Friday, April 11, 2014

19-Miler {RunnerBox In Action}

This morning I ran my furthest run yet - 19 MILES!

A snap shot of my route from my hubby's phone
(I send him eCrumbs through Road ID's app so he can track me)

Now, you may be asking yourself, "Didn't she just post about her 18 mile run that was her longest at that point and her 17-miler before that?". Well, YES... and I will probably post about my 20 mile run when I do it. Obviously with this being my first marathon (and thus my first marathon training) there will be a lot of firsts. I want to make sure that I celebrate each and every one of them. God has blessed me with the ability to do what I am doing and I don't want to take it for granted - not a single mile!


This morning's run started a little before sunrise. I wanted to get out early because I knew the sun was supposed to be in full effect and I didn't want to get stuck in the heat of the day. I decided last night that today's run would not only be the longest I have done up to this point, but it would also be a little bit of a RunnerBox in action. You see, when I got my most recent RunnerBox (April/May) there were a ton of awesome products. There were a few that I knew could be used "together" so I figured today's run would be a perfect place to try them out!


Before I go any further, I need to mention my hydration bag. Two weeks ago (during my 18 mile run) I mentioned that it was leaking, but that I didn't really look into why. Last night, Ryan was able to check it out for me. It appeared as though the bladder SPRUNG A LEAK! A little over half way towards the top of the bladder there was a hole that was squirting out water. It was on the crease of the bag (when it isn't full it sits flat and therefore makes a crease). I have to reach out to Nathan to see if I can get it replaced, seeing as I had only used it maybe 6 times prior to it springing a leak, but in the meantime we had to MacGyver it. We taped it up with Duct Tape, I made sure to fill it to below the hole, and I wrapped it in a towel in the backpack (figuring if anything did leak that it would have to saturate the towel before it soaked the bag and ME). It seemed to work alright, the towel wasn't even wet, but again, hopefully I can get a replacement bladder soon.

See the pin-hole leak? Doesn't look like much, but had SOAKED my back by mile 2 last week.

Back to the run. It went extremely well. I could tell by mile 3 that it was going to get toasty (from mile 2 through 7 I am running directly into the sun), but did my best to stay hydrated. I had just biked the "course" the day before (and bike it just about every week for my cross training day), so I know it well. My legs felt strong and everything was gelling.

Running INTO the sun...

I've never been this tall :)

I used a new fuel from my RunnerBox - PROBAR Bolt Organic Chews. The serving size was 4-5 chews, so I took 4 at mile 6.5, then another 4 at mile 13 and the final 3 at mile 17. They reminded me of the Clif Shot Bloks that I have used in the past (same consistency and texture - and like the Shot Bloks I bite them in half when eating them so they are more manageable). I had the orange flavor and really liked it (although it looks like they have some other yummy flavors on their site as well). I didn't get a bad belly from them and they seemed to keep me going strong my whole run. I would definitely try them again (and will look for them when I am out and about to see if any of our local stores sell them).



There was a slight hiccup around mile 11...


Yup, A SNAKE! And not just a small gardener snake. This was a BIG boy! I'd say it was probably 6 feet long and about the thickness of a aluminum can. There was a runner behind me, so I stopped and waited for him to come up, thinking he would scare it off (since I HATE snakes), but he just stood there looking at it too. I threw a rock at it, but it didn't seem to phase him. Then a biker came from the other direction. He got closer to it and said that it wasn't a rattle snake. He joked and said, "the longer you hang out the more time it gives the snake to make up his mind about biting you". As soon as he said that I took off. I think that mile might have been my fastest one :) And the way my hydration tube was rubbing on the bag it sort of sounded like a snake, so I was freaking out until I got off of the trail around mile 14.

I wanted to try and shoot for 3 hours for the 19 miles which would put me about 9:30 minute miles. I also wanted to try to run the last few miles faster than normal (I finished Bart Yasso's book yesterday and in it he mentioned running the last few miles of your long runs faster to train your body for negative splits). I was able to accomplish both of these goals - finishing the 19 miles at 2:58:39 and running the last 4 miles at sub 9:15 minute miles - my last mile was actually at 8:45.

Thumbs up - I survived!

Once I finished I decided to put on my bath suit bottoms and head to the pool for an "ice-bath". Our pool isn't heated, so the water is probably 50* right now. I went and stood in it for about 15 minutes. At first it took my breath away, because of the chill, but once I was able to exhale a few moments later it felt glorious.


After I got back to the house from the pool, I knew I needed to start re-hydrating. Thankfully RunnerBox included a packet of Gatorade G2 Powder that I was able to use to help with the process. I love that it was low calorie because I hate feeling like I am drinking my calories (guess that is why I normally stick with water throughout the day). One packet in 20 ounces of water and shake - easy peasy! The fruit punch was a nice flavor (especially after drinking plain water for the prior 3 hours).



I jumped in the shower to warm up (and get clean for the Tigers game we are going to tonight) and after I finished getting ready it was time for lunch. I made up a quick PB&J, grabbed a banana, and my The Good Bean Fruit & No-Nut Bar out of my RunnerBox. I have had the Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas from The Good Bean before (check out the review here), but hadn't had the bars yet. The trail mix flavor is made of chickpeas, cranberries, and pumpkin seeds. Although it might sound "interesting" I am here to tell you it is scum-didily-umptious! Gluten-free goodness and an amazing alternative to nut bars (especially for folks with allergies). And don't forget vegan :)

Yes, my lunch smiles at me :)

I'd say I had a pretty successful 19-miler this morning!

As always, if you would like to try RunnerBox and have the opportunity to try some of the products that I used on today's run (as well as some other pretty super items), make sure to check out their website and use my ambassador code when ordering to get 10% off your purchase.



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your run! OMG, that is a big snake! I saw one on my run earlier this week too. Ugh! Anyway, good luck on your marathon training!