19+ Miles I Ran... 1 Month to Ironman!

Ah! The last uber-long run before Ironman! This weekend I had project manager training scheduled for all day Friday and Saturday. That left me with a dilemma: when do I knock out my long run? I needed to go about 20 miles (4 hours). Do I wake up super early Saturday morning? With a need to eat 2 hours before running and class time starting at 8am, an early Saturday run was not reasonable. Running after class Saturday afternoon/evening did not make much sense either, as my recovery time would be short before the 120 mile bike ride on Sunday. I elected to run Friday night after class. I decided that in some ways, it was more like Ironman prep. After all, I'll run the marathon portion of my race at the end of a long day, as the sun sets into darkness.

I thought I may wind up running point-to-point, starting from Crystal City and take Metro back when my run was over. Plus, being prepped with the Metro back option enabled me to have a back-up in case I found myself in trouble.

I started off running 9 minutes, walking 1 minute. I did that for the first hour of my workout. However, my right knee began to plague me. I've felt some minor discomfort in it the past week. It was not pain, per say, but I have had knee problems for long enough that any sign of a problem sounds off alarms in my head.

I backed off to a run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute approach. That was very doable. The knee discomfort subsided and I was able to cruise along. I worked my way up into the National Zoo. I debating continuing on northward, along Beach Drive into Maryland (and taking the Red Line Metro back), but with the sun setting and venturing into lesser familiar territory, I elected to venture back on Connecticut Avenue toward downtown.

I stopped in Dupont Circle to purchase more Gatorade. A kind panhandler opened the door for me, so I couldn't help but give the guy a buck. Hopefully soon he finds better days.

I continued on toward the National Mall up to the Capitol. So much action along the Mall! I guess it's that time of year.

The summer solestice helped keep daylight for a bulk of the run. One obvious benefit to running in the evening: it gets cooler as the run progresses on. It's nice to only have to deal with heat at the beginning, when one is not yet tired. The cool evening air was much welcomed this go-around.

Rather than continue on around the Mall again, I decided to run back toward Crystal City. It was getting dark, but the Mount Vernon trail is well-travelled in that section. I felt safe along it.

I was moving along well until about mile 17.5. My knee failed on me. OUCH! Without wanting to do more harm, I stopped running immediately. My legs cramped up on me too, so needless to say, I was forced to walk the last 1.5 miles. Ugh! At least I could walk. Upon returning home, icing the knee was in order. Luckily I have all day Saturday to recover before the 120 mile bike ride on Sunday.

Other than the knee mishap at the end, I was happy to have gone nearly 20 miles on my feet. One month from today is the Ironman. Healing those knees will be a top priority. I can do it!