Well today was the long run - longer than I've ever gone before - plan was 18 miles which I knew to be about 29k.
Originally I intended to get up & be out for 8am but it didn't happen as planned. I never slept well last night so what I did was get up at 7.30am eat my cereal, have some juice and a small cup of tea & my omega 3 & got ready to go. Plan was to lie on the bed beside Mr Fudgey for a an hour to let the food digest and then head out about 8.30 / 9ish but I ended up dozing off. Must have been what I needed though. Got up just before 10am & finished getting ready. Filled my new hydration pack & filled my SIS belt with SIS Go Gels.
SIS are my gels of choice. I have tried both powerbar & lucozade gels but I find both too sickly & too thick. I also tried lucozade jelly beans and whilst I like the taste of these I don't like or can't chew on the run so a gel or drink is the best option for me, but I think it really comes down to personal choice and trying out what does and doesn't work for you & training runs are the best time to do this.
The new hydration pack was a gift from Mr Fudgey and it worked really really well. It saved me having to carry water, had a section for phone and keys, and the mouthpiece worked much better than the last pack I had - little effort required to get a good drink.
So off I set. First couple of km I didn't feel very comfortable at all - convinced myself I had a sore left knee - which I didn't. Decided to give it 5k & see how I felt. Took on my first gel just after 5k and was running really easily, not fast, but today was about distance not about pace, 12km done - still feeling strong & second gel in - I didn't really want this but I decided I'd take on 1 gel every 6km or so rather than waiting till I felt I needed to & this system worked for me. Ran for 15km which took me to the zoo & was still feeling good & turned to head back. Not so easy on the way back - strong wind right in my face. Third gel at 18km still feeling good and still nice steady consistent pace and not the least out of breath so I could have pushed harder if I wanted. 24km in took on my fourth and last gel but was starting to struggle - calves were tight, sore left knee & sore right glute - sore maybe not the right word - uncomfortable. Kms 24 - 27 were really tough & the wind was right in my face but I dug in and stuck with it though pace dropped a fair bit. But before I knew it I was at 27km and the home straight and I picked up the pace again I realised it actually felt better to run faster than slower but i could feel the blood pumping in my lower legs - felt so good I never stopped at 30km but ran an extra km to make it 31km (19.3 miles) in total for the day.
Though I was feeling stiff and sore physically, mentally I felt fantastic & a small glimmer of self believe is dawning on me that maybe just maybe there is a Marathon in me after all.
Into the house - SIS Rego Recovery drink, ice bath & then shower followed by juice, cheese & broccoli mash potato & a cup of tea. I'm surprised at how good my legs actually feel - yes I'm a bit tender but no where near as bad as I expected. Very very very much looking forward to my sports massage tomorrow now - think I've earned it.
Last but not least
Happy Mothers Day to all Mums
Take Care everyone
lots of love
Fudgey x
