Last weekend, I decided to join the NYC Marathon Tune-Up sponsored by NYRR. I love getting the support of the water tables and the Gatorade, plus there is something about the group dynamic that really works for me. I was originally planning to walk for 5 hours and see where that took me (a couple weeks prior in 5:06, I did 16). That was until that morning.

I was not feeling great that day since I had everything against me, except the PERFECT weather: I was tired, had my period, hadn't eaten the normal carbs the day before, arrived right as the race was starting and needed to pee already, got blisters, chafed (seems to be a new spot each time, but I just keep using more glide), etc. But, the weather was on my side. You couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. There was a light breeze at times, it was in the high 60s with the sun shining.

I was and am very happy that I went further than I realized. I did 17 miles in 5 hours 11 minutes (3.28 mph pace). I truly strolled for the last 4 miles. I did my first 13 miles in 3:53 (a 3.35 mph pace - Mercer and I did the MORE 1/2 in 3:55), so for walking pace, I felt great, especially since I went to the loo 3 or 4 times in there!

I really did a little bit more than 17, but I couldn't quite figure out how to map/clock my bathroom search/park tour, lol, which included going around the tennis courts and some crazy route (read another way, a 15+ minute detour), so I excluded both the time and the distance (may have been another half mile or so). I also excluded a 7 minute bathroom break where I watched the Team For Kids people shooting some footage for a video, with both of those diversions I was at 3.1 mph for 17.5 miles which is what I did for 16 miles a few weeks back and was pushing the entire time and was WIPED out after.

I was so happy with how I fueled for the first time, I felt like my eating and drinking and hunger all gelled (pun intended). I had a bottle of Gatorade during the first hour. Then, I had a gel every hour and a couple cups of gatorade and a ton of water (maybe too much because I had to stop 5 times - 3 of the times are included in my walking time since they were either port - a - potties or the boathouse bathroom.) I think that worked well for me. What was interesting was that I have traditionally been FAMISHED when I am done. This time I was hungry, but not starving. I came home, had a normal lunch and then had a small dinner. Normally I eat a HUGE lunch and normal dinner. I think the Gu gels filled me up and gave me a little zip. I did have a couple of cups of gatorade mixed with my water throughout as well, but I would venture to guess it was less than 10 ounces more.

I think over the past 8 months, I have made some progress and each race/walk is not as big a deal - some things seem to be not as monumental. One subtle shift that may amuse Mercer is that I no longer count the distance I walk to and from the car as part of my official walks. After 8 months, I have given that up ( however, I did measure it to see how far it was this weekend, and it was .9 miles, but I didn't count it, I promise).

So that is my belated weekend update.

I skipped my long run/walk this weekend due to feeling like I was fighting the flu. Still have that overall achy feeling and just do not quite feel myself. My joints are a little creaky . My throat is sore, but I am chalking it up to allergies and planning to get in 3 -4 miles tomorrow.

This weekend, I will do a long one. Need to figure out how to make it work with the Pilates class I am taking as well.