My Longest Run

Coming off my personal best for a 10K at a 7:47 pace, I was feeling pretty good going into today. RunKeeper only has me going 15 miles, but nobody says I can’t add additional miles. What’s an extra mile amongst friends, right?

So after loading up on Herbalife24 and a banana, off I go.

Helpful tips for your longest run?

1. Eat a high carb to protein ratio meal before you leave. A 12-1 carb to protein ratio is an excellent choice. Sorry, no Taco Bell or Egg McMuffins.
2. Eat that pre-run meal at least 30-60 minutes before you leave.
3. Don’t drink too much during your run. You’ll find yourself feeling like a washing machine and without all the gory details, you might see what you just drank.
4. Listen to your body and then listen to your will. Now, I say this with a little hesitation. If you’re an Olympic athlete and the difference between gold and silver is hundredths of a second, listen to your will. But, for the 99.9% of us that will never step on a podium with our national anthem blaring as our theme song, don’t harm yourself. Walking is still moving. Or you can think of it as walking is just slower running.

Morning weight = 169.5. Post run weight 168.

I don’t really understand this … I’ve run 5 miles and lost 2-3 pounds. After 16 miles, I lost a total of 1.5 pounds. Don’t misunderstand … I’m not on a weight loss program. I am on a fitness and endurance program. But, I still like to think certain aspects of calories burned for weight loss are still constant. After burning nearly 2,100 calories, I would expect to see a 4 pound weight loss. (500 calorie deficit typically equals a pound). Let’s just say my scale was broken that day and it all washes out in the end.

Today’s Meals:

MyFitnessPal 10-14-2013

Today’s Activities:

• Wow. I ain’t going to lie. My longest run of 16 miles felt like the longest time I’ve ever been on my feet. I used all the tricks in the book — after the first 10K, reset my brain to say “just do another 10K” I tried telling myself to just keep shuffling my feet and that isn’t even going to tire me. Tried many things, but that was not easy.
• Got to the point where I actually had to walk or I was going to die (insert the little girl’s voice from Despicable Me). You’ll notice at mile 15, that’s where I stopped by my local Chinese restaurant and asked for a cup of water. If I’m being accurate, it sounded more like, “water … water”
• What did I learn? It’s okay to walk before you go into full shutdown mode. I came pretty close today at mile 13. My will was strong, but my body was saying my will is just plain stupid. Also, don’t drink too much during long runs. Swigs and swishes are recommended. I’m trying to hide this disgusting fact, but I threw up on 2nd Street. At least I did it in the plants and being that our town is so progressively organic, they’d probably approve and the city council would give me the keys to the city for thinking outside the box.

RunKeeper 16-mile steady