Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Don't Fear the Long Run

Posted by CheapRunnerMike

The Long Run. For some it is a scary monster lurking at the end of their week, while for others it is welcomed like a long lost friend. Usually I am the latter, but I found myself this past week dreading my long run. I had taken a few days off from my training when we went to Chicago, which coincided nicely with some little injuries I had picked up (knees and achilles). My last long run before Chicago was a 28K run that ended up being a 32K run in some warm conditions. It left me struggling with said injuries.

Two weeks later I had come face-to-face with another long run...the training schedule said 30K but I knew that wasn't going to fly. My right knee had really been bothering me and I already was making excuses to myself, like "I've just run four straight days", "I have plenty of training time left before my marathon to get long runs in" and "I'm not feeling great and shouldn't push myself". But that "30" was still on my schedule and by now it was Sunday morning...only a few hours left in the weekend to get the run in. So I got out there and did it. I did decide to pull the distance back a bit to 25K and I also made an effort to keep a steady pace of 5:00/km (8:00/mile).


Don't feel like running? Well suck it up, Buttercup.

The run went GREAT! I kept bang on 5:00/km for the first 20K before ramping up a bit for the final 5K. I came through the run feeling awesome, no pain at all...my first pain-free run in over two weeks. Although it was very hot, I kept myself well hydrated and kept my desire to go faster in check...it seemed to work well and I will need to remember that combination. I commented to my fellow CheapRunners about how nice and sunny it was, and that it was nice to have a run where I smelled like coconuts instead of what I normally smell like...love my Hawaiian Tropic! As it was Father's Day I even had a hug from my little guy waiting for me at the finish line.


"I shall call him...Mini Me"

Final stats for the run...25.6K (16 miles) in 2 hours 4 mins for a 4:51/km pace. A very satisfying run, and the best part was that I still felt great...the 25th km was my fastest which is always a great way to end a run. After downing a Powerade and grabbing a shower I settled in for a little matinee baseball.


Landshark in hand, Tigers on TV

Well deserved chill time...unfortunately that was my last Landshark, so another trip to the States is probably in order. I didn't sit around for long though, just one beer and it was back to puttering around getting cottage stuff done.

Father's Day finished up with a great BBQ at my sister's place, which you read about in Michelle's post yesterday, and then my first 10-minute plank. I was planking for so long I grew a big ol' moustache haha!


 

Do you look forward to your long runs? Why or why not?

How do you like to chill after a long run?

 

7 comments:

  1. Charlotte@CommitnessToFitnessJune 18, 2013 at 9:20 AM

    1. holy plank time batman! 10 minutes?! 2. congrats on that run!! i always tend to go too fast too quickly and its my downfall, i need to learn to pace myself in order to complete longer runs. 3. happy belated father's day! lol love the austin powers reference

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  2. Dang - you did a plank for 10 minutes?! Awesome!!!
    Depends on the run for me - sometimes I really look forward to some of my extra long runs!!!
    Great job getting yours done Sunday!!

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  3. katie @ fromicecreamtomarathonJune 18, 2013 at 10:36 AM

    Great job on getting it done. Awesome pace too! I always look forward to my long runs! Maybe because I know it's just a couple hours of time alone! I like to chill after my long runs with a nap. Boring, I know. I usually wake up early for them, so am worn out afterwards!

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  4. Thanks Charlotte...everyone is always saying how much Jackson looks like me. So much easier said than done with pacing, it's hard to hold back sometimes :)

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  5. 10 minutes fo sho :) I love my long runs too, I look forward to the challenge and seeing my improvement

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  6. Thanks Katie! I agree about the time alone...my runs are about the only time I get to myself (not complaining!), and when I do my long runs I am out on old farming roads so I am completely on my own...so peaceful. I've tried to nap after races but just can't do it...I am too amped up after a run, even though I'm exhausted.

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  7. Ya he's pretty cute :)
    My first plank was just over a minute. I thought that we were only supposed to be doing one-minute planks every day. Then Michelle told me the point was to do it as long as we could so I started trying to add time. My first plank after finding that out was 2:31

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