Saturday, October 29, 2011

Longest

Went out this morning determined to maintain a pace that would allow me to just cruise through 21 miles. It was cool, clear and calm, so the conditions were right for a good run.
I started out with a 10:23 and then fell into a long series of splits around the 9:30 mark. It felt comfortable and it seemed like I'd be able to maintain that pace indefinitely. Then, by the time I hit mile 17, I kind of hit a wall. Not THE wall, but I was suddenly a little light headed and overly weary. I stopped to drink and rest for a few minutes before taking off again. I'd been drinking, but possibly not enough. For the next 4 miles I kept my pace at about 10:00, which is what I felt was safe and sustainable for the rest of the run.
Overall, I did 21 miles in 3:24:11, for a 9:44 average. When I got home I ate a big bowl of oatmeal with bananas and strawberries, drank a bunch, and then weighed myself. I'd lost 5.5 pounds on a 21-mile run in cold-to-cool weather. That's a lot, and probably means I wasn't hydrating like I should have been, which might explain the trouble I had in the last four miles. 39.5 for the week.

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