180-mile week - made it to 157

The experiment of running 30-mile days (two runs per day) for six days to simulate what I'll be doing this summer is done. I only made it to 157 miles (four consecutive days of 30 miles, then 18 and 19). However, I do consider the experiment successful since the primary purpose was to learn what I'd be experiencing this summer and how to deal with it - and I did learn a lot:

• It takes me 6.5 hours (+/- a few minutes) to run 30 miles in a day.
• I seem to prefer a slightly longer run in the morning and a slightly shorter run in the afternoon rather than splitting the runs into 15 and 15. The morning/afternoon run mileage worked out to be: 14/16.5, 16/14, 16.5/13.5, 17/13, 16/2, 19.
• As the week progressed, most of my runs felt a lot like the last four miles of a less than stellar marathon; hopefully this sensation will dissipate as my training progresses.
• I began to include walking within my run: walking to cool down when I was overheating, walking while I was drinking or eating, walking on the occasional uphill, walking on downhills when my legs were so tired I didn't trust them on the trail. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to experiment with planned walking breaks (for example, run 17 minutes, walk 3 as Annabel and Caroline did in their Long Run from Boston to LA in 1984); it might help minimize that end-of-the-marathon feeling.
• Two of my worst runs were the first afternoon and the second morning due to temperatures in the 70s. I'm no where near acclimated to heat right now, but must get there before heading off across the plains this summer.
• Ice is a wonderful thing. Spraying my legs with cold water, sitting in an ice bath, putting ice packs on sore spots - all make my legs very very happy.
• Finding food to eat in between the morning and afternoon runs is very tricky. I only seemed to be able to get one meal in during that time span. I'm not sure that was enough but I was having trouble tolerating much food prior to the second run.
• My stomach was the body part that was most troublesome throughout this experiment. Ginger chews were quite effective at settling it down - and it almost always needed settling during the second run of the day.
• Foods to avoid between runs 1 and 2: nachos, large salads.
• Foods that worked well between runs 1 and 2: eggs, fig bars, potatoes, rice, soup.
  
• 1.5 hours was not enough time between runs; 2.5 hours was adequate; 4 hours was really sweet.
• By the end of the week, drinking gatorade and eating gu during the runs had lost a lot of appeal - but I absolutely must learn to tolerate this.
• I need more upper body strength. By the end of the week my arms, shoulders and back were oh so tired.
  
• The area I need the most improvement in is sleep. Monday I left for my run at 4 a.m. in order to make it to the train station in time to pick up my sons at 7 a.m. All but Tuesday morning I was out the door by 6:30 a.m. and wasn't going to bed before 10 - and, in fact, went to bed after 11 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. And there was no napping during the week. I think the lack of sleep is a reflection of the fact that I've got a life outside The Run right now; hopefully time to sleep will be more readily available this summer.
• My worst overall run was Friday morning: I was way too tired and my legs were really stiff. We had gone to the dinner theater the night before (special spring break treat for the family while my sons were home) - and I only had 45 minutes between the end of my last run and when we were sitting at the tightly-spaced dinner theater table. What I was doing Friday morning could barely be called a run, and I was so fatigued I couldn't even get a coherent sentence out. Thank heavens for tolerant running buddies. AndyE and Joe just plodded right along next to me, keeping the day cheery. By the time I got home, though, my right ankle/achilles area was extremely painful and I decided I'd best spend the rest of the day icing, keeping it elevated, and resting. I did go out for a short two miles just to test things out later in the day and was encouraged by the improvement.
  
• After Friday's scare with my ankle/achilles I decided to end the experiment and keep Saturday's run to one longish run (19 miles). Again, Joe and AndyE joined me for the middle miles - but I was much better company this time around...all the icing and off-the-feet time Friday afternoon and evening worked wonders. Today was a great day on country roads, moving smoothly and singing and chatting along the way. A lovely morning.
• One example of how my non-running life is taking up some time during this week's experiment: today's morning run finished in a neighboring town where my family and I spent the afternoon at the K&C RV lot - and we ended up buying the motor home we're going to use on the trip. WhooHoo!