So I brought all my gear to go running on my lunch break with me to work. But as noon rolled around, the thought of getting sweaty just didn't sit well with me. So instead of pounding the pavement, I took myself to the park and had a relaxing lunch swining in the afternoon sunlight while reading my book. Something I haven't done in quite some time but it was so well worth the missed run. I know I'm not anywhere near where I wanted to be for this half marathon, but since I did have a long run of 11 miles last Saturday and am planning another long run of at least 12 miles this Saturday, I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to do very well on October 16.
I was able to clear it with my boss to leave at 2 next Friday. So the game plan is to go home, get all my gear packed and double check that I haven't left anything behind and wait for my mom to come and pick me up. Once we get to Panama City, I plan on dropping of my gear at the hotel, then heading down to the sports store and then getting a bite to eat. We are planning on hitting up the Olive Garden and I'm so happy about that. We don't have one here in my little city, so when I hit the bigger towns, I definitely scope out the Olive Garden so I can eat my favorite brocolli, chicken pasta. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Yesterday I emailed the race director about what drinks besides water will be offered on the course and if there is going to be gels, but have yet received a response. I'm bringing my own gels with me but if they were going to offer Gu products, then I wanted to try one out. I've heard such good things about their product but have yet to try it out. My gel of choice is Hammer. My favorite is tropical and apple cinnamon. I only have one apple, three raspberries and one chocolate.
For this weekend's run, I'm using the chocolate and the rest of the shot blocks but I'm going to cut them down to a smaller size so I'm not gagging 6 miles in.
I have some semi small strategies about next Saturday that I'm going to share. Since I've now had my share of long distances, I'm getting more and more comfortable about when to eat what, when to drink, etc. My staying fueled goal is to have a Luna bar about 30 minutes before the race. Gel at mile 3, gel at mile 6, gel at mile 9. Drink water whenever I feel the need to. I usually can get away with two gels on a long run but having the option of the third gel makes me feel comfortable. During last weekend's 11 miler I only gel once at 6 miles and then had two shot blocks. I also drank some water every time I felt the need to. I never felt dehydrated nor did I feel sick afterwards. I'm getting better at listening to my body and what it needs and doesn't need on these longer runs.
The title of this post says grateful Thursday, I'm grateful that my mother-in-law is going to be watching Bug next Tuesday so I don't have to pay extra to put her in daycare. I'm also grateful for this cooler weather that made sitting outside, eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich, so wonderful. I'm grateful that my hip has started feeling better and that I'm able to go on back-to-back runs, no matter what the distance without any complications. I'm grateful to have a full racing schedule back again, because not racing makes me jealous of those that do. I'm also grateful for my husband, who thinks I'm crazy for going on a two hour run, but supports me in said run. He's just as proud of me as I am of myself.
What are you grateful for???
Angela :)
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