Running Longer and Harder - a 20 Mile Hydration Test

A few posts ago, I mentioned that I thought my slow down on long runs at about 16 miles was partially due to dehydration.  I was not drinking enough along the way.  As you get dehydrated, your blood thickens forcing your heart to work harder just to pump the blood at an adequate level.  So, yesterday I set out on my 20 mile run with 32 oz. of water in my stomach and loaded with about 60 oz. of Gatorade.  It was gone before I finished.  I started off slow and brought it up to marathon pace by the end averaging 8:32/mile.  I had more left at the end.  Unfortunately, the heart rate monitor battery went dead, so the real test will be on my 22 mile run next weekend.

Now to be fair, I can’t say hydration alone made my performance and comfort level better on this long run.  Let me share a few of the other I things I did that anyone else could do to help their comfort and performance on long runs: (1) I was up 2 hours before the run and loaded up on oatmeal, a yogurt, and 16 oz. of water.  Just before leaving, I downed another 16 oz. of water and a banana.  Then I left for the run.  After starting our easy for a couple of miles, I bumped it up to 8:40, 6 miles later to 8:20, and then finished the last 6 miles at about 8:00 except when I ran into a friend and jogged a bit while chatting it up.  I felt strong at the finish and know I could have gone longer and even harder.  Next week, we can test 22 mile.

Let’s not forget about recovery.  I finished with kicking in the pool for about 5 minutes and another 5 minutes of stretching.  I would have done more, but a couple of bad calf cramps (something I rarely suffer from) hit me hard.  To replenish I added a protein shake, some Gatorade, a banana, and a bagel.  A couple of Motrin rounded out my routine.  Compared to other 20 mile runs, I felt good.  I could have napped for a couple of hours but did sleep for an unusually long 10 hours last night.  This morning I went for an easy 4 mile run with 6 stride-outs at the track.  My only pain seems to be residual pain from the calf cramps.

Tomorrow is my first 15K race.  While I could have used 2 light days before this race, I feel pretty good.  My goal is 67 minutes.