I did it! I ran by myself for 26km!

Ever since we booked our camping trip a few months ago, I started worrying about this weekend. I knew I had to run 26km as part of my marathon training plan but I wasn’t sure how I would be able to run it all by myself in an unfamiliar area.

I looked up the map for the park and discovered there is a 13k loop that has an entrance from our campsite. My plan was to run this loop twice which I thought was perfect and must have been a sign that I was supposed to run 26km at this park.

On Friday night, at about 11pm, when all my friends were still chatting away around the fire, I went to bed. I woke up at 4:30am and at about 5:30am, I ate my peanut butter and banana sandwich that I had pre-made. I changed, put Gatorade in my fuel belt, and off I went at around 6:15am. I wanted to run as early as possible so I would be less disruptive to the group’s schedule for the day.

About 2km into the 13k loop, the trail was blocked so I had to change plans. I ended up running back to the main road to the beach trail and then around Kettle Lake and eventually found my way back to our campsite. Good thing there were maps at every major juncture of the park so I didn’t get lost.

I’ve never run on trails before. It was actually really fun. The km’s passed by really fast because I was so focused on not tripping or not twisting my ankles. And I also didn’t want to get lost in the woods.

I had a very slow pace but it could have also been because my watch has a slower pace, there was a lot of trees which affects the GPS, and I was trying not to trip or twist my ankles. Did I say that already? 🤣

When I got back to the campsite, my husband, kids, and all my friends were cheering for me. It felt so good!

Now I know I’m capable to running solo but I still would much prefer running with people!

Nutrition log:

• Pre-run: peanut butter and banana sandwich 45 min before
• Mid-run: Gatorade (too sweet vs Nuun), 1 Guu chew (too chewy)
• Post-run: 2 eggs, bacon, English muffin, 2 snickerdoodles