Well...

The long run went ok. It was pretty warm out and by the time I hit the road it was late in the morning, so the majority of the run was in the early afternoon hours. No clouds, so it was tough for a guy like me that prefers colder temperatures.

I ended up doing a little under 21 miles in just under 3.5 hours. Pace was 10:10 per mile, so right about where I probably should be on a long run.

I have decided to do the Niagara-on-the-Lake marathon on June 19th and see how it goes. I will do one more long run on a cool morning and stretch it out to 22-23 miles next week and then take it easy for the last 10-14 days before the marathon.

This race is small and features a 50k ultra as well. All races are run on a bike path adjacent to the Niagara Parkway on an out and back course starting in NOTL. Should be fun, and after running the Around the Bay in March it will be nice to hit a race with under 400 entrants instead of 8000!

As for my hydration and nutrition on the long run, I would say it was improved. I started to get a little tight in my hamstrings towards the end, but I think the electrolyte tablets did help, especially since it was MUCH hotter than my previous long runs where I was bonking bad at 20 miles. Feeling optimistic and hoping to make a few more improvements next week when I go a little further.

Until then, I will get in some hills on the trails, a track workout, tempo work and a swim before trying it all over again.

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Since the race in March I dove in headfirst with training for a spring marathon. Kept up my mileage and was feeling ok until about a month before the proposed marathon in mid-May.

My long runs were suffering, I felt like garbage, and I decided to take a month to rest up a little. It is clear to me that I was a little over-trained and cutting my mileage down to about 20 miles a week seems to have helped. I also started swimming once a week, so right now I am running 5 days per week along with a 2000m swim.

I set my sights on another marathon in the local area on June 19th. I haven't done a long run in about a month and as I am typing this I am getting ready to head out and try and do about 19-22 miles. I have no idea what to expect, this could go well or it could be a disaster.

I am hoping it goes ok, and I can get in another 24 miler next week and then start cutting back for the taper. Not much of a taper since I haven't been running long much, but this is the plan for now.

One other thing I noticed on my long runs last month - Salt, or the lack thereof. I sweat like a pig and I never really did much in the way of electrolyte replacement other than a bit of gatorade during long runs. I have picked up some electrolyte tablets and am going to do this long run today experimenting with them.

I really am starting to think that my "bonking" in the past has been me running out of salt and not being able to process my fluids past mile 18-20. Today though, it is very warm, but I feel good about having my tablets, lots of hydration, and plenty of goo's to properly fuel me through this run.

Well, time to hit the road, this is the deciding factor for the June 19th marathon - I hope this goes ok...