Trying something new

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July 12, 2013 by Amy B

I didn’t end up getting out for my run in the morning yesterday. Even though my phone was right next to my head, I slept right through my 5AM alarm and didn’t wake up until 7:30. Gah.

Truth is, I probably needed the sleep more than a 3 miler. We left Green Bay late the day before and didn’t get home until almost midnight. Even though I wasn’t driving, I was zonked. Driving about 1000 miles since Sunday can do that to a person.

I decided to get up early this morning and put in an easy 2 miler, just to keep things loose for my big race weekend, which starts tomorrow morning.

So I’ve been reading about “strides,” and after watching a few youtube videos on them, I decided to give them a shot after I’d warmed up for about a half mile. Proceeded to do them until I got about 0.4 miles from home.

Even though I had no intention of making this a “fast run,” this is a pretty fast time for me.

And the strides? I have no idea how many you’re supposed to do, but the first two were easy peasy. After that, I was getting a bit winded. Though it was only a two mile run, I had worked up a pretty decent sweat by the end. Sometimes it doesn’t seem worth it to go out for two miles, but it felt like it this morning.

So the big races this weekend? I’ll admit I’m a little nervous. Excited, but know I’m in for a bit of pain on Sunday during the 25K.

Run the Keweenaw 2013

When factoring in total distance, I forgot that there is no transportation down from the first race (Mt. Baldy Climb), so that will mean I’m walking or jogging back down. My 43K just became 49K. Egads.

I haven’t put a ton of thought into nutrition for this weekend. I’m trying to not eat anything out of the ordinary or weird. I’ll have a stash of Picky Bars for a post-race treat (yay) and will carry a few of the Honey Stinger Gels in my hydration belt. I’m almost out of Nuun (boo) but have enough for the weekend. Since this isn’t really a destination race for me (i.e., it’s not really a goal of mine that I’ve been training specifically for but just happens to fall in an open slot in my training calendar), I don’t have super high expectations. First of all, the trails are going to murder me. The elevation isn’t going to help. The last time I ran on trails I wanted to die. This time? I just want to enjoy myself and okay, let’s be honest: not come in last. Then again, if I do come in last but manage to finish all of the races, I’ll still be super happy.

Race update this weekend! Now I’m off to make a sacrifice to the trail gods.