Today was just a routine run, but a run of importance. Ever since my dehydration incident (see previous blog for the story if you didn't hear about it), I have been a little shell shocked to run for long distances on my own. Well I guess I'm over it. Had a great run today in very hot weather. I decided to run close to home for my long run rather than running at the lake with a group due to I had errands to run afterward. I originally was going to run four 4-mile loops from my home and keep a fueling station in my truck. Too boring. Then I planned to run from the local recreation center and do two 8-mile loops, however I had ran that course twice earlier in the week and was looking for something new. So instead, I did run from my house and in my head I proposed one loop which would take me throughout the City of Carrollton. I never mapped it out, but visualized it in my head.
It is so funny how when you become a runner, you have a great sense of distance. The route ended up being 16 miles, which was my target. I didn't know that it would come out to 16 miles until I actually ran it. I engineered this route around where I knew water stations were because I woke up kind of late and I knew that by the time I got late into my run, it would be much warmer outside than I was used to running in. I could not have constructed a more perfect route. The water fountains ended up at mile 5 and mile 8 and the trail I ran on passed by a Walgreens drugstore at mile 10 which also has a water fountain. The Rosemeade Recreation center was at mile 13 which was the last water stop. So I had plenty hydration. I have had a few folks suggest I start taking electrolyte supplements or salt tabs, I may look into that later. The salt tabs scare me now, as I found out recently you are only supposed to consume those when you are fully hydrated. During my "crash" at Northshore Trails two weeks ago I was given salt tabs, and I'm almost sure that accelerated my dehydration and I remembered that when I crashed and dehydrated at the Dallas Marathon, someone gave me a bunch of salt tabs there too which I think lead to the same result. So no more salt tabs or electrolyte supplements until I learn how to use them.
I don't think that is the issue now so much as I just sweat a darn lot and just need to hydrate way more than the average Joe. I was gushing sweat every time I stopped for a break. When I was running, there were a couple instances where it appeared I wasn't sweating and I freaked out, still paranoid. I started off with Gatorade, used pickle juice and mustard as I have been doing and it worked well. Drank lots of water along the way. Plus I hydrated well all week long and also included a lot of fruits and melons in my diet which carry natural electrolytes. What was alarming is how much liquid I took in during the whole run. I'm estimating that I probably consumed about 130 oz of liquid. And I'm still drinking now as I sit here and type. The hotter it got, the more I slowed my pace. I was an 11 minute man by the time I got to the last couple miles. The temps were well into the upper 80's or even 90's then. But it's all good because it's not about pace, its about beating my body up now so that when fall comes around, things will come easier. My fall marathon is the Route 66 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 148 days to go. I'm hoping my mind can now start helping take my body to places I want it to go
-TNT-
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| Newly discovered Blue Trail, Carrollton, Tx. 4 miles of greatness |
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| Mile 5 water stop in Castle Hills |
-TNT-
Good for you for getting out there and doing it even though you were nervous about it :) Continue to plan smart routes and pump in the water. I'm a heavy sweater too and it's a challenge to drink enough water (small bladder lol).
ReplyDeleteI also know exactly what you mean about the distance thing! I've gotten so much better at judging distances since I started running outside! Now I don't have to map out every single run before I go. I have some routes where I just know the distance and I can combine and guess and stray from the path and still hit just about perfectly what I want for that day :)