a 1/2 to do in May.
ReplyDeleteTim ... please don't overdo it. 14 miles seems too far to run before a half marathon. I hope the calf is OK. If it is still painful don't run on it too quickly ... and then maybe do a few run:walks before you go back to full running.
ReplyDeleteGood luck
Mike
I am using a 1/2 marathon training plan, I was going to mention it in the post but forgot. I am using the Jeff Galloway plan "to finish" not for a time goal since that is really not a big issue for me... I just want to finish.
ReplyDeleteI am following the plan kinda loosely, but still fairly close... does that even make sense? :) The plan has you running 14 miles a couple weeks before the 1/2, and 12 1/2 a couple weeks before that. I am a little ahead of schedule. I looked at the schedule back in eary November and decided I was already running on a regular basis at about the week 3 so that is where I started. I started it about 2 months before I needed to but I wanted to get going on a plan so if anything happened along the way that would delay me that it wouldn't cause me to all behind the schedule and not be ready on race day. I was glad I did, because I ran my 12.5 mile run (week 13) on December 22nd (I actually went 13.1 because I was so close to the 1/2 Marathon distance) and then that next week came down with a really bad chest cold that kept me from running anything longer than 5 miles for a few weeks. That would have put me in a bad place if I was right on schedule with the specific race day. I am currently about 3 weeks ahead of schedule. I ran my 14 yesterday, which should only be two weeks before race day, but I have 5 weeks left. I plan on just repeating the last couple weeks of the schedule until race day (with a couple modifications).
I hope that all makes sense, I just treated it like the race day was earlier than it really is in case of some schedule slippage.... which did happen.
As for my calf, it was feeling fine once I got home and did some stretching. It actually felt better before I even finished, I was just getting really bad cramps about 1/2 mile out before finishing. I didn't really feel "pain", just cramp type pains. My legs were overall just completely spent since it was a mile further than I had ever gone before, and I am sure I could have done a better job refueling... I am still trying to figure all that out.
I am now on the schedule to do my next long run in two weeks so I will have plenty of time to recuperate. Other than the expected soreness the day after I am feeling completely fine. I am completely resting today, and I will not be doing legs when I work out tomorrow morning, as I didn't on Friday the day before my long run. I will be running somewhere between 3 and 6 miles on Tuesday morning depending on my legs.
Thanks for the comments!!
Yeah I have done this before ... start early in case I miss a week or two. You're obviously following a solid plan. Glad the calf sorted itself out.
ReplyDeleteKeep on running
Mike
Tim,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog. Your progress is impressive. You're going to smoke that 1/2 marathon.
Hey Tim! Congrats on the blog! Just wondering, are you following a 1/2 marathon training plan? I was not aware you are supposed to run more than 13 miles this far away from the 1/2 marathon date. IF you are following, please share it with me, since I have a 1/2 to do in May.
ReplyDeleteYeah I have done this before ... start early in case I miss a week or two. You're obviously following a solid plan. Glad the calf sorted itself out.
ReplyDeleteKeep on running
Mike
Tim ... please don't overdo it. 14 miles seems too far to run before a half marathon. I hope the calf is OK. If it is still painful don't run on it too quickly ... and then maybe do a few run:walks before you go back to full running.
ReplyDeleteGood luck
Mike