It looks like it might rain here on Thursday, my usual long run day. The thought of worrying about the weather for the next three days was too much for me, so I decided to get it out of the way today. It was really cold, 5 degrees, but sunny and not very windy. I loaded up my cooler and headed out to my home course for 16 miles. Each lap around my house is two miles, so I had 8 laps to crank out.
Sometimes when I think about my long runs, I have to fool myself into thinking that it's really not that far. I just tell myself that it's only a mile or two longer than last week's run, so what's the big deal? Turns out, 16 miles is really far. I've trained for two marathons before, so it's not like I haven't run that far before. I felt just the usual level of crappiness for the first 14 miles, but the last two miles were hard. I'm pretty sore and my heel is reminding me that the PF is still an issue.
All of that wouldn't be so bad if my stomach was not still rebelling 9 hours after I finished. I changed from regular GU to GU Roctane for this run. It's the same as regular GU but with an amino acid added to it. I have no idea if this is why I am feeling so terrible, but I definitely need to get it figured out in the next couple of weeks. Anybody have issues with Roctane? It could be that I washed it down with G2 instead of water. I've heard of people having issues combining gels and Gatorade. I thought I would be okay with G2 since it has less carbs, but maybe not. I'm just glad I finished my run before the "trouble" started.
Tomorrow I'm running with a friend for 5 miles. Hopefully a good night sleep will settle whatever it is that is bothering me. It is supposed to warm up here over the next week. Maybe today was my last run in single digits. That would be wonderful!!
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7 comments:
This is probably a dumb question, but what is GU?
Also, I see you've got a marathon planned for May. I've never run a full marathon (yet) before and I'm just curious as to the training plan you follow. Do you make up the training plan yourself or do you have a set plan that you follow that you obtained from somewhere?
16 miles IS a long way... i discovered that myself on sunday! :) Great job getting it done in the cold temps.
Nice job on the long run, Beth! I have found this to be a tough winter to get in those long runs on the weekend, so it is good to be flexible and take advantage of the decent weather whenever possible. Here is hoping spring is just around the corner! :)
Good job, Beth! I'm sorry about the GI distress - ughhh. I hope you iced your heal and it didn't bother you for your five miler today.. because you can't get hurt! I have to have somebody to run with. Let's not forget that it;s all about ME!!!!
;-)
Hi VRunner, thanks for the questions! GU is a gel with carbs that you take on long runs to keep from "bonking", or running out of energy. I'll write my next blog post about the training plan I'm using! :)
Great job on the run! 2 mile loops are a killer!! The Roctane also has caffeine. I have tried them twice. The first time I hated it - the second time - no problem. I have also been using Hammer Gels (w/o caffeine).
BTW, I LOVE the post on marathon goals. I may have to come up to MN to do the 20 - great prep for Chicago.
As you say, when that bad stomach happens it goes on for the rest of the day! What helps me most to avoid the upset stomach is to eat nothing for four hours before the long run. Then gels along the way don't seem to bother, one every four miles.
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