Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
Slurp Or Slump
by Russell Turner - 11:55 on 17 August 2020
It’s six weeks until my lone virtual marathon – unless I get a London place, in which case it’s seven and I’ll still be running solo but at the same time as several thousand others. My route is undecided and will probably stay that way until the night before when I can be reasonably sure of the weather forecast.
The biggest challenge will be water. Real races have thoughtfully placed hydration stations dotted around the course; the lone runner has to carry all they need, have a compliant Matchgirl to meet them at pre-arranged spots, or run loops which pass The Rural Retreat where top-up bottles can be left out. It’s a tricky decision.
My one-litre backpack, preceded by use of a half-litre hand-held bottle which can be ditched and later retrieved when empty, means I have 2.5 to three hours’ worth of fluid: fine if you’re a decent club runner but of limited use for someone hoping to cover 26.2 miles in under five hours.
Two-litre backpacks are available, when I have the opportunity to visit running stores again (not wishing to take a chance by buying online). However, all are useless if you don’t use them properly.
After last week’s encouraging 16 miles I looked forward yesterday to an even more encouraging 18 miles, again using an 8:1 run/walk, which I expected to finish in around 3:07 and ready for more.
At 14 miles I was slightly ahead of schedule but struggling. At 15 I had to pause the Garmin – which I never do – for a couple of minutes while I took a break. Not long thereafter, the 8:1 became much less structured. I reached 18 miles – in 3:11 plus the two unrecorded minutes – but definitely wasn’t fit for more.
The most likely explanation was revealed when I dismantled the backpack and discovered at least a quarter of its water/Tailwind contents still in place, even after taking a couple of slurps at every walk break. No wonder I’d struggled.
Next week’s long run is a mere 13.1 miles, which I plan to run properly. The following week should be 20 but I’ll dial it back to 18 and a 7:1 run/walk, during which I’ll try to take the correct volume of slurp.
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