Well I did it! I got my 17 mile run done. Friday, October 19 I set out to run regardless of the weather forecast calling for downpours and thunder. This run had been on my mind for weeks. I was mentally preparing for it, mapping out my route and watching the forecast. Every day it was showing rain, and lots of it. I was disappointed. I don’t mind running in rain, but downpours weren’t something I was looking forward to. Thankfully, even though it is October, the temp wasn’t going to be cold. All week it was in the 60s but Friday it was going to be humid and rainy.
The RUN
So this is how it all went down… I got my son on the bus, dropped Adrienne off at school and went home to get the last of my things. As I got home the sun popped out! I wore my capri running pants and calf sleeves and my rain jacket. I hit the road around 9:30. It was warm and dry so I had to take off my jacket a mile into the run. I tied it around my waist and thought about it for the next mile and half. I wasn’t sure if I should head back to the house to drop it off or keep it with me in case I got wet and cold. I chose to keep it with me and around mile 4 it started to sprinkle heavy so I put it back on to stay dry. It worked well. I stayed dry and wasn’t too warm. I had a whole new route mapped out which went down route 17 towards North Haven, past All Saints Cemetery and up North Hill Road, then back up route 17 to Rimmon Road, to route 22, Salem Road and back on 150 through my normal route close to home. The rain really started to come down at the last hour of my run. Around 12:00 it poured. I had to pull out my ear cover band and put that on so my ear buds would stay dry. That worked out pretty well.
FUEL
For fuel, I had my camelback with red gator ade, Gus and a waffle chew. I only used 2 Gus. For breakfast I had oatmeal, skim milk and a banana. I didn’t feel the need for additional fuel after my 2 Gu packs, but my stomach was growling during the last hour of my run. That is a first for me. I never feel hungry while running. I had sufficient energy during the entire run and my legs held up during the additional 2 miles after my 15 mile I did a few weeks back. I cramped up a little when I stopped running so I did the bike for a few minutes and kept moving around before I took my ice bath.
Emotions
I gained a lot of confidence after this run and am almost looking forward to my 20 mile run scheduled for November 10. Having new roads to run on is a major help. I have to think of my new route for the 20 mile run. I liked where I went for this 17 and have to find some variations to it to add 3 more miles while adding new roads. I am not as scared of the marathon. If I can keep up these great long runs then I know I will be ok. I listened to the Two Gomers podcast during the run and one Disney Podcast and that was perfect.
Recovery
I felt pretty great the afternoon of the run and the next morning only had a little soreness in my quads. My hamstring issue wasn’t an issue at all and my shin splint was pretty quiet. I think because I wore my calf sleeves that helped. My physical therapist taped my hamstring for me for the long run. I don’t think I’ll need that in the future, and I am not 100% sure it was what made the run so successful so I will see what happens for future long runs.
My recovery run on Monday was ok. The shin splint is more nagging now than before and I have a run scheduled for today so I have only run once since my 17 mile run and I have to do a 5 mile this weekend. With a hurricane heading in our direction for next week I have to figure out when I can get out to run Monday and Tuesday, then Halloween is Wednesday. Might have to do one day on the bike to keep the legs going despite the weather. I wouldn’t mind running a short run in the weather… stay tuned to see what happens!