project262.com | Marathon Training for Patrick O'Brien

July 16, 2005, 6:00am: I've never felt better! Even ran extra!

GOAL: 18 miles RESULTS:
19 miles

LOCATION: Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri

CONDITIONS: 72°-82°, very humid

SUMMARY: TIME: 3:15:10
PACE: 10:50/mile

HEART: 151 or 81%

TOTAL TRAINING MILES TO DATE (walking & running): 398 miles

Tossed and Turned All Night:
So, I went to bed early, so I could get moving at 5:00am. I had a tough time falling asleep. It finally took me nearly 3 hours to knock out. I was worried about this 18-miler, and I think my heart was racing most the night. And what's even worse, I dreamed about missing the run! Everyone took off, and I didn't even have my shoes! I was wearing sandals, and I had to go home to change them. The dream sucked! By the time I got back to start the race, I woke up. Weird!

Beating the Sunrise
I didn't hit the snooze when 5:00am rolled around. I actually woke up on my own at 4:57am and turned off the alarm before it could buzz me to death. I dragged out of bed and walked over to the window. It was dark. Completely dark. No sign of the sun. Great...even the sun is still sleeping. So, I ate three pieces of toast and sucked down a GU. I figured the GU before the run wouldn't hurt. I made a big pasta meal last night, so I was fully carb loaded. This morning's GU was just a safety. I hopped in the shower to refresh myself, since I had only a couple hours sleep. After the shower, I felt revived and ready to go.

The Run
I started the run at 6:00am. 18 miles is three times around the park, even though the new mileage markers would show three times around the park is 17 miles. What's sad is that no one really knows for sure the exact mileage around the park. Team member Suzanne and I ran together for the first lap (Miles 1-6). We ran it non-stop. There were times when I felt I was holding Suzanne back from running faster, but there were times when I was ahead of her, too. She helped push me to run a 10:00/pace for the first lap. Then she took off ahead of me for the second lap. She's trying to run the marathon in 4 hours and is reading the book, "4 Months to A 4 Hour Marathon", following it religiously. She's been running marathons for years now, and her best time is 4:26:00.

Starting the second lap (Miles 7-12), I was dripping with sweat, literally. I have never sweat this much in my life. Sweat was dripping from the bottom of my runner's shirt, soaking the velcro strap to my water belt. During Mile 7, the water belt just fell off, and I had to clamp it tighter. I started taking walk breaks during the second lap to save energy. The temperature wasn't rising too fast, since it was a little after 7:00am and the sun wasn't too far up in the sky. This lap was quite comfortable, and I wasn't having any pains or bowel trouble whatsoever. I was monitoring my water intake, only drinking about 8 ounces every 20 minutes. I took my second GU during Mile 8.

Here comes the third lap (Miles 13-18). I filled up all my water bottles at the Joints in Motion tent before I started the lap, because the temps were starting to soar. I took more walk breaks than I did in the second lap. I soaked my head with water a lot, and halfway through the third lap (Mile 15), I stopped running for about 5 minutes. I had my third GU and drank water from the Forest Park fountain. I also filled up my water bottles at the spicket next to the fountain before taking off again. I knew I had about 30 minutes left in the race, but I wasn't getting that energy like I had hoped. Once I cleared the last hill on the run (Mile 17), I was able to take it easy and run at a slower pace. Again, I feel so blessed that I wasn't in any pain at all. I didn't need to go to the bathroom, and nothing was knotting up or cramping. The last 2 miles of the run was so comfortable, it was as if I had been running only 5 or 6 miles. I had so much energy! I was still pretty exhausted though, and the last 2 full bottles of water I had left were dumped on my head and washrag during the last mile.

Some Encouragement
After the run, I still had some energy left over, so after I hydrated and relaxed for about 30 minutes, I wanted to run an extra mile to make the full 18 miles, since three times around is only 17, and Coach Rich was marking it as 17 miles. Suzanne was having trouble getting through the last few miles of her run, so I ran two extra miles with her. She was running 23 miles today, and I thought I'd lend some support for those last 2 miles and get my full 18 miles in...and then some! She really appreciated it. After those two miles though, I was feeling very light-headed and dizzy, and I drank some Gatorade and ate a banana and a bagel. I couldn't run another step. I didn't expect a 19-miler, but now I'm glad I went "the extra mile".

THOUGHTS: Why do I toss and turn the night before the long run? I'm going to do fine! I need the sleep, but yet I can't sleep!!! Should I take sleeping pills? I don't want those pills to screw me up during the run! I better not toss and turn for the 21-miler in a couple weeks...I'll try getting to bed early Thursday night AND Friday night, so my body is used to the early bedtime and it won't freak out.

WHAT I'LL
REMEMBER MOST: Lending some support to Suzanne on her last 2 miles.

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