Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Dad's New Milestone

Yesterday, I broke my previous running record of 8 miles in 1 hr 29 minutes by running 10 miles in 1 hr 43 minutes, approximately (my stopwatch broke the last 3 miles, so I had to guesstimate the time based on the previous miles). I didn’t start out with the idea of running the 10 miles but after the 5th mile, I wasn’t totally wasted, so I decide to do another mile, then another, and another, until I completed the 10th mile. It was a little strange being the only one in park the last 2-3 miles, but it sure felt good to pass my old record. I noticed that my breathing was good to go for a lot more miles but my legs and especially my hip were whining a lot. Rather than risk injury I decided 10 was enough. My hip is still whining but not as loudly any more.
What surprised me a lot was how dehydrated I had become. It wasn’t too hot yesterday, around 75F, so I drank a cup or two of water before I began running and a few gulps every mile or so at the fountain in the park, including dousing my shirt with water to help keep me cool. I become somewhat concerned when it seemed I had stopped sweating about the 7th mile. So I drank a lot more and continued since I didn’t feel too bad. By the time I finished, I felt like a limp noodle, but I continued to drink lots of wafer. Evidently, it wasn’t enough as I noticed I didn’t have to pee until later that evening and when I did, it was orange. I guess my take-away message from this experience is to drink a lot more fluids before and during running. Any good suggestions on staying hydrated during long runs? - Dad

3 comments:

Erickson's Family Adventures said...
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Erickson's Family Adventures said...

Congrats on your first 10 miler...that's HUGE! I'm really impressed. Could you run with a camelback?? - eugie

Erickson's Family Adventures said...

Some Hydration ideas:
http://www.shopfleetfeetstl.com/istar.asp?a=3&dept=ACC&class=OTHER&subclass=PACKS&sortby=&numperpage=16
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/sub_cat.cfm?subcategory_id=10039

Congrats on your record!
seth