All hopes for the warm weather to continue didn’t pan out. I had to take my last two long runs to the Alaska Dome for an indoor track run. I was scheduled to run a 17-mile run and then, a week later, 19 miles. During the 17 miles, I felt great! Of course, it was following a down week, so the break made a huge difference. After running for about three hours, I noticed that my Garmin indicated I had run a little over 13 miles. I had anticipated running at about 3:15. After a few more laps, I rechecked my Garmin, and the miles were not changing much. The Garmin has never picked up very well during my runs on the indoor track.
So, I opened my iPhone to see what Strava was recording. I had started Strava simultaneously with Garmin at the beginning of the run because it tends to be more accurate at The Dome. And Strava had me at 17.9 miles! I felt great. I felt like I could keep going. But I ended up running the 0.1 miles left to equal 18 miles. My pace was 10:25/mi, which is faster than I tend to run my long runs. But at the same time, I rarely, if ever, run a 13 min/mi pace (as indicated above), even while running the hills outside. So, I am not exactly sure how far I ran. But it took me 3 hours and 7 minutes, which was awesome to run for that long and still feel like I could keep going. That was definitely a confidence boost.
My final long run was scheduled for 19 miles, but I just wanted to know that I could run at least 20. So, I made that my goal. Again, the run happened at the Dome, so who knows what I actually ran. This run was slower. I didn’t have the pep and energy I had the week before, and I felt it. My Garmin shows that I ran 18.64 miles in 3:46:08, which was 12:08/mile. Strava recorded 20 miles at 3:46, which was 11:18/mile. I believe Strava was pretty accurate.
To fuel these long runs, I eat a small breakfast about an hour before I run, then I take a Gu about every 30 minutes starting at 30 minutes into the run. I alternate between caffeinated (only 20mg each) and non-caffeinated ones. Each Gu has about 22g of carbohydrates and 100 calories. I also drink Skratch in between, which is about another 20g of carbohydrates per 12 ounces. The goal is to take 40-60 grams of carbs per hour. This is all new to me because I used to run without even thinking that much about fueling, believe it or not. I may have taken a few gummy bears with me in the past. Ha!
Of course, my long runs are not the only training I do. I run three other days per week, plus a cross-training day, some strength workouts, and my physical therapy calf-building exercises. Currently, these runs equate to 13 miles of easy runs and a 7-mile progressive run. Due to my calf strain in January, this progressive run is about as close to any speed work as I get. I hope this will be enough to get me to the finish line.
So, I have started a two-week taper, and my long run will only be 10 miles this weekend. My weekday runs will be 5 miles each. I have two 4-mile runs and a 3-mile run the week of the marathon.
I am looking forward to the break.
I am very excited about this marathon but a little nervous. As mentioned in other posts, I last ran a marathon in 2017. I have worked so hard to get to this point! I just hope I can finish! Sonja will be coming with me, and I look forward to this time together.
I also look forward to visiting with family I haven’t seen in a couple of years. Jose, my brother-in-law, is running the marathon, too, which is an added bonus. Scott would love to be there, too, but someone has to take care of the pups. I am so grateful for his 100% support during this very long and exhausting training cycle.
Hopefully, all goes well, and I will have good news in my next update.
Until then,
