My 23 miler today went great!
- Distance completed: 23.22 miles
- Time spent running: 4:06:59*
- Average pace: 10:39 min/mile
- Mood: Overjoyed!
Two days ago I wrote the keys to today’s run, namely:
- Maintain slow pace (11 minutes + per mile) and take walk breaks
- Stay properly fuelled.
- Stay properly hydrated.
- Stay present and positive in the latter miles.
- Rest up properly afterward.
Here’s how each went:
Maintain slow pace (11 minutes + per mile) and take walk breaks
Pacing went really well. I kept to about 11 minute miles throughout the first half, and it brought me to the second half eager to let myself speed up, which I did. That wasn’t in the original plan, but it worked out fine. Going slow at the beginning set up me up nicely for negative splits, meaning I got faster as the run progressed and ended strong and fast.
I took every walk break. They were welcome relief especially in the second half. The rest also helped me speed up during running segments towards the end.
Stay properly fuelled.
This worked fine. Every 45 minutes I fueled during a walk break, eating in total two waffles, two gels, and one packet of chews (courtesy of Fleet Feet table, at Hagan Park: thank you, Coach Eric!).
Stay properly hydrated.
This also worked great. To ensure I had enough hydration, I brought my hand-held bottle as well as my 1.5 liter bladder pack. Both contained Liquid IV (which contains both electrolytes and some carbs). I sipped during walking breaks. Happily, I ended the run with some liquid remaining, which was not the case three weeks ago (when it was probably about 5 degrees hotter. Today it was in the 60s for most of the run, and about 75 when I finished).
Stay present and positive in the latter miles.
This proved critical, as I noticed myself getting mentally checked out and resistant in the second half of the run. I anticipated something like this could happen and talked myself into a positive mind state, which carried me for the rest of the run. In fact, I was in a better mood finishing than I had been when I started it (it helped to finish strong and fast!)
Rest up properly afterward.
Working on that!
Overall Notes:
This run was well-thought out and well-executed. I loved the surprise bonus of doing negative splits and ending so strong. I appreciated the walking breaks & the slow pace. I have done shorter runs that were more intense and challenging than this 23 miler. Today’s run was lengthy but easy-going. I am thrilled with my choice to do Galloway’s marathon program and am excited about what’s next.
Next weekend: mile repeats (10 of them!)
*Incidentally, today I ran only a minute less than the longest duration I’ve ever run: 4:07:38 for my solo marathon in April of last year!