In my mind, today I wanted to do between 15-20 miles - but I also knew I'd be a little disappointed if I only got 15 in, but I also knew that 20 miles might be a bit much, especially with having done 9 not even 48 hours ago. So all along I had a pretty strong suspicion I'd end up somewhere around 17 miles - which sounded just about right. My biggest concern was my right ankle - it's given me no issues in the past week, and I wanted to keep it that way. I popped an advil before heading out - I generally don't like doing that, but I've done it the past few runs as I've gone from ~6, to ~9 and now ~17 miles just to make sure. I figure at this point, I'm probably safe up to about 10 miles, and since it'll be next weekend before I do a run of that distance - I think today was likely the last time it'll happen for this particular circumstance.
Today I really paid attention to HR to try and keep it under control. With the temps getting warmer, it meant going a bit slower than I've gotten used to for long runs, but I decided I'd be ok with that as long as I maintained a pace that kept my legs feeling good, and that allowed my form to be retained throughout the entire run by not being as fatigue-inducing. I also brought some electrolyte capsules with me - a first time doing so. Last summer I was bringing gatorade with me on long runs - but since I've switched over to homemade energy gel (which, BTW, my latest batch is much more like plain ole chocolate syrup than a gel. Oops), I have to pay more attention to electrolytes. Although I do add some sodium and potassium to the gel, it's certainly not enough to replenish what is lost on a warm day.
I started out with the intention of running the whole thing through - but after 6 miles, with the HR starting to climb near 160 due to elevation, I decided to stop and walk for a bit. It was just enough time to get a good amount of energy gel down, wash it down with plenty of water, pop a couple salt capsules, and rotate bottles in my fuel belt. All told, about 0.15 miles - about 3.5 minutes. It was a little on the long side (don't want to tighten up), but manageable. In the end, however, it only cost me about 1 minute for that lap vs other laps - so I was ok with that differential. Within a few minutes, I felt pretty revitalized.
That seemed to be the theme throughout this run. It was the best I felt, consistently, for a long run that I can remember. There were times during climbs that the HR got up into the 160's, but I slowed down, and on the back side sped up, gaining whatever speed the terrain would allow. I spent a lot of time making sure to think about relaxing the legs and lower body, as well as maintaining upper body posture. For the most part, HR was kept within a band that I am happy with, and HR drift towards the end wasn't too extreme (was definitely spending more time near 160 at that point, though - but the last few miles were also more hilly). Really, the only thing that started feeling worn out was my feet - the legs felt fatigued, but still relatively strong. And I was pretty happy that even towards the end, form and posture were still pretty good and there was no real slouching or laboring over.
I did briefly consider going longer - but I was running out of water, and didn't want to push things in that way. Plus, I knew that there would be little benefit this time of going any further, and it would only increase chance of injury. A 20 miler will have to wait another 2-3 weeks.
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