How NOT to run 9 miles.

I did my long run today in conjunction with the NYRR Fitness 4 miler in Central Park. The men went off at 8:30 and the women at 9:30, so I figured I would run with the men plus 1 then make it back around to start the 4 miler on time. I sandbagged a bit and left myself a 15 minute cushion in between. Not all days are good ones. Below is a lap/pace/HR chart of someone who spontaneously combusted during a 9 mile run, see if you can figure out what stupid mistake I made:

Mile 1: 10:52 max HR 158

Mile 2: 10:29 max HR 159

Mile 3: 11:17 max HR 163

Mile 4: 11:10 max HR 164 (yikes)

Mile 5: 10:42 max HR 164

(15 minute break)

Mile 6: 10:52 max HR 166 (tick, tick)

Mile 7: 10:50 max HR 166 KABOOM!

Mile 8: 13:45 max HR 166 (Walking!)

Mile 9: 12:04 max HR 166

It’s not like I haven’t run long before. I should have known better. I had no business going that fast that early, or charging up the hills, or not taking in any fuel, or stubbornly ignoring my HR in lieu of pace. Man I crashed hard and I kept crashing. I took in about 600 Kcals of fruit and yogurt right after the race. I was starving. I could have fallen asleep in my car on the ride home. I did fall asleep when I got home for 2 hours. You would have thought I ran a marathon.

Normally, I would have been very dejected after a run like I had today, but I’m still pretty jacked up. I think without the pressure of a race looming over my head, I can keep my eye on the big picture, without getting so caught up in the smaller pieces of the puzzle. Even though I blew up today, it still progresses me toward my big dream.

Oh yeah.... 763 days to go.