The continued break from the heat and humidity gave us another beautiful weekend for our long run. Yesterday’s long run was perfect! Overcast, low humidity, and a sprinkle of light rain right in the middle of the run made for a pleasant 15 miles through the City of Baltimore. I had the pleasure of running with two of our six pack and we all agreed, it was a great run.

This week we all decided to wear our Nathan Intensity Hydration packs. They hydration pack is a vest with a bladder that holds 70 oz of water an has lots of little pockets. I LOVE running long distances with a vest, but I have to admit that only after several uses, the nozzle on my mouth piece is not working right. It leaked all over my shirt and was difficult to turn off and on. It was like cold pee running down my stomach mile after mile. Plus, by the end of the run, I was sucking in a lot of air. Not sure why the nozzle was taking in air, but it was not good. I have contacted Nathan to see what they will do about it. Will keep ya’ll posted.

Light breakfast of whole wheat Eggo with peanut butter and jelly and a banana. It’s not my norm and it did not sustain me at all. Thirty minutes into my run, I was STARVING! I don’t know what I was thinking (I was just being lazy), but my body needs more than that. Next week, I’ll add my scrambled egg whites to my Eggo and banana and leave off the peanut butter and jelly.

Below is the breakdown of our run. The GU and waffle times are estimates. I seriously can’t remember exactly when I consumed them, but it was around those times.

Mile 1 – 11:36
Mile 2 – 10:58
Mile 3 – 11:25 (Caffeinated GU)
Mile 4 – 11:30
Mile 5 – 11:27 (Stinger Waffle)
Mile 6 – 11:20
Mile 7 – 11:05
Mile 8 – 11:04
Mile 9 – 11:39
Mile 10 – 11:37 (Caffeinated GU)
Mile 11 – 11:40
Mile 12 – 10:47
Mile 13 – 11:04
Mile 14 -11:21
Mile 15 – 10:40
Mile 15.01 – 9:41 😉

Up until Mile 13, it was pretty easy going. By 13 I could feel my legs begin to tire and instead of clomping, I was doing more of a shuffle. By mile 14 we could feel that we were all pushing through our lactic threshold.

“So what exactly is the lactate threshold? Your body produces lactate every time you use your muscles, and the lactate in your blood usually stays at a pretty steady level. During intense exercise, though, lactate builds up faster than it can be flushed out of your blood — this is your lactate threshold. When you cross your lactate threshold, you feel tired, and you might even feel a burn in your muscles.

Sports physiologists have learned, however, that your lactate threshold can be raised with proper training. Athletes can teach their bodies to use lactate more efficiently, so it takes longer to build up in their blood. Runners who raise their lactate threshold can pick up their pace and get to the finish line quicker. “

http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/running/training/lactate-threshold-training.htm

What’s funny is that even though we were tired at Mile 14, once we saw we had one more mile to go, we pushed it to get it over with. It’s always great to have your last mile be your fastest!

At this point in marathon training, first time marathoners are running their longest distance to date. I want to congratulate all of those (like Avis below) for breaking new barriers! It’s an amazing sense of accomplishment and I’m sure you’re all feeling on top of the world…even if your legs feel like Jello.

Next run is a recovery run today and then track workout on Tuesday. Tomorrow is cross training at the gym.