This weekend I completed my half marathon run in 2:38. My target distance was 2 laps of 11.6 Km. My target time was 2:20-2:50. I literally gave out 1.6 Km from the finish point. This means I completed 21.6 Km or 13.3 miles in 2:38. The pachyderm pace I set was, as always, 7 minutes per Km (including a 1 minute walk break for every 6 minutes run). I managed this pace out to around 15 Km and started to slide down hill from there. Amazingly enough, the training target for this run was 13-14 miles and my distance fell squarely inside those bounds. I am disheartened not from the point I gave out at or the excessive time I took but from the fact I gave out. I can offer no excuses as why I gave out at this stage only that I will be better prepared and will hit my target next time. After all the years of ‘do, or die trying’ it is hard to accept retreat as a viable alternative to success at meeting your goals. In my new post-endo life I am learning to approach things differently and keep the end goal in sight as well as each of the mile stones. So, I guess I can claim some honour in this retreat.
Now, as to the run itself… . I got up early to beat the heat. I started at approximately 0630. Due to LeRoi’s recent post on nutrition I decided I would try something new and had an apple and banana while walking the dog before the run (about 200 calories). Also, I have bought the mega jug of Hammer gel and carried a five shot squeeze tube with me. The first lap I took four one ounce shots at roughly twenty minute intervals. While this stuff does not come back to haunt you it does leave a sticky sweet after taste in your mouth for about 10 minutes. Nasty. I also carried a 800ml water bottle with about 700ml in it. I also put a single Elotrans package in it to help with electrolyte/mineral loss. At the halfway point (1.17) I refilled and dried off, I did not change my shirt. Mistake number one. Whle not feeling great, I did not feel drained as I normally would at this point. I had only drunk about 400-500ml by this point. The second lap went fairly well out to 16Km. I did not maintain my concentration and only had downed 2 shots of the Hammer gel. Mistake number two. At that point I started to notice I was feeling swollen and leaden and backed off the pace a bit. I also found that I had unwittingly downed most of my water supply by the halfway mark. Mistake number three. I started to take longer breaks and reduce the run time from 6 to 5 to 4 minutes. I finally gave out at the 10Km mark on the second lap feeling overheated (the t-shirt was like a blanket) and bloated (too much water) and my feet hurt (caused by excessive surface area). The odd thing I was not nearly as whooped as I normally am after a long run. Maybe it was the long walk home as a cool down, but I did not feel overheated at home nor sweat like a stuck pig and I found it difficult to rest during my post run nap. I think maybe the nutrition thing is working. Maybe I will end up perpetuem for the long runs.
–
Buford
I wonder, what was the temperature and humidity when you finally finished?
I also felt better after my run this week as a result of the nutrition. I got pretty grumpy-tired in the evening, but I was pretty good during the day. I think the grumpy tired was from the intensity of the steepness in comparison to my normal run.
I have experienced this die-off of concentration you describe many times. This is where a run partner can really help because you talk to each other about it and remind each other of stuff. I don’t think you should be too depressed about this. Your body has to get stressed too it’s max and then rebuild itself in order to get stronger and increase your endurance. When was the last time you ran 13 miles? The first time I ran 13 miles training for the CIM, I could honestly say I had NEVER RUN THAT FAR AT ONE TIME BEFORE! So that is what offset me from any depression about how slow I had run it. Was I fast? No. Was I laying on the couch watching TV like so many other guys in their late 30’s? NO WAY! At least not until after the run
I mixed my perpetuem pretty thick this week. I think it tasted better thicker. In an 8 ounce fuel bottle I mixed two scoops of powder with water and then I drank that amount every hour. As a result of how it tasted and how it made me feel, I may try to mix 3 scoops in that same bottle and drink that over an hour. I also had a camelback filled with water so I wasn’t drinking the sweet stuff as often as I was drinking water.
The camelback makes me run hotter I think, by limiting my surface area on my back, so I am not recommending you go buy a camelback, but how are you carrying your fluid? Maybe you should consider getting a hip belt that has two bottle pouches and having one bottle with sweet stuff and one bottle with plain water. Erin drank Gatorade exclusively when she trained for the MC Marathon and while she ran the marathon, Afterward, she didn’t want another sip of Gatorade for about a year. BTW, she has decided she isn’t running with us. It’s me n you bro!
Pat yourself on the back. You completed your goal, you learned something, and you can look forward to improvement. I didn’t run in the end of my first 1/2 Marathon either… and like Chris it was definitely the furthest I had ever run.
Don’t forget it’s just a mini-goal anyway. And your real goal for the week was just to get back on track. It sounds like you have done so.
I’ve never had bloating problems but I would have to guess it is partially caused by your lack of liquid intake in the beginging of your run combined with the extra electrolytes. When things get easier at this distance you might want to consider not doing electrolytes until you have polished off your first liter of water. (I don’t usually do any unless I’m going to be out 3 hours or more.)
Good job!
=- Curt
BTW: Did Erin buy an entry into this MC marathon that is now looking for a replacement participant? (Just curious.)
The bloating is caused by a lack of salt, on hot days you should be taking 1 succueed cap a hour. and if you are still sloshing in your gut, suck on rock salt for a minute or so and your water will go away.
just my 2 cents
chuck
Yes. I just offered it for sale today on the Marine Corps Marathon website…
Fireguy knows about bloating. He gained 12 pounds at the end of the WS 100.