One Nine aka 19 mi

Went for the twenty this Thursday, but didn't get it. Came up with nineteen instead. Lost it all on the last mile. My best guess is I ran out of sodium, or calories. In short I wasn't as prepared as I needed to be. Too bad, I had a hell of a pace going.

Felt great all the way through the half marathon (13 miles). Stopped and ate a banana, should have waited a bit and noshed a granola bar too. But I was too excited, feeling too good.

That all changed at the last mile. My route, which covered the previously mentioned Joe Stengel trail with a road run extension, took me out about 8.5 miles, then back 8.5, then it was supposed to be out 1.5 and back. I made it out 1 and then shut down. I was able to walk and eventually jog back the last quarter mile, so it wasn't serious, but damn it sucked.

Here's the data:
Time: 3:09:46
Distance: 19 mi
Avg. Speed: 5.93
Avg. Pace: 10.11 min/mile
Calories: 2196.66 (!)

So the lesson learned is:

1. I can run massive distances
2. Calorie up before long runs
3. Re-up during the run
4. Pace is critical (I hammered out the first five overly quick)

At the end of it all my feet were bruised and a white rime of salt coated my arms and face. (However, I did stay perfectly hydrated, took down about 30 oz. of water from my Camel Back) My legs, and indeed my entire body was sore (still is a bit), but as usual the pain has faded to almost nothing over the last two days. Time to get back out on the road.

Overall though I'm feeling pretty good about where I'm at physically. The marathon should be no problem, what with all it's Gatorade and snacky stops along the way. I can't wait for South Bend.