Total: 20 miles (marathon pace + 30 seconds)
This week's total: 31.8 miles
This was the first 20 miler that I was able to hold my pre-determined pace! I was very surprised. But there are reasons that I believe contributed to my successful run. The story goes like this.
Earlier this week I had a conversation with a very respectable triathlete while at the pool. I told him that I seemed to have a hard time holding pace through 20 miles. I find that I crack around 18 miles. He said that is what he hears a lot from other runners, mile 18 = cracked. I told him I didn't know what to do in order to prevent myself from cracking. He asked what happened to me around 18 miles? Was it my stomach? My legs? I said that I really had no idea. I feel like I keep up with my nutrition, I don't feel that I go out too fast in the beginning. Yet, come 18 miles, I feel like I just can't move. My feet hurt, my legs burn and they feel heavy. Mental? Absolutely. Physical? Maybe a little.
He told me that when you get up there in mileage the run does become a mental game. I agreed even though I was convinced there was something wrong with my legs. He was told that around 18 miles to expect to crack, so he was prepared for it. He told me that I should be prepared for it too since I know it's coming. He said that since he knew it was coming he would eat. Not that I never thought about that, but I thought since I keep my nutrition on a time schedule that that wasn't my issue. I would hate to veer off my planned nutrition schedule. But it was something to think about. Eat more.
I continued to tell him that's it's also very mental for me knowing that I have ran 2 twenty milers to date, (this conversation was earlier in the week remember) and that I couldn't hold pace on either one. I was good through about 15 miles, miles 16 and 17 I could hold dead on pace, and then 18 I would go to crap. But I did tell him that no matter how much I crack, I refuse to EVER walk! No matter how much my pace slows, I REFUSE TO WALK. And I told him that. And you want to know what he told me? He said, "well if you refuse to walk, then you should refuse to slow down. Just don't slow down." I thought about it, maybe he was right.
I woke up this morning and thought about the upcoming 20 miles. I will be honest, I wasn't looking forward to it. I woke up dead tired and with a headache. I had a long day the day before. It was cold and it snowed the night before so the roads were slushy, snow covered and icy. It was just a dark gloomy day. But I figured I had to do something to get me out of the "I don't want to do it" funk.
So I went on mapmyrun.com and mapped out a completely new run course. Those that know the kind of runner I am, I HATE hills. I mostly train on a flat gravel path. But today, I checked out the upcoming marathon's elevation map and realized that it wasn't all flat. There were some hills. So I decided I needed to challenge myself. The only way I would get better at running hills would be to run hills. So I mapped out a route with tons of hills. Surprise, surprise! Of course I had a bit of anxiety not knowing how it would go trying to a hold a certain pace and trying to conquer hills at the same time. But I dressed up, filled my fuel belt, plugged in my mp3 player, set my virtual partner and out the door I went. Oh yeah, I added something new to my fuel belt besides the normal vanilla cliff shot gels. I put a pack of jelly beans in my coat pocket. Remember, 18 miles will be approaching, eat something!
It's amazing what a change of course can do for your overall attitude. I found that I wasn't watching my watch, counting the miles or constantly looking at my pace. Instead I was looking around at the scenery and I actually enjoyed running. It didn't feel like a 20 mile chore. I got to mile 10 easily and I was about 5 seconds under pace. I usually try to stay slightly under pace. If I don't start out on pace or slightly under I have a very difficult time trying to pick up the pace later on. Mile 9 was a bit difficult though because the road was slanted so I felt like I was running lopsided. I wonder what the drivers thought who were passing me?
Miles 11 and 12 were difficult too because there were two hills to climb and a headwind that delivered a beat down. I kept thinking about running with a race pacer. If I was currently running a 20 mile race I wouldn't want to lose that pacer going up a hill, so I kept telling myself to "keep up!" "Don't lose the pacer!" I also thought about the advice given to me earlier this week. I decided to open my bag of jelly beans and pop a few. I have a hard time chewing things on the run so I just left them on the side of my mouth and carried on. It's amazing what that did for me when I was climbing those hills. I wasn't thinking about the hills, how bad my legs burned, how bad my feet hurt, how much chest burned from the cold air. I thought about the jelly beans, the taste and chewing them. It was nice to have a different taste in my mouth. Normally it's vanilla gels and orange gu brew. Now I changed it up and added fruit punch!
Mile 15 came and I thought to myself okay give yourself a mental break and fuel up. I knew I had at least 4 more hills ahead of me and 5 more miles of running. Now 5 miles isn't a lot, but having 15 already under your belt, 5 can seem like an eternity. I thought to myself, "okay, you would never allow yourself to walk, so don't allow yourself to fall off pace. No matter what, don't slow down." I fueled more than I think I have ever done on any run. I popped a gel, drank my gu brew, ate more jelly beans and I was off.
Hill number one, not as bad as expected but still hurt. I just kept telling myself, "don't allow yourself to slow down, no matter what."
Hill number two followed a steep downhill, so running uphill felt like an eternity. But I kept using my self talk, climbed this hill and afterwards had a good 2 miles of straight running.
Mile 18 came and I had more energy than I have ever experienced. I'd lie if I said it didn't hurt, my legs were burning, but I was able to move forward.
Mile 19 I just wanted to be done but kept telling myself you have 1 mile left, you've already accomplished 19 on pace, DO NOT slow down and lose it in the last mile. And that was enough to get me home.
After I stopped my watch, I re-checked it to make sure it wasn't lying to me. I really did just run 20 miles of hills and on pace! I am beyond satisfied. It really has become a mental game for me at this point. Physically, I can run that far. I can run a full marathon tomorrow if I had to. But what I really took away from this run is that even the most motivated athletes need motivation.
It's so true. If I would not have had that lengthy conversation a few days prior to this run, I believe I wouldn't have approached it the way I did. I would have woke up, thought about running yet another 20 miles, by myself, in the cold, with snow on the roads, etc. etc. Instead I was able to think of ways to make this run more enjoyable and to make the pace more attainable. By the way, I didn't choose to run hills because I thought it would make my pace more attainable. But the fact that I ran 20 miles of all hills and was able to successfully hold pace gave me more confidence then I could have ever imagined. It was time to buckle down, and that is exactly what I did.
With that said, I officially have one more 20 mile training run before race day!
I am truly thankful for such a great support group and that I am friends with some amazing athletes who don't mind if I pick their brains. I have really learned a valuable lesson with this run and that conversation.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going!
This run's route map and elevation chart::
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/170808278
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