So yesterday my buddy JB & I ran 31 miles (or for you metric folk – 50K). It wasn’t a race; it was just a plain old long, slow, distance training run. It was the second farthest I have ever run in my life (the farthest to date being the Vermont 50). Unlike the Vermont 50, there was no walking yesterday, just a relentless push forward with only two brief stops to grab a PB&J and refill the water bottles at our cars at miles 12.5 and 20.5. Our goal had been to finish close to the 5 hour mark. We ended up hitting 31 miles in 4:48:07 for an average overall pace of 9:17 per mile.
So what did we learn from this run? In no particular order:
- Slow down – 8:00 miles are too fast.
- Slow down some more – so are 8:30 miles.
- And then slow down even more – even 9:17’s we averaged are too fast if we’re going to successfully run 100 miles.
- LSD is much more enjoyable with a friend – the run, not the drug.
- Chatting makes the miles go by quickly
- …but there’s nothing wrong with running in silence for a mile here and there.
- Windy, twisty, turny paths are mentally a lot easier to deal with than long straight ones that end in a point on the horizon.
- If you go downhill, eventually you will have to go uphill
- Uphills, no matter how gentle the slope, still hurt after 27 miles
- I must practice eating while running – both PB&J’s hit the belly like a lead ball.
- Honey water works – as least at the 31 mile distance.
- So does pickle juice – not even a hint of a leg cramp yesterday.
- My Mophie packs are going to work out great – after 5 hours and 31 miles of tracking, I still had plenty of juice left.
- Breaking in shoes works – not a hint of a blister on my feet after all that running.
- Not all runners are friendly…
- …but most of them are.
- My legs are in better shape than I anticipated – they are a little sore today, but nothing like I was prepared to have to deal with.
- Salty bananas are delicious after 20 miles of running
- Momentum only takes you so far
- The hardest part of training over the next 65 days will be forcing myself to run 4 minutes per mile slower than I comfortably run
- In the longer distances you don’t need chase people that pass you – in all likelihood, you may see them again at some point.
- Body glide or vasoline or some kind of lube is a must – otherwise you will end up with the worst chafing in the worst spots.
- Eat more during the run – from the time we finished around 11:30AM, I didn’t stop eating until I got into bed at 9:30PM (I’m actually 5 pounds heavier this morning than I was yesterday before my run).
- Walk after running – I’m convinced that part of the reason I am not so sore today is that we walked 3/4 of a mile after hitting 31 miles and then my family and I went to the Children’s Museum as soon as I got home and showered.
- Drink more fluid during the run
- …and keep drinking afterward – as the afternoon progressed I was hit with a wicked headache. A couple of Advil and a steady stream of liquid refreshment took care of that.
- If JB & I are going to run side by side for 20 – 24 hours, we’re gonna have to come up with some intriguing conversation topics
- Running at conversational pace is a heck of a lot easier on the body than running faster than that
- Running 31 miles in the morning and still having an entire day in front of you is a fantastic feeling
- Feeling the way we did during the last few miles made us realize, possibly for the first time, just how big of an undertaking 100 miles really is
- …but now I am more determined than ever to cross that finish line and get that belt buckle!
So there you have it. On day 97 of #AutismStreaks I got a 31 miler/50K out of the way and put the streak over 550 miles for the year (553 to be exact). In about a month, we will do a 50-miler (maybe). We’ll see. I hope you got your long run this weekend!
Me and JB – post-31-miler…smiling because we’re done.
Run Luau Run 