Andrew Schrauben

Saturday night's forecasted high for Sunday was 97 degrees! I made sure to set my alarm to wake up early enough to get a head start on the heat for Sunday's long run. I set out at 6:45am and the sun was just peeking above the treetops.

Unlike most training runs, I had no route planned out this time. My only plan was to run for 4-5 hours at a slow pace and end up close enough to home that Amanda wouldn't get too mad at having to come pick me up once I eventually bonked! Although my reason for going slow was to avoid bonking. :)

It was a comfortable 68 degrees when I set foot out the door and the sun was low enough that I didn't need my sunglasses for almost the entire first hour on the roads. I basically headed south for a while, then headed west for a while. I made sure to drink and eat plenty and to keep my level of effort down at a manageable level. To do this I had to walk up the steeper uphill sections to ensure my heart rate didn't go too high.

The first two hours went by like a breeze and even after three hours I was feeling pretty good. By then, however, I could feel the fatigue so I reminded myself to eat and drink and gave myself a couple extra walking breaks. At four hours I was still feeling OK except that my stomach was full and it was hard to keep drinking enough water. Finally after 4:30 I called Amanda for a ride home since I was still an hour away by foot, and she picked me up after 4:43 worth of running (and walking) that covered 21.7 miles.

I lost about 6 lbs during the run, drank 2.5 L of water, and ate about 650 calories. I wonder if I could've (or should've) eaten more? I definitely could've drank more considering my weight loss but my body seemed to be running low on calories more than anything else. Nevertheless, it was very effective training and I enjoyed the entire run!

When we got home Amanda immediately took off to pick up some Subway subs while I filled the bathtub with cold water and epsom salt to soak my sore legs. Actually they didn't feel too bad but I wanted to stave off any further soreness. Plus, I really needed to cool off because the temperature had soared to a humid 88 degrees! Good thing I started early.

At Amanda's suggestion, I locked our foster puppy Sue in the bathroom with me so that I could keep on eye on him. No sooner had I turned on the shower when I heard a KLUNK and turned to see Sue trying to climb out of the tub! He got soaked by the shower, but this didn't deter him. Even with a tub full of water he kept jumping in to join me but then hopping right back out to avoid the cold water! What a dufus. Luckily for Sue, he got adopted later that day!