The Runner's Diet

So I ordered a book from Amazon and had to add another one on to get the free shipping, and I started to look for running books. I ordered The Runner's Diet just for kicks.

Now as you probably realize from reading my blog, I do NOT do diets. But I'm always looking for ways to improve my performance, and I could stand to use some poundage, because in the last year I've gained 15 pounds. ( I KNOW, I KNOW, Mom, Dad, Bill, etc. it is muscle weight. I thought so too, until I took my measurements and realized I gained a solid 2 inches around my waist. So it must be some fat too.)

So I started reading and really, this book was written for me. The first chapter describes those people who were active as kids and ate whatever they wanted and stayed skinny. Then they went to college and stopped or slowed down the activity, but still ate what they wanted and stayed slim. Now that they are out of college they are working out like crazy again, eating whatever they want and gaining a pound here and a pound there. Just enough to not notice it. And furthermore, these people have NO CLUE about good nutrition because they have never had to think about it. That is TOTALLY ME!

Then I continue reading thinking, 'fine, but I am not giving up fast food completely.' But that's the great thing. This whole book is about moderation. It lays out attainable goals and non-attainable goals (for example you shouldn't say 'No more fast food', but you should say 'I'm ordering a child's sized meal). It talks about how every small step you take will make a difference, and that you can eat some unhealthy stuff because you work out. So, one donut is okay, but a box is not. I know this is not rocket science to most people. But seriously, I just want to lose a few pounds, stay healthy, have a little more energy, and not have to run anymore with my beer gut (or the more ladylike "pooch") hanging out. So it was nice to have validation that my small efforts will make a difference.

And I have to look at the improvements I've made in the past year, and realize I am eating a lot healthier:

• I pretty much have cut out soda completely (I do have one about once every 2 mos).
• I eat whole wheat bread whenever I have a choice.
• I don't eat McDonald's twice or more a week (yes, I did this in college).
• I buy reduced fat ice cream.
• I don't run to the kitchen every time an email goes out about free food (only about half of the time).
• I don't go up to the vending machine at 3:00 everyday anymore.
• I gave up fried foods for Lent and survived (ok, now I need to cut them down from my everyday diet).
• I eat breakfast at home after my long runs instead of driving through McDonalds.
• I pack my lunch a lot more
• I eat breakfast every day.

They are drops in the bucket, I know, but hey, I'm doing something. This week and the next I am especially trying to be healthy so that I have enough energy for the 7th!

Rain Out?

I hope that last night's practice was rained out (well, lightninged out...we don't stop for rain!). All of this is for selfish reasons of course. I had to go to my bookclub meeting, so I opted to do my run on Monday. If it was rained out I won't feel as badly about skipping :)

The latest news for me though is that my physical therapy worked! I had a follow-up with my orthopaedic doctor yesterday. He said that my right quadricep had increased to the size and tone of my left quadricep (amazing!). He was impressed with my improvement. The only downside is that if I still have even slight pain in 3 months I'm supposed to schedule an MRI, because that means the muscle is torn and they would have to do surgery. Yeck. I do NOT want knee surgery. He seemed optimistic though that this was not the case.

I am getting very excited for Chicago. My sister (who lives there) even planned out a route for my family and emailed it to me and my husband Bill. She figured it out using Google Earth and the pacing that I gave her. She even has figured out what time they can move to the next spot, what transportation and transportation station to use, etc. She is smart. I guess that's why she has a degree in engineering. :)

I decided that I am going to run with one of the New Balance Pace Teams . I am also trying to talk my running buddies (Lindsey, Sarah and Eric) into doing this as well so that we can run together. That would be fun AND those girls (and guy) have kept me going a lot of times when I really really wanted to stop. The only bad thing is that I wish they had a pace group between 4:30 and 4:45 (I KNOW that would be stupid, because what would it be? 4:38?). I was hoping to run an 11 minute mile the entire time, but after my 3:29 20 miler I am thinking I could do a 10:30 pace the entire way. I say this because my first 20 miler pretty much mirrored what I did for the Flying Pig...yes, even the walking at the end and the really slow miles at the end where I should have been walking. I know I can handle the 10:52 pace (which would put me at 4:45) but I don't know about doing a 10:18 (which would put me at 4:30). And yes, yes, I KNOW that I can run ahead of the slower group (which is what the site tells you to do if you are inbetween). However, I am one of those people who get overly excited at the actual race. I take them out WAY too fast, check myself, say "No, I'm really feeling great. For real. I can do this for 25 more miles." and then absolutely die at the end.

So I think the pace group will be good for me for that reason. I guess if I am feeling super spry (ha ha) I can always pump it up for the last two miles of the race. And besides, there's always next time to do the 10:18 pace. (You KNOW this won't be my last marathon if I have anything to do about it!)

Less than Two Weeks to Go!

By this time in two weeks I will already have finished my marathon! This time my training has absolutely flown by. I don’t know if it is because I have already gone through this before, or if it was because my training period was shorter, or if it was just because I have been having a lot more fun with it. Anyway, I am so pumped and ready.

The only thing that I do worry about is the flat course. Flat courses seem 10x as long to me. My 5k in Mason a few weeks ago seemed like eternity. Imagine that for 26.2 miles!

However, Coach Joe F has been really good about having us train on the flat parts of Cincinnati (yes, there are flat parts). Even if it means running on Eastern every Saturday, I guess this is a good thing. I am definitely more used to running flat than I was in May.

This Saturday we did 12 miles. It wasn’t too bad except for feeling a little weird about running on the highway. It was only a little bit on 50 (a quarter of a mile?) and the shoulder was superwide, and there was hardly any traffic, but even so…

It didn’t seem like the run was that long. I think it’s actually because we were running a lot of the same territory we ran the week before with our 20, but almost half. It was nice mentally to start at CrossRoads and cover that same beginning territory (the week before we had started at the Running Spot…about 3 miles from where we were at CrossRoads). So already, I felt like I didn’t have as far to go. Plus, there was no Eden Park.

Don’t get me wrong, there WERE hills. Hills, like all the way from the bottom of Linwood to the top. (Why are these hills always at the END of our mileage)?

I also got a chance to try out my new Triks skirt. It is EXTREMELY lightweight. It almost made me feel like I wasn’t wearing anything. (This could also be because it has spankies instead of the little shorts underneath that I am accustomed to.) It took awhile to get used to, but I think I ended up liking it better than my Pearl Izumi skirt. I will definitely be taking this one to Chicago!

I am bummed because I am missing my group runs this week, so I will have to be super vigilant about running on my own. (I stink at this).

Today is also the day I start eating like a runner should. Which is too bad, since I’m having lunch for work at Palomino’s. ☹

TAPER!

Yeah! Tomorrow is my first taper run! 12 miles. I looked at the route though, and I must say, I am getting pretty tired of running on Eastern. But, at the same time, Eastern doesn't seem to be such a mental block for me anymore.

This is also when I need to be REALLY careful about what I eat (I say, as I wolf down a huge slice of the cheesecake someone brought into work to share). I think my body is still adjusting to the 20 I did last Saturday. I am constantly hungry and eating all the time at my desk. Earlier this week my body was REALLY screwed up when I woke up at midnight with a growling stomach. I couldn't get back to sleep until I ate some trail mix. Taper is when my body is still really hungry, but I'm not actually doing as much mileage, so I probably shouldn't eat like I just ran a 20. Don't get me wrong, 12 miles is nothing to sneeze at in the big scheme of things, but wolfing down an entire stack of pancakes with an order of cheesey hashbrowns after my run probably shouldn't be in the cards. This is also easier said than done since this weekend is Oktoberfest and with my hedonistic friends I KNOW that I will be overindulging. Also tonight I have a class reunion. The invite said "heavy appetizers" and "wine", both of which I love for a meal.

I am going to try and follow the taper meal plan from my Runner's World book I got for joining the Roncker group. The fun part is the last week where you fat load. Well, it sounds fun, but when they say fat they don't mean french fries and donuts. They mean lean fats. Not saturated fats. Also, it said that during that last week you will feel extremely lethargic, but that's okay, because you will actually use the energy during the run. I am curious to see how this plan goes, since I am notorious for not being able to follow a diet.

Lack of Motivation

Lately I have really had to force myself to run. I think it must be something in the air though, because I have heard the same thing from all of the people I run with. That’s why it’s good that I am in a running group. It forces me to go to practice.

Last night I was SO unmotivated to go. Especially since I knew that we had a 7 mile run in Eden Park. Those are some crazy hills, and I didn’t feel up to them…especially since it was hot again, and I had enjoyed an entire week of fall weather.

There is also some mental thing with me and Eden Park. I generally like running there. I have had a lot of good runs there. But the thing is, it is always the same route…when you get to Seasongood Pavillion you turn around. It is about six miles. If you want to add on, or are in Group A (the fast people) run all the way to the overlook at the Celestial before you turn around. So when ALL of us have to run to the Celestial I am like “NO! It’s too far!!!” Even though it is only another half mile there and a half mile back.

All of that being said, I had a really enjoyable run last night. I even felt fast at some times. My mini-group ended up doing the whole thing at a 10 minute mile pace, which I guess was good since we were supposed to do a tempo run (a run at your 10k pace). And it felt like we finished really really early (but we didn’t…it was 8:00 just like it usually is) and that we ran short mileage (but we didn’t…we usually run 6 miles on Tuesdays).

I AM worried about Saturday seeming long though. Because every time I knock back my mileage I initially think ‘this is going to be a piece of cake’ and then I end up thinking ‘I’m glad that was only XX miles…I don’t think I could have gone any farther.’ It’s all a mental game I guess.

Oh yes, and the tapeworm is back. It is NOT cool to be hungry ALL THE TIME. It is very inconvenient.

Shameless Product Plug

(Well, I guess it really isn't shameless, since I don't sell them or anything).

So, on Saturday, I bought the most amazing new toy. It is called the stick . I have seen other people use it and was intrigued. It looks like this, well, stick, that has all of these beadlike things on it. You roll it over your muscles when they are sore. After I finished my 20 miler on Saturday I stretched out and then went right downstairs at the Running Spot to buy one. I figured if I ever needed one, then would be the best time to buy it. I got "the Marathoner" which is 20" and the most flexible.

I must tell you, this thing is intense.

You hold your legs up to use it, so that your muscles are loose and not tense, and roll it back and forth. It really really kneads them out. It worked wonders on my calf that has been tensing up. And it REALLY gets in there to get those knots out. It feels great.

I had Bill roll it over my legs when I got home too. I think he was using more force and it hurt so much that it tickled, but a good kind of hurt. I could not stop laughing. I think he was afraid to continue using it because it was causing me to burst out into hysterics.

I also used it on my Achilles that night, when it started getting all snappy like it does after my long runs (gross). It totally worked. I was fine the next day when usually I still have to deal with snappiness.

So now I think I am a totally weird runner. I've gotten used to chugging down the Gu's and I get excited about a beaded stick. Oh well. Running all that mileage must do something to your brain.

A Little Help From My Friends

I must say, I never thought I would feel so great after a 20 mile run!

Don’t get me wrong…it was very very difficult. In fact, I was NOT in the mood and I really didn’t think I was going to make it.

Let me back up…

It is not a good sign when you don’t sleep very well because you are dreaming that you wake up an hour and a half late for your 20-miler. Stress. Plus, I just really really didn’t feel like doing 20 miles. I had carb loaded all day Friday, went to bed early, etc, but it just didn’t matter. Plus, I was stupid and wore my skirt without the pockets, so I had no place for my Gu. My running buddy, Lindsey suggested sticking them in my sports bra. Knowing my history of chafing, I made sure I used BodyGlide first. It ended up working out perfectly! So now I have a new trick.

We were off to a slow start, with a 13 minute first mile. Everyone I run with started freaking out because we were going too slow. I was like “No! No! I would rather go slow at first and have energy at the end!” We weaved our way through Hyde Park and then through Mariemont. It seemed to take forever. I couldn’t believe that our first water stop was only 3.5 miles in. I was already tired.

The way the run was set up was that it was 16.75 miles. If you wanted to add on, you could do the 1.7 mile loop in the middle of the run 2 more times, or you could add 4 miles on at the end. My group decided on the pretty, flat, 1.7 miles in Mariemont in the middle of the run rather than adding on at the end. Not only is it a mental block to end at the Running Spot and then know you have 4 miles to go, but those 4 miles happened to be in Eden Park which means HILLS. We were also like “Aww. It’s so cute here! I’m glad we’re doing our loops here!” But by the third loop we were like “AGH! Get me out of Mariemont!” As we ran out onto Wooster Pike Sarah even said “Wow! Civilization! I feel like I’m back out of 1940!”

By this time I was feeling like it was the longest run ever. Sarah felt like it was the shortest run ever and Lindsey said she felt in-between. That made me laugh.

Next came Wooster Road. Let me just say…I have a new appreciation for Eastern. I just canNOT run on industrial roads. They make me crazy. Not to mention the fact that some of it did not have sidewalks and I felt like I was going to be run over by a car. I was so glad I have driven that way to my friend’s, because I knew where I was going and didn’t second guess myself. All the girls kept asking “are you SURE we are going the right way?” Then Sarah and I saw a big group of people. I thought it was weird because there shouldn’t be another water stop for awhile. They were all wearing really bright colors. Like day-glo orange. Yes, they were a juvenile detention work crew. Bizarre, the things you see on your runs. ☺

By the time we made it to Lunken I really didn’t know if my legs could move anymore. Lindsey and I debated walking when we got to Delta. I was not looking forward to our home stretch. We only had 4.25 miles left, but it was all up hill.

I shot another Gu. I have to admit…they are awesome. Lindsey laughs at me because she says I ‘take them like a pro’ now. They keep my legs going when I swear there is no human way that my legs could still be moving.

I thought about walking even more as we finally hit Delta. But my legs just kept moving. I wasn’t going to stop them. But by this time my body was in robot mode. So much so, that when I could not go straight because a car was blocking a driveway in front of me it took TONS of effort (mental and physical) to go around it.

We stopped for water one last time with a little more than a mile to go. I walked two blocks to Stettinius, and started running again. I knew I had exactly one mile left. When we got to the O’Bryonville shops I even kicked it up a notch. I looked at my watch. 3:30!!!!

I have no idea how that is possible, but I was soooooooo pumped. I realized that if it wasn’t for the girls, I would not have done it. I so would have been walking for a lot of those 20. I was so impressed with us! Hurrah!

Saturday Run

My scabs are healing nicely, which is good news because I have my 20-miler tomorrow. Which, by the way, I am very very nervous about. I am just not feeling it.

Two weeks ago, when I ran my 18-miler (when I showed up at Lunken thinking I was supposed to do a 20-miler) I was feeling really great. I was ready to take on an entire marathon. So I knew I could do it. This week I am just not looking forward to it.

The good news is that the weather is going to be perfect. I always run better in colder weather, so I have been waiting for this forever. I won't even know what to wear. Just kidding. I will pretty much dress like it is 90 degrees out. I heat up quickly.

I have been carb-loading all day...which was easy because I was in an all-day work session. They are always catered. And they ALWAYS have french bread. I took 4 slices. And I piled up my plate with tons of food. It kind of reminded me of Emilio Estevez's character in the Breakfast Club, when they all take out their lunches . The clients looked at me a little strangely but then one of my colleagues mentioned that I was a marathoner, and they were all like "ohhhhhh!" I am hoping we can go out for some pasta tonight!

I swear, eating is the best part of running!

BAD Run

It has been a long time since I have had a really bad run. Last night was terrible.
We had a negative split run starting from CrossRoads. It was a pretty simple route: Right on Madison, Left on Observatory for thirty minutes and then turn back.

I started out okay. But then my calves started to really tighten up. Especially the left one. I would stretch at the stop lights, which usually helps. This time it didn't. So I had to break off from my group to stop a little while later and stretch some more. It was like the muscles were not even pliable. They were just like rocks. It even hurt to stretch. I walked the rest of the way, to the top of Observatory and then turned around at 30 minutes to run back. The run back wasn't bad, but I think that is because it was all downhill. I felt like such a loser.

When I had hit Cincinnati Natural Foods my bandages from my thighs also came off, which kind of sucked. I didn't know if I should keep running or not. But I figured that my scabs (sorry, this is gross) were going to come off whether I was walking or running, so I might as well run.

I guess this was okay too. Because after reading about how to treat my chafing wounds online, I found out I was doing it a really bad, old-school first aid way (which was to let them air out, dry up and scab over). What you are supposed to do is keep the wound moist and covered and try not to let it scab over. Well, now my scabs were gone, and I could treat my wounds properly. (Come on, you know by now that you shouldn't be eating while you read my blog).

I was very perplexed about my calves. When I talked to my physical therapist this morning though, she said it just happens sometimes with people who run a lot. She said to make sure that I am properly hydrated (this might have been an issue...I had some salty pizza for lunch) and that I was stretching enough (which I thought I did).
They were still kind of tight at the physical therapy session, so I will have to be sure to stretch them out tonight.

Next up? I get to worry about my big 20-miler on Saturday!

It's Official!

I got my marathon "confirmation ticket" in the mail yesterday for Chicago.

It is kind of funny because it is not really a "ticket" per se, but a program like you would get for going to a play. And there are sooo many rules! I was trying to read the book last night, but I couldn't concentrate on it because there was just so much information.

The big thing that stuck with me though was the "no ipod" rule. I am wondering how strict they really are on this. They had the same rule at the Flying Pig, but I saw plenty of people with ipods (myself included). The wording in the rules for Chicago seem stricter though. I figure that my skirt has an ipod pocket, so I can just stash it in there and then use it or not.

I was also very glad to hear that they DO have vanilla gels at the 17.5 mile. I, of course, will have my own stash, but it's just nice to know anyway.

I can't believe that it is less than a month away!

Tonight we do my least favorite thing: a negative split run. 30 minutes out and turn around to come back in less time. I stink at these, but I guess that just means I need to practice them :)

Race for the Cure

Sunday, my friends and I ran the Race for the Cure which was a 5k up in Mason.

I had to look like a dork, because I had to bandage up my nasty chafing accident . Well, and of course, when I walk I look like John Wayne.

I have decided that I really for real, do NOT like running 5ks. They always exhaust me. I was aiming for 10 minute miles since I have been training with 10:30 miles. I know that 5k is a lot shorter distance than what I am used to, but it is hard for me to switch between paces. Luckily, the sun was not out, so we weren’t baking on the course.

I took out the first mile at 9:03. But then of course I was starting to think “where is mile two…it has to be here somewhere?” I looked at my watch though, and unfortunately only 2 minutes had passed. Pttt.

It also stunk (quite literally) because the whole time I was running I would get this whiff of something like wet dog. Then I started to panic and wondered if it was me. But at the end of the race, the first thing my friend Malia said was “I was so grossed out because this girl I was running by smelled like wet dog the entire time.” I was not running next to Malia, so I was instantly relieved. Bill said he thought it was the sweatband he has to wear because of his laser eye surgery. So since we all smelled it, it must have been the trees or something. I don’t know. It HAD just rained.

We all did really well. Bill finished first (of course) with a 25 something, followed by me, with a 28:05. Maren kept a steady 10:30ish mile pace and Malia finished right under 33:00. We were all pretty happy. I was just glad that I could keep my 9 minute mile pace. It was exhausting.

The best part? IHOP afterwards! Mmmmmm, pancakes.

What I Did For Love

Chafing.

I know. I am an idiot, merely because this has happened to me before and I should know better by now. And I DID put Body Glide on. Not between my thighs though, because I was wearing bike shorts. (I have really only had problems when I wear the shorts that swish between my legs). Well, I hope I learned my lesson this time. If I didn’t there is something wrong with me.

Saturday we had a 12 mile run. Madison, Observatory, Linwood, Delta (MOLD…that’s how I remembered it) Eastern and then picking up the Pig Course all the way back to the store. I felt burning the entire time I was running, but really, I thought it was just the scabs rubbing against each other from last time. Plus, when I checked at the water stop, my thighs looked fine.

I finished my run (pretty painfully), went upstairs at the Spot, stretched, looked at my legs…GROSSSSSSSS!!!! Blood was running down my legs and I had these huge, raised gashes on both sides. Not cool. I actually for real screamed in the shower, and I was NOT being a drama queen. It really hurt that badly. And I have a high tolerance for pain.

They look a lot better now, but are still pretty gross. They have that gross scabbiness on them, where the scabs start to change colors. It hurts to wear jeans but it is even WORSE wearing a skirt. I am using a LOT of Neosporin.

Oh. And I think I know WHY I have to use BodyGlide there now. My thighs have never really had the girth that they have now. So I’ve never had a problem with them rubbing up against each other when I run. At least that is what I am telling myself so that I can feel good about something (muscle gain) instead of focusing on my awful pain and gross inner thighs.

I do some pretty idiotic things to my body as a marathon runner.

Easy Day

Tomorrow I have an easy day and I am so glad, because tonight is our company outing and I want to make sure I can stay out late. I just have to make sure that I watch what I eat so that I don't have problems like last time. Looks like we are hitting Eastern again for a nice 12 miles. I almost feel like, 'what's the point?'. Just kidding. But 12 miles does seem really really light. Especially since we usually do a 10 or 12 mile loop and then add on from there.

What I'm most excited about (runningwise) this weekend though, is the Race for the Cure. It will be a good, fun way to do a recovery run. Plus, the course is completely flat. Last year, my friend Jen and I ran it and it was a lot of fun. Plus, it was just a very very inspirational race. I had just read Why I Wore Lipstick to my Mastectomy for my bookclub, so felt like I had a better understanding of what breast cancer survivors go through. It was really moving when at the beginning of the race, they had all of the survivors march in. There were so many of them!

Plus, I coerced all of my non-running friends to run again. Of course, this includes big plans for IHOP afterwards.


Which is good, because my tapeworm is back and I am eating like crazy. This does not bode well for my parents, who are having a cookout this weekend, but IHOP can be sure it will sure be making money on me.

This time though, its weird, because I am so hungry all the time, but I can't eat that much. I mean, like I will eat a burger and be so full that I can't finish my fries. But then, less than an hour later I am starving like I haven't eaten in an entire day. So I've been grazing like crazy.

Bill thinks its because my metabolism is fast but my stomach is small. Well, and of course all the calories I am now burning on my long runs. At any rate, I am not complaining because I LOVE to eat.

Physical Therapy

So, I don't know if I've written about this or not. So, sorry if I am repeating information.

Anyway, about a week and a half ago I went to the orthopaedic doctor to find out what was going on with my knee. Apparantly my left leg is more muscular that my right. Especially in the quads. I don't know how I didn't notice this before, because once it was pointed out to me I was like "whoa! There really is a huge difference!"

What the doctor didn't want to happen was muscular atrophy. He (luckily) also understood the importance of my training and the proximity of my marathon date. So, he put me into physical therapy 2x a week for 3 weeks. The goal is to build up the muscles in my right leg to match those in my left.

It's kind of a pain in the butt, but I do feel like it is helping. It is amazing how weak (at least in comparison to my left leg) my right leg is. The exercises (which include weight bearing lifts, stretching, balancing exercises etc) really do tire me out. But already I am seeing improvement.

Hopefully by the time of the marathon my right quad will be all bulky and manlike like my left quad is, and injury will be in my past!

The Eternal Question: OnBoard Nutrition

So. Lately I have been experimenting.

This is all because of a conversation I had with my marathon sub-group. We were trying to determine what was better: Gu or Shot Bloks. I was really touting the Shot Bloks. It seemed easy to me:

1. They taste like candy.
2. They are SOLID not GEL...so you don't have to GAG them down.
3. They are the same kind of energy as all of the gels.

Done.

I must admit that I actually did not have any experience with gels at all. I bought one a long time ago when I was training for the Pig. It was vanilla and it sat in the bottom of my running gear drawer for several months. I just could not come to grips with something so, well, gooey, going down my throat.

Lindsey had to question me on number three. She said that she didn't think anything could compare to gels because they just give you so much energy. Sarah agreed. She said her legs just kept going and going after she took one and she didn't know how.

Well, maybe I would have to try one. Especially since the Shot Bloks were giving me a bit of an acid reflux problem lately. So, 10 miles into my 16 miler a couple of weeks ago I grabbed a Clif Shot. It was apple pie. Well, it was supposed to be apple pie.

After taking 20 years to open it, I downed about half of it. Gagged. Gagged badly. It was sooooo gross. I couldn't even take the second half. I am one of those people who need the consistency to match the flavor and this wasn't doing it for me.

I DID however feel it kick in. Nothing as extreme as Sarah experienced, but I did have more energy.

So for my 18 miler I pulled the good old vanilla Gu out of the drawer. I was a little worried, because I was holding it as I ran my first ten miles. It was getting really warm. At our 5 mile water stop I stared at it for a really long time. Then I downed it. Gagged. Downed the rest. Proclaimed "hey, that one wasn't so bad!" Which made Lindsey laugh. "That wasn't so bad even though it made you gag?" Well, it wasn't as bad as the apple pie. At least it tasted like vanilla pudding which is kind of its consistency.

And I don't know. Maybe it really really worked. I had an awesome run and I DID feel like I had a ton of energy.

I don't know.

So what do you think: Gels or Bloks? (or gummy bears or jelly beans or Sports Beans?) Or anything else? How do you get your onboard nutrition?

New List

I think I need to create a new list: Things I Know I CAN'T Eat Before Runs.

I'm sure a lot of it had to do with the heat. Last night we started at CrossRoads and ran our two usual miles to the Norwood track for Yasso 800s. The sun was just BEATING down. It reminded me of some of the scenes in Apocalypse Now. It was gross. Not to mention that it was 95 degrees out even though it was 6:30. I wasn't too worried because I know that the last time we did Yasso 800s it was also very hot.

Ugh. Wrong. It was awful. My stomach was not happy, and it was really impeding my performance. I started blaming my lunch (which was very good at the time). The culprit: Ranch dressing.Again. To be fair, I didn't know it would affect me if it was just the dressing on my sandwich. Last time I thought it was the entire salad that did it. Plus, this time I had about 5 and a half hours in between when I ate and when I ran.

Anyway, we got to the second repeat and my stomach contents started jumping up my throat. The third was worse. Plus, I felt like I really wanted to burp, but couldn't. It was awful.

This time my group was doing 6 repeats. This was not boding well for me.

It was sooooooo HOT.
I decided to take my shirt off and run in my sports bra and skirt. I usually don't do this because I am so self-conscious about my pooch. Yeah. I was too hot to care. And it DID make a huge difference.

By the end, things were getting a little better. At least I was able to pace really well. I can really feel what my pace should be now, and when I am off of it. I think that is great. I guess it just takes practice.

Apparantly the last repeat we decided to pick it up. I wasn't aware of this because of course, I had my headphones on. I kept thinking 'this seems awfully fast'. Then we passed our starting point and one of the guys shouted out "4:47!" OK. I didn't feel so bad. I was doing the rest of them at 5 minutes. :)

Despite Eastern...

OK. So we all know how much I hate running on eastern. So I was not exactly ecstatic when for my 18 mile run this weekend 10 of those miles were on Eastern. Luckily, it was not very hot (since there is basically not a lot of shade). The next 8 miles of the run was around the Lunken Airport bike trail. I don’t know which one is worse!

Despite all of this, I was feeling pretty good when I woke up. I met up with my fellow Chicago group (there are about 5 of us in the group that are running Chicago and we are all around the same pace.) Saturday we were light, because of vacations…there were only 3 of us. Anyway, I felt like we were kind of taking it out a little fast. Especially since I REALLY have to get into a groove on Eastern since it is sooooooo BORING. I was a little worried.

Our first mile was 10:16. Our next was 10:11. This was not boding well because we all try to keep our splits between 10:30 and 11:00.
We got back on track with the next one, with a 10:23. I was starting to feel really great. Our first five we finished at 51:00.

After turning around at Montgomery Inn, I felt super powerful. Maybe it was the disgusting Gu that I gagged down.
I broke away from the group. I knew that I would probably poop out in the last few miles, but I wanted to test it. I figured, maybe I CAN run a 10-10:15 minute mile pace the whole time. No better time to test it in a long run. My splits were getting super fast (for me). 10:00. 9:50!!!

Then they started to drop back. I was back to my normal 10:22s and 10:39s. Even a 10:50.

BUT the slowest split I had was 12:00 (that was my 18th mile). So, I KNOW that I can’t really take all of my mileage at 10:00, because I would die at the end. But I do know that if I’m feeling good, its ok to do a few miles at sub 10:30. That made me feel pretty good about my training!