Okay, so my half marathon is in (gulp) five days. My training walk/runs were going exceptionally well until mile 10.5/11. At which point they promptly fell apart.
But not because I'm "not built for it." No. And not because "I'm not fit." No. Double no. My long training walk/runs fell apart because . . . I violated the cardinal rule of training. Which is, DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING YOU'RE DOING IF IT'S WORKING.
Let me repeat that.
DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING YOU'RE DOING IF IT'S WORKING.
Lemme 'splain. For my long training runs, I would prepare thusly:
1) the night before, hydrate well and not drink alcohol in any form.
2) Wake up, eat well, dress in a singlet and compression tights or capris and my shoes and toe socks, fill my hydration pack and add Nuun or Hammer Endurolytes, fill my gel flask with Clif double espresso and chocolate cherry gel, and warm up walk 5 minutes, run 2/walk 2 for 4 reps, then walk 10 minutes, and rinse/repeat until I reached my destination on paved, well groomed roads.
Well. Apparently if I change ANY ONE of those factors, I promptly fall apart at about mile 10.
First try, I tried to cut out 5 minutes of the walk time between intervals, and I wore my brand spanky new CW-X compression capris that were supposed to be miraculous. Major big fail. IT band tightened at mile 10. Stopped at mile 10.5.
Second try, I tried a different gel brand, didn't eat very well, drank a beer the night before, and wore the CW-X pants again on a not very well groomed trail with nary a water stop. Also, lost one of my two gel flasks along the route. Major, MAJOR big fail. IT band and knee tightened at mile 7. Fell apart at mile 10. Had to stop and be rescued by my husband at mile 10.8.
All this as a public service announcement. Test yer gear and nutrition on short runs first.
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