This Running Life

Did my last LSD (long slow distance) run today: 8 miles. Now all I have left are two easy runs on Monday and wednesday. We drive down to WDW on Wednesday afternoon, enjoy the parks on Thursday thru Saturday and then I run the marathon on Sunday. Thursday at noon, I’ll leave my family and head to the race expo to get my bib and goody bag, test my chip, and spend more money than I should buying stuff. Friday I’ll spend all day in the parks with the family. Saturday we’ll all be together until about 2, when I head back to the resort and relax before going to bed and TRYING to sleep before a 2:45 wake up to get ready, eat, meet the bus, and hang out with 20 or so thousand of my closest running friends before a 5:50 AM start.

The 8 today was uneventful. I ran two easy warm up miles, then ran the next 4.5 at marathon pace or faster. The last two I tried to slow down, but still ran at marathon pace for the last miles as well. I found myself kind of bored, to be honest. All the buildup for this week has left me ready to go, so running another 8 miles on the same trail I’ve run on for the last 5 months wasn’t the most enticing thing. My shorter runs have been great, on the contrary. 4 miles here and there run at a pretty good clip have felt good.

More later, including bib number and info on how to follow me during the race–if you are bored or bed ridden.

Sunday’s 20 went fabulous. This was my last really long run before the marathon on Jan. 11. I now enter the taper, which cannot come a moment too soon. I treated this as a complete dress rehearsal for the marathon, except for getting up at 2:30 AM and wearing my Camelbak. I wore the socks, shoes and shorts that I wear at Disney. The top [can guys say “top” instead of shirt? or am I venturing outside the guy zone?] I plan to wear was covered with outerwear because it was 42 degrees yesterday. All worked out fine.

Let me pause here, men, and tell you about something I discovered about 2 months ago: nipguards. Yes, guys, nipguards. These little beauties look like corn pads your granny might wear but they adhere to that second most sensitive part of a male: the nipples. If you plan a long run of 10 miles or more, you should really think about these things. They don’t sweat off like bandaids. They stick to the bitter end [pun intended] and if you don’t remove them properly, well, they hurt. But since wearing them I haven’t suffered a bit from RNS (Raw Nipple Syndrome). Nipguard people, if you actually read this, I am ready to endorse your product. And tell the geeks at Garmin to send me a forerunner, dang it!

[Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.]

Fueling: For breakfast I had a PBJ sandwich with water. During the run I consumed 3 gels, one power bar of protein, lots of water/Gatorade combo, and 7 Hammer endurolyte capsules. This seems to be a successful set-up for food. I might add a banana before the WDW marathon and perhaps a small cup of coffee, since I’ll be waiting around a lot. But this lineup works. I had no energy issues related to under-fueling on this 20.

The first 10 miles felt great. I kept a nice pace of between 12 and 13 min. miles. At mile 12 I refilled my camelbak and ate half of my powerbar, while popping another set of endurolytes.

At mile 15 I started giving myself a walk break of 1 minute each mile. This worked well, as I was able to maintain a sub-12 minute mile for the last 5 miles. I plan to give Jeff Galloway a big kiss on his bald head if I ever see him. (He is the guy who came up with the run-walk stuff, right? I don’t want to kiss him for nothing.)

As I finished mile 20, I concluded that in the Disney marathon atmosphere, I could go an extra 6 miles easy. My feet hurt, my legs hurt, and my body questioned my brain for getting it into this stuff, but I had the stamina and fuel that would have allowed me to go farther. This was everything I wanted out of my last 20 miler. I couldn’t be happier.

While I ran, I listened to a bunch of podcasts, catching up on Confessions of a Runner by Jodi (http://www.confessionsofarunner.com). I listened to the podcast where she finished her first 20 miler and the enthusiasm and relief and happiness she expressed. I couldn’t help but get emotional. Knowing what it feels like to run farther than you ever thought you could, allows me to sympathize with her when she failed on her first attempt and cheer with her when she succeeded on the second. Listening to her joy lead me to visualize crossing the finish line and seeing my family. I almost lost it. Hers is an excellent podcast and I recommend it highly.

I’m trying to get a short podcast out before Christmas, so stay tuned. I am now on twitter (disneyrunner) and plan to tweet during the marathon.

My last long run before the taper will take place this coming Sunday (Dec 21). I plan to use this run as a full dress rehearsal: from clothes to gels to shoes, from timing to wake-up time to start-time, etc. Weather permitting, I will wear what I plan to wear at Disney (if it is at all possible to predict what the weather will do).

I skipped today’s 5 mile run, to give myself 2 days rest, just like I have planned for the marathon. I plan on going shopping for a few hours on Saturday to mimic what I will do at Disney–as I plan to join the family in the Disney Parks for half a day on Saturday then head back to the hotel. I am excited about the next few weeks. The nagging injuries I have suffered over the past few months have disappeared, my shoes are breaking in nice. [By the way, I took the insole from my Beasts and put it in my Mizuno Renegades. Brooks has a superior insole, while the Mizunos feel better on my feet during long runs. The result = nice! Feels much better.]

I’ll have a full report after the Sunday run.

I have signed up for a free phone-in line (the number is listed on the right hand column) and plan to call in along the marathon route as a way of recording parts of the race for the podcast. I also can call “twitterphone” to give updates on twitter.

I hope you are all having a great Holiday season. I wish it would snow here in Alabama. Some of my friends in the northwest and northeast, as well as the midwest, have had more snow than they want, I am afraid. Send a few inches my way, if you please.

I am one week away from my taper. I run 20 on this coming Sunday (12/21) and then start the process of resting and recuperating for the race in January. I have these intermittent fits of panic and calm. one day I feel ready, the next I feel panicky. Is it possible for one to actually feel “ready” for a marathon? Or is are we subject to a series of days that alternate between confidence and self-doubt? And why am I nervous about running a distance I have run almost three times in the past? What is wrong with me? A good friend once described our relationship with running as “Love/HATE.” Is this true for the rest of you?

By the way I am now on twitter. For those of you desiring to see just how dull I am follow disneyrunner on twitter.

I still cry when I see this. 2006 Disney trip.