Sully's Stuff

The Long Run -- Stride Against Stroke Training Update

Perhaps the most famous part of marathon training is the weekly long run. Usually a weekend event (heck most people work), this is the vehicle where runners systematically increase their mileage to build strength and endurance leading up to the race. Dutifully, on Sunday morning, I headed out for my 15 mile, 2 hour and 30 minute odyssey.

For the first time since I started increasing mileage steadily in July, the weather was cool and a little bit damp. This made for the most comfortable long run of the cycle by far. (GSully can attest to the resuscitation that was required after my 13 mile run 2 weeks ago.)

For the first time this week, I used gel during the run. If you are unfamiliar, gel is a little packet of sugar and nutrients combined into a sticky paste that you slurp from a little packet. Texture-wise it’s like a cross between peanut butter and jell-o, and is formulated to be easily digested during strenuous physical activity. The flavor I tried was an espresso flavored gel by Gu. While I don’t think I will be slurping any with a spoon any time soon, the flavor was not bad (although make sure you take it with water), and when I took it at the 90 minute mark of my run, it did give me a surge that made the last 60 minutes that much more comfortable.

The numbers:

Last Week's Mileage - Last week's total mileage was approximately 31 miles, with this weekend's long run an all-time high of 15 miles. This is a 5 mile increase over the previous week's mileage. Total mileage since the beginning of training is approximately 355 miles in 80 individual workouts, an average of 4.4 miles per workout.

Planned Mileage -- This week's planned mileage is 29 miles, 2 miles fewer than last week, including a 12 mile long run.

posted by Sully @ 8/29/2005