Well, that last post pretty much speaks for itself, doesn’t it? Here are the official numbers…

Week 9 distance: 21.65mi (34.7km)
Week 10 distance: 11mi (18km)
Week 11 distance: 26mi (42km)

So I had about a 20% increase from my last long-distance week, which is exactly what I was supposed to have. I feel surprisingly good today. My legs are a little sore, but it’s nowhere near as bad as I expected. I’m really impressed with how quickly my body is able to recover from these stresses. (But don’t worry; I’m still going to take it easy this week.) I’m also happy to report that I’ve lost six pounds since my return from the US! Granted, most of that was weight that I put on while I was there, but it’s nice to see things moving in the right direction again. I’d really love to lose some more before the race next month.

She’s going the distance…
According to my training schedule, I’m meant to do a 15-mile run today. That’s 24km. That’s two miles farther than the actual half-marathon. I was debating pushing it back a week just to give my quad injury a little extra time to heal… but it’s been feeling good, and I plan on taking a lot of walk-breaks. I’ll take some cash and my bus pass in case of emergency. I plotted a route and, man, I’m going to be covering a lot of ground. I bought a hydration belt yesterday so I can easily carry water and energy gel with me. I’m kinda looking forward to this!

3.5 hours later: Holy crap. I did it. That’s the longest run I’ve EVER done. I accidentally stopped the iPod workout twice, so it got recorded in three segments. All up, the total was 24.87km (15.45mi). It took me 186.5 minutes, which is just over three hours. My new hydration belt was BRILLIANT and I’m so glad I had it. I had prepared over the previous 24 hours by loading up on water with Endura, and I filled my four little bottles with it as well. I had a Gu “Vanilla Bean” pack 15 minutes before I started, and I took three more at the 45, 100, and 145 minute marks. (The packs fit so nice in the little pouch on my belt!)

Okay, so the run itself…The first 5K felt way too easy. I was having one of those magical times when you’re able to maintain pace with what feels like no effort at all. I had to restrain myself from going faster, knowing that though my right quad was fine at the moment, I didn’t want to have to quit after an hour. I found myself at the start of the Bay Run run and joined loads of people making their way by foot and bicycle around Iron Cove. It was a beautiful spring day. I was doing four minutes of running with one minute of walking, and making sure to take a sip from my bottles on the walk breaks. I knew there was a water fountain halfway around where I could refill… but to my dismay, the stupid thing only dispensed the water STRAIGHT UP. For the life of me, I just couldn’t get any of it into the bottles. (It only occurred to me later that I maybe could have put my finger over the nozzle to redirect it.) Luckily, I found another fountain near the kids’ soccer park back around by the bridge, and as this was a side-shooter, I refilled all my bottles. Then it was back up Victoria Road and over the Anzac Bridge. Yeah, that was a hard climb. My left quad was actually starting to hurt at this point, and the anti-inflammatory was wearing off on my right one. I just tried to concentrate hard on keeping good form and using my core to hold myself upright as best I could. That seemed to help. I crossed the bridge at Darling Harbour and decided to make another pit stop. I used the toilet there and refilled my bottles from the sink. I also had the brilliant inspiration to soak my baseball cap. That made things a lot more pleasant. I climbed up into the CBD and crossed into the park. There were so many people out enjoying the day, tourists and locals alike. I ran down Art Gallery Road and spotted another water fountain where I did my third and final refill. At this point I had less than 5K to go, and I knew I was crossing the threshold into uncharted territory. This is when I started to HURT. I started to feel like I was falling apart in a way I haven’t felt since my first City2Surf. With every step the pain was exploding in my legs: my feet, my shins, my knees, my hamstrings, my quads, my hips. I had to fight the urge to hunch over and shuffle. I finished the loop and headed back into the city, knowing now that it was just a straight shot past the park, down the hill to Central, and then up Broadway to home. That last mile was so hard. It got harder and harder to start up after each walk break. I could feel myself involuntarily grimacing and pulling faces as I lurched back into a run. I made it as far as the brewery, and I knew I had done enough. I walked the rest of the way, wincing with every step. I came in the door and had a very quick shower – so much salt all over me! – and then headed to the tub for an ice bath. It was heaven and hell at the same time. I lasted about fifteen minutes in there before I had to get out.

Now I’m going to have some food and a much needed rest. I’m really proud that I did this. My body has earned a much-needed break. In two weeks will be the Sydney Running Festival, where I’ll be doing the 9K Bridge Run. (Ha! 9K will feel like a TREAT after this!) The week after that will be my last long run, the Everest of this training season: 17 miles (27.5km). Then I’ve got a two-week taper til Melbourne.

I love it when a plan comes together!