The Daily Log 12/7/08

Distance: 16.04 miles
Time: 2:35:45
Pace: 9:43/mile
Weight: 196lbs
Terrain: Mixed. Plenty of up and downs with some flat sections
Temperature: Cool
Gear: Long-sleeved Adidas Climacool shirt, Adidas running shorts, Gobbler Grind Running Cap, Nike Air Zoom Vomero Shoes
Hydration: Water, Strawberry-Kiwi Vitamin Water, Gatorade
Fuel: Nutri-Grain during warm down
Medical: Plenty of aches and pains, but nothing overly serious
Recovery: Stretches, Aleve, ice
Shoe Mile Count: 165.58 miles
Days until Marathon: 42

Originally planned for early tomorrow morning, the weather was so great, I couldn't resist going out this evening instead. For the first time in several weeks I was able to wear shorts on the run, and although I'm not a huge fan of running in the dark because of the risk of tripping, Christmas lights actually served to illuminate the roads quite well in most areas.

This was a far more comfortable run than last week's 15-miler. It's not that it was pain-free - I'm not sure it's possible to run 16 miles without some aches - but now, some two hours after the run, there's nothing causing me undue worry, unlike last week where the left calf was quite painful.

That being said, pretty much every part of both legs hurt at least a little on the run. Early on, most of the issues were on the right leg, with the main issue being the calf, which was like a milder form of last week's tweak in the other leg. Eventually however, it became less acute and I began to find a really nice rhythm. As I got tired towards the end, my left calf caused some issues again, in the same place as last week, but it was far less restrictive and painful and didn't really flare up at all until the last mile or so.

I started slowly, but sped up as I warmed up and finished with a very similar pace to last week. I was low on energy at the end and wolfed down a Nutri-grain right after stopping, but other than that, again I felt far fresher than last Monday. This was likely due as much to the weather and my attire as anything else I suspect, but it was nice not having to limp around on my warm down.

With each new run, I learn new things. I now know that 15-16 miles is about as long as I can go without eating something. This means I will probably need to take at least one gel or food item with me in Arizona. They don't serve any gels until mile 20, and although it's flatter, and therefore less energy-sapping, I doubt I can make it that far without getting some fuel in me before that point.

As I ran on Sunday, that means over the last 7 days, for the first time in my life, I have crossed the magic 40 mile threshold in one week. Although I measure my weeks from Sunday-Saturday, meaning that I won't "officially" count it as a 40 mile week in my training log, it's a confidence-builder to know I've done that at least once on the way to the big race without completely ruining myself.

Next up is a step-back week. My long run next Sunday will be "only" 12 miles, then I'll try 18, and finally 20, before beginning my taper. I'm certainly pleased with how things are going to this point, but I have to admit, I'm looking forward to an easier week.

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