by ·Comments Off on Longest of Long Runs

On all marathon training plans I’ve seen and have actually tried, there is always a peak long run which is typically two weeks from the marathon run. Today was the day—the longest of my long runs—around 20 miles!

With my hydration pack on my back, I set my pace to be a very easy one.  I felt sluggish.

At mile 10, I had to take a pit stop as my bladder was starting to affect my run; I could not avoid it like I have in the past.  Luckily there was a McDonalds on my route which allowed for it; and did it feel good.  I don’t feel as sluggish as before, but I didn’t feel as fast as before.

The next 10 miles was a struggle.  I started to feel my left ankle get sore.  This just reminded me to keep my running form and to minimize the pounding.  At 11 miles, I started to eat some gummy bears.  I ran out of the GNU gels a few weeks ago and didn’t get a chance to get more.  The gummy bears seemed to have provided me with the necessary energy past mile 15.

At mile 17 I ate my second pack of gummy bears.  I didn’t feel the onset of weakness at all—a good sign.

My running plan has me do 4 striders starting at about 3/4 of a mile from the finish.  With my feet already tired, I pushed to accelerate over a rough distance of 100 meters, then took a little 30-second jog.

My total running time was 3:45.  Hydration and energy were definitely not a factor in this run.  However, the soreness and the call of nature seemed to have contributed to it.

Anyway, I’m about 2 weeks from the main event.  I’m suppose to taper off on training from this point on to give my body a chance to heal and recover.

by ·Comments Off on Long Runs–Things to Consider

I just finished running my long run for the week.  The run spanned over 13.5 miles, and my legs and feet are tired—no, sore to be more exact.  As I type this, I am rolling my feet over a narrow cylindrical bottle of frozen water to help reduce soreness under my feet; and it feels good.

Anyway, when doing long runs (anything in the 10 plus miles range) , you need to take into account the following:

  1. Hydration:  For my long runs, I use a hydration belt with two 8-10 oz. canisters.  This seemed to be just enough for my 13.5 mile run.
  2. Energy Gel:  At my 12.5 mile mark, I started to get that weird feeling of weakness.  Generally this can happen if your body’s glycogen (stored energy) is depleted.  Most runners hit this at around the 18-20 mile mark.  I probably hit it early because I haven’t eaten anything since last night.  An alternative to using energy gel is just to use fluids that provide some calories for the run.  I generally use Powerade for that.   It has 80 calories per 12 fl. oz., and so every sip introduces some calories into the run.
  3. Proper Socks:  When you run long distance, it is best to make sure you have comfortable socks—the type that doesn’t cause pressure points between your feet and your shoes.  When you run long distance, any minor irritant, can become an injury—blister to be more exact.
  4. Audio:  Long runs can last for as much as two and a half hours.  I typically listen to the news, an eBook, or a podcast so that I can learn something at the same time.  Some say you shouldn’t distract yourself with such things, and to just listen to your body; but everyone is different, so do what works for you.  This definitely works for me.

That is it.  Hopefully this is useful for anyone wishing to conquer a half-marathon or full marathon someday.

by ·Comments Off on Hydration: Why It’s Important

As most people know, the human body is mostly made up of water. It just makes sense that we must keep it hydrated. As such, there is a known general rule that one must drink so many cups of water—depending on your size—every day. The average person loses up to 10 cups of water a day (up to 6 cups through urine and up to 4 through breathing, sweating, and bowel movement). So just to keep up with that, the average adult has to drink 8 cups of water a day. This is known as the 8×8 rule (8 ounces of water 8 times in a day).

When you run, your body needs more water primarily because it has to sweat and breath a lot of it out to keep the body temperature cool. When it doesn’t get enough, several things can happen. I’ll list some of the most common ones below, most of which I’ve peronally experienced:

1. Thirst
2. Dizziness
3. Dark urine (blood in urine)
4. Thirst
5. Lower level of alertness
6. Chills

There are different levels of dehydration. You might hit mild dehydration (2% fluid loss) once in a while, but hitting severe or extreme dehydration isn’t where you want to be, as you can put your life in danger.

Besides failure to hydrate can severely impact your running performance. So drinking is a must, unless you simply want to pass out or don’t care how you’ll perform.

The distances I run range anywhere from three or more miles. I use a hydration belt pack that can hold 2 bottles of water or Gatorade. Each bottle holds 8 to 10 ounces. One bottle suffices for runs below six miles. I use two bottles for anything beyond six miles.

Before running, I take several big gulps of gatorade or water. Then when I run, I take good sips of water at about the one to two mile intervals. This seems to work out for me (weight: 155 lbs., height: 5’7”).