Long Run Monday - Panic!

Panic is exactly how I felt for my first 20-miler of the season.  I actually made myself meditate on Sunday, just so I'd be calm enough to get to sleep.  Oy.  It was a wild run and I keep telling myself it was actually pretty good, especially the strength of the last 10K, but the self talk only goes so far before I descend back into panic.  (Stay tuned for a post on self talk and how to make it work for you.  As soon as I get it all figured out.)

This is the second time I've used this route.  The first time was training for last year's Twin Cities. I had some pretty specific criteria for this run and this route met all of them.

• I am so over the lakes.  Go elsewhere.
• No way in the world will I be running any part of Summit Ave on a long run.
• There must be facilities.  Just in case.

Apparently, though, I am a little too good at pacing.  I was trying to run 12:00-12:30s but somehow magically ran closer to 13:00s.  Oy.  That caused the most panic throughout the run.  What will I do on Marathon day?  What is wrong with me?  Again, somewhere deep inside I know it was just a pacing and judgement issue becuase I just ran an 11:29 paced half marathon and I'll have a pacer with me on Marathon Sunday.  I keep trying to hang onto that positive self talk as much as possible.  Here's what my pacing looked like.  The dip around mile 15 is that really big hill at Ft Snelling and the dip at the end was after I was done running and left my iPod going to walk and stretch the last couple blocks home.

 
Things of note good, bad and ugly:

• Zero 'sick' issues and I was totally un-medicated.  There's one thing that pace is good for.
• Hilarious reading about last year's run - the same port a pots with the same padlocks were on today's route.  Yo - Minneapolis!  What is the deal?
• First long run where I've used salt tabs.  Either I liked them or couldn't tell a difference.  Not sure.
• I used gels every four miles.  Gels are fewer calories than some of the other stuff I eat on runs, so if that's all I have on Marathon Sunday, I need to take them every 3.5 miles at least.
• Eating a second gel a few minutes after the first one did not bomb out my stomach which was awesome.
• I "hit the wall" on the downhill section of the Ft Snelling run which is ironic because that's my favorite part of that run, and Ft Snelling is my favorite route.  I never feel bad there.
• I used a run/walk interval for the last two miles.  Trying to build up miles quickly and follow the 10% rule doesn't always work so compromises have to be made.  It was a good interval and really kept me moving.
• My feet hurt so bad at the end of this run.  Not like blisters, more like "your shoes are awesome until you stop moving and they have no support".  Whatever, I love my shoes.
• After the run, I forgot to eat breakfast.  Awesome.