I practically ran to Timbuktu yesterday … okay, maybe not Timbuktu, but it might as well have been. I mean 23 km is practically around the world and back isn’t it?
That’s right 23 km – my longest run ever! And I’m not gonna sugarcoat it; it was fricken tough. At about 17 kms, I was seriously re-evaluating my sanity. My calves were fatigued, my thighs were throbbing, my hip was … well … it was kind of screaming. But all that was nothing compared to what was going on in my head: Math. For those of you who don’t know, I’m not exactly one to go out of my way to do math, but when you’ve already been running for close to two hours, your formerly sweet little head starts doing nasty little things like math equations.
I’ve got how many more kilometres to go? Six? Are you kidding me?
And the crazy thing is, for a marathon, I’d have only been a little over half way done. I’m thinking it’s high time someone called up the Rubber Room; I am certifiably insane! Lucky for me, though, I’m not the only one.
We started the run at 8:30, which we all agreed wasn’t early enough, given that not even five minutes in some of us (okay just me) were already complaining about the sun burning its rays through our oh-so-sensitive skin. I think we hit about 30 degrees inland. My clothes, as wick genius as they are, were so soaked with sweat by the end of the run, I could’ve filled up a wading pool wringing them out. And my goodness, I could not chug my water and electrolyte drink fast enough. Thank goodness we have clinic leaders one step ahead of the game:
The route took us to almost every spot of the Valley, some of which was deja vu from my ride the afternoon before. And as I passed some of those same areas, this time with tired, throbbing thighs, it became pretty clear that it probably wasn’t the wisest idea to go on a deceptively hilly ride less than 24 hours before embarking on a first-ever 23 km run! Lesson learned.
And yet, despite the tired body aches and the grumbling body fatigue, and the flaming hot sun and the desperate need for more water, a smile (a crazy smile albeit) somehow found its way across my face. I just ran 23km, I thought – and I’m still alive! Bring on the 26 😀
YESTERDAY’S RUN:
- 8:15 a.m. BG before: 5.6 (granola bar and 3 Dex tabs before)
- Distance: 23 km
- Average pace: 7:18 (LSD)
- Time: 2:48:05
- Fuel: after 40 minutes: GU gel. After 80 minutes: GU gel. After 120 minutes: 2 bites larabar
- 11 a.m. BG after: 12.0
What’s the longest distance you’ve run and how on earth did you survive?