I ran 17 miles the other day. I have to repeat that, I ran 17 miles the other day! That’s the furthest I have ever run and the night before (actually the week before), I was petrified.
“Honey, can I call if I’m in trouble and you’ll come to my rescue?” I said to my husband. He looked at me as if I were crazy. “Of course,” he said.
So the night before my run, I packed up. Here’s what I brought:
- 4 24 oz bottles of hydration – On this particular run, I brought along Rocket Fuel – 1 scoop of Hydro, 1 scoop of Amino Acid and 1 scoop of Base Salt. I prepared them and put them in the refrigerator.
- A camel back hydration backpack – I wanted to make sure I didn’t run out of hydration since the route I took had no water or no place to buy water.
- Base Salts (I had two vials, although one would have been plenty.)
- Tissues (just in case I needed to go potty in the woods.)
- Four packets of Honey Stinger but I only actually ate three. It’s always good to have extra.
- My asthma inhaler just in case.
- My hydration belt (although I had the Camelback, I decided not to use the belt too.)
- Earphones for my music. (I even brought a spare, just in case.)
- Band-aids for those inevitable blisters.
- Bug spray/suntan lotion.
- Change of clothes for after the run.
- A bottle filled with Endurox R4 for after the run. (My coach, Jeff Galloway, suggested that I drink this after every long or hard run. It doesn’t taste great, but it does help aid in the recovery process.)
I put all the water bottles in a cooler and also filled my Camelback with Rocket Fuel. I brought some additional water bottles just in case and I was off.
The 17 miles were pretty uneventful and toward the end I thought, “I don’t know if I can do this.” But I did. And I hope this checklist helps, I know I’ll be using it on the 20 miler one!
P.S. Of course I forgot a few things on the 20! I hope this helps you…
