14 Miles

Yesterday, I ran 14 miles. I have this bandoleer thingy which holds 4 water bottles plus a pouch to hold my cell phone, gu packs, and facial tissue. I purchased some gu packs for my triathlon only to discover that I can't stand them. gu packs or gel packs are these little packets of syrupy, sweet, gelatinous gunk designed to give endurance athletes a boost of fast digesting carbs. I find them gross. I discovered that I like Sports Beans much better. I have yet to test out the Sports Blocks, but since I don't like gummies, I am in no hurry. Anyhow, since I had some left over, and being as cheap as I am, I wanted to use these things up, so I packed up 2 of them. I missed lunch and my afternoon snack because I get very uncomfortable with food in my stomach when I run long distances. So in addition to the gu, I filled 3 bottle with Gatorade for the extra calories while running. 1 bottle I filled with plain water.

My run started off goofy. I forgot to start my watch, so I had to back track in order to get the right distance figured. I found myself running slow. I am not sure if it was psychological because I knew the run would be long or if it was the result of over training and stress. My wife came down with pneumonia again (2nd time this year), so I had a lot of extra to do around the house. I am not complaining about it, but it was added stress. I had been coming down with the some of the symptoms of over-training. However, my in-laws had come over to help and it would be about the only chance to do my long run according to my training schedule, so I went anyhow. Regardless, I was puttering along.

It was a bit hot and humid, so I started on the Gatorade after 15 min. and took a sip every 15 min. thereafter. At an hour, I forced down my 1st gu pack, followed by some water. At 1:45, I reluctantly, consumed the other one, followed by some water. These stupid gu packs were messy, so I had to use some water to rinse my hands each time.

At this point, the last thing I wanted was something sweet. I wanted water, water, and more water. But dummy me, had only 1/2 bottle of water left and I didn't want to use it up so soon. So I continued to drink the Gatorade and kept reminding myself that it would hydrate me better than straight water. By 2:15, my stomach was churning and the thought of anything sweet left me nauseous. However, I knew that I needed to keep drinking the Gatorade. I did have a few sips of water, but I wanted to save the last of it for near the end.

There was a couple of times I thought I would barf, but I didn't. By the time I hit 14 miles, I was miserable. 2 hours and 38 minutes had passed by since I started. I hobbled another quarter mile back to my house where I drank 2 cups of water and collapsed on the couch. My stomach was in knots, my legs hurt, my hips were sore, my feet were swollen, and I felt terrible. After about an hour, I started feeling better.

I lost about 7 lbs on the run. That's a lot of water loss. I didn't drink anything right before I ran because doing so makes me need to pee on my run. Looking back, I did not drink very much on the run. Each of the bottles carries 8 oz. of liquid. All together I drank about 14 oz of Gatorade. I was having a hard time drinking the vile liquid so I had about 2 oz. left in one bottle and one bottle untouched. I am guessing I had 5-6 oz. of water accounting for the two times I poured water on my hands to get rid of the gu stickiness and the one time squirted some water on my face. That means that I consumed at the most, 20 oz. of liquid. After I returned, I drank 2 glasses (12 oz.) of water totaling 44 oz. which is about 2.75 lbs of water. Still I weighed 112 oz. less than when I started. I am convinced that I felt so bad and the run was so miserable was because I became dehydrated. After a few hours, my muscles felt better, I was no longer nauseous, and I felt pretty good.

I need to rethink my hydration issues before my next long run in 2 weeks and the half-marathon in 4 weeks. That all being said and done, I am pleased that I was able to run 14 miles. Imagine what it would have been like if I was properly hydrated and nourished. 14 miles is a new record for me and shows me that I can finish a 1/2 marathon which is 13.1 miles. 14 miles! Wow! I get a little choked up when I consider where I was 19 months ago. I never imagined that I would go from a 380 lb. blob to completing a triathlon and training for a half-marathon. It's funny how hopeless things seemed at the other end of the spectrum. All I can do is thank God and keep going.

Living Fit Is My #1 Job!