Chicago Marathon 2007 Training: Week 18 & 19
The last 2 weeks have been about the same as it’s been for the last few months. I did set one important goal for last Sunday’s run though. Regardless of how bad I feel I’m running, I wanted to do a long run where I was on my feet for 4 hours. I decided not to bother about worrying about pace or how much I had to walk, but rather, just to keep moving forward for 4 hours.
That long run started off about the same as my previous runs, but I’m happy to report that I managed to keep moving for 4 hours and I managed to cover 19 miles. I had figured that I would have probably done at least 18 and I was hoping I could have made 20, but I was happy with the 19 miles. I did notice some cramping in the last mile if I tried to run so the whole of the last mile was spent walking.
I plan to do one more long run like that before my marathon, but I hope to make it a 20-miler.
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:16 am
Hi Derek,
Congrats on your 19 miler!
Regarding cramping, you may be low on electrolytes. I ran a half marathon last week, and my legs were cramping up a lot all afternoon and evening. This is even though I drank Gatorade through-out the race. It was very hot, and I was sweating profusely. At one point in the race, I looked down and could see dried salt cyrstals on my shirt. I got some electrolyte pills from Hammer Nutrition called Endurolytes, and used them on this week’s 16 mile long run, and I had no cramping at all, either during or afterwards, and I only drank water during this long run (i.e., no Gatorade).
Note that I had to walk in this half marathon too. I went out to fast and it was really hot. It seems like every experienced runner I talk to emphasizes not going out too fast. It’s simple advice, but it’s hard to follow.
Note, yesterday I talked briefly to a guy who is running Chicago. He had just done 18 miles and mentioned he had one more long run planned for 20-21 miles.
Good luck with the rest of your training.
September 4th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Nice job on the 19 miler. Good idea on the electrolyte pills..there are some gels that have electrolytes in them. Just make sure you try em out on your long runs first. Good stuff!
September 4th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
Great job on the 19 mile run! I’m happy to read that you’re still giving it your all, and looking forward to having you at the start and finish line in Chicago! It will be here before we know it!