Runners have strong opinions when it comes to music. I'm not talking about their musical taste, but whether or not it's okay to listen to music when running. There is a strong vocal group of running purists who insist that music takes something away from the running experience. They cite safety issues, loss of focus on the here and now, and in a racing context, the loss of camaraderie in a sea of runners too caught up in their tunes to engage with one another. Often, there is a hint of superiority behind the purists' comments in internet debates about music, that somehow a person is more evolved if he or she foregoes music. I say, to each his own. I understand the purist argument and I agree that there are times when it is best to leave the music at home. For me, however, music is as much a part of me as running, and I love to combine the two. Music can get me through a tough run, it can inspire me to push harder, and it can make me feel light on my feet. Through running, I have expanded my musical library to include a little hip-hop and a few pop songs that I would publicly deny owning (I've got a little of that purist snobbery too when it comes to my music, so I get it). I had one music-free run this week. It was a short one, and I was hyper-aware of the sound of my breath some of the time, but it was a run that allowed me to really contemplate some life challenges. In contrast, I had to change musical styles several times during my Saturday long run to get through it. It's just a matter of what you need on a particular day.
Week 14 was a good week. Here is the recap:
Tuesday: I woke to a beautiful, relatively brisk morning. The training plan called for 8 miles, with the mid-6 at marathon race pace. I felt so good that I pushed the pace a little, hitting those mid miles right around 9:00 pace instead of 9:14. The speed training has definitely made a difference in this training cycle. The hills that I used to dread are becoming more and more effortless. Including warmup and cooldown, 8.26 miles at 9:11 pace.
Thursday: An easy run including six 15-second sprints with 15-second recoveries. Thinking about the hills I'll encounter on race day, I looped around to hit the biggest hill on my training route three times, then started the sprints on my way back. Fifteen seconds is not a long time at all, I thought during my first 15-second sprint. After a few intervals, I started thinking, fifteen seconds is not a long time at all, but that was during the recoveries. It wasn't that hard overall, but I was pretty winded. Overall: 5 miles at 9:16 pace.
Friday: I didn't intend to go music-free, but my iPhone needed charging. It was a lovely run. The sun was just coming up, and the running path was quiet. I ran 3.18 miles at 9:27 pace.
Saturday: I'm going to have to break this one down. Things were a little off for my last really long run of the training season, and I still haven't quite put my finger on it.
Weather: It was a little hotter and more humid than I was expecting, temps in the 70s with humidity around 80% and very little cloud cover. From mile 8 to 15, I was running into a pretty bright sun with no sunglasses or hat. From 15 to 18, I ran into a headwind, nothing terrible but definitely present.
Attire: I test-drove most of the clothes that I will be wearing at Chickamauga, including my brand new CWX compression pants, for this run. I can't say that I felt an amazing difference in compression pants, but they were comfortable, so I'll be wearing them on race day. They don't have pockets so I had to stuff a lot of Gu in the pocket of my water bottle. I wore my Altra running shoes, always my long-run shoe of choice, with some New Balance socks. Those both made the cut - no blisters. The Moving Comfort Vixen sports bra was okay -- I had a little chafing on my ribcage, but that's been happening on all of my long runs in this hot weather, so I'll probably stick with it for race day, under a long-sleeved top instead of the tank I wore on Saturday (the shirt I have in mind does have a pocket for even more Gu). I suffered from not wearing a hat or sunglasses, so that's going to be a priority.
Fueling: On Friday, I had a big pasta lunch and a baked potato for dinner. Saturday morning, I had my coffee (with dairy milk instead of my usual almond milk) and a whole wheat bagel with almond butter. I felt pretty well-hydrated going into my run. During the run I carried a water bottle, which I refilled numerous times, took a Gu every four miles, and ate a little bit of apple in the 14th mile. I did not carry electrolytes with me, which I think was the biggest factor in my general sense of blah during the second half of the run. Despite drinking a lot of water, I felt unusually dehydrated the rest of the day. Post-run, I immediately had a chocolate milk and then sipped on Gatorade all afternoon.
Other runners: During the first half of my run, I made an effort to avoid other runners, and there were more runners than usual on the path for some reason. People would turn out of neighborhoods ahead of me, and I'd find myself picking up my pace in a subconscious effort to pass. Then I'd find myself slowing down so I wouldn't have to pass. Eventually, I would just turn off into side streets to get a little space between myself and the other runners. Around mile 11, I passed a small 5k race. They were running toward me, but I still found myself running too fast for a few miles. I met my God-send at mile 13.5 in a runner named Darla who offered to keep me company when I was at my lowest. She was on vacation and training for the New York City Marathon. A mile and a half of good conversation went by too quickly, as I had to turn around to head back in the direction of my car. She gave me a few electrolyte tabs, which were sorely needed and definitely helped.
Route: Having adjusted my route to avoid other runners, my inner sense of when to turn around got a little out of whack. I overshot my turnaround when I was running with Darla, and then I added even more distance by taking a detour to a restaurant where I knew I could fill my water bottle with ice for free (I don't mind paying for water, but I hate using a debit card for such a small purchase, and I had no cash on me). I was almost 5 miles from my car, but I was only supposed to run another 2.5 - 3.5 miles. I started taking walk breaks every half-mile. I hit mile 20 when I was 2 miles away from my car, so I made the walk breaks longer. When I hit 21 miles of running, I walked the rest of the way.
Pace: My average pace turned out to be 9:27, much faster than any of my previous long runs in this cycle.
This wasn't a really bad run. It had some great miles and some hard miles. Overall I felt pretty strong. I think my #1 issue may have been the electrolyte tablets that I left on the kitchen counter. Another major issue was the humidity. I had been psyched all week about running a 20-miler in brisker weather, but I could feel the thick air as soon as I stepped outside. That disappointment created a mental challenge from the beginning. Running a little faster than normal under those conditions didn't help. Music was crucial. When I found myself skipping over a few "downer" songs in one playlist, I switched to a more upbeat one. Then I switched to the real power tunes for the last 4 or 5 miles.
Total miles for the week: 37.44
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