15 mile run! And Gu 'Strawberry banana review'

Mar 9: 15 mile run! (2:38:53-10:36 avg pace)...*old 2009 shoes*

Distance PR! 15 miles!! 

I know all 3 of you readers are DYING to know what I did as far as shoes =) I went to the store last night and got these:

I put one on my RIGHT bone (the one that just started bugging me this week) and it felt GREAT (did that before I even started out). My left bone, oddly enough, felt just fine at the beginning of the run (I was wearing my old 2009s).  BUT it started to feel like it was GOING to start bugging me around mile 3, so I stopped and put one of these on THAT bone too. After that, it was smooth sailing =) I really think as long as I wear these, I can PROBABLY wear my new shoes. I'll test that out next week =)

Getting ready to tackle the run!

Very few cars on the road at 6:30am!

Gu 'Strawberry banana' review!


Stopped around mile 5 to refuel. I did 1/2 the pack w/ 3oz of water (and did the other half at mile 10 with another 3 oz of water)
I didnt really care for this flavor. It tasted a lot like a Laffy Taffy and I'm not a fan of fruit candy. Still, it was palatable and if this was all I had in a race, I could gulp it down with no issues.  After thinking about it today, I think I'll probably just carry my OWN gels, that way I wont have to worry about them running out of my favorite flavor (Chocolate Outrage all the way, baby!)

To the lake!  I really dont like gloomy mornings, but nothing could put a damper on the excitement of knowing I was on my way to a distance PR this morning!

I bet I saw 7 or 8 deer out there this morning too! (click on the picture to see a larger image)

 

Pretty trail

Thank you Lake Z for some awesome miles!

I did it!!

Brought one of these along to refuel with after the run and really didnt care for it. I choked down about 1/2 of it before deciding that my NORMAL post-run reward of peanut M&Ms and pretzels is FAR superior. At least according to my picky palate.

Now it's time to prop the legs up and recover til next time!

Mar 6/7 workouts

Mar 6: 7 miles (1:15:21 avg pace 10:46)  * in my old 2009s*  PLUS 25 x 4 sets push ups....
This run felt good. I kept the pace slow to ease any discomfort on that bone and it was fine the whole time! YAY!

Getting ready to start the run at dark o' thirty...

Beautiful trail 1/2 way thru my run...

upon which I saw this beautiful, totally unblemished apple. Weird. No I didnt pick it up and eat it though the idea DID cross my mind a time or two...

Lovely sunrise!

Headed over to the pond and someone was out feeding the ducks from their balcony...

Several ducks were sweeping in front and behind me to come get their share of the grub so I had to be extra vigilant so I didnt get T-boned!

More of the gorgeous God-painted picture....LOVE mornings like this

7 miles DONE and thrilled that my foot felt fine!

March 7: 4 miles (43:46-10:54 avg pace).... *wore my NEW 2009s*... also did 3 sets of planks (1:40-1:30-1:20)
This was quite a disappointment after yesterday's awesome run.  I decided to wear my new shoes since I hadn't worn them in over a week and my foot bone felt pretty good yesterday.
Well.
So I put on the shoes and was getting ready to head out the door and from the GET-GO, I knew I wasnt going to be able to run without the gloves. So I shove it in and head out. About 10 steps out the door, my RIGHT foot bone starts to hurt (I really wish I knew the name of this bone so you would know what I was talking about!!). So before I even started my run, I had to shove a glove in THAT shoe as well!! They both bugged me for the first 15 min of the run, but after that, they were fine. 

Anyway, here I am, needing to get in 15 miles this weekend for my long run and wondering what I should dress my feet with...Praying the Lord will give me guidance in this as I'm liable to just run in my flip flops and hope for the best!
=)

Anyway, enough of that. How about we talk food for a minute?  Here's some of what I've been shoveling in the ol pie hole this week...



There is an omelet with cheese wrapped up in that ham, with broccoli and cheese and some grapes on the side. Totally hits the spot and is only around 300-350 calories.

Green pepper slices and sun-dried tomato basil spread.

This spread was not only yummy with sliced raw veggies but was great on crackers, as a chip dip and in sandwiches.  Yum yum.

Homemade veggie soup ready to start a-cookin'! Trying to remember what I put in here...bag of frozen veggies (carrots/cauliflower/broccoli), sliced carrots, can of collard greens, an onion, a head of garlic, zucchini and celery. 

A cup is around 50 calories. It's a perfect lunch along side 1/2 a small sandwich (on lovely Ezekiel bread) and 1/2 an apple.

Not the healthiest dinner (below) but it sure was yummy!! I've discovered instead of dressing, I can mix a little dry ranch mix in with cottage cheese and top my salad with it and its just as yummy as regular ranch. Sometimes I sprinkle a little extra garlic salt on top to up the awesomeness.
I also made garlic bread on brat rolls (smear with a little butter, top with a little mozzarella and a sprinkle of garlic salt and then bake for 5 min at 400*. Then I topped it with meaty spaghetti sauce and a little more cheese (can you EVER have too much cheese?  Yeah. I didnt think so).

Its suppose to rain all day tomorrow and then a mix of snow/rain most of the day Sunday, so I THINK I may have to do my 15 miles on the *gulp*, TREADMILL!!!  Will I survive?  Stay tuned....

Feb 27/28 runs, Mar 2 long run and 'GU REVIEW'

Feb 27 Wed: 7 mi outdoor run in my 2009s (avg pace around 10:20)...25 x 4 set push ups....I wore my old 2009s for this run. They bugged me on my (slow) walk down my hill and then for the first 15 min or so of the run. After that, they were fine but my foot was a bit sore the rest of that day. I ran this run a bit speedier than I normally would have (for having a foot issue) as it was my little man's birthday and I wanted to be sure to be home when we got up =)
Feb 28 Thurs: 4mi run on the 'mill 2%  incline for the first mile, 1% incline for the rest of the run (42:40).....3 set of planks (2:10, 2:00, 1:50)...I decided to run this in my OLD OLD shoes (2010s) as the foot box is a little different and puts no pressure on that cheeky little bone =)  Started nice and slow (5.1) and upped the pace from there every so often

MARCH 2 Saturday: 11.1 mi run (1:54:56-avg pace of 10:21)




I was excited to get out there for this run for a few reasons:
#1: it was a lovely morning (cold, but lovely)
#2: long runs are my FAVORITE (think Will Ferrell)
#3: I've been busy eating loads of THIS after my son's birthday:

Strawberry and vanilla ice cream and just a WEEEE bit of my crock-pot Hot Fudge Sundae cake = Happy Mouth, but the need for some SERIOUS calorie burn soon after.

Got my 20# of clothes and gear ready, including some sustenance:

*Vanilla Bean 'Gu' (review further down), a small pack of peanut M&Ms and pretzels, and of course a few tissues (a necessary item for a run of ANY length for me. I think my nose hairs shut down while I'm running...*shrug*)

Starting out under a beautiful sky...(* and my old old shoes-2009s-as I want to give my fussy foot bone a break from the 2010s)

I had meant to stop and refuel 4.5 miles in but I guess I was too busy jammin' to Ice Ice Baby to notice my watch. Oops!

Gu 'Vanilla Bean' review

 Now, I normally wouldn't fuel for a run under 13-14 miles but I have a few different gels I want to try out, so I plan to utilize any run over 10 miles for that purpose.  (I know this one says 'promotional sample'. I got it during a race last September but never used it)  =)
I liked this flavor, too! So far, Gu is 2 for 2.  Way to go, Gu.  It tasted like vanilla caramel and went down the ol 'pie hole just fine. Took 1/2 the packet with about 3 oz of water and stored the rest away for later...other flavors I have bought but haven't tried: mandarin orange, tri-berry, and strawberry banana-yum!

I headed over to the lake for the next 4 ish miles of  my run...

It's hard to see in this picture, but there is a group of people at the FAAAAR end of the trail which happened to be a friend of mine and 2 of her buddies.  I couldn't pass up the invite to run with them so I flipped around and did that for about 3 miles (going faster during that time than I had for the beginning portion of my run-had wanted to keep this run around 10:45 avg pace).
A bit after leaving their company, I stopped for the 2nd 1/2 of the Gu packet

 

I debated on taking it or not. I knew I didnt NEED it, and I knew that I would be fine with this flavor if its what was offered at the race, but the weird thing I've discovered about the 2 Gu's I've tried is that about 30-40 min after taking the first 1/2 of the packet, I start to actually FEEL hungry-like my stomach growls. Is that weird? Never happened w/ the PowerBar gel I used...doesn't really bother me, just something I noticed....

Very sad about leaving the lake....or I was just looking into the sun.
Or both.

The trail that led me home...

Greeted back into the neighborhood by these friendly pooches!

I'm on tap for 15 miles this upcoming weekend. I am OVER the moon excited about it. I just hope my shoe (and foot) situation is back to where it should be!

Fri/Sun/Mon workouts and Gu 'Chocolate Outrage' review

Feb 22 Friday......4 total miles on the 'mill (and  25 x 4 sets push ups)
     2.5 mi 1% incline in my old shoes (27:20)
     2 mi 1% incline in my new shoes (20:35)

Feb 24 Sunday.....14 mi run outside (!!) 10:53 avg pace (old shoes)

Feb 25 Monday...elliptical 10 minutes (2 mi) and 20 x 4 sets push ups
     super slow and easy 1.5 mi run on the 'mill 1% incline (17:30)....**wore my new shoes but had to shove the glove into the left shoe again....  =(


So, I ran 14 miles this weekend!!!!
It was a great run. I debated on what to do as far as shoes, but I decided on my old ones and just ran SUPER slow the first few miles (high 11s). I was able to pick up the pace EVER so slightly the last 1/2 of  the run but I wanted to keep the whole run pretty slow just to be sure to protect my left foot as much as possible.  Pre-run I ate 1/2 a banana with a nice dollop of PB (roughly 25 min before I started my run)

*getting ready to hit 'start' on the watch!*  6:45 am is a blissful time to start a run

I ran a bit around my neighborhood and got over to a local lake at mile 5. I stopped at this point to re-fuel....
**this is a picture of the trail leading to the lake**


Gu 'Chocolate Outrage' review:



This was my first time to try the Gu line. I actually really liked it!  It reminds me a lot of the PowerBar gel I tried last weekend (you can read about that HERE: http://fitgirlwannabe.blogspot.com/2013/02/feb-17-13-miles-and-powergel-review.html )
It tasted fudge-like but didnt really have the 'caramel' type taste with it that the PowerBar gel did, and really no after taste. I took 1/2 of the package with 4 oz of water

 

*THE LAKE!*

At mile 10 I stopped to take the other 1/2 of the Gu packet. I like that its slightly chilly (from it being 20* outside) but I wonder how it would taste and what the consistency would be like in slightly warmer temp)...? 

*Feeling pepped up from the sugar shot!*

Still cant believe I did 14 miles!! And I really felt like I could have kept going much longer. I think the snail-like pace had something to do with that. 

My daughter took this of me when I got home. I love how their jaws hit the floor when I tell them I ran anything over 2 miles =)  They are easy to impress.
Somebody asked about my fuel belt and how I carry my Gu...
Below I have on my Spi-Belt (the pink thing-thats what I carry my camera in), under that, the gray thing, is my fuel belt. I have this one: http://www.amazon.com/Nathan-10-Ounce-Nutrition-Flasks-Medium/dp/B000KBD9QQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361822671&sr=8-1&keywords=nathan+speed+2

I have a little pouch (I think it used to be a camera bag of sorts) that I slide on to my fuel belt and that will hold a good amt of stuff (I had 2 gels and some peanut M&Ms and pretzels in there as well as some tissue)

It has served me quite well so far for my longer runs. I store a lot of stuff in my jacket pockets too.
If you want something smaller, just for gels, there is always this option:
http://www.amazon.com/FuelBelt-Gel-Ready-Race-Number/dp/B002OM65OC/ref=pd_sim_sg_6

However, I'm not about minimalism as much as I should be when it comes to running 'shtuff'...my first summer running, it was SO hot out that I actually wore a huge fanny pack with a baggie of ice in it to suck on!  President and founder of the 'How-to-Look-Like-a-Dork-while-Running' Club right here!