Hitting the high miles

I had a 20-miler this past Sunday.  Challenging as it looked, the 18 last week gave me the confidence to handle the distance.  I had a clear divide and conquer strategy, which is to do the 6 mile loop three times exactly I did last week and then do a couple of laps in and around Central Park of Morris County.  My main worry was to avoid running out of drinks around mile 15-16 like last week. If I run out of drinks I will cramp up and most likely will not complete 20 miles.  I could get to the car but then it will be around mile 12 or so which is too early to refill. Moreover, since I park the car at Central Park I would have a longer uphill run back to the loop which my legs will not appreciate.  Could I park the car at the other end at Mountain Way Park? That would be very inconvenient as well.  So I decided to park the car at Central Park as usual, but pack a small bag with a couple of extra bottles of drinks and snacks and leave it at Mountain Way Park. As I would have to leave this bag unattended, I didn't want anyone messing with it or calling the cops about a suspicious package. So I left a note in the bag, visible from outside, that this bag contains my drinks and snacks and I will be running in Central Park, Greystone Park and Mountain Way area. After leaving the bag at Mountain Way Park I went to Central Park to park the car and start the run. As luck would have it, a police officer was present as the park was busy with soccer games going on in all four fields.  I approached the officer and alerted him about the unattended package I've left  at Mountain Way. He agreed that someone might call and informed his dispatch office about the bag in case they receive any calls on the emergency line.

It was pretty late before I could start from home - after 11:15 or so.  Since my morning oatmeal and a plantain I ate first thing in the morning wouldn't cover several hours of calorie needs of the body I ate one more plantain and two slices of whole wheat bread - each slice about 110 calories and I am guessing the plantain would've been more than 100 calories easily.  Although the calories were covered well, this was to become a literal pain in the back pretty soon.  Around seven miles or so into the run the fibrous snack had moved from my stomach through my bowels.  I was running the next five miles with bathroom as the primary thought in mind. As you can imagine, it wasn't fun. Big lesson here. I had to break the loop and go straight to Central Park.  After the bathroom break I climbed my way back to the regular loop.

Part of the goal for this run was to eat, drink and wear as I would for the marathon.  So the eating and drinking part was taken care of with the extra package at the other end of the loop.  I put in a change of t-shirt as well as the weather looked a bit confusing. I wasn't sure if I would feel warm or cold, but thought at least initially I may need some extra warmth and wore a long sleeve warmer biking shirt. After about three miles I started feeling too warm and changed into the short sleeve tech t.  Rest of the run was comfortable in that t shirt.  I have a toe nail that is blackened from rubbing against the shoes in long runs. I had rubbed some vaseline on that nail before leaving home, but had forgotten to rub vaseline on my body.  This caused a lot of chafing.  Also another toe was feeling the friction against the shoe and had gotten sensitive.  So I definitely need to remember to rub liberal amounts of vaseline before long runs and on race day.

The 20 mile run felt more strenuous compared to the 18 than I had imagined. A long way into the run, I was feeling like, how shall I put it, a combination of pain and stress bubbling up in the leg muscles in large patches, like tiny bubbles of pain tightly packed foaming up from deep inside the leg muscles to the surface.  Perhaps this is that zone that people dread - the 'wall' that people hit and bonk as the muscles run out of glycogen.  I could still move at the pace I was moving, so I kept at it.  If this is how the three hour mark feels like  my legs better get used to it and I better get used to it mentally, too.  I stuck with the plan of doing three of those loops and coming back to Central Park for the last mile or so. As I was turning to Central Park for the finish there were cars coming out after the soccer games. It seemed like they had noticed this crazy guy running in the area for a long time... Many of them waved at me, and some even honked to get attention and then cheered as I worked hard to keep pace at the climb back into the park.

My goal pace for the run was 9:55 min/mile.  I was surprised to see that I finished 9:56.  Last week's 18 was 10:01. I was only hoping to land in that neighborhood. Anyway, the coach should be happy. I am. Personally, I think this course is hillier than NYC course which should make running here slower and harder in many ways, but I am not entirely sure if long stretches of flat sections on the actual course would turn out to be hard for my legs... Certainly, my lungs should not be worried.

After then run, I did some regenerative exercises in the soccer field such as some versions of squats with weights - I used one of them sandbags that is used to hold the goal nets down. Also did a few burpees as usual. These strength exercises help release growth hormones in the body to accelerate the recovery and rebuilding process. At the end of it all, heaviness and pain had become the overall sensation below the waist.  Hip flexors and ITB were especially sore. So where some large muscle groups in the glute area.  This is in addition to the soreness all over the legs which is hard to localize to specific points. I slowly dragged my legs (and butt) to the car.  Even the drive home felt slooooow.  Once home, did some active isolated stretches, crashed on the couch and waited for my lunch.. Shower can wait.  The only thought in mind at the time - hope I don't have another 20 miler next week :-)  But the run was satisfying.

Only one more month for the marathon - Nov 5. The countdown has begun. I am so looking forward to the taper down phase of the training :-)

If you haven't contributed to my marathon fundraiser for NYRR Mighty Milers a health program for kids, please consider making a small contribution. Time is running out -

https://www.crowdrise.com/tcsandnyrrmightymilersnycmarathon2016/fundraiser/krishnadaskootale

That which doesn't kill us, makes us stronger - Friedrich Nietzsche (and Conan the Barbarian)

Thanks again.

If I can run, u can run