April and I ran the Rancho Penasquitos trail on Saturday. The farthest I've ever done there was the 3.2 miles to the waterfall and back. We actually went from one end to the other. April said that it would be our 10 mile trek but it ended up being about 6 miles each way. Didn't plan for that very well. We ran out of water on the way back and tried to conserve as much as we could. Once we got back to the waterfall, I was done with mine and I still had a little over 3 miles til we reached our cars. Ugh. Next time, bring more water. Or don't do the whole thing.
We stopped at the waterfall and poured water on our heads to cool off. The heat was rising and we both were starting to get a little light-headed. I seriously wanted to just jump in and walk back wet, but the idea of running back all muddy just wasn't appealing. If the water was actually clean, I probably would have filled up my water bottle.
Luck had it though, during the last 3 miles we passed a large group of hikers and one was kind enough to give me a spare bottle of water. 1 liter to last April and I 3 miles. Conserving was hard considering how hot it was outside. But we did it.
I'm really proud of myself for doing the 12 miles. April had done 10 earlier in the week (I couldn't make it). Granted I felt so dead tired and exhausted afterwards, I could barely get my body moving to stretch out afterwards. We made it back to the cars, did as much stretching as we could for the moment and then went to get some food. I sucked down 2 glasses of water in like 2 minutes. I felt so dehydrated. The food re-energized me though. It felt good to put something in my stomach besides those Cliff electrolyte shots.
I pretty much did nothing the rest of the day except go see a movie with some friends. Oh yeah, and I stretched some more so I wouldn't be in pain the next day.
I'm really glad that I only have to feel that way one more time... next weekend in fact. And I'm glad that there will be more water stations than the zero there were on the trail. I had thought about getting a different water pack so I wouldn't run out of water, but I've been doing well with just the one and as long as there are water stations along the course, I won't have a problem of dehydration.
This Saturday, after our group run, we are all going to brunch and getting all the rest of the info we need before we leave. The closer it gets, the more excited I get. Recently I've been asked if I'd want to do another race...I don't know. I say, ask me again after I actually finish my first one.
Hey Deb - a quick thought on hydration for your long runs. I don’t like the water belts. I’ve also found camelbaks and hand grips cumbersome so I have been working on a bottle that straps to your arm, just like mp3 players. Its called the Body Bottle and it came out last year, but we’re in the midst of release v2008 soon. If you check it out, let me know what you think - the link is http://www.bodybottle.com
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