Last night I did a long run home, from work. This is the second time I have run this route and, to date, it is the furthest I have ever run – 18.7 miles.
The first time I ran it in 3:18:15, which I wasn’t happy about. I know I had my water / fuelling all wrong. Basically, I only had 500ml of plain water for the run and at 16.5 miles had to take a detour via a Co-op to buy some more drinks. This time around I did a much better job on that side of things, and knocked 26 minutes off my time.
Specifically the things I did differently this time around were; I took some energy gels with me – I had a Lucozade gel after 5 miles and another at around 11 miles. I took 300ml of water with me from the start but also had a good drink and refilled my bottle at Aldermaston Wharf (11 miles). I had a couple of packets of yoghurt coated raisins in my waistpack (but never got around to eating them).
I was running at 8:30 – 9 min miles for the majority of the way (bar a short stop in Aldermaston and the last couple of miles) which was 60-90 seconds per mile faster than last time around, and probably near my current race pace. Really I should have gone 60 seconds/mile slower than that so I could have a decent run the next day – but I got too caught up in getting under 3 hours.
Even though I did a better job of nutrition/hydration, I still haven’t got it right – need another gel / food around the 15 mile mark and I need a load more fluids – I think this means it’s back to my rucksack next time around, instead of the waistpack.
So, next time – 60 seconds/mile slower, more fluids and another energy gel.
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