Hop to It! April 6 thru April 12

[yellow]

Hoppy Easter week! How is everyone doing?

It's spring here again (we had it already for a couple if weeks in early March and then winter came back ) which means lots of mud but running in shorts and T shirts. I did an easy 4+ miler today. I'm pretty sore from skiing yesterday (winter was still here last Thurs-Sat, and, well, I couldn't pass up some spring pow skiing)! This is another big week for me and then next week is my easy week.

[Urlea]

Short "easy" run today of only 2mi. in 37 degree weather (woohoo, didn't have to wear gloves, neckwarmer or hat!)

There wasn't a simple way to route just 2mi in the neighborhood so I ended up with 2.5 and my body was feeling great/inspired so I hauled instead of taking it easy. Kept it under a 9min/mi even with two red stoplights!

I'm really loving how training for the triathlons this season is making me faster & stronger. It's a lot of work, but I'm enjoying it!

Hope you ladies are having a wonderful start to this week of training!

[Susan Otcenas]

I ran my longest run ever yesterday morning. 7.25 miles in 80 minutes. Nice even 11 minute miles. The half marathon program that Runner's World produced for me suggested an 11:58 pace, but I just ran what was easy and comfortable. No heart rate monitor. Just a pace that was sustainable. I was alone, but if someone was along, I could have carried on a conversation. It felt really good to be able to maintain that. Around mile 6, I started to fatigue, but not so much that I ever had any doubt that I could accomplish it.

The only troublesome bit is that post-run, and continuing today, I have some pain over the top of my left foot. Not alot, but I feel it if I'm walking, or if I curl my toes upward. A friend of mine, who was a run shoe rep for many years, suggested I try loosening my shoes a bit, or getting a women's wide (I have wide feet, but don't run in wide shoes.) I'll give that a whirl on tomorrow's 5 mile tempo run. Any other thoughts from you experienced runners?

Susan

[OakLeaf]

Way to go Susan!

I posted yesterday's run in last week's thread - forgot it was a new week. My longest run ever too (so far) - isn't building mileage fun! 13.5 miles at a 10:55 pace overall. So I've got my half-mary distance and I've got all summer to work on speed. And hills. And the bike.

I got another use out of my new hydration pack and I still love it. Although I should've filled it completely. I started with about 48 oz of water (double what my belt will carry) and ran dry with three miles to go. Like I said, I sweat.

Most of the return leg I did as a seven-chakra meditation - my eyes just about rolled up in my head, but it made the miles fly. Just lucky I didn't run over some kid on the beach or wind up knee deep in water.

[Susan Otcenas]

Congrats Oakleaf! How exciting! You just did what I hope to do - A half marathon at 11/min per mile or less (hoping to train myself to do 10min per mile at that distance).

Wow, 48 ounces in 10 miles. Did you feel "sloshy"? I'm also curious to know if you consumed any calories during the run? At 80 minutes, I was hungry. Not ready-to-bonk hungry, but ready-to-eat-breakfast hungry, for sure. I started at 5:45 a.m., on nothing but a Gu about 15 minutes pre-run. My bottle just had plain water, of which I probably only consumed 10 ounces about 45 minutes in.

I think I'll have to start experimenting with gels at about 45-60 minutes as my runs get longer. 90 minutes in probably my limit with no nutrition. I have a friend who runs 5 hour marathons on nothing but water, but there is no way I could ever do that!

Susan

[OakLeaf]

No, not sloshy at all. I just take a couple of long sips every mile or so. When I got back, I didn't have to pee, and I was thirsty. (And I could have wrung out my sports bra. ) I sweated all that out.

I'm still experimenting with fuel. I definitely need some when I'm going more than about 7 miles. I don't get hungry at all, I just get lots of muscle fatigue. I wouldn't even have known this was my body asking for fuel, if I hadn't already figured it out on the bike.

Yesterday I tried a packet of Clif Shot Blocks - three at 45 minutes out and the other three at 1:30. I don't really like having to chew while I'm running, but they went down pretty easily and did their job well. Tasted good too. They digested better than the Carb Boom I tried on my last long run (besides not being as sticky as squeezable gels - I hate sticky). I'm going to try Heed next time. Another thing I've done is to mix a packet of EmergenC and two teaspoons of sugar in 8 oz water. The marketers have kind of got me convinced that some maltodextrin is better than all simple sugars. Though I wonder if that's really an issue in less than a full marathon.