Last night was my 15 mile long run. Longer than I have ever run before! YAY.
I almost didn't make it. I got to 12 and thought I was completely out of steam. I was on the treadmill in the garage. I was nauseated and my calves were burning like crazy. I came in and ate some more pretzels and sat down to talk with Tom and the kids. I also complained to my running amiga Jacki in a text that I just couldn't do the last 3. She told me in no uncertain terms to buck up and finish the run. I told her that I guess I would try but that she had to explain to my mom why I had died and also give my eulogy.
For the previous 12 I broke the run up in 3 mile chunks. After 3 miles I would walk while I drank water or Nuun and ate some salted pretzels. I also had a vanilla Accel gel left over from my half marathon last fall. I had only ever tried the chocolate and liked it. I took one little taste of the vanilla. NO WAY. Not good at all in my opinion. When I started walking after 12 miles I was so stiff and nauseated.
For the last 3 I stopped at 1.5 miles and then at 2 miles (yes only .5 miles later), but then I pushed through and did the last mile. I was thoroughly exhausted when I came in. Tom had put the boys to bed. I didn't get to see them very much yesterday. I am very thankful that Tom is so supportive because it took over 3 hours for me to do the 15 miles. I'm thankful also that Jacki told me to get back out there and finish the run.
Now a new battle (caution T.M.I. beyond this point). I've been fighting lower G.I. problems on long runs (anything over 6 miles) and I have them pretty under control by eliminating lactose. Cheese seems to be the biggest offender. Last night after getting cleaned up I was overwhelmed by nausea and threw everything up. Big sad face here. This left me completely whipped. I could barely get my PJs on and braid my hair. I made a new glass of Nuun electrolyte solution and cautiously drank that and took a few tentative bites of banana. It was enough to get me feeling well enough to go to bed. I took the banana and Nuun with me to bed and when I woke up in the night I had more bites and sips. By this morning I felt just fine (other than my stiff calves).
The two biggest suggestions that I have found and received from people on the Women's Running Club (closed facebook group that you can join-this way people can't see when you ask questions about G.I. issues, LOL) are to make sure you cool your body off after a long run because your core body temperature can go up to 101 while running for hours and this can happen even in the cold and this contributes to nausea. Big ooops here I like to soak in a hot bath after a long run. Guess I won't be doing that again. Shower for this girl. I know people suggest cold ice baths for their legs after long runs, but there is NO WAY I can do that after a long run in the Winter/Spring after being so cold during the run. The other suggestion is that gluten, like lactose can cause G.I. distress in endurance athletes. So, I guess now I need to cut gluten for a bit and see if I get improvement. Pretty much your G.I. track gets the short end of the stick while you are running. All the blood rushes to your muscles and the surface of the skin to keep you running and cooling you down. I think it's pretty obvious that with digestion not working well that your intestines and stomach are left in a state of peril. Fun Fun!
Who would have thought I would be willing to give up dairy and wheat products? I guess you can imagine just how much I don't want to feel sick when I run!
This training is getting really "REAL" now. Only 8 more weeks! Excited and worried about the G.I. issues. Thank you for reading! Have a great week everyone!
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