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June 8, 2013 by Amy B

I intentionally ran my Friday run last night to place it close to my long run this morning. Normally I’d say this is crazy, but I have this theory that it will help me with that massive trail running weekend if I get used to running multiple times with less than 24 hrs rest.

This was supposed to be a “pace run,” of which I had every intention of doing so. I’m chalking my poor performance up to eating a bunch of junk during the day; I had a work social to attend at the end of the day (Buffalo wings! Guacamole! Chips!) and by the time I hit the road, I was just not feeling it. I did pick it up at the end so that I could at least get the distance in under 50:00.

Went to bed early – I felt clammy and cold and just kind of awful afterward. I also knew I wanted to get on the road by 7:00 for the eight miler.

I’ve been trying these bar type things before runs, and they’re fine. Really. But when it comes to long runs I just feel better going with what I know. Toast with almond butter and honey is what I know.

I finally had a chance to try out the new iFitness hydration belt. This undoubtedly has an official name that I’m too lazy to look up at the moment (as I peck this out on my phone).

I love that it seemed to stay put on my run; I had to stop I make one adjustment after I’d left the house. However, I just couldn’t figure out why I felt like something was leaking. I figured it out after the bottles started to spontaneously ej@culate on my legs.
I’d filled two of the 8oz bottles with water and half a nuun tablet. The spout on these bottles is great for quick sips of water – just squeeze. No cap to close. This is not so great when there’s carbonation involved, even if it’s just a little.
There are two loops for holding a gel, so I took one out with me to try the feature. It’s a tight fit but it didn’t go anywhere. I’m not sure if you could fit one of the larger gel packs inside. Since I can only stomach half a gel at a time, I had to find another place for the remainder (my pants pocket) but I’m guessing this is not an issue for most people with non-fragile stomachs.

Me and my fragile stomach, heading out for eight miles

I set my virtual pacer on the garmin for 10:30 pace and tried to ease into a rhythm. The first half of my run is fairly flat with a few slight inclines on pavement then railroad grade then pavement. It was a beautiful morning, the kind of morning I’d love for all my long weekend runs.

Legs started to feel tired after a stopped for half a gel at around 4.25. While I never had the feeling I couldn’t make it home – after all, it’s not like I’m even in double digits yet – I was glad to be home as it started to heat up. And I met my pace goal.

I’ve got my registration filled out for both races I’m considering in July but haven’t mailed them yet. As I ran my final 0.5 mi this morning, I thought about my goals this summer. Is the goal to run the best marathon I can? If so, then the trail weekend is probably a bad idea. But if I want to have a goal of challenging myself and pushing my body to new limits and trying something new and terrifying? Then I need to drop the damn envelope in the mail ASAP.

I’m leaning toward the latter. My ass needs kicking.