I did it!! Last Friday was my first long run, and I actually went ALL twenty miles without stopping. Since my hip flexor injury in the end of July-- and since I came from it at the end of August-- I haven't been able to go for a long run without stopping at least once to walk. Usually I stop around the 4-mile mark for a short walk break, and I've never been able to make it to 7 miles without a longer (1/4 mile to a mile) walk break. It was demoralizing, to say the least. How am I supposed to run 26.2 miles if I can't even run 8 straight? Visions of being run over by the race course police opening the road back up to traffic because I'm too slow kept running through my head. My goal shifted from "sub 4:30" to "just don't get kicked off the course." But, as predicted by my experienced friends, tapering is just as psychological as it is physical, and man am I psyched to be over the worst of it!!
Night-before prep:
1.5 hours of yoga. Wasn't expecting this-- I wanted to do gentle yoga (even though I prefer Bikram) because I didn't want to be sore, but then I got there too late and got 90 minutes of hot Bikram instead. It ended up going surprisingly well after not having done it since February!
My first time taping my piriformis. Didn't go so great. Totally having someone else do it before the marathon. It was supposed to look like this, but it ended up looking like a really pathetic almond shape that basically outlines a love handle on my right lower back in neon pink K-tape.
My food plan:
(logged because I'm a creature of habit and will most likely repeat this exact thing before my race)
Pre-run dinner (at 10pm): 2 oz. whole wheat spaghetti with juice + zest of 1/4 lemon and finely grated Parmesan (and milk)
Dessert: 4 mini Famous Amos cookies and milk
Morning of: a couple myrtl exercises (fire hydrant, circles, leg swings) and regular stretches (hip butterfly, single-leg stretching), gummy multivitamins, 1 ibuprofen, 1 Endurolyte, and 2 Clif ShotRoks in peanut butter, some sips of water... no breakfast (this was an experiment... I ALWAYS eat breakfast no matter what)
During run: 5 Clif ShotRocks (taken at miles 2, 5, 8, 10, and 12), 3 (12-oz) bottles of water (refilled at miles 7, 11, and 15), 4 almonds. Definitely should have fueled up more for such a long run, but couldn't bring myself to stomach the gel I brought.
Immediately Post-run (in my car): at least 50 oz of water, joint health Emergen-C, Vanilla Honey Stinger waffle (After which I realized that I paid $1.50 for an organic version of a single stroopwafel. Last time I had stroopwafel, I got a whole package straight from the Netherlands, and there's no healthifying something that good. This kind of proves my moral opposition to fitness company BS. It's not an "energy waffle", it's freaking Dutch dessert. I don't want GU when I can eat gummy bears. And I still get roped into it half the time. But I digress.)
When I got home: more water, 1 ibuprofen, 1 Endurolyte, and a hard-boiled egg with 2 oz. whole wheat spaghetti with juice + zest of 1/4 lemon and finely grated Parmesan
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