A Gilligan Island Run

Whenever I go out for three hours or more, I think of it as a Gilligan Island Run. Everyone from my generation immediate starts singing “a three hour tour” in exactly the right key. I challenge you to get that out of your head.

My coach scheduled this for Sunday but I wanted to knock it off today. Amy and I got home late on Friday – I’d been gone for three weeks (mostly Boston, some New York). I  knew that the elevation would get me a little and that I was generally wiped out from all the work I’ve been doing, but figured I’d test myself a little and then relax on Sunday.

I used an 8:2 pattern and still averaged 11:28 which was better than I expected (meaning that a bunch of the running segments had to be right around 10 minutes, or even sub 10 minutes.) I drank water and did three Clif Shots every 30 minutes. I ran out of gas around 14 miles and slowed down – I can’t tell whether it was the fuel, fatigue, or elevation. I had a headache for about 10 minutes at 15 miles (it went away) and needed to take a dump at mile 11 (it was very satisfying.)

I ended at a bike shop and picked up a new bike. After getting fitted I hopped on it and went three miles back to my office – mostly downhill. You can go a lot faster on a bike than on foot, even after running for three hours.

A shower followed by an awesome massage and I’m ready – for a nap. But dinner is in a little while so I’ll just power through and sleep late tomorrow morning.