Another mental aspect of running

On long runs (for me, ~11 to 22 miles), how I fuel and hydrate has evolved over the years. Earlier, when my legs were younger, I would take a gel and water on the run, every 5 miles or so. Later, I would do that but while walking (0.05 to 0.15 mile), until the gel is consumed. Still later, every 5 miles became every 2.5 miles, with only water during the additional breaks (i.e., water at 2.5 mile; gel and water at 5 mile; water at 7.5 mile; etc.). More recently, I’ve been experimenting with varying distances between breaks, i.e., not every 2.5 miles. The following is my current fueling and hydrating schedule, with 0.1-mile walks while consuming the gel and water or just water. The distances run between breaks are shown in parentheses.

So, after the initial 2.8 miles, the distance run after each 0.1-mile walk decreases with each break, i.e., 2.6, 2.4, 2.3, 2.2, 2.1, 2.0, 1.9. The slightly shorter distance run after each succeeding break makes some difference, physically, but not a lot. Mentally, however, knowing that the initial 2.8-mile segment is the longest run between breaks makes the entire run seem easier. Does it result in a faster pace? Not always. Not today anyway. My 19-miler this morning was at an average pace for me nowadays. (It was unseasonably warm for early March, with the run finishing in the low 70s.)

But, the long run last Sunday (17.5 miles), with the temperature just about right, in the low 40s, was at a faster pace. It was a good run, and some of the miles were like “running on water.” 😊 Also, once I had run a faster-than-usual, easy mile, what felt easy though fast, for subsequent miles, persisted. Several times, I was pleasantly surprised when I checked the watch.

The mental aspects of running are so fascinating.