23 miles on a new trail

So Oct. 13 was 3 weeks before the marathon- our final long run. We are supposed to taper off after this, and try to recover and avoid injury before the race.

After some consultaton, we decided to try the American Tobacco Trail in Wake County, instead of Umstead. This was because Umstead had the punishing hills, and the goal was to go for distance. The plan was for the half-marathoners to go to 13 miles, and the fulls to 23-26 miles. My personal goal was 23 miles, since my longest run ever 2 weeks prior was 20.8 miles. The route was 6.5 miles one way, then back to the parking lot. The fulls would then continue for another 10-12 miles.

We met at 7 AM at the New Hill-Olive Chapel Rd entrance. The team was Victoria, Efren, Eddie, Jeff, and me. The first 6.5 miles were flat- the trail was beautiful; no real hills. It goes under US 64, and intersects a few major roads. One of the things we noticed was that the trail surface (compacted gravel/sand) was harder than at Umstead. You don't feel that at first, but by 13 miles, you could definitely tell that we were hurting more than usual. The first 13 miles was covered in 2:40, for a decent 12 min/mile clip. After a break, and a short meeting, Jeff and I went for a scond round. Eddie's knee was hurting, so the smart thing to do was to avoid injury. He had run 23 miles before, so we knew he could do the distance.

Feeling refreshed, Jeff and I then decided to do the next 5 miles using 10/1 (10 min run/1 min walk). We covered the next 5 miles in 1 hour. My knees started hurting at mile 15, and my quads started hurting after that. My ankles also started to hurt, and also my right big toe. But we had no choice but to get back, so the final 5 miles we decided to do using 5 min/1 min. We finished the last 5 miles in 1 hour 10 min.

Some thoughts- the hardest portion for me was miles 18-22. My legs were tired- quads burning and knees starting to buckle up. Getting started after walking was very tough, and I learned to start slowly after the walk break. It sometimes felt that running continuously and not taking a walk break was easier. But with a few more miles to go, I wasn't sure my legs would hold up without the walk breaks. Jeff pretty much towed me the last few miles. I knew that in many ways, it was more mental than physical, but the brain was screaming for my body to stop. On the other hand, my brain was saying - go on, you've got to finish this. At the back of it all was the thought of injuring my knees or ankles.

This is what I would have to expect at the actual marathon- conflicting messages from your brain. At least, at the marathon, it won't matter if I get an injury that will show up later :). Anyway, by mile 23, it was all mind pushing the body. My legs were jelly and in pain. I got to the end, but had to stretch and rest for a good 30 minutes before getting in the van and driving home. I couldn't believe Jeff went on for 2 more miles, alone.

The rest of that Saturday was spent in bed, lying down, feeling my legs burn. I could walk, but not straight. I took some ibuprofen (forgot to take some before the run), and slept for a while. The order of pain was something like this: right ankle, left knee, right knee, left ankle, both calves, and both quads. I felt hot the whole day, and thought I had a slight fever, but did not want to take any medicine. I knew my body was trying to recover from all that hurting. By Sunday morning, I was feeling better and walking straight. I thought I recovered nicely, only to have a long, tiring trip to San Diego and not getting enough sleep on the trip.

Anyway, that's it- 23 miles- the longest I have ever run, and the longest run before the actual 26.2 on marathon day. I don't know where I will get the energy for the extra 3.2miles. Everyone says it will be emotion, the crowds, adrenaline, etc. I do know I need all of that on race day. I feel proud to have done 23 miles, but also anxious- do I still have more to give? We'll see...