In my last post I talked about my great long run on Sunday, and promised to share more details about what made it special. While planning the post, however, I realized that I should make a distinction between doing long runs as part of a training plan, and the type of run I’ve been doing, which I would call more of an “adventure run.”
To me, an adventure run is where I get the idea to run a certain route, like from my house to the beach or to explore a new trail. Then I typically spend some time getting my long run up to the required distance and working out the logistics, e.g. figuring out how to get water and working out a drop-off or pickup, if I’m not going to begin or end at my house.
My run on Sunday was a point-to-point run on a levee trail which skirts the Everglades. I’ve only explored parts of this trail- the entire trail is a 62 mile loop. I arranged for my husband to drop me off at one entrance point to the levee, and ran from there back to the access point closest to my house, and then home. I estimated the run to be 14 miles and it came out to 14.5- close enough!
This was one of the best long runs I’ve ever had, and one of the reasons was that I finally fueled and hydrated properly. My normal routine in the morning is to get up and drink 16 ounces of water with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. I do that every morning, and then I get myself out the door is quickly as possible after that to start my run, eating nothing. I know most people eat before long runs, but I’m just not hungry that early.
A couple weeks ago, Jessie posted about her pre-long run routine, and said she starts the morning with a glass of water and Nuun. AH! That makes much more sense for a long run day! I also ate an orange right before starting my run.
WELL. Those two thing made a huge difference. The third thing that has made a huge difference is carrying water in a hydration vest. In the past I’ve relied on water fountains, or hidden a water bottle along the route, but neither of those things gave me as much water as carrying it in my vest. The vest I have is the Orange Mud HydraQuiver single barrel, and it holds one 24 oz. bottle of water. So here’s how the run played out.
6:30 I was at the starting point on the levee. I had already consumed 16 ounces of water with Nuun, and an orange. My phone said the temperature was 72 degrees, but honestly it felt a little cooler to me. The sun was starting to rise to the east, but I was running south and the sun wasn’t high enough yet to start heating things up.
I listened to a podcast about a woman who ran a 240 mile race- I know a lot of people wouldn’t listen to a podcast during a trail run, but as I’ve mentioned, while my trail is beautiful (in its own way) there’s not a lot of varied scenery or terrain. Plus, I love running along while listening to stories of other people running.
The first five miles went by easily- I drank water at every mile, and ate my first Gu at around 5.5 miles. It was the Cold Brew Coffee flavor, which has 70 mg of caffeine. Yes, that’s a lot!!! But I absolutely love the kick it gives me. Normally I’ll take one caffeinated gel during a long run, and my preference is the espresso Hammer gel, which has a more reasonable 40 mg of caffeine. The Gu Cold Brew was a special treat. I ran the next five miles on that caffeine high, still feeling great although the sun was high in the sky now.
At mile 10 I took my second Gu, which was NOT caffeinated. 70 mg is enough for one run. I also was finishing up my water bottle, but when I got off the trail at around 12 miles, I had another water bottle hidden. (Orange Mud also makes a double barrel version of my vest, with two bottles. Contemplating that for the future!) At this point I had turned east and was heading home- right into the sun. Normally a challenging situation on a Florida morning in May, but there was also a headwind. It would have been super annoying if I had a time goal, but I didn’t so I just leaned into it and enjoyed the breeze.
Also at this 12 mile point, where I left the trail and headed home, my podcast had ended and I switched to music. I love listening to music for the last 2-3 miles of a long run- it really gives me some extra energy.
After 14.5 miles, I arrived at my house. Of course I was happy to be done running, but I also could have gone farther. I had energy for the entire run and never had to pull out any mental tricks (mantras, step counting, etc.) to get me through it.
I know there are people who wouldn’t use gels for a run of this distance, but as I said, my only goal for the day was to enjoy myself. I’m not trying to teach my body to burn fat as fuel or anything like that- I just wanted to keep my energy up the whole time.
So there’s the story of my latest “adventure run.” I have another one in mind, but it’s 17-18 miles so I probably should do one more long run in between first, to get up to the distance.
Do you do long runs for the fun of it, even if you’re not training for anything?
Do you use gels? How often do you take them?
10 Responses
A great idea with the Nuun before a run. I usually put a Nuun in my bottles in my hydration vest and that gets me through nicely.
I don’t use gels at all – I don’t like the gooeyness.
And I’m curious: what are the health benefits of apple cider vinegar in the morning?
Catrina, I first started drinking apple cider vinegar years ago when I had digestive problems and I’ve done it ever since. It has all sorts of health benefits, like being antibacterial, regulating blood sugar, and it helps your body to be more alkaline (most people are too acidic.). Drinking a tablespoon of lemon juice in water is is supposed to have similar health benefits.
Thanks for the useful info, Jenny!
I squeeze a lemon every morning first thing and drink it with water, so I guess this is like apple cider vinegar. I’ll have to try the vinegar option one day, maybe it tastes better!
Ha ha… no it doesn’t. I’m pretty sure the lemon tastes better than ACV!
I always eat gels. They work so I’m afraid to switch. Usually one every 4 miles. Sometimes longer on an easy fun long run. I use the caffeinated ones early in the run. Then switch to uncaffeinated.
If I am alone, I listen to podcasts. Sometimes for a change music.
My breakfast is always oatmeal and coffee. The meal the might before is pizza- Creature of habit.
I never used to run long if I didn’t have to. Now I feel differently. 10 miles every week no matter what.
Darlene, we have a lot in common! Other than eating oatmeal before a run. I’m still working on that part.
Its great that you figured out a fueling and hydration strategy that works for you! Taking fuel on long runs is so important. And I’m not surprised that you needed a hydration vest while running in Florida!
I think my fueling/hydration strategy is still a work in progress, but I’m moving in the right direction!
I love reading about other people’s long run routines! I wake up famished every morning. HA! So I always have a bagel with hummus or vegan cream cheese about 2-3 hours before my long run. And then I have Plant Bites (from No Meat Athlete!) during the run every 30 minutes (even for runs of 8-10 miles, which I don’t consider that long). I did use gels for a long time, but I never loved them. The texture just gets me. But the coffee and chocolate ones were always my fave!
Oh yes! Now I remember you talking about Plant Bites. I’ll have to look into those. I really like gels, but I think for a really long run they would get pretty sickening. The problem with eating before a run for me is, because of the heat I have to get out ASAP. To eat 2-3 hours beforehand I would be getting up at 4 and then waiting around for two hours.