Life's little adventures, accompanied by a running watch

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Simple Math…

…is not so simple when you’re in the middle of a 24 mile training run.  I had a 2 mile warm up with Bella planned, then 2 major loops to give me 24ish and a fuel stop in the form of my mailbox.  When I finished the first major loop, I was at 14 miles.  Easy enough to calculate the remaining miles, right?  One would think. 

The minute I left my house for the final loop, I started my mile countdown.  You know how it goes, “OK, I’ve done 15, so I have 7 left” (this is what was going on in my math challenged brain).  Then at mile 16/17, I celebrated yet another mile-ish down, leaving me with 6….

Finally, somewhere between miles 17 and 18, it hit me.  I knew I was on a 24 mile course, but my auto-pilot-running-brain defaulted to my standard longest run, which is 22.  So throughout much of my run, I was calculating miles remaining based on a 22 mile course.  I couldn’t help but laugh at myself and (out loud) called myself a knucklehead.  Don’t judge me on my 70’s terminology.

I wasn’t too shaken by the mileage realization; I think I was more focused on the hills ahead of me.   


The weather was great and finally providing a pre-Fall crispness to the air, the part of my head that wasn’t responsible for math was strong, and my legs kicked out a 9:39 average pace for 24.47 miles.  I have to remind myself of the importance of the walk breaks (though I did get a few in there today).  I continue to practice eating real food in addition to my steady diet of GU and Gatorade.  I’ve stopped worrying about my 2nd long run; I never feel it’s possible immediately after a Saturday extra-long run, but by the time Sunday rolls around I’m ready to roll again.

I haven’t quite wrapped my non-mathematical brain around a 31 mile training run yet.  That might be as possible as my ability to do simple math!


10 comments:

  1. Wow- seriously impressive training run! I can't fathom running a 24.5 mile run, forget about 31!
    Hope you're relaxing tonight!

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    1. Thanks :) I could say the same to you - I can't fathom training for an IM!

      BTW, was in bed way before your 9:15 pm comment!!

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  2. Totally sounds like something I would do, but hey, you could have given in and just decided your brain was on 22 so you were just going to stick with that.

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  3. What a great run! And those are some serious hills - wow!

    Curious - what are you eating on your runs? I've been thinking about moving away from GUs and am looking for ideas.

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    1. Thanks Michelle, added more hills for today - just for kicks and giggles :)

      The following seem to work for me, though every stomach is different -

      Jelly sandwich
      pretzels
      chicken noodle soup
      boiled potatos

      If I think of anything else (or discover anything else), I'll keep you posted!

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  4. you encapsulated my thoughts about the next-day long run exactly! after 24 miles, you are definitely thinking no way in hell but, sure enough, your legs pull through for you on sunday!

    i love ultra training!

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    1. I know, it's amazing! I'm completely embracing a rest day for sure :)

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  5. Sounds like a great training run for your ultra! I've eaten pretzels, too, and sometimes raisins, dates, apricots or fig newtons in addition to gels. Jelly sandwiches sound like a good idea, too.

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    1. I hadn't thought of fig newtons - good idea!

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