My First Trail Marathon

Yesterday I completed my first fat ass (self supported) trail marathon. It wasn't an "official" race, just me out there for a long run... 26.2 miles long! I loved every minute of it! It's been a while since I've written an L-Five Trail Run Report, so I will use my run yesterday as a long overdue update.


Length: 26.2 miles

I am in Week 15 of my 50K ultramarathon training schedule. This week was two firsts for me... the first week I've run over 50 miles, and the first time I've done a 26 mile trail run. And I'm digging it! I find it a little hard to believe that less than a year ago I couldn't run a half mile without throwing up on the side of the trail (literally!). I am continuously amazed at the resilience of the human body. If you push it a little bit and then let it recover, it gets stronger, so you can push it a little further, repeat, repeat, repeat. Very cool.

I mapped out a 10 mile loop on the Northshore Trail, ran it twice, each time returning to the car to refill my supplies. Then the last loop I went out about three miles, cut over to the return loop and ran back.

I awoke at 4 am, had some coffee and a bagel with peanut butter and honey, got ready, and then drove to a friends place near the trail. I started running around 5:30 am with flashlight and spider stick in hand.  By 6 am the trail was becoming light enough that I could put the flashlight away, but I was still the first on the trail, so needed to keep clearing the spider webs.

I loved every minute of it! I focused on my hydration as not to repeat the problem I ran into on my last long run. I stopped occasionally to take pictures and to tweet progress updates. I chatted with other runners. Took a break at the MADD shelter at one point. I wasn't concerned with my pace, just wanted to put in the miles and enjoy it, which I did both!

Today I ran a 10 mile recovery run on a treadmill at my local fitness center. I couldn't get out for a run until mid afternoon and by that time it was almost 100F, so opted for the cooler indoor experience. I was concerned that my legs would be very sore from the run yesterday. But they did just fine. I ran the miles without incident. My legs didn't even really feel that tired. I'm excited about my progress.

Limbs: Feeling Good

I have been having some issues with my right ankle, not injury related, but instead an issue that I've struggled with for years. When I was in grade seven I was run over by a car. The only lasting problem from that has been my right ankle (the result of two follow-up surgeries). Typically it only hurts when the weather is changing. But it has been sore for a few weeks now, and we haven't had much bad weather in the last few weeks. I think it is just sore because of the miles I've been doing.

I was expecting to have some ankle issues during my run. In preparation I decided to wrap it with some Rock Tape. I've used this stuff in the past and it works great! Although on this run the Rock Tape only lasted about 20 miles before it started to lose support. But I don't think the problem was related to the Rock Tape but instead caused by the Myoflex I had put on my ankle earlier that morning. After letting it soak in I tried to wipe my foot clean but I suspect there was some residual still there which cause the Rock Tape to slip after a while. Regardless, the Rock Tape definitely provided my ankle with support, at least for the first 20 miles.

By the end of my run I also has some discomfort in my left quad muscle. Typically, when my legs get sore, they get sore equally. But I was only feeling the discomfort in my left quad this time. I suspect I was subconsciously modifying my running stride to accommodate the sore right ankle, and my left leg took additional beating as a result. I can't say for sure, but that seems logical to me.

As I think about my upcoming 50K ultramarathon, I have no doubts that I will be able to go the distance. But I am also learning that unless I can figure out a way to better support my ankle, it will become my distance limiting factor. If you have any suggestions for ankle support, please leave me a comment!

Lungs: Excellent

No issues. My lungs are feeling great. On this run I just took my time and jogged the trail, so didn't really challenge my breathing at any point. But I am still impressed at how my body has repaired itself after quitting smoking. I can only imaging what my lungs could have been like yesterday if I had never picked up that bad habit to begin with.

Laughs: Excellent

I am in excellent shape mentally. I was excited about my run and enjoyed the entire process from start to finish (well, except for the spider webs). Running brings me an incredible sense of peace and relaxation. It may seem strange that running 26 miles can make you feel relaxed, but it does for me. I greatly enjoy my time out on the trail. If my body were in better shape, I probably would have kept going!

Learning: Hydration

My primary concern on this run was my hydration. As mentioned earlier, I totally messed up my hydration on a previous 24 mile run, and it wasn't pretty. I ended up REALLY dehydrated and felt very sick. I didn't want that to happen. So two weekends ago I practiced a hydration and fuel strategy, drinking about 10 oz of water per mile, and taking a Succeed s-cap and a Gu gel every four miles, starting at mile zero. After my 19 miler two weeks ago I felt great. So I repeated the process again.

I kept a log as I was running in order to force myself to pay attention and to use for future reference. Here it is:

• 1.5 hours before, coffee, bagel with peanut butter and honey
• 30 minutes before, e-gel and glass of water
• 0 miles, s-cap and gel
• 2 miles, pee clear
• 4 miles, s-cap and gel, pee clear, feeling good
• 8 miles, s-cap and gel, pee clear, feeling good
• 8.5 miles, out of water (70 oz drank), refilled at fountain
• 9.5 miles pee clear
• 10 miles, drank 10 oz Gatorade, changed clothes, reloaded hydration vest, ankle starting to feel a little sore, otherwise feeling good. (100 oz water, 10 oz Gaterade total)
• 11.5 miles, getting hungry, ate a ClifBar. 
• 12.5 miles, s-cap and gel, pee still clear.
• 16.24 miles, s-cap and gel, ankle is sore, rock tape starting to break down
• 18.5 miles, out of water, refilled at fountain. (170 oz water, 10 oz Gaterade total)
• 17.2 miles, starting to feel hot, slight yellow color in pee, need to drink more. 
• 20 miles, drank 20 oz Gatorade, changed clothes, reloaded hydration vest, ankle now very sore, removed Rock Tape and treated ankle with Myoflex. (200 oz water, 32 oz Gaterade total)
• 22 miles, feeling very hot, took another s-cap and and increased drinking, pee is clearning again. 
• 24 miles, gel, feeling cooler now, ankle is numbing, left quad starting to get sore. 
• 26 miles, drank 32 oz of Gatorade, very hot, temperature is 93F and humid. (270 oz water, 32 oz Gaterade total)
• Immediately after run, drank another 32 oz of Gatorade. 
• 30 minutes after run, drank a milk, strawberry, and banana smoothie.
• Still peeing clear!

You might have noticed that I was a little obsessed over my pee! That's because when I did my 24 miler where I ended up really dehydrated, I didn't pay any attention to it, until I noted that I hadn't pee'ed for a few hours, and when I tried to pee, the little amount that came out looked brown in color. So I decided this time to use my pee as an indication of my hydration. 

I'd love to hear what other do to ensure proper hydration during a long run. Please post a comment with your ideas and suggestions! 

Next Week:

Next week is a step-back week to allow my body to recover. Then I will up the total mileage again and run one more trail marathon before starting to taper for my July 24th trail ultramarathon.

Bring it on!