STOP! Hammer Time- 24 miler

This is the sign that was at the end of my long run Saturday.  I may have been a bit delirious from running 24 miles, but I laughed until I almost peed myself. 

I ran 24 miles Saturday.  My last long training run before my first full marathon.  19 days and counting....

My friend Kelly and I decided to get a change of scenery for our last official long run and drove 45 minutes to a place called Rails to Trails. It's an old railway dating back to the Civil War that was turned into a running path.  It was gorgeous! It's in the foot hills of the Appalachian Mountains and from one end to the other it is 12 miles. Perfect for a 24 mile out and back!

This is what most of the trail looked like:

 

there were also several covered bridges that I didn't think to get a picture of. :(

So enough about the scenery.  This is how the run went.

We got to the start of the trail at 7:30am.  I realized that I had forgotten my Garmin...thankfully Kelly had hers.  I think this may have been a hidden blessing. Instead of focusing on the beeps of my Garmin, I focused on my body.

I got the splits off Kelly's watch and here is how they went:

Miles 1-5 I felt were a little faster than what my MP will be but I was running naked so I just went with it.

mile 1: 8:49

mile 2: 8:50

mile 3: 9:03

mile 4: 8:46

mile 5: 10:06- we fueled up here.  A chocolate outrage GU( my new fave it tastes just like brownie batter)

and some gatorade.

Miles 6-11 I felt good, we passed several people on horseback and even a horse and buggy.  Also had to fend off a few dogs.

mile 6: 9:28

mile 7: 9:03

mile 8: 9:20

mile 9: 9:09

mile 10: 10:15- Took a GU

mile 11: 9:59

Restored church from the early 1800's- also the bathroom stop.

 We stopped here to refill our water bottles and use the bathroom.  I went to the bathroom and about 2 drops came out and it was DARK brown... I knew that was a sign of dehydration and it totally freaked me out.   I didn't feel thirsty and I had finished an entire Gatorade between mile 1 and 11... I have never had anything like before.  I downed a full water bottle of water and refilled the bottle again, said a little prayer and we headed back out on the trail.  I still felt fine.

mile 12: 9:25- this was the end of the trail and our turn around point.

mile 13: 9:54

At mile 13 we made it back to the bathrooms and I downed another water bottle, went pee....it was a little lighter....Yippee!! Who knew I would ever be so excited about urine.

Mile 14-20 I was still feeling pretty good. Though our pace slowed more than I would have liked, I hit that runner's high around mile 16 and just felt great!

mile 14: 10:00

mile 15: 9:33

mile 16: 10:19- fueled with GU

mile 17: 10:17

mile 18: 10:16

mile 19: 10:39

mile 20: 10:13- fueled with GU

Mile 21-24 were slow miles though I continued to feel pretty good.  I kept expecting to hit the "wall" but  I'm not sure I ever did. I'm guessing I would have known it.

mile 21: 10:28

mile 22: 10:28

mile 23: 10:38

mile 24: 10:48

Garmin time: 3:55:53  avg pace: 9:50

Now the time looks great.  However, it doesn't factor in the time it took us to stop and use the bathroom and fuel up.

Other than a ravenous hunger the next day, I have felt great!   I stretched real good this weekend and had a great plyo session this morning.

A few concerns I do have:  Am I going to feel this good marathon day?

This training run was on a gravel path- a stark difference from the paved roads I will be running marathon day.  Will my body handle it okay? 

What if I hit the "dreaded" wall during the race? How will I handle it? Obviously I'm getting a little neurotic....any advice and tips are welcome.....puh-lease share!!!!  

I feel kind of like I did before the birth of my first child....I knew there was something that other mothers weren't telling me because they didn't want to scare me....just go ahead and tell me if it's going to hurt like heck!! 

I can take it!:)

Grace and peace,