Race Day Disasters

I decided to share with you all some of my race day disasters.  If there is one thing that seems to be emblematic of my running, it’s things falling apart on race day for no good reason.  Weirdly, I’ve gone into races completely unprepared (as in, running maybe 30 total miles in the 6 weeks prior to my first half marathon with no run longer than 5 miles) which turn out perfectly fine and yet, many of my races that I’ve entered 100% physically and mentally prepared for, utter disaster strikes.  There have been great ones, too, of course, but what fun are those to rehash?  Here are a few of my highlights…er, lowlights:

 

1. In my first marathon, I had run 18ish miles when some idiot tripped people at the water station.  I wasn’t tripped by the original offender, but someone fell on top of me and I, in turn, fell on top of some poor man who ended up with serious road rash.  The twisting my leg did under a bunch of bodies was INCREDIBLY painful and when I tried to run, I found I couldn’t without tears streaming down my face.  I had NOT just done all that training and 18 miles of running to quit when the medics wanted to check me out, so I walked the remainder of the course.  It took me forever to limp my way to the finish but I sucked it up the last few yards to run it in with tears streaming down my face.  Joe had gotten so worried that I hadn’t appeared two hours before that he was busy yelling at people to go out and find me when I found him in the finish line chaos.  A trip to the doctor and an MRI showed that the fall had torn two ligaments in my knee and necessitated 8 months off of running completely.  At least I crossed the finish line or I would have been ten times as upset.  Lesson learned: Be aware of your surroundings at congested points (water stations, the first few miles, etc)

 

2. I was due to compete in the USAT Collegiate National Championships (triathlon, if you are unaware what USAT is) and we flew to the race two days early.  I still have no idea how I did it, but during a shakeout run on a trail (rock maybe?) I felt searing pain in my foot.  We had to find a podiatrist willing to see a random out-of-state patient on short notice and learned within a few hours that I had partially torn my plantar fasciia.  He taped it up crazy tight but told me flat out, there’s no way I would be able to run.  Not that I couldn’t try, that I physically couldn’t.  Obviously, I’m stubborn, so I decided I’d swim and bike and if it sucked that bad, walk the run.  I didn’t last 5 minutes.  The pain is unbelievable.  Another massive amount of time off for that one.  Lesson learned: Well, I don’t know what I could have done to prevent the actual injury but for heaven’s sake, people, don’t be stupid like me and try to compete on it.

 

3. Not so much a “disaster” as bad luck.  I was running a race in April in Richmond, VA.  For whatever reason, they sent the age groups off at different times to alleviate course congestion.  Being the youngest group, we went off at noon.  Temps are usually around 70s, maybe 80s at most that time of year but no, for two days only temperatures reached over 100 at the peak of the day, exactly when I was racing.  Wholly unprepared for the heat, I alternated actual running with walk breaks every few minutes, mostly due to the fact that I was terrified that my HR watch was telling me I had spiked to 196 BPM whenever I started to even jog.  I commiserated with a guy doing the exact same thing next to me for most of the race.  He was crushed, he had just set a PR a few weeks earlier and thought he was due for another one.  Slowest I have ever “run” in my life, but there’s not much you can do about that kind of freakish heat.  Lesson learned: Practice hydration and pace adjustment for all weather conditions in practice runs so you know how to handle various race conditions.  And in the event of freak conditions, be patient and do your best on that day, don’t go crazy trying to achieve what you would have on a cooler day.

 

4. With the exception of #3, potentially the most life-threatening.  I was running a marathon and on target through halfway when I decided to take a gel on the course.  Literally steps later, I’m throwing up for half an hour by the side of the road.  The nicest lady in the world stopped her race just to sit with me while I was shaking and scared and on a part of the course with very few spectators.  She wouldn’t leave until I stopped vomiting and I wish I knew who she was so I could thank her for keeping me company (and making sure I wasn’t dying) and for embodying the runner’s spirit.  I had no idea what was wrong, but I had obviously depleted myself and had no energy left so again, I was walking to the finish.  I found out later that the gel had apple extract and I could have gone into anaphylactic shock but my body somehow was able to get rid of it before I had that kind of reaction.  It’s kind of amazing how your body does its best to save you from yourself.  I walked incredibly slowly to the finish, again scaring the crap out of Joe who had checked my pace at the half and knew I was on target to finish 2.5 hours earlier than I did.  Lesson learned: Look up in advance what the course supplied fuel is and then look up the ingredients of those products and practice with them.  Try to find out the flavors too, I was tripped up not by the brand (which I knew I could stomach) but the flavor. 

 

I promise I’ve had races that have actually gone well, too, but I think you learn a lot from the bad ones and I’m a fiend now about learning everything I can about a race before I go: where to run the tangents, where the water stations are and how they are set up, what the available fuel is, which parts of the course have the worst congestion.  All of my experiences have made me a better runner and a better racer, even the injuries.

 

What about you, ever had a race disaster?

Ever run a race in really cold or really hot temperatures?

Getting so good at running indoors

Well, it snowed again.  It’s nearly April and it snowed.  I’m used to it being around 70 this time of year, this is ridiculous.  At least someone likes it:

There isn’t too much thankfully, around 2 or 3 inches but I don’t think it’ll stick around for long.  But yeah, it meant running inside again.  Woo! False enthusiasm.  I did a 7 mile tempo and core and legs after.  Note to self: Leg workouts should come before, not after.  I felt like jello.

 

I tried another Quest bar after my workout.

This is my second attempt, a different flavor each time.  Both times I was sick afterwards.  Apparently, these are a no-go for me.  It makes me a little sad, I was a fan of the 20g of protein in each one since I’m always trying to up my protein intake.  However, not only was I having problems with the taste (too sweet for me, but I’m the girl who hates chocolate so if you’re normal, they’re probably fine) but also the hours of feeling nauseated afterwards just aren’t going to cut it for me.  They seem really popular though so I guess I’m the only one with this issue.  Joe’s going to eat them instead so I’ll let you know if he loves them.

 

Thanks to the snowy day, I finished my run and just hung out inside for the most part.  Got a bunch of reading done and of course, procrastinated with random useless quizzes.  Sometimes it scares me how much they know me:

Well, at least we know we did it right 😉  Not that anyone could regret getting married in France, but you know.

And:

I’ve only had this hair for a decade, no biggie.  Except a good 6-8 inches longer than hers.  Trauma if they cut off more than an inch.  The description is hilarious, I am indeed simultaneously extremely carefree and yet when I have a plan, don’t you dare change it or I don’t handle that well AT ALL.  Which is probably why I keep my hair exactly the same despite always seeing photos of people with adorable shorter hair and feeling incredible urges to chop mine off.

 

 

 

Did you have snow?  Expecting any more this winter (SPRING!)?

Ever not been able to stomach something everyone else seems to love?

What is your workout on this beautiful Wednesday?  I’m doing an easy 5 and p90x Chest&Back 🙂

Pro Compression Giveaway!

You may or may not already know that I have a Pro Compression obsession.  Well, the awesome people at Pro Compression are sponsoring a giveaway so that you can start (or add to!) your own obsession too.

In the interest of full disclosure, they do totally rock and sent me a free pair of the neon dots marathon socks (which you may have seen me sporting on my Instagram!) but I already owned several pairs of these socks and was a fan long before they offered to trick out my readers.

 

I first discovered compression years ago training for my first marathon and have a pair of compression tights I bought back then to help me recover after my long runs.  I’m actually super excited because Pro Compression has hinted that their own version of tights may be in the pipeline but back to the socks story.  Anyway, when I came back to running last year after my hiatus, well, let’s say my body did not appreciate me hopping back into activity after not running for a few years.  I started to develop weird niggling pain in the tendons in my ankle that meant I had to keep taking MORE time off, just when I wanted to get back.  I had a pair of sleeves but they weren’t hitting the right area and I decided to try socks and hope for the best.  I originally found Pro Compression because I was looking for FUN socks, not boring black or white (though they make those, if that’s your thing!).  If you know me, you know I want to be obnoxiously bright.  The yellow and pink neon swirl?  Totally my speed.  I got my first two pair and obsessively rotated them because EVERYTHING GOT BETTER.  I could run like nothing was wrong when I wore them. Their hashtag is #keepittight and keeping things tight, apparently, was the key for me to keep running.

And the fun colors were just a bonus 😉  Obviously I performed a shoe/sock photo shoot when I got socks that so brilliantly brought out the colors in my shoes.

This is my favorite pair.  I’m a little obsessed.  I probably look like a freak trail running like this BUT I LOVE IT.

 

One of the best things for me, too, is that they post the actual compression value (in mmHg) of their products, something that is often hard to find with companies that value making only “fun” rather than functional products.  I need something that is BOTH.

 

I love them so much I got some new pairs a few weeks ago so now I’ve got all sorts of variety.  And I shamelessly match my socks to at least one part of my outfit.  My shorts may not match my shirt but I’m sure to wear my pink and yellow swirls if I’m wearing my pink shoes.

I wear these babies for long runs, recovery days, and any run where I’m feeling a little soreness and want the extra support.  Here they are making an appearance before a long run:

 

There are a ton of ways to enter so check out Pro Compression’s website and enter the giveaway here:

Pro Compression Giveaway

*Giveaway runs until 11:59 on March 31, 2014*

And if you can’t wait to find out if you’ve won, Pro Compression is giving all my readers 40% off marathon socks or calf sleeves with the code BLG14.  While you’re on the site, make sure you sign up for the Sock of the Month club to find out the fun new design they come out with each month first and to get emails with great discount codes.

Doughnuts and (protein) pancakes!

One of the things I was most excited for coming home:

My mom got all 6 of these for me, and another 6 for Joe.  Don’t worry, I couldn’t eat all of them.  It took me 4 days and I managed 5 but don’t want to see another doughnut for a while.  The coconut ones are my favorites.

Decent weather this weekend meant I got to take my run to the trails, which is where I always feel like my real runner self.

I just want to run in the woods every day.

After my long run, I made red velvet protein pancakes to refuel.

I don’t know if you’ve ever made protein pancakes, but I have tried dozens of times and they are always completely the wrong texture and/or taste weird.  Frankly, usually both.  I’ve tried ones on running/triathlon forums, bodybuilding.com, the Tone It Up girls’ recipes, and never ever like them.  This was basically my last ditch attempt to ever try to enjoy them AND IT WORKED.  It must be some kind of miracle.  I’m sure credit is due to the protein powder (for not tasting horrible) but also to the ratio of ingredients, because for once, they were crazy fluffy and while not entirely like real buttermilk pancakes, as close as I think protein pancakes are ever going to get.  Here’s what I did in case you want to try it yourself:

1/2 cup oat flour

1 scoop Red Velvet Cake Batter protein powder

1 tbsp baking powder

1/3 cup liquid egg whites

2 tbsp vanilla almond milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Then just plop in the pan and make like normal pancakes!  They don’t break apart like others I’ve tried so they flip like normal pancakes, they just take longer to cook so leave them for several minutes on each side.  I’m thinking I might try this same recipe with my Peanut Butter Marshmallow or Cookies and Cream protein powder next time.

Favorite kind of doughnut?

Do you prefer trails, roads, sidewalks, grass, or treadmills?

Have you ever made protein pancakes?

Fact Friday #3

Yesterday’s run was super fun, for anyone that is interested.  I decided to do a 75 minute run where I ran hard for 2 songs and steady for 1 song, which equates to a fartlek run of roughly 7-9 minutes hard effort with roughly 3:30-4:30 steady effort in between each hard effort.  It was super fun and I ended up with ~40 minutes hard running so it was a great way to do some faster running but not be a slave to my watch.

 

Inspired by being home, I decided to do another Fact Friday and share some bits and pieces of me with you all again.

 

1.  Joe and I met 3 weeks beforehand, but we got our start in Honduras on spring break.  It’s a long story, but we had met through his best friend (also a good friend of mine) and had been hanging out nonstop so when he found out that the 4th person on a trip I was taking to Honduras in a couple weeks dropped out, he joined my friends and I.  He told me he had feelings for me on our first night there and we’ve been together ever since.  This is a photo from day 3.  I’m the blonde one 😉

2.  I was in a sorority!  I’m not what people typically think of with a sorority girl but the best thing about my sorority is that I didn’t feel they were typical either.  Sure, there were the standard barbie types but only a handful and in a house of 100 girls, I just didn’t interact with them as much as the girls I had more in common with.  Two of my favorite people in the world years later are my big and grandbig, who immediately claimed me when I joined the house as a freshman in their junior year.  One lives in NYC, the other in Chicago, and they are both some of the coolest people I have ever met.  These are from our trip to Chicago nearly 5 years ago:

In that first picture, I’m wearing 4 inch heels.  They’re both just super tall.

 

3. I’ve always had a bucket list and most of it is travel related but there are a few other things on there too.  I accomplished getting married outside, bungee jumping, and skydiving and I still need to touch a lion/tiger.  The craziest thing I ever had on there is riding a real live rodeo bull.  I’ve always wanted to do it and still do but Joe says I’m forbidden.  It’s probably wise and the older I get, the less likely that I’ll do it, but I really did look into it years ago and was within a few weeks of getting on one.

 

4. I lived in Philly for a few months and had the best roommate.  I met her accidentally, she replied to a post I had about a spare room in the 2 bedroom apartment I had found in Philly and turns out, she was living in Virginia at the time for an internship.  We met, loved each other, and did most things together for the few months I lived there.  She’s also the one who gave me pre-separated sour patch kids for my birthday.  I hated Philly and moved out of there years earlier than I thought but had the best time exploring and hanging out with Mallory.  I was disappointed in the teams that made it the year I lived there so we invented a game for the Super Bowl where you drink a shot every time the kicker has to kick a FG/kickoff.  We didn’t last 3 quarters 😉

 

5. There’s a really fun day my friend hosted in the past called Ultimate Hustler.  We have a big group of people and there are 12 events throughout the day including putt-putt, frisbee golf, knockout (basketball), bowling, foosball, darts, 8-ball, and more.  There are odds established in advance for each person’s chance at victory and before each event, you are required to bet some of your allotted monopoly money on the victor and another bet on two names that are randomly drawn out of a hat and who you think will be the victor of those two players.  The money you collect throughout the day based on your bets is the buy-in for the big finale…the poker tournament that caps the night.  So betting well throughout the day is essential if you want a decent stack.  Here’s the group from a few years ago:

I’m the only girl, I should be easy to spot.

 

 

Tell me something about you!!

Eating before a run

At some point I was looking through my Google searches and saw that quite a few people found me searching for “what to eat before a run.”  I realized, though, that nowhere have I actually addressed this, though you can find plenty on what I like to eat after a run.  So here we go…I’m sure all you veteran runners have your fueling all figured out but if any newbies are out there reading, I hope my experiences help even just a little!

Discovering what works for me was very much a trial and error process.  When I first started running, I didn’t do it with any particular training in mind nor did I read running literature so I knew nothing about fueling, I just continued to eat exactly as I always had and just happened to run 5-6 days each week.  I figured the stomach cramps I had after 90% of my runs were just a side effect of being new to running and I’d get used to them.  Luckily for the future of my running, after my college classes got switched around and I had a long 2-3 hour break in the middle of my day, I changed my eating.  With my new schedule I had breakfast before I went to my first class then changed and ran after class and showered and brought water and something to refuel with me to my afternoon classes.  Suddenly, my stomach cramps went away.  This is when I learned I run best 2-3 hours after I eat so that takes care of issue number 1: timing.  I’ve since learned that many coaches and nutritionists advise waiting 2-3 hours if you’re eating anything more than a snack-sized meal before your run so it turns out, I accidentally discovered just about the ideal ratio.

 

Even once I mastered my timing, I found I would have GI distress on longer runs (8+) or runs where I ran particularly fast.  I was aggravated to say the least because it wouldn’t happen on any other runs and I thought I had all my eating figured out.  By now I was googling running articles and learned this was pretty common so again, I ignored it for the most part.  But I did start experimenting with different foods to see if any of them made things better or worse.  It took all of one very ill-advised run to determine cereal was a no-go.  Ditto yogurt.  My go-to breakfast of bagels were just fine.  Oatmeal was the best.  Clif bars work fine, but they are less filling so I typically eat them only 60-90 minutes before I go out.  For me, the biggest determining factor was being sufficiently fueled yet not too full, and giving myself plenty of time to digest.  If I do that, I run without any tummy troubles all the way up through marathon distance and through most foods (including doughnuts and macarons if you’re really interested haha).  If I rush my run too close to when I eat or eat too much, well, I’ve made more than one emergency run back to my car/home.  So for me, timing is way more important than the type of food unless I’m racing and really pushing my body to its limit, but if you start experimenting, you’ll find out soon enough if yours is the same.  My body has always been very tolerant of all kinds of foods.  If you’re struggling with what may be causing issues, try tracking your diet before runs until you can pinpoint what types of foods or timing may be causing you trouble.
The funniest thing about all the experimenting is, every runner I’ve met has their own method that works for them.  It truly is a trial and error process specific to each runner.  If you stumbled upon this looking for advice, the best general advice I can give is cut back on fiber before a run and make sure you have easily digestible carbs in the pre-run window.  Everything else is determining what feels best for YOU.  Track your intake until you can run without issues every time.  It turns out, I can’t run at all on an empty stomach.  I tried multiple times over the summer to get out the door quicker and beat the heat but I feel sluggish and horrible.  I have to wake up at least 90 minutes early and get some real food in or I’m an all-out disaster.  You might be different.

 

How about you?  What’s your pre-run food ritual?  Oatmeal or a bagel 90 minutes-3 hours before I run (I can run anytime in that window, I just procrastinate sometimes haha)

Did you have any cramping or stomach issues when you started running?  How did you learn how to fix it?

Favorite food to eat if you know you AREN’T going to run that day? PANCAKES! (I can run after pancakes, but they’re heavy so I have to wait a really long time to not feel full)

 

Virginia is for (snow) lovers

HELLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOO!  I have been absent what seems like forever but in reality was only a few days.  Somehow in the blogging world that feels like eternity.  Anyway, it was a bit crazy all day Friday with flying then we spent the weekend getting settled and trying to fix our jet lag.  I was intending to get back to it Monday but then realized I couldn’t find my computer cord in the moving hassle.  We aren’t fully moved back yet and won’t be until the summer but we moved back about 1/3 of our stuff this weekend so the whole process is feeling much more real now.  The circumstances aren’t my favorite but it sure feels good to be back in Virginia.

Except for the snow…that was a rude awakening.  We came home to 65 degree temps only to wake up to 6 inches of snow 2 days later.  INSANE.  The pups loved it but I was mostly just sad that my first run on my favorite trail would have to wait.  Last few workouts on the treadmill, including yesterday’s 5 mile fartlek.  Since pictures of me on a treadmill are not the most fun, here are some pics of the dogs who are probably the only ones excited about a mid-March snowstorm.

And last night Joe and I went out to dinner with my mom while my dad was working.  Shrimp tacos and my first steak in months.  Runners need to work on their iron stores, you know 😉

I spent a few hours yesterday catching up on everyone’s adventures/blogs from the few days I was missing and I’m so glad to be back.  And SO EXCITED for all the people who raced this past weekend, I saw a ton of PR recaps and so many awesome race pictures and I wish I could’ve gotten back here a day or two sooner so I could’ve done RnR USA or Shamrock with everyone.

Today’s workout: 5 miles steady and p90x chest&back as soon as I finish this bagel!

If you raced this weekend, brag about your time or your race experience in the comments!

If you didn’t race, what was the best thing you did this weekend? 

Something I’m good at

I’m so good at procrastinating interval workouts.  Pretty much any other run I’ll be eager to do as soon as I’ve digested breakfast but intervals often wait until the afternoon when I do them only because I know I’ll be too tired to do them if I wait any longer.  But as usual, I feel really good when I finish.  There’s something so satisfying about finishing a hard workout and knowing you’ll see results from it in the future.  2 miles warm up, 4×1 mile with 3 min jog recovery, 2 miles cool down.  Then 40 minutes of plyo and my legs are SORE today.  Schedule calls for easy 4 and I will happily oblige. 

 

{Still doing the random photo thing until this weekend!}

Small update on the school stuff: I met with my supervisors yesterday who are just wonderful people.  I’ll be leaving here with another masters degree (having two seems excessive but at least I’ll leave with something!) so I will still be researching and writing for the remainder of my time here.  We actually chose to go a different route than I was with the doctoral dissertation so that I can use the majority of what I had researched in my future doctoral program and I will build on one of my completed chapters for this.  It’s crazy, because it means I have to write roughly 30,000 words of new and original work in the next couple months when I already had SO MUCH done of my doctoral dissertation, but I want to preserve being able to write about what I’m passionate about at another program.  And they are going to write me glowing recommendations and do whatever they can to help me get in elsewhere (they strongly disagree with what is going down) so hopefully it all works out and I end up someplace equally prestigious but where I can write what I want. 

 

Oh, and I think I’m going to do that race I mentioned yesterday, because apparently I’m a glutton for punishment.  Let’s just hope I don’t ruin my team’s chances of placing.  Unlike a lot of obstacle runs, this one is timed and competitive and all four of us and our times will count for the team.  Mark and I are working on trying to convince Joe to join, it would be super fun to do a race with him and lifting things and hiking mountains is so much more his thing than actually running on a flat course (because he’s crazy).  In case you didn’t know this already, 9 years together and I’ve never even been on one run with my husband.  Very jealous of all of you who have someone to run with!

 

(at the Cherry Blossoms 2005)

 

Plan for today is just the easy miles, no lifting or extra cross training.  Then library for some research materials and errands and research the rest of the day.  My life is a party, obviously 😉 

 

Tell me something going on in your life right now!

What was your workout yesterday/today?

To do or not to do?

Apparently my phone doesn’t want to send pictures anymore, so I’m out of luck for a few days but I’ll be getting a new phone this weekend and fixing the situation.  Until then, I shall pepper the posts with pictures of very random things.  You’re welcome 😉

By the way…yesterday I totally forgot it was a rest day roughly an hour after I posted it.  I ate breakfast, put running clothes on and my shoes, and couldn’t find my watch.  Then I realized it was because it was charging because it’s rest day.  I sat on my couch in my running gear reading blogs for the next hour until I got cold and changed.  I was a little cranky about not running…

 

Yesterday I was offered a place on a team for a race and I’m not sure if I should take it.  What’s that? NOT do a race?  Sure doesn’t sound like me.  It’s a Super Spartan and I’ve never done an obstacle course race but I was intrigued because it doesn’t fall too close to other races I’m doing.  Then, I looked it up and it turns out that this particular race is pure evil.  Not Super Spartans in general, this location.  Over 8000 feet of elevation change in 8 miles.  You’re basically just going up and down a gigantic mountain.  And it’s not pleasant elevation apparently, reviews of last year said it’s so steep you can’t run it, and they make you do things like pick up a gigantic log and carry it down then up.  I’m not even sure I can pick up a giant log, much less carry it up and down mountains.  In a regular Spartan I’d be concerned about getting over the wall and stuff like that, this has those obstacles but then others.  It’s an obstacle course on crack.  My teammates would be my buddy Mark, a friend for more than a decade and former competitive skydiver (who took me my first time skydiving!) who is now military, and 2 of his military buddies, including his OTS training officer who also runs mountain ultras.  And then me.  I’m 5’3 and 105 lbs.  And I can’t do a pull-up.  Serious question…is it even possible for me to do such an event?  Will I fail half (or more) of the obstacles and have to do 6 million penalty burpees?  The boys don’t care, they want me on their team, but I’m a competitive little freak and I want to know what I’m getting into.  So if you’ve done a Spartan and have any input on the obstacles, let me have it!  I’ll deal with the mountain climbing nonsense, if anything it should make my rolling hills in my fall races seem like a piece of cake, right? 😉

 

More random photos!

Today’s workout: MILE REPEATS!!! Yes, that’s false enthusiasm.  It works.  4×1 mile with 2 mile warm up and cool down for a total of 8.  If my legs don’t feel like jello afterward, plyo to make it a truly hard day before taking it super easy tomorrow.

 

Should I do the scary race even if I’m the absolute worst competitor there?

What kind of race would scare you the most?  I think an ocean triathlon would be my worst nightmare (I did mine in a river and would do a lake/river when I do my eventual Ironman) but second is probably these obstacle races, I am NOT physically strong in my upper body.  I’d rather do a 50 miler than lift things and climb ropes. 

All the good things

Had a weekend of running, NICE WEATHER!!, and trying to figure a few things out.  I made a list of schools I might want to transfer to and I’ll start doing the research in the coming months and working on applications for the fall.  And we are trying to sort out everything with physically moving back and getting all our stuff out and moving the dogs, etc.  I haven’t even had my meeting with my supervisors yet (it’s tomorrow) so I still don’t know what I’m going to be doing to wrap up my time with the university and the timeline for that.  But I’m Type A and I like to be prepared haha.

Yesterday was my long run day, but I dutifully listened to my training program which told me to run only 10 the first 2 long runs.  It didn’t feel “long” but it was really nice not feeling the anticipation and everything of the REALLY long runs and working out fueling and all that.  It was short enough that I got to just run without thinking which I love.  NB: I don’t take water or fuel unless I’m running at least 13 or it’s hot out.  It’s a very arbitrary number, I don’t know why I chose that number but it works for me.  I have gatorade or nuun waiting in my car for me the instant I finish.

Came back and watched the World Indoor Championships in my Pro Compression socks.  Thrilled for the Chanelle Price victory, sad that Bernard Lagat didn’t win after his awesome performance at USA Indoors.  I LOVE watching track and field meets, marathons, whatever.  Massive inspiration and always makes me want to go running right that instant.

 

I apologize for no pictures today, my phone will not send any of the pics I took yesterday and I don’t know why.  I shall give you gratuitous pictures of random things:

 

from our trip to South Africa:

From a weekend trip to Paris while I was living in Annecy:

Slider and Stevie, the day we brought each of them home:

 

 

 

What are your 3 favorite things about your hometown?

How are your push-ups/pull-ups coming?