Ready for a 15K?

15K here I come.

Tomorrow is the big race. 15K or 9.3 miles. This will be the longest race I have ever run. I’m a little nervous. I tried to run 9 miles on Wednesday and only made it to 7.4. My hip started to hurt and my legs felt rubbery. On Friday I made it to 8.2, but stopped when the hip pain flared up and both thighs were starting to feel tight. It was very cold both days and I was having a hard time staying motivated. I’ve really had enough of this freezing weather. Two pairs of pants, two layers of socks, three shirts, a hat, a hood, and gloves. I must be carrying an extra 10 pounds of clothes. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny with a high of 38. 40 would really be nice just to be out of the 30s.

My longest training run was 11.2 miles. I’m not sure how I managed that. At 6.5 miles, I can feel myself running out of fuel. I have decided I will carry my homemade sports drink for tomorrow’s race. There will be water stops during the race, but water doesn’t seem to be doing it. I’m running out of glycogen and sodium and hitting that infamous wall just after the 1 hour point. I don’t eat a lot of carbs unless I’m running a race. Like tonight, I’ll be having spaghetti for dinner and a bagel with peanut butter for breakfast on Sunday morning. I’ve also been drinking water all day. More than I usually do. Hopefully that will be enough to carry me to the finish line.

This race will be a test to see if I am anywhere near ready to run 13.1 miles in May. If I have trouble completing 9.3, then I may have to make some diet changes. I think my legs and lungs are about as fit as they are going to be. I’ll keep pushing the mileage on my training runs until 10 miles is easy, like 6 miles is now. And I need to get the hip strong again. I’ve been doing exercises, but I probably should do more. Even though I always say my goal is “just to finish”, my real goal is to finish strong. I don’t want to be one of those runners who staggers across the finish line and collapses.

I know I can run a race pace of 9:25 which will give me a finish time of around 1:27. I also know I always run the first 2 miles too fast. And I also know there is 1.5 miles of uphill to the finish which is going to be extra hard with a sore hip. So all I have to do is run smart, drink my water, and stretch out the hip and everything else just before the start of the race. And then just run and pretend I don't see any snow and that the cold wind isn't stinging my face.

Stats:

7.46 miles, 1:11 minutes, 9:35 pace

8.23 miles, 1:19 minutes, 9:41 pace