Today was my first long run of 2007 and I accomplished 2 successful experiments on myself (in addition to completing the longest run of my life to date!). I met with our coach, Cheryl, yesterday to plot out the next 12 weeks of my athletic life leading up to the Yakima marathon. Two of the things we talked about that need some work are (still) my nutrition during long runs and teaching my body to walk/run (more for the Ironman, but perhaps will be relevant for the marathon). So...today I test drove "Hammer sustained energy Ultra Endurance Fuel." Jeff used this stuff for the Tour de Tucson and gave us (OK, he gave it to Seujan, but I'm taking member of the household privilege and access) a big tub of this instant-magic-just-add-water for Christmas. This stuff is a tasteless powder that has a little bit of protein along with complex carbs and advertises that it doesn't cause "performance-inhibiting stomach maladies that commonly occur when using sugar-based fuels." And I'll be damned if the label wasn't actually right. Who knew there was honest advertising? I mixed up a good batch of the cloudy potion and, carried it with me. Although it foamed a bit, it worked great. I had felt more energy throughout the whole run and my stomach didn't rebel. I'm psyched about this new find!
The second experiment I did was to end the run a mile from my car so I could try the walk/run in an extra-credit mile. For this last mile, I alternated one minute walk/one minute run. I thought it would be hard to start running again after each short walk, but it wasn't too bad. I'm calling both of my experiments a success! This was my first long run when I actually thought that running a marathon might not be outside the realm of possibility.
Speaking of the possibility of surviving a marathon, I registered for my first one yesterday. For just $60, I'm all signed up for a death march in Ellensburg/Yakima on March 31. Tatyana says I should be calling this a "romp of life" rather than a "march of death," and, from a sport psychology standpoint, I know she's right. The application was a little daunting...questions like, "How many marathons have you done?" (woo-hoo, zero) "What's your best marathon finish time?" and "Are you a member of 'the marathon maniacs' club" (now come on, isn't that redundant??) preceded my favorite question of all: "Will you be competing in a wheelchair?" Now this question only had "yes" or "no" options and I really wanted to let them know that I didn't plan to START in a wheelchair, but I'd certainly appreciate it if one was available at, say, mile 20...with someone nice to push it and perhaps offer me a beer...
Anyway...here are the stats on today's run:
15 miles Madison Beach into Seward Park and back
2:30:41
Avg HR = 143
(started nutrition 4 miles in...good decision)
One Walk/Run Mile: 11:39
16 miles total: 2:42:17
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