I Ran 19+ Miles Last Night

Yesterday afternoon, I made the executive decision to try doing my long run after work.  Why?

• I'm going to a lake house in Michigan this weekend with Angela and her family!  Angela and Olivia are training for the Chicago Marathon too so I'm sure we will get in some awesome runs up there together.  However, I know that alcohol will be involved this weekend, so I really don't trust myself to be 100% sure that I'd get in a run as long as I want to while I'm up there.
• I considered doing the long run Saturday morning, but I figured if I get it done during the week I could leave earlier for the lake house.
• What better way is there to spend a Wednesday night?  It was actually cooler out than it has been the past few days...definitely still hot though.

I figured I would start going and if I felt terrible I could always stop and just make it a regular distance or slightly longer mid-week run.  I probably shouldn't even give myself options like that and just do what I'm supposed to.  But, I ended up making it through all of my 18 planned miles, plus some!

First of all, here's what I had as a little pre-run meal:

(There was more Smart Start in there before I took the picture...)

I also updated my running playlist with a few new songs before I left.  Some of the songs that were really great during this run were:

Come on Eileen - Dexys Midnight Runners
Kokomo - The Beach Boys
Runaway Train - Soul Asylum
That's My Kinda Night - Luke Bryan
Rollout - Ludacris
I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet A Woman - Britney Spears
Get Big - Dorrough
Alive - Krewella
Runnin's Out of Moonlight - Randy Houser

Normally I would just let you assume that Teenage Dream would always be on this list, but want to know something? I didn't listen to it at all during this run.  2 hours and 34 of my playlist on shuffle and it never came on.  I thought about putting it on near the end of my run, but then I was finished before I knew it!

It is about a mile from my apartment to the lakefront path.  I ran north just about as far as the path went and then turned back to head south.  I did not stop a single time during the whole first 1 hour and 30 minutes of my run.  When I got to North Ave Beach, I took my Gu and a bathroom break and then continued on my merry way further south all the way to Navy Pier.  By the way, the "Chocolate Outrage" flavored Gu tastes just like chocolate frosting.  It's like dessert combined with running!

I had to take a little 30 second break to get this picture in.  I also probably stopped each mile from miles 13-16 for a quick water break since there are fountains along the path.  The last half of my run was completely in the dark.  It was a little scary at times, but I made it home safely...obviously, or I would not be writing this.  I ran all the way to the end of Navy Pier and then back onto the lakefront path to head back home.  I was almost done!!  Once I got on North Avenue and had only 10 minutes left to run until I reached what I figured was about 18 miles (I didn't have the Garmin so I was just going off of time), I decided I felt awesome and was going to go for 20.  I kept adding on, just around the city streets.  This made me more nervous because of cracks/uneven sidewalks and I couldn't really see, so I was afraid I was going to trip!

I made it back home at 2 hours and 34 minutes, which I knew wouldn't be quite 20, but figured it'd at least be 19.  I mapped it out to 19.25 miles!!  That averages out to exactly 8 minute pace, which I am really happy with.  And I actually think I maintained that pace the entire time.  When I stopped at North Ave Beach, I was at 11.25 in 1:30, which is also exactly 8 minute pace.  So, no majorly slowing down at the end!  During the whole first half I felt like I was really cruising and doing very well.  Miles 12-16 were a bit tougher, but then I felt great again at the end.  I think this was the strongest I've ever felt on such on a long run!

After the run, however, I did not feel so hot.  I felt like I was going to pass out and needed to sit.  It was hard to prioritize between stretching, showering, and just laying to rest for a few minutes.  Erin came to pick me up to take me to Walgreens for some essentials.  She was a savior!  I needed chocolate milk and I needed sugar (not pure sugar, I mean in candy form).  I also considered getting ice to take an ice bath, but decided to hold off on that.  This was my post-run meal:

I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep, so I got out of bed and watched an episode of Desperate Housewives and made pasta at 3am.  I was so hungry.  There was some cool stuff that I saw or thought about during this long run that I was going to write about, but this is long enough already and since I'm taking today off of running, I can just write about that fun stuff tomorrow!

Have you ever done a really long run or workout on a weeknight after work?

Do you like running at night/in the dark?

What do you like to eat before or after a run?