Saturday I will be running 23 miles. This will be the longest training run I’ve ever done (!).
I’m stoked.
(Side note: Shout out to my buddy Eric, who is running the Berlin Marathon on Sunday, his first marathon! Way to go, brother!)
Saturday will be the second of four 20+ milers I am doing for marathon training (I am using the Galloway method, which I wrote about here). Three weeks from now I will be doing a 26-miler, followed three weeks after that with a 29-miler 🙂
I’m feeling good about Saturday’s run. For one thing, my 20 miler three weeks ago went great, thanks to taking it super slow and and all those walk breaks. That experience gives me confidence in running super long training runs.
Here are the keys to Saturday:
- Maintain slow pace (11 minutes + per mile) and take walk breaks (one minute after four minutes of running).
- Stay properly fuelled. I am bringing 3 gels, and 3 waffles (normally I would have more gels than waffles, but I ran out of gels, and I have the extra waffles, and they have worked fine). The plan is to eat one about every 45 minutes. Since I will be running for over four hours, I will be fueling at least five times, with one extra item if needed.
- Stay properly hydrated. I will be bringing my bladder pack, with 1.5 liters of water, which will have Liquid IV, which I used for the CIM. I like this product because not only does it have electrolytes (a must), it also has carbs (a plus!). It’s also available at Costco in bulk, which is how I discovered it. Generally, I will continue taking sips during water breaks. Note: for the 20 miler, I brought a water bottle as well as the bladder pack. However, as I recall, that morning was 10-15 degrees hotter than Saturday morning is projected to be. I’m hopeful that the bladder pack will be enough hydration. Worse case scenario, there is at least one drinking fountain a few miles from the end of the run.
- Stay present and positive in the latter miles. Past experience has shown that I need to keep my head on straight in the latter miles of a long long run. I imagine this run will be mellower than in the past because of the slower pace and the walking breaks. Nonetheless, I will be running for four hours. Fatigue is normal after awhile, and I will be negotiating a bike trail with bicyclists and other runners. I wish to stay mentally alert and keep a positive mood for the whole run, so that I navigate myself happily to the finish line 🙂
- Rest up properly afterward. I have little planned for the rest of the weekend. I might do a Yoga class on Sunday morning for cross training (it will hopefully be very easy and restful).
It should be a great run. I’m excited!