20 Miles of Hills

This morning I went out for my second of three 20 milers prior to the marathon on May 23. I added on to my hilly 16 miler course from a few weeks ago since the marathon is full of hills. I’m glad I did. It was one heck of a run.

I hit the road just before 6:30 am and kicked on the headlamp as I started down the first hill. I hadn’t thought too much about a time since I knew I was going to be in for a good ol’ fashioned butt-kicking by the steep inclines and declines.

I did a few things differently today: I downed salt before I started and had a decent breakfast. I didn’t eat too much or too little, or at least I hoped. Turns out it was the right amount and the salt really helped me stay hydrated. In fact, I took in less fluid this run than in shorter runs.

The second two miles were easy, but they only lead to the largest hill, one that stretches up more than 100 feet with a severe angle to it. I powered up it and down the back side and was still feeling strong as I passed five miles. My pace was around 10 minutes, not spectacular but time wasn’t my goal today. 

After the eight mile mark I was officially in uncharted territory. Mile 9 led me out of our hometown into the next town over. It’s a cool feeling to say “I ran to…” Miles 8.5 are a steady descent and I welcomed it with a bit of speed and even more caution. I didn’t want to burn out.

I hit the turnaround of 10.3 miles in 1:44. Again, not a great time, but I was feeling solid and that was more my goal.

A note on the terrain: I counted the hills using Gmaps and came up with 19 not counting small hills. Nineteen. That’s each way. Nearly 40 decent-sized or larger hills.

The next 1.5 miles were a constant ascent, and I could feel my legs tire a bit. I kept on, changed podcasts and kept a steady pace until mile 14 where a steep drop dropped me down before bringing me up and down another hill to lead into the back side of the hill from mile four from what seemed like so long ago. The backside here was steeper than the earlier ascent and my quads began burning halfway up. My pace slowed but I pressed on until I crested.

At that point the run was 80% done and I was going to be fine. I swallowed my second and last gel (I normally do three on 18 milers) and tried to pick up the pace, but my feet were starting to ache. A lot. These were new shoes so I’m thinking it’s me not being totally used to these distances yet.

The last two miles came and went with a few more hills including the final quarter mile ascent. When it was over I felt better than I expected: I wasn’t tired or dehydrated or you know, dead. I was ready for another five miles. My final time was 3:38, not great by any means, but given the terrain I’m happy. I’ve got time to get faster.

It’s been a few hours since the run and outside of some knee soreness (the rolling has helped) my only issue is what feels like a mild strain in my left shin. 

So there it is. Twenty miles and I’m feeling great. Oh and I’d like to mention I’m not bragging about the general toughness of the course. It’s specific to me. I know most runners would fly up and down those hills, but it felt good to be challenged. I’m a middle of the packer and proud of it!

I’m hoping to do a recovery run tomorrow and next week will be a lighter week. Less than two months to the marathon…