20K

I wasn't well-rested, as I did this on only 6 hours of sleep. I did go out to eat the night before, though I was relatively careful about the amount I ate, and I ate only small amounts of dairy. I still figured it could end in disaster. Read on to find out what happened.

Sarah suggested that I do laps of Liberty Park, because that way I'd be near a bathroom and water (there's a spring-fed water fountain at the SE corner of the park). I thought that sounded good, because at 2.25km/lap, it's about like doing a racewalking race of 2km/lap, and it will get me used to the type of race I'm going to do when I do the 50K.

Speaking of Sarah, she said she'd meet me there sometime during my 20K. I told her I'd be there from 5:30-7:40 or so, since I wanted to go to my Weight Watchers meeting at 8:00. She showed up right after my first lap, about 5:45 am. It was pitch black outside, but it was nice and warm (58F? ~14C) and calm. Perfect temperature for a workout! I was so glad Sarah was there, because I knew this workout was going to be challenging after the first km. I had trouble getting going for some reason. I did do it in 6:34, but it felt slow and I was sleepy. Note to self: really must get more sleep the night before long workouts! I tried last night, but our dinner reservations got shifted later because Loren's PT appointment (for disc trouble in his back) took longer than expected, and then the whole evening was late. My brain was not working well due to lack of sleep. Sarah was doing 5 miles, and for some reason at one point I told her 3x around the park was 4.8 miles. DUH! It's 4.2 miles and I totally KNOW that, but like I said, my brain was not cooperating.

While Sarah was there we leapfrogged each other. Each time Sarah walked she'd get behind me, but then would catch up when she ran. She could have run past me but chose to go my speed for the rest of each run segment so we could chat. It was awesome to have her company :)! She left when I'd done about 10K or so, and then I was on my own. I felt a bit tired and sluggish from lack of sleep, plus my body just didn't seem to be in the groove this morning. Still, I'm proud of how I kept pushing just enough to stay close to 6:30/km. I didn't push hard, as my coach doesn't want me to do that on the long ones, but I did push a little. Most of my splits were just over 13:00 for 2K, and at the end they were more like 13:15. I did focus on keeping good form, but am not sure I was successful. It will come, with time and practice.

The one negative about not carrying water bottles is that I did have to stop (briefly) for water twice, at 12K and about 16K. I ate some Clif Shot blocks as well, and that seemed to work for me. Thankfully the GI troubles were minimal today, with just some very minor crampiness. I remembered to take an Imodium before my walk and I'm sure that helped. I wish I knew better what is causing the problem, but the Imodium does seem to help enough, along with avoiding dairy and excessive fiber the day before. Also of note - minor chafing under my right arm. Usually this is under the left arm, so that was weird. The distance was short enough that it was a non-issue, though. I also got a small blister on my 2nd toe on my right foot, which is typical for me and nothing to worry about.

Workout summary: 20K (12.43 miles) in 2:10:50 for 6:32/km; ave HR 147. Not bad, considering.

Garmin connect data here.