I had my first run after the marathon, a short 3.5 miles. Everything felt great. I had everything back in place. My right hip and right knee no longer give me issue. I think it was the IT band (sorry I don’t know what IT stands for); it is the muscle or something connecting from the hip to the knee on the outer side of the leg.
I did a night run and though the temperature was around freezing and the wind was strong, I didn’t feel cold. I did bundle up. It felt great. It was refreshing. I was thinking that most of my runs are at night and maybe that was why I didn’t do well when I race in the day. My body didn’t warm up that well during the early morning. And maybe I struggled so much on my weekend long runs because they were during the day time.
I had a great conversation last night with a fellow runner. He runs marathons as well and he trains for Ironman. He told me that eating during the long race is very important, during the bike portion and the run portion. Those guys are out on the course for 10-12 hours. He told me it is good to start eating to replenish my energy even during the early portion of the race.
This is new to me. I did take some gel on my first marathon. From my second to my most recent races, I didn’t bring my own gel and usually didn’t take any even when they were available at the aid stations. On my last race I had granola bars when I was tired at the 20 mile mark. So for my next race, I will try to take in something at every hour, that is about at every 10k point. We will see how nutrition will help me in the race.
I mentioned about DNF – being failed to finish. An interesting point to take away from the conversation was we have to plan for that in a longer race. As I do more longer distance races, the chance of not able to finish one becomes higher. So planning what to do when one couldn’t finish the race is a must. I have to be familiar with the course and note where the aid stations are located. Also who to notify and what to do when there is no cell coverage. It involves logistic how to get back to the starting line or the finishing line and how to get home (say what if I couldn’t drive or walk). All these things have to be taken in consideration.
My next race is an out and back about 7-8 miles long. We will cover it twice. The extra miles are covered at the beginning portion to bring it to 31 ish miles (50k).
(End day 27)
In awe 