Today being Saturday, I set out to do a long run. I thought maybe I could pull off 14 miles, and 14 miles I did pull off! However, it was quite warm out. It was between 71 and 73 degrees and it felt rather humid, possibly around 60%. This meant I didn’t want to push myself too much, especially if I wanted to pull off 14 miles for the first time this year.
Notables from this run, there were a few. I had the medial pain in my lower leg that felt like a shin splint, which was less obvious in the second loop I did of Central Park. The only other pain I felt was a twinge in my, was it my left knee just below the kneecap? I don’t recall which side. It happened only when I moved into my super-sprint at the end. This last-minute sprint spiked my heart rate up to 195 bpm, which means yet again my maximum heart rate is significantly above the equation. In fact, it’s even above what I thought was my maximum from prior use of my monitor! Given my age, it’s surprising to me I’m in the mid-190s with my maximum heart rate. (I do wonder, though, what the accuracy is of the Garmin heart rate monitor.)
The run was again pretty slow in the first half but speedier in the second half, which for this week again may be related to listening to talk rather than music on my mp3 player (NPR’s On the Media) in my first loop of the park. I wasn’t passed too often but was passed, but I also was able to pass a couple people who seemed to challenge me. Of those two guys, one I challenged twice and beat, but at the very end he beat me as he turned on a different route. I wasn’t really into anything seriously competitive, but I did push myself a bit mentally to see if I could do something in the pass genre of running.
It started out cloudy but ended partly sunny. I didn’t have any water over the 14 miles, which was something I was definitely craving toward the end. My reasoning not to stop to get water was to see if I could get through without it, and to give myself a standard in order to understand my performance over 14 miles when I don’t drink water. If I had it, I have a feeling I would have been faster. I wasn’t feeling very good today not drinking water–I got really slow.
My pace was not very impressive (8:07s), nor was my bpm (170 bpm). I did notice, though, “heart rate creep” as I was later in my run and without water. I’m curious if my heart rate would drop a bit if I stopped for some water.
Before the run I had Nitric Oxide Overdrive (an arginine supplement that I got about which I’m wondering if it really does anything), quercetin, and two PowerGels. Last night I had pasta, a disappointing Oglio & Aglio with Chicken from Euro Delights, but hey, it happens. 🙂 I also had Key Lime Pie Ben & Jerry’s, but let’s not go into that. I burned 1,700 calories for today’s run, which helps make a dent.
No gym afterwards, but coconut water, chocolate milk, eggs and a wheat bagel. I’m a bit zonked from today’s run but had enough energy to bust out an energetic audition.