20 Miles - LA, Here I Come!

My training schedule called for 18 today, but what I failed to mention in my last post was that I was secretly considering doing an even 20 miles. Well, I did just that, and solo again, too! I figured it would be easier on me (physically and mentally) to do my final peak long run now, rather than do 18 this weekend and 20 next weekend. Plus, this gives me 2 weeks for taper instead of just the one. LA here I come!

Parts of the run were much harder than others. It was another warm day and I was drenched in sweat within the first 20 minutes. The course I mapped out also had a lot of rolling hills, which were tough in the later miles. And honestly, I was just tired. My legs felt ok, but I just wanted it to be done from the start. Starting from my house in Isla Vista I ran up Storke until it turned into Glen Annie, then following that til the end, passing the gorgeous green lemon orchards at the foot of the Santa Ynez Mountains. I ran this route a while ago, and posted some beautiful pics here. From here I headed along part of the SB Marathon course. I turned around at mile 11 and headed back the way I came, minus the detour on Glen Annie. When I got back to Isla Vista I was at 18.2, so I called my roommate to bike alongside me while I ran loops through the streets until my watch finally beeped 20 miles. That last mile sucked, but I was so happy to be done! I finished in about 3 hours 34 min with an average pace was about 10:40 min/mi, which I'm quite happy with, especially considering I did several walking jaunts up all the hills. However, this doesn't count stopping at lights, to refuel, stretch, etc. when I stop my Garmin. I can't decide if it's better to stop it so I have an accurate record of my running pace, or to let it keep going during these pit stops to simulate a race where the clock never stops. Thoughts?

Isn't it funny how you can keep going during a long run, but as soon as you finish, your body knows and suddenly screams at you and even walking is painful? Story of my life. Just standing killed me! So I headed to the store to pick up a couple bags of ice and had me an ice bath. I must say (at least as of now) that ice baths are miraculous! My muscles feel great considering the mileage, and the throbbing in my joints is gone : ) I think last weekend I didn't have enough ice, but this time I definitely got it right : ) I did, unfortunately, get some nasty chafing. I've been wearing shorts on my long runs, and while I apply Body Glide copiously pre-run, it always seems to wear off by about mile 10. I know I need to reapply mid-run, but I don't want to carry it with me. Hmph.

This morning I also tested out my new headphones for the first time! As I mentioned before, I wasn't feeling the first pair I bought, so I went and exchanged them for a pair of over-the-ear Nike Flow sport headphones. I love how flexible and lightweight they are. During the first mile, they fell out a couple times when I bumped the cord (which is super long) but once I tucked it into my fuel belt, no more problems. The sound quality was good enough for me, but not stellar if you're only buying them to listen to music. But for running, they work quite well and look quite sporty.

 Finally, I've bought a few new running-related things (Born to Run, iFitness fuel belt, and Recovery Socks) that I'm going to be posting reviews on soon so keep an eye out!