half-marathon monday: long run recap #7

The run I attempted on Sunday, November 21 was a hot mess. Even though I logged a total of five miles (three running, two pup walking), it wasn’t even half of the distance I was supposed to run that day. As I prepared for this week, this is what my schedule had in store:

However, my thoughts were still stuck on accomplishing that eleven miler. After a solid workout week with two excellent cardio sessions and a solid 90 minute Turkey Day yoga class, I was ready to run much more than those scheduled three miles. So on Sunday the 27th, I decided to run off my Thanksgiving food baby by rocking eleven solid miles.

THE RUN/WALK PLAN: As a reminder, the track at my gym takes 16 laps for one mile. Here’s the run/walk plan I implemented for the eleven mile run:

• Lap 1: walk
• Lap 2 – 5: run/jog
• Lap 6: walk
• Lap 7 – 10: run/jog
• Lap 11: walk
• Lap 12 – 16: run/jog

For this distance, I broke it down into four segments: three segments of three miles, and one final segment of two miles. Between each segment I took a super quick break to stretch, rehydrate and fuel up.  3 breaks, 5 Gu Chomps and 176 laps later, I had a new personal distance record! Eleven miler: CHECK! Even better: I felt like I could do another 2.1 miles! I just might be on my way to completing a half-marathon very soon!

THINGS THAT MADE THIS LONG RUN A SUCCESS:

Going to Bally Total Fitness to run on the indoor track. Yes, I have to get outside more. But this choice was to ensure a more calm, emotionally safe environment for the run, especially after last week’s disaster. I know what to expect when running inside: many, many laps in a controlled setting. If that means setting myself up for success mileage wise, I’ll run those laps forever.

My new adidas Supernova Glide 2 running shoes:

(photo source)

I purchased these at Running Warehouse and saved $40 buying them online. SCORE! They are so much lighter than the last pair of adidas shoes I was using. I might be in love.

My mid-run fuel of choice in a new flavor: Gu Chomps in Strawberry:

(photo source)

While I prefer the flavor of the Blueberry Pomegranate, the Strawberry flavor has caffeine. I noticed during this run I felt surprisingly energized all the way through the very last mile. I’m trying one last flavor – the apple cranberry – before making my final decision for my race day fueling choice.

Forgetting to charge my iPod nano: Since I wasn’t running without it, I delayed leaving for the gym about 30 minutes. This was a blessing. By the time arrived, the gym crowd was thinned out as everyone had headed home earlier than normal to catch the beginning of the Browns game. Less people on the track means less walkers for me to pass over and over again!

LONG STORY SHORT: I started the month of November with a renewed motivation to fully commit myself to my training runs and my fundraising goal. This month ended up teaching me one important lesson: as much as you try to plan to ensure success, life happens and you have to be flexible, but you can still succeed. I’m only 40 days away from race day! Next week: 12.5 miles!