Hail Mary: 14 Mile Training Run

Good Monday afternoon!

I hope you had a lovely weekend! Mine was super productive, and on Sunday night, I did my first post-Halfsie long run. No more Halfsie…we’re in Full Mary mode! It’s honestly been leaving me rather mentally fatigued. I decided to do the run in the afternoon, just so I’d be more alert, rested, well-fed, and — I planned anyway — it would make for a better run.

The weather was gorgeous. Saturday it rained all day, but Sunday was a perfect fall day for running! It actually got me excited to do it. Still, though, 14 miles. Fourteen f*cking miles!!! When I did the math on how long I’d be running, it made me crazy. By the time I added in shower time and travel time, well…ugh. There are just other ways I’d rather spend four hours on a pre-Halloween Sunday!

Realizing how mentally checked out I’ve felt in the past couple weeks, I decided my plan to “straight chill” at 14 miles for three weeks — while I travel to Chicago, DC, and NYC no less — was, um, ambitious. The next three weeks are really my wild card weeks and I can play with them as I see fit. I finally admitted to myself that 14 miles on vacation might be asking more than I could give! I love that my training plan is flexible, so it was time to use that. I decided to dial down the 14-milers to 10-milers and up the shorter runs from four to six miles. To me, four mile and six mile runs feel about the same, so that didn’t bother me. If I’m already running, an extra two miles doesn’t really bother me. I could keep my total weekly mileage completely on track, but not hate my life while I’m on vacation.

So, with that in mind, I was on the fence about Sunday’s run. Should I go for the 14, be proud knowing I could do it, and then do two weeks of 10-milers? Or just do three 10-milers before the 14-miler? I decided I’d just see how I felt.

First though, I had to feed myself! For lunch, I had a cup of Smart Taste penne with grilled chicken, a tablespoon of pesto, and a few tablespoons of shaved Parmesan cheese.

It was yummy! I just love pesto so much; it always makes me happy. Plus, this was a good blend of carbs, protein, and fat. I would have normally had more veggies with a meal like this, but I wanted to keep it free of too much fiber.

So, out I went for the “Hm, we’ll just see how I feel” run. And, as luck would have it, I started running and I felt awesome.

Not perfect, not like, “I can’t feel my legs, I’m running on clouds!” But damn good. My bones hurt a bit, but I was just feeling it. I knew I wasn’t just doing the 14 miles, I was f*cking the 14 miles. Once I got through the first four miles, which are usually my toughest, I flipped it over and just proceeded to spank it for the next ten.

Overall, it was pretty similar to my 10 and 12 mile runs. Cruised around, stopped for my drank, had my energy gel, grooved to my tunes. (On my brand-new ipod, BY THE WAY, which I feel pretty guilty/not-really-guilty-at-all about. I realized later on Friday that my water bottle had opened in my gym bag; it was not the rain that did it in. But, for the record, I did not trade sexual favors for it! I just had an amazingly generous Genius; he clearly knew “I just sweat a lot” was a ballsy lie, and he hooked me up anyway.) It was actually about 50 degrees out, so I stripped down to my tank halfway through. The best part about it was that I never run after 4:00 in the afternoon. This time, I started at 4:30, so I got to experience dusk while running. It was gorgeous, and completely different. Ahhh…I just love October! The leaves had all turned to this electric shade of orange, still creating the tunnel effect. Just as I was finishing, the street lights were starting to come on and there was just that sexy nighttime energy buzzing around me. It also got cold, and I knew it would feel wonderful to go home and get warmed up!

So that’s exactly what I did! I had my recovery snack in the car, stretched, showered, and got cozy. Dinner was an insane bowl of oatmeal. I say “insane” because I had to up the portions on everything so much, just so I could eat enough calories for the day. But hey, peanut butter and almond butter? Banana and dates? Butterscotch and chocolate? Um, don’t mind if I do!

It was delicious, obviously, and I felt great after the run. I felt like I had worked, but I wasn’t staggering through my house with an exercise hangover. I woke up still feeling it a bit, but in a good way!

I’m really glad I was able to do the 14 miler! If I decide I need to go down to 10 miles for the next two long luns while I travel, I won’t feel bad about it. And it feels awesome to know that 14 miles is already my bitch; now I’m just pumped to give it to that dirty 16-miler in a few weeks.

Tagged as: carbs, marathon training, running