Weekend running recap!

It’s been hot hot HOT here in New England. I have to be honest, I’ve already asked myself over and over again why it was that I chose a fall marathon rather than a spring marathon. My coaches tell me that fall marathons are easier (since running in the heat is so difficult, the adjustment to fall temperatures from summer temperatures makes your run way awesomer…. As opposed to a spring race during which you basically cross your fingers and hope against hope that you get a nice day and then, thanks to Murphy, wind up running a marathon in 75 degree muggy weather). I’m not really sure that the word “easy” can be applied to marathons at all.

Speaking of training, I suppose I should mention that I’m not on a conventional marathon training plan. Since I do Crossfit several times a week, I’m getting the leg muscle development and cardio recovery threshold work from those workouts. The result? I only run one long run every week (with a little recovery the day after). Oh, don’t worry, I spend the rest of my time doing other equally horrifying things to get in shape for this marathon; nobody really escapes the torment. I’m simply varying my training so that I don’t just run all the time. And before you ask yes, I am doing this under the oversight of a few very experienced coaches; some of whom are marathoners themselves. They know what they’re doing and I trust them entirely.

It’s not actually true if Garmin doesn’t record it….

This weekend, I had my first 17 scheduled. My first 17…. Ever. As in the longest I have ever run in one clip. It was slated to be a sweltering 92 degrees at the height of the heat on Saturday, so like any self-respecting runner I woke up at the absolute crack of dawn (literally… it was dark outside when I got up) so that I could start and, hopefully, finish before it got too hot.

That didn’t really happen. Yes, I started running in a temperature that was the high end of sustainable, but it quickly got muggy and I am very slow. Additionally, I made the brilliant mistake of forgetting my electrolytes. As a result, I had to alter my planned route to stop at a nearby Walgreens in order to pick up something that wasn’t water to get my body hydrating properly. You know that you’re in serious trouble when water stops making you feel better and, no matter how much you drink, you’re still thirsty. You also know you’re in serious trouble when Gatoraid actually tastes good (yuck). I thank all applicable cosmic forces that the Walgreens was equipped with a pinpad card swipe thingy so that the poor cashier didn’t have to touch my debit card (which, by the way, lives in the sweatiest pocket of my shorts when I run…. Sweatiest of course because it’s the closest to my body because who would run with their debit card and ID in a pocket that wasn’t close to their body? Isn’t that how you get mugged and robbed!?).

After my electrolyte stop I felt much better for a bit, but as it got later and later and hotter and hotter, I became slower and slower. As I’ve previously espoused, I’m already a slow runner so I can only imagine that it looked like I was doing some kind of slow-motion movie crawl to my finish line. Honestly, I couldn’t care less; I was so close to finishing the training run. The distance, I knew, would get easier the next time; all I had to do was keep going.

So I did. And that’s that. When I got home, I nearly did the unthinkable (drink a pint of pickle juice). I then remembered that I had a tube of Nuun tablets I had been meaning to try (free from my gym because apparently whomever originally purchased them hadn’t realized that they were the caffeinated kind). Let me tell you: it takes a special kind of dehydrated to make the Kona Cola Nuun tablets taste like something you want in your mouth. Apparently, I was just that special kind of dehydrated because it was AMAZING. Like… heralds of seraphim sang down from the heavens kind of amazing. I was pretty sure that some cosmic television showed me slow motion running through a field of daisies towards this Nuun drink.

My poor fiancé, on my recommendation, threw a tablet in his water bottle later that day and it was only then that we discovered the truth. Long story short: stay away from Kona Cola Nuun tablets…. Unless you’ve run 17 miles through the heat and you’ve got salt literally flaking off your face from the sweat. Then it will taste like ambrosia.

Sunday I did a 20-minute recovery run (also in the heat) that really helped loosen things

Foam rolling (or, as pictured, lacrosse ball massage) is the BEST! ….what, too much?

up. I also spent about 45 minutes foam rolling every inch of my legs and hips just to get those tissues good and unstuck. As a result, I woke up today feeling perky enough to get to leg day at the box. While I can’t say I set any PRs this morning, it did feel good to get the proper recovery in.

Alright, folks; what did you do this weekend?

Also: Have you ever drank a pint of pickle juice?

Also also: What’s your favorite Nuun flavor? I’m thinking of grabbing a tube or two of something not Kona Cola….