Yesterday I had the type of run that makes me hopeful that I will be able to qualify for Boston in September in Pennsylvania.
Just a couple of weeks ago that I wrote how I struggled on my long run day (link). I did several things to fix my problem. I started getting up and drinking 32 oz (1000 ml) of water immediately. I then wait two hours before running. This seems to help me wake up and make sure I don’t have to stop my run to go to the bathroom. Also I eat eggs and a whole wheat bagel. One other thing I tried this week is moving my off day to Saturday. I always run better the day after an off day and so I thought I’d give that a try and see if it helped.
It helped.
I ran the farthest and the fastest long run ever. Here are the stats from my run:
- 15 miles
- 2 hours 3 minutes
- 8:14/mile
- 90 Avg Cadence
Wow, it was incredible! I ran differently from most of my runs. I worked on running relaxed. I let my legs run and by body go along for the ride. It really helped. By the time I reached the half way mark, I was still feeling good. I wasn’t tired and I wasn’t breathing hard. In fact, mile 13 was my fastest of the day at 7:58! My slowest was mile 1 at 8:57.
The weather was good also. It was in the mid 40s, no wind and sunny. It must have been close to 60 by the time I was through with my run.
All in all, it was a great day for running. The only issues were my knees hurt a little and my hip was not good after the run. I have to figure that one out if I want to keep up the mileage. Also I got blisters on the balls of my feet. That seems to happen on long runs no matter what socks I wear. Not sure the reason.
Today is another day. The one thing about running is each day you start over. Sometimes that is a good thing when you had a tough run. Sometimes it would be nice to just relive that great run for a few days, but that can’t happen.
For tomorrow, I asked my brother to write a guest post. I thought it would be nice to get his views on running as he ran a lot with my siblings and my dad during the marathon years that I missed.
Have a wonderful day and keep running. I’ll be back Wednesday!
278 to Boston 
All right! Keep on truckin’!
Sent from my iPhone
Thanks!
Sounds like a great run! As for the blisters, have you checked to see if it’s a shoe fit issue? A running store might be able to help you figure out the problem. Maybe you could tie your laces differently or switch the size. Just an idea!
Thanks for the help! I’ve tried different shoes and sizes, but I only use Saucony. I guess I should diversify. 🙂 Good idea about going to a running store. I’ll give that a try. I appreciate the thoughts!
“The one thing about running is each day you start over” – I like that. Despite you running faster and further than me, we face the same issues. I like the way running levels everyone in that way.
I totally agree. Running is the great equalizer!!! Thanks.