I went out with the Trailhawks for the weekly long run on Saturday. I ended up doing a full 50k for the first time and it felt great. I learned a few things in the process as well (which is always nice).
I need to take more than just Gu and Honey Stingers for food for the first thing. At around the 24 mile mark I became extremely hungry. I must have been "bonking" as I have never really felt that way before. I was dizzy and just felt like laying down. I managed to walk a ways to water point and someone said they had a peanut butter sandwich I could have. It was, without a doubt, the best peanut butter sandwich I have ever eaten. Of course it was just bread and whipped peanut butter but it tasted fantastic. I now have a favorite aid-station food and something cheap and easy to pack. Thanks again Sherri!
Also, I do a lot better with S-Caps instead of Nuun water. In the past, I have always just stocked a few Nuun tablets and popped them in at water points. I never really realized that the sickly feeling was most likely not from too much Nuun, but too little salt. I never really liked the taste of the Nuun anyway. I have always preferred plain old water. Now I just pop an S-Cap every half-hour to hour, depending on how hot it is, and I am fine.
I must say the run was surprisingly pain free. My legs, knees, ankles and feet were all fine. I had a little arch pain at one point but I just shifted my stride a little and it went away. It could have been from getting stomped on in softball the night before too. By far the worst thing about the whole run was my sore shoulders from wearing that hydration pack for 7 hours!
Next up, finding a 50k close by so I can get Oh-Ficial!