15.5 and 17

Wow, it's been three weeks since I last posted! I actually tried to post in the middle there, but it turned out to be just when Blogger was doing crazy stuff, so it was a no go.

Between my last post and now, I've run 15.5 miles and 17 miles, gone to Yosemite and skipped a couple runs, and then run a "short" long run of 12 miles, among other less noteworthy 5 mile runs, etc.

My 15.5 mile run, which was one week after the half marathon, went great! I had at least one friend with me until about 8 1/2 miles, which was enough to get me into the groove. I did the last 7 by myself, and even though the last couple miles were really hard (as they always are when I'm running a distance farther than I've ever run before), I felt good at the end and came in strong.

The 17 mile run, on the other hand, was not so great. I really wanted to blog about it right after the fact so anyone reading could see how I felt fresh off the run, but I never got the time. The first 9 1/2 miles of that run were GREAT! I had a buddy with me, and the problem was that it was TOO great. We were kind of booking it and finished the first 9 1/2 miles in a low 10 pace, which is faster than we ever do our long runs. It was my fastest 9 1/2 miles ever, by a lot, actually. When we split off for her to go home and for me to do my last 7 ish miles, I put in my earbuds and proceeded to listen to some very slow bad-for-running music, and I slowed down right away. That was probably actually good though, because I really need to work on slowing myself down at the beginning so that my second half is faster than my first half. I was using up way too much energy. I also used up too much of my electrolyte sport drink in the first half (I only had 22 oz with me for the whole run). By about mile 11, I ended up needing to make a pit stop VERY BADLY! I made a small detour to the library, which had just closed 15 minutes earlier. Bummer! Thank goodness, I had my friend's phone with me in my newest marathon gear, the Armpocket Sport 20. I called Peter and he was able to find me a nearby bathroom, but I had to wait a while for someone else to finish, so by the time I was done, I was pretty much in cool down recovery mode from a 12 1/2 mile run instead of ready to run another 4+ miles. From that point on, I was out of steam. I pretty much bonked after that, and I was trying to conserve the last 4 oz or so of my drink, although I don't think it would have helped a ton even if I had gulped the rest down in one swig. There just wasn't enough. A slightly smaller amount had worked out great for 15 1/2 miles the previous week, so I thought it would again, but I was wrong. Anyway, by the time I got home, I'd run more than 1/2 mile extra and I was COMPLETELY beat! That was a super hard run!

In comparison, 12 miles last Saturday felt very easy. At the same time, 12 miles is not easy! I'm always being surprised how shorter runs feel both short and surprisingly long at the same time. Even 5 miles surprises me with how long it is. I go out thinking 'This is 1/3 (or some other small fraction) of what I've already done--it will be a cake walk.' But then it's still a time consuming event. One thing I CAN say about 5 miles is that my legs do not feel like they were just run over by a truck after running it.

So, next long run--18 miles! Wow. Only four more long runs before the marathon, which means the marathon is less than 5 weeks away?? Yikes!

P.S. I know I'm looking like a major gearhead runner, but I only use the Armpocket and the water bottle holder for loooooooong runs so I can stay alive and bring a cell phone with me and other essential items, like keys or Gu or whatever.