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!