9/04/2010

Hi Ya 16 miler, you've got nothing on me!

Ran: 16 miles / 25.8 km - 2 h 25.5 min - weekend easy pace long run - ran the last 3.2 miles / 5 km of the run just a bit faster than marathon pace - mega GI issues
Well, today's 16 miler turned out to be a little different than expected... I woke up this morning with some minor GI issues, but by 10 AM I felt better, so I figured it would be fine to head out for the scheduled 16 miler. Little did I know what was up next...
To be on the safe side I opted for shorts...black shorts. Not skirts, shorts! And I packed lots of toilet paper in the little bag on my bottle belt. Better safe, than sorry, right?


I did colour match the shorts...and added my pink CEP compression socks. Shorts doesn't have to mean 'look like a boy' as long as I have a hand in it. ;)

The first 5 miles were absolutely OK. Nice weather, warmer than expected. But every minute after that was a struggle to get home a.s.a.p. and finish this bloody 16 miler while I was at it ('cause a) I'm not a quitter (even when pulling the plug might be the more sane thing to do), and b) I forgot to take money with me for a taxi...). I'll spare you the details, but I can reassure you that I now know the exact location of every single public bathroom, restaurant willing to let a runner use the bathroom and sort of OK bushes that can be used as a bathroom on this 16 mile route. Boy, did I feel awful... Note to self: when using bushes as a bathroom, try to stay away from the thorny bushes...your butt will thank you for it...
The good thing about struggling with these cramps (yep, cramps...I didn't spare you all the details now, did I?;)) was that I stopped obsessing about my pace and heart rate. And as a result, I was able to hold a very decent pace (at least...decent enough for me) and I averaged 138 bpm. Needless to say that I'm happy with that! :)
This is how I felt afterwards about running a 16 miler with GI issues...


Nice and sweaty, huh? At least the red eyes match my hair colour. ;) And boy...that's a scary face!

Now, enough on the GI issues: promise! 9 weeks to go 'till NYC Marathon! And the first 16 miler is under the belt. :) Tomorrow I'm meeting up with my NYCM group for the first time; so excited! I really look forward to meeting them all! :)
And for those of you that still won't believe I actually chose to wear shorts on today's run; I present to you: Exhibit A (again...;)).



Enjoy your weekend long runs! Happy running!

What would you do when having GI issues on your long run. Pull the plug or struggle through?

5 comments:

misszippy said...

So miserable when that happens! Been there too many times to count. But you got it in--great job.

RunningRonald said...

Die 16miles nemen ze niet meer af, jammer dat de bushes niet zo vriendelijk waren voor je billen. Volgende keer weer een smile op de foto? :)

Silly Girl Running said...

@ Miss Zippy: Thanks! :)

@ Ronald: Hahahaha! Da's wel het plan, ja! Lach toch liever dan dat ik een mean face moet trekken. ;)

Shelby said...

Yikes! That sounds.........really like the worst thing to happen on a run--barring injury--ever.

Glad you made it out alive though :)

Silly Girl Running said...

@ Shelby: Just barely made it out alive. ;) Hope this won't happen again anytime soon! :)