Today was my scheduled 17k run. I've been battling a cold for the last week and have missed 2 runs on my HM plan. I didn't want to get any further behind, so I ran my 10.5k run on Friday. It wasn't my most enjoyable run - it was cloudy, cool, windy, my legs were heavy, my bouncing pony tail and other bouncing girly-bits were annoying me but I got it done. I focused on planning some great meals this weekend, slept well, bought a wonderful new high-impact sports bra and decided I would attempt my 17k run today, but would set it up in run:walk intervals of 10:1 just because I haven't been feeling well lately and really wanted to be successful.
Now this is where I stopped thinking. I decided I would run from my house, down to the pathway by the creek I like to run and then back home. This would prevent me from having to run loops to make the distance and then I don't have to drive home after. I knew the first 3k heading down to the pathway would be downhill, meaning I also knew the final 3 k would be uphill, but I did it anyways.
I set out running faster than I probably should have but the sun was shining and I was feeling good and remember, I'm running downhill. I get to the pathway, see lots of other runners and dog walkers and carry on doing my 10:1 thing. It works out well, on every walk break I would drink some Tailwind and practice drinking from the soft bottles in my new Salomon vest while trying to not make it look like I'm copping a feel in my new perky sports bra and not tweaking my neck with my fused vertebrae (you can drink from the water bottle in situ, which is ideal since they can be a little awkward sliding into the pouch as they get less full and thus more floppy but for a woman, it can feel/seem a little risqué). I overdressed a bit given I wanted to wear my long compression socks so I wore my long coldgear tights and a long sleeve top. The wind is quite strong so it could be quite cool, but I wasn't cold at all. I peel my buff off by 2 1/2 k and stow it in one of the stash pockets on my vest. As the run progressed, I started to look more and more forward to my walk breaks and by 13.5k, I'm feeling woozy. I pull out my water bottle, take a big chug, tried to eat some gummies I had stowed as well but found them very awkward to eat given they were sticking to my teeth. I decide this walk break will be a little longer until I catch my breath but now the uphill is starting. The 10:1 went out the window and it was run what you can, walk what you need, drink what you must and just make it home.
I made it home, the last 2k were not pretty, and I was one salty lady from all the sweat. I may need to invest in the other soft flasks you can get with the long straw, but they are quite pricey. Come summer, I'm planning on using the bladder I bought for the vest, but will likely still need to carry the soft flasks on my longer trail runs so it may be worthwhile investing in them (although there will be less people around watching me grope myself as I take a drink from the flask 🙄)
The good news: the hydration vest is very comfy, but I need to drink from both water bottles as I go so they empty together. I had emptied my Tailwind side first and then the water side was digging into my rib cage a bit until I drank some from it. The new sports bra is amazing! Everything stayed exactly where they should and there was no bounce at all. I was so happy with it, I went back to the sports store and bought another one today after my run (it was on sale and they still had one more in my size! Yippee!) I completed the run in the prescribed time set out in my plan, even with the walk breaks!
The bad news: I remember why I don't like run:walk intervals. It is like it gives me permission to walk and I find it really easy to say forget it and walk whenever not pushing through to the 10 minute point. My motivation and drive to push through seems to go by the wayside when I use this technique.
Next week is supposed to be another 17k run. Will I run from home down to the creek? Nope, not happening! I'll drive to the creek, run some random loops and perhaps deke into the surrounding neighbourhood to make the distance. Will I run:walk again? I'm not sure yet. We'll see how the week goes, how my cold feels and hopefully I can attempt to run it continuous with only short stops to drink/take in fuel. I've also bought some Endurance tap that Decker has recommended in the past - maple syrup, sea salt, and ginger. Yum! I may just need to give it a-go next week. It isn't cheap, but will probably be easier to consume if I feel like I'm going to crash again. We'll chalk today's run up to a learning experience. It is still my furthest distance to date and given how the run felt at the end, I feel surprising good now. The legs are tired, but not really that sore. I have a Physio appointment for tomorrow because my piriformis has been bothering me, causing butt and hamstring tightness but they feel not too bad right now. We shall see what she says tomorrow and how I feel when I try to roll out of bed in the morning 😂
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SaskAlliecat
Graduate10
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Great post, felt as though I was with you every step. As the saying goes get ‘er done. And you did it. Not pretty at the end... Well join the club! Come to think of it, I’m not that pretty at the start either!
Sounds like an epic run Sask. I'm a fan of the intervals, but much shorter. Have you tried shorter ones? Did my 16km run today at about 2 and a half minutes running to 45 seconds walking.
I tried a maple gel today, though not that brand, and without ginger. Was pretty impressed with it and might pick up a few more for the long runs. Pretty much an instantaneous pick-me-up. I've also taken a couple of dates on runs which works okay too, but a bit fidgety and they don't have the much needed salt.
Sounds like you're kicking butt even though it was a tough run. Good luck and I'll check back next week to see how you are doing.
Thanks RWD. When I first started running with a friend of mine, she was running 4 minutes: walking 1 minute. We got up to 16k pretty easily, but that may have been the great company. We solved all our and the world's problems on those runs 😂. I may need to consider a shorter interval if I'm thinking of needing intervals again next week. I swore off gels after training for my walking marathon and just feeling so nasty by the end of it, but it feels like liquid calories might not be enough, or at least today they weren't. It didn't help that I was hungry an hour into my run. I think I ate breakfast too early this morning. It is time to experiment a bit.
Sounds like a really solid run Sask. Yep you did get ‘er done in spite of the challenges and its a distance PR for you. Glad you also liked the Endurance Taps (starting to think I should be a brand ambassador ) but they are pricey so I only take them after 16-20 or so. Hope you keep making great progress as the weather warms up.
I actually haven't tried it yet. I pulled it out of my vest to use, but then reached for the gummies hoping they would work. I was holding off given the price but will definitely reach for it next week to see if it helps. When I'm on the trails, I'll experiment with food a bit more. Since it is such a different way to run, food may go down easier. Plus I gotta train for the amazing aid stations full of sweets and salty snacks 😁. I have some mini Cadbury Eggs in my cupboard I meant to take and forgot. They shouldn't get quite as gooey as I envision the the mars bites getting (but the Mars bites rock in the winter! Frozen little mounds of goodness 😋). Nope, I don't lose any weight running 😆
Another Sask epic, enjoyable as ever! You are brave, even considering finishing a long run with 3k uphill, and the fact you’ve been battling a cold makes your achievement even more commendable. 👊
I’m very impressed. Seriously impressed! Well done Sask! 🏃♀️👏🎉👊👍🏃♀️
Brave.... stupid...it's a fine line 😂. My trail race has a long hill near the end so I was thinking of that when I decided to do it, but the race is a long way off and running up hill on trails is different than on Tarmac but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? I'll be focussing on some hill work this summer 💪
Blimey.. I'm impressed. Sounds like a tuff one with challenges. But u did it.. Well done. Some distance too. I walked just A little more than that yesterday and found it tough!
Ugh. Fancy knowing you had all that uphill to face for the whole run - I'm surprised that didn't bite you sooner! Sounds like you did a brilliant job. My first 21.1k was a run/walk disaster, my second was not; the first tought me a lot about pacing, water, fuel and self-discipline and so should have been far less disappointing than it seemed. Hopefully you will be the same and will feel great after your next long run.
It definitely was on my mind as I got closer to where the incline started. I'm not sure what is harder, the mental or physical part of these long runs. But as rough as it felt at the time, I feel great for it now.
Wonderful report my friend...what a run and how helpful ! I forgot to say how I found my vest on the HM... but yes, really comfy..I did have to stop and pull my bottle out...
Isn't it odd this, walk and run thing... loads of folk Jeffing in long runs, but I am not sure it works for me either
Sorry you felt woozy,,but what a run and your runs always sound so exciting too! I feel like I right there beside you! x
Thanks OF. I wondered how you found drinking from the bottles. I have a slightly sore spot on my rib cage today where the bottle was pressing on it once the one had emptied, but I'll keep that in mind next week. It is easy to remedy. I may take Tailwind in both bottles and not worry about any water.
I remember how successful my friend and I were jeffing before but then I found it so hard to run any distance without wanting to stop. I'm hoping to try the next 17k continuous and then I can make a decision as to how to run the HM. It is such a mind game!
Wow, well done SA! I like the sound of the successful underwear. I did exactly the same thing and bought a second bra as soon as I found a good one. Maple syrup, YUM. Good luck for your next 17km and your HM program.
Thanks BTP. I find I'm less excited to head out for these long runs and prefer the 10-14k runs, but feel pretty bad@$$ after finishing it. I suppose the more you run them, the easier they get, just like when we reached 5k and 10k. I'm looking forward to testing out my Maple syrup on the next long one. I won't cheap out this time 😂.
I feel surprisingly good today. Rolling out of bed wasn't hard at all. There is slight tightness in the right bum and hamstring, but less than I felt after my last 14k run. My calves feel pretty good, too. The compression socks may've helped. It'll be interesting to see as my Physio works my muscles, if I feel the same way. I remember last year she was rubbing down my lateral thigh along my ITB and I went into a spasm of giggling because the pain was so intense and she was barely working it. I didn't even realize at the time it was tight.
I can't wait to try it! Less sticky than gummies and a little burst of chocolate goodness....what could go wrong 😉. I'll report back next week on how it went.
Yikes! That looks a toughie! You did brilliantly Saska especially as you weren't feeling 100%. Hats off to you and great news that your new bra did the job 🙂
I'm feeling surprisingly good today. We'll see how it goes as the day goes on, especially once I get to work and have to crouch down to examine my surgery patients today, but I'm thinking I'll be A-ok. But once Physio works over the trigger points, I may feel a little different 😅
Another super run report Allie, and another epic run. 💪
Well done on making the distance, pretty or not, you did it... 17k ! kudos on your mental and physical strength especially as you are recovering from a cold.
I can imagine what you mean about the run/walk permission thing and have found the same problems (on a smaller scale obvs.😆). I like the idea RWD has suggested of shorter intervals as this worked when you ran with your friend...but can see the pitfalls.
You did what was required, and in the time you had anticipated, so really this was a win win. I hope you have recovered and your physio session will help with this too hopefully.
I loved reading this, you really do take us with you. I'm sure you learned a lot to take forward to your next long run.
This was supposed to be a short post, but you know me. By the time it was done, it really wasn't that short. Oh well. You guys would probably wonder what was wrong with me if I posted a short report after a run 😂
I will definitely take all I learned on my next long run but still am unsure what to do in regards to continuous or run/walk. We'll see how the week plays out and make a decision closer to the day. I'm hoping it'll be a continuous run but so much depends on how the week goes.
I’ll join you in the “unable to keep it concise” club Sask! Please don’t stop writing your long reports - I love them a) because they’re genuinely interesting and fun and b) I won’t feel so guilty when I ramble on .... and on! 😅😅
Wow! You got it done. You were really braving the conditions and with a cold to top it off. The whether to run or run/walk is a big decision to consider. It’s a tough one. I tried a sample one of the the maple syrup fuels at a running show and it was great tasting. I’ll be waiting to hear from you on how it works on a long run.
You’re a toughie Allie. Great run and an excellent time. Oh god, 3km uphill at the end. I’d have been crawling it on all fours. Walking breaks seem to give me the permission to stop at the smell of a hill so they don’t work too well for me. Maybe times breaks are more effective. They certainly worked for you in the past. It’s all learning isn’t it ? Looking forward to next weeks report.
My Halloween candy barely makes it to Halloween 😂 but at least you can buy fun size candy year round now. Yippee! I just have to hide it from my family....and not dip into it when I'm not running...
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) but they are pricey so I only take them after 16-20 or so. Hope you keep making great progress as the weather warms up.
Look what I did today...and suffered the consequences!
I still think of myself as a fraud! 
Help! I think I’ve lost it 😢
Think I need a stiff drink!
