20 miles on the treadmill

Today was my longest long run until the actual marathon, and... it was raining when I set out to tackle 20 miles. I was not in the mood for another rain run - I did most of the 19-miler in a thunderstorm - so I opted to do it on the treadmill. Yeah... I know...

I had planned to do sort of a trial run of race prep today, so I got up at 4:45 and had a big breakfast. I was ready to go at 6:30, but when I decided to run inside, I had to wait until the Y opened at 7. So I took my time.

I went to where I work (Skyline) and started up the treadmill at 7:15 am. Fortunately, I recently purchased some Auckey Bluetooth ear buds, so I could at least watch TV and listen to music. It was also nice that there weren't very many people there today.

I decided to go a little slower than usual and just take my time. I stayed about 5.6-5.8 mph most of the time (around a 10:30-10: 40-mile pace). The treadmills shut off after an hour, so I used that as my time to refill my water bottle and eat an energy gel. I ended up eating 3 energy gels and using 3 of the Arbonne electrolyte water additive things. All told, I think I was on the treadmill 3 hrs and 37 minutes to run the 20 miles, and burned right at 2500 calories. For the first 2 hours I watched Sportscenter. After that I just watched Youtube music videos (Clapton, Stevie Ray, Santana, Pink Floyd, Bob Marley, etc.).

I'm not real sure why, but I actually don't feel too bad right now. Which is odd because I've felt pretty run down all week, and I was really dreading this run. I suppose it helped getting to bed early last night and eating a big breakfast this morning. I also drank a lot of water yesterday. I tried to drink a full glass every hour on the hour while at work, and then at home last night. And... I remembered to take an ibuprofen before running this morning. That seems to help quite a bit. I think having the water bottle with me, and drinking 12 ounces every hour, makes a big difference too.

So, not only did I survive my 20-mile run, but on the treadmill to boot! Now it's time to soak in the tub, maybe ice my knees, shower, and take a nap.