Long Run Adventures
You guys! I ran nine miles on Sunday! I know that’s not LONG, long, but it was long enough for me to follow my usual long run routine. Today I thought I’d share some of my tips, tricks and tools for hot long runs… because heat is a factor just about year-round in South Florida. First off, I’ve had a major mindset shift about my long runs. I remember in the past, training for marathons, I would get really stressed out about them. I would worry about those runs in advance- almost dread them. On my run this Sunday, as my Garmin beeped for the first mile, I remembered how, for those stressful long runs, I would be so relieved as I ticked off each mile. Now I see each long run as an adventure. Rather than dreading them, I get excited and look forward to them all week. I try to plan a route that will give me a chance to explore.- I wonder what this neighborhood is like? I wonder how far this road goes? Now that I’m running on trails, I have a new one I want to try next time. I know where it starts but not where it ends. I’ve been wondering about it for months now- if someone has gone to the trouble of clearing a trail, it must go SOMEWHERE… right? Now for fueling and hydration. Everyone is different here. I had a memorable run about two years ago, where I went out for “eight miles.” I had planned to drink from the water fountain at my usual park, but because it was early on in the pandemic, I didn’t realize the park was closed. When I made that discovery I thought “No problem- it’s only an eight mile run.” But… thanks to my burning desire to explore, I ended up getting lost that day and ran 11.25 miles. It was 82 degrees when I finished, and I did it with no fuel or water. And I was fine. Yes, I was thirsty and it would have been nice to have water. But nothing bad happened- I rehydrated afterwards and all was well. Having said that, I do bring water and fuel along on my longer runs now. I’m not trying to have some sort of weird “Naked and Afraid” experience- I want to have fun. Probably the best thing I’ve purchased in a long time is this: The Orange Mud HydraQuiver hydration vest. I love it so much! You seriously can hardly feel it. When I first got it I had some issues with chafing while wearing it with only a sports bra. I ended up covering the problem areas with KT tape and that solved the issue. So far this year I’ve been wearing a cropped tank top, and slathering body glide on any parts I think might chafe, and it’s been fine. This bottle holds 24 ounces, which is plenty (for me) for runs up to 12 miles. If I were going farther I would probably want to stop and refill it. They also make a vest that holds two bottles, and I’m considering getting that at some point in the future. I fill the water bottle about 3/4 full and put it in the freezer the night before my run. Then in the morning I top it off with more water. That way I have some water to start with, and the ice melts while I’m out there, giving me cold/cool water throughout the run. Before my long runs I drink 16 ounces of water with half a packet of LMNT (I drink another 16 ounces with the rest of the packet afterwards.). I eat a little fruit- an orange or apple maybe, before I start. My stomach can be sensitive, and I need to eat something that digests quickly. During the run- if it’s ten miles or longer- I’ll eat a gel. Even though this run was planned to be only nine miles, I brought one along anyway. I was leaving myself the option to run ten miles if I happened to “get lost,” and although that didn’t happen, I did eat the gel and enjoyed it. I love that boost of caffeine. If I were running more than twelve miles, I would probably take another gel somewhere. The second one has no caffeine, and I don’t have a favorite flavor. Although my stomach is sensitive when it comes to food, I can tolerate any gels. Hammer gels are my favorites but they can be hard to find, so I take what I can get. My only regret is the chai flavored Gu- I won’t be repeating that. One more thing- I love listening to podcasts when I do a long run. I totally get why people would rather run on trails with no headphones, but my favorite thing is to listen to a podcast where someone is recapping an extremely long and difficult race. My favorite ultrarunning podcasts nowadays are The Freetrail podcast and Training for Ultra. I usually listen to an episode for the first part of my run, and then- unless the podcast is so riveting that I don’t want to stop- I’ll put on music for the last couple miles. This was the weather at the end of my run, which for this time of year was pretty great. There’s so little shade here, any clouds are welcome. When it gets hotter and my runs get longer, I’ll start in the dark (and by the way, when I start in the dark I keep my headphones out of my ears for safety reasons until it’s light out.) Right now I’m keeping my fingers crossed that my foot continues to hold up, so I can enjoy some long run adventures over the summer. Most of our half marathons and marathons happen December-March, so I’ll just be running for the fun of it for now. I’m linking up with Kim and Zenaida for Tuesday Topics! Do you get nervous for long