On point and a 16 miler in the bag!! (AND A LIST!)

Its not often I get to say this but today was major break through.  I managed to run an extra mile this week in 8 minutes less than last week.  I felt strong, fast, and my biggest issue was remembering to slow down.  I am ecstatic!

Turning back to my OCDness with my running I have to question what was different?  My legs weren't in any better shape than the week before, and it could be argued that they were considerably more tired as I'm at the last week before my rest week being on a 4 week cycle.  Looking back at my splits I can't help question how in the world I was been able to post a 8:50 mile at mile 10 (by mistake!), and then do a fast finish of 8:01.  It really boggles the mind, but if I can't walk tomorrow and this is the last post for another year you'll all know why.

Their are four things I can attribute today's success and with my old time training partners recently confessed obsession with lists here we go:

#1  I ditched the heavy clunky camel bag for a hydration belt.  I noticed the previous week as soon as I put that massive bag on my times instantly dropped by a minute or more and at the end I still had half a pouch weighing me down.  While yesterdays trial run with the belt proved it wasn't weightless, today's proved that it is by far the best option and at the end of the 2 and a half hour run I barely knew it was there. 

#2  For the first time ever I cut a Gatorade prime with water and used that mix to fill my 28 ounces of (4)

Fuel!!

water bottles.  On top of that I kept to my new routine of sipping and swishing rather than chuggle-lugging and I think it made another big difference.  If I was a betting man I'd now say a lot of problems I had in the past resulted from a condition known as Hyponatremia (too much water and not enough salt) but more to come on that in a future post on "Fuel."  For anyone attempting this be careful though:  changing fuel for runs too drastically can cause great stomach discomfort (PG version) and nobody wants to do impromptu strides to the closest available bathroom/discreet location.  That's why I used to skip the Gatorade myself but it worked today and I plan to stick with it.

#3  Today I got up at the same time as last week before the sun crested the ocean, but it was noticeably colder and I made sure to hit the road quicker providing an added bonus.   I'm now beginning to closely monitor my sleep as recovery is a vital part of training (or so smart people say) I used to somewhat ignore, but can't afford to at this point.  Again while this doesn't necessarily equal cooler temps or less humidity thanks to the beautiful tropical conditions here in SoFlo, it definitely feels better and will be a continuing trend for my long runs.  The one drawback about this:  bed time on Saturday nights at 10:30 or better but if it helps then it helps.

#4  Confidence:  I knew I could do it.  Didn't know I could do it that fast but I knew.  For any runner out their struggling to build confidence just remember:  If 70 year olds can complete marathons and ultras quicker then most then so can you!  Their is no magical difference between them or anyone else, and if you can come to terms with the truly awesome power our bodies can put out and endure, then its in the bag for you too.

So I think that's all for today's success tips.  I've got 4 more grueling long runs of 18 or more miles before race day coming up really delving into marathon mileage so I'm sure every post won't be as up beat as this one.  But if you're a runner you know there's always going to be ups and downs with training.  Today I'll be riding my up all day long:  Victory is mine!!


Best long run this season:  16 miles in 2:35. 

So much for the dry season!  Missed it by an hour though!