Another 40+ mile week

Well I thought it would be hard, and Jesus was it. To top off another 40 mile week, I did the dreaded 15 miler, which actually turned into 16 miles... I shall explain! Having not run half of the route before I was a little wary as to how steep some of the hills would be. I knew they were there, but I guess until you actually get there, you don't know.

Things didn't start off great. I worked out the reason I was tired last week was because the Asics Speedsters I have been running in for 3 months have gone in the middle, which is where I impact on the road. Thus my calves were doing overtime, meaning I was tired and sore. Quite simple really! I should have known this, given that they are light racer trainers. Great for road running, wont be so hot in the desert me thinks!

Anyways, so I bought a pair of Kayano's. Everyone raves about them, so I thought I'd part of 100 pounds of HSBC's money and see what all the fuss was about. So really I shouldn't have been doing my first run in them as a 16 miler, but hey I'm stupid. The next issue was my eating. I don't like to eat 4-5 hours before I run, so I got up, had a drink and that was it... no food. The next was my choice of rucksack. I had to buy a makeshift one for the run down to the beach to get all my gear in... so I'll thank the day I get my proper one when I order it!

So off I went in the full heat of day at around 2pm and it was a cool 29/30 degrees here in Sydney. First 10 miles were good. The I hit 'The Hill', or Heartbreak Hill as it's affectionately know around these parts, and I can see why... I steadily went up it, and carried on, and carried on, and carried on some more, and then after around 1 mile of steep incline, all I could see was more hill. Now I could see why they called it Heartbreak Hill, it was breaking mine! But I got to the top a relieved man, and carried on, however I was drinking my drink at a rather alarming rate, and the fact that I had only brought a liter and a half for a 16 mile run was a little silly. Plus I'd found out when I got home that I had only put in half of the recommended dextrose powder than I should have. That will explain the rampant drinking that was going on. I was running in 30 degrees, having not eaten and desperately craving more carbs than were in my drink. Anyhows, I carried on and found myself running down another steep hill, which again was heartbreaking as I knew that I had to turn around and come back up it. This I duly did, however I was now almost spent and very low on drink...

I carried on and another hill came and to be honest I was now bombing. The heat, and lack of carbs and energy was taking its toll and I was at the breaking point. So much so I had to walk up the hill, which was a first for me in any run, plus I went a little off route (in my confused state, hence the 16 miles and not 15). I was gutted, but also I was completely battered. I had two choices, walk the rest of the way (3 miles), or take a breather and walk for a bit, drink what drink I had left and then push on through. I took the latter, and it paid off. Walking allowed me to regain myself, and I pushed on through for the last 3 miles at a very slow pace, but I got there in the end. I kind of know now what it feels like to push yourself to the near edge and Ive definitely learnt from it. All in all I did just under 16 miles in around 2 hours 25 mins ish. At first I was disappointed, but taking into account conditions and what happened i realise it wasn't too bad. So lessons learnt?

- Plan the run better and eat well before
- Take enough drink with me
- Make sure I mix the drink properly with correct levels of carb!