This was how I felt yesterday after 14 miles, except it was at home and about 5 hours after the run.

I haven’t felt this exhausted in forever, not since my first 7-8 mile run 18 months ago. So it took me by complete surprise. And I want to  obsess to death record and analyze what happened so I can take care to prevent it.

Timeline:

• Woke up at 4:20am after 10-10:30pm bedtime.
• Breakfast of 1/2 slice Almond Butter and 1/4 banana at 5:15am on the drive. 
• 14 miles (with 2 Gu and 1 pack Clif Shot block). Done by 9:45am.
• 1 Banana, 1 golfish/pretzel mix, 2 bottles water, 1/2 slice Almond Butter and 1/4 banana immediately after.
• Solid Lunch at 1pm (carbs:proteins in 3:1 ratio). 
• Fatigue sets in. 
• 30min nap from 2-2:30.
• Birthday party at 3pm with 1 slice cheese pizza and small piece of cake.
• Back home and still fatigued. 
• Slice of leftover Quesadilla at 6pm. 
• Dinner of rice, potato, cauliflower and lentils at 7:30pm.

What I did different from every other long run day

• 1 mile more than I’ve been used to – Doesn’t seem as big a difference as I could’ve gone on for a bit more if needed.
• Heat and humidity was worse than previous saturdays, if that’s even possible – Nothing I could do about it, but I’d have thought I’d be acclimatized by now. I could feel a bonk coming on at around 4.5 miles, but it turned out that I just needed a Gu. Was fine after that. I ran a bit slower than my usual, although I did push up Nickajack hill as usual for the last 2 miles. But honestly, the last 2 miles wasn’t all that different than any other day. 
• A little less hydration on Friday than usual – Could this have made that big a difference?
• Forgetting to take along my chocolate milk/protein drink for recovery immediately following the run. But I did have the banana and almond butter sandwich – Could not having the protein recovery have made that big a difference?