Weekend Update

Happy Monday!  It's hard to believe that it's so cold again after it was practically spring like yesterday!  I hope everyone got to get out and enjoy a little fresh air!  I'm linking up with Tara at Running 'n' Reading for her weekend update!

Friday night was really laid back.  My sister and I ichatted while catching up on Scandal and HTGAWM <--don't want anyone finding my blog by typing in the full name haha!  I started Lickety Split by Mary Kay Andrews (written as Kathy Hogan Trocheck--her name before she became Mary Kay!) as my "book by a favorite author" category on my reading challenge.  To be honest, I'm really glad I didn't read this one first!  The books she writes now are fun, girly, and total beach reads (a new one comes out in May!  I can't wait!) and this one is nothing like it!  While it's been a quick read, it's not exactly my kind of book.

Saturday morning I woke up fully intending to go to my group run.  After looking at the temperature and impending snow, my coffee and pancakes were looking better and better.  I opted for a treadmill run later and was really glad I did!  It started snowing a lot earlier than predicted and the roads in my neighborhood were a mess.  My walk to the gym was probably more of a workout than the actual run because of all the snow!  Can't tell you guys how thankful I am that I bought my boots earlier this year. Seriously guys, they are the best ever!

Sunday was the day to tackle my long run.  Even though it was a lot warmer, my side walks were still super slushy and I wanted to stay on the safe side.  I opted for the treadmill once again and it ended up being a fantastic run.  I even ran a little further than I had set out to because I switched treadmills after my favorite one freed up about two minutes into my run.  I wanted to see those double digits and figured 10.5 was better than 10.2.  I'm actually a little surprised with how not bored I was this week on my treadmill long runs.  I think the combination of music and Wait...Wait...Don't Tell Me! helped.  It probably doesn't hurt that Shamrock is getting closer and I'm thinking a PR is more doable than I had originally thought!  My brother and sister included me on a massive group text as well, and it's really hard to be bored when you have constant alerts going off.  Thanks, guys! :-)

I felt great this whole run! Can't wait for Shamrock!

Maddux and I got in a short walk Sunday afternoon (he wasn't a fan of getting his paws wet) and then I made it out of the house for a Petsmart and Target run.  All in all, a great weekend!

Ignore my weird hair and the angle of this picture.
 Maddux's face was too good to not share!

Tell me something good about your weekend!  Any other treadmill warriors out there?  Stay warm and have a great week!

Weekend Update!

Happy Monday!  Thank you so much for all your kind words after my post on Friday!  I usually try to keep my blog positive, but every once and a while you have to get it all out there so that you can move forward.  I'm happy to report that after the weekend I'm already feeling much better!

Saturday morning Maddux woke me up around 8 (pup let me sleep in--a miracle!) and I was surprised to see only clouds (a rain/sleet/snow mix had been predicted!).  After a quick check on the weather app, I decided to head to my group run.  I'm so glad that the weather cooperated, because I was in much better spirits after!  The route was hilly, but it was a nice challenge and I felt fantastic when I was done. A stop at Starbucks for a mocha made a post chilly run even better.

This fella loves to sleep in on gloomy days!

The rest of Saturday was pretty gloomy, so I spent a lot of time cleaning and organizing.  It's incredible how a clean apartment can improve a girl's mood.  When the sun started peeking through the clouds, I took a much needed break and Maddux and I headed to the park and had a great walk.  Seriously, how can anyone be moody when you are walking in one of your favorite places with your favorite guy?  (Pup is doing MUCH better now!  All back to normal!)

Speaking of pup, Maddux got selected as the Mariner's Dog of the month at the Mariner's Museum in Newport News!  When my nice friend and I went back in October for Crawlin' Crab, we took Maddux to our favorite trail that we frequented in college.  We saw a sign featuring a "Mariner Dog" and I jokingly said how it was my goal to have Maddux be on that sign one day!  A couple of months later I got an email saying that he was Mr. January!  I love that my favorite pup gets to grace the Noland Trail all month!

My amazing Roomie snapped this picture for me!
If you're in Newport News be sure to check it out!

Sunday morning I headed to the grocery store first thing (more snow was predicted and I had no food in my fridge..) and was happy to have beaten any presnow madness.  I got some ingredients to make a couple more meals from my Runner's World cookbook (I'm loving it!).  Could it be possible that 2015 is the year I like to cook?  We'll see!

Sunday was still kind of gloomy, but the weather was in the 50s!  I had 9 miles on my schedule and couldn't have asked for better weather!  The run was definitely tough, but it felt so, so good to have it done.  It was a big confidence booster!  8 weeks until Shamrock and only 4 miles to add on!

By the way--It's my week to take over J&A's Facebook page!  Make sure to play along in the comments!  I would love to see what you have to say about my topic!

I'm linking up with Tara from Reading 'N' Running for the Weekend Update!  Have a great week!

Tell me something fun about your weekend!  Anybody else get awesome weather for a long run this weekend?!

Week 18 Recap and a Winner!

The last long run is complete and I am in the final stretch to Race Day!  After all the months of training I've put in, it's a bit strange that it's so close. 

Wednesday: 5 miles on the treadmill.  It felt really good the whole time and it was nice to play around with the speed.  

Friday: I was debating running on Friday, but knew that I wanted to get my long run in on Saturday since the weather was supposed to be a little gross on Sunday.  I didn't want to have to worry about running 5 miles on Sunday after running 13 miles the day before, so I laced up and hit the treadmill.  I tried to keep it at a nice, easy pace and overall had a really great run.  

Saturday: I was so ready for this run.  I just got a Camelbak and was excited that I would be able to run as far as I wanted without having to loop back to my car for water.  It was a really nice day, but maaaaaan was this run tough.  It was not the confidence booster that I was hoping for, but I was proud of finishing when I wanted to quit about 17 times during this run.  I did stop several times to stretch my calves which helped a little bit.  They were incredibly tight and  I will be spending a lot of quality time with the foam roller over the next couple of weeks!  I think a combination of having a little extra weight from the Camelbak and an unexpected late night at the vet (don't worry, everybody's fine) made this run harder than it should have been.  After I ditched the water around mile 9 I felt a whole lot better.

At least I have a pretty place to run!

I know not every run will be perfect and I know it takes time to get used to running with extra stuff, but it's never fun when runs don't go as you would have liked.  I won't be using the Camelbak in the race because there are plenty of water stops on the course, but I am excited to keep using it on future long runs!  Maddux and I headed back to the trail later that day and had a great walk which helped to loosen up some tight muscles.  

Maddux always has fun at the park :)

Total Miles for the Week: 23.1

Total Training Miles: 296.7

There were some other long walks and some strength moves happening at some point this week, but honestly the days were just a blur!  I can't believe it's already March.  Where is 2014 going?

********************

Annnnd finally, the winner of the Hot Chocolate 15k/5k race entry is: 

Ja: "I love milk chocolate bars! :) I'd love to the race in Columbus! :)"

Ja has been emailed!  Thanks to everyone who participated!  And remember you can still get a free travel mug if you use the code LINDSRUNMUG for the Philly Race in April!

Week FIFTEEN!

Whoaaaa week 15 of the training plan is over!  Race Day is at the end of week 20.  We're almost there!!

This week I had to cram my runs in at the end, which is ok, but my legs definitely felt it.  I attempted to run on Tuesday, but all the treadmills were packed (all night....I kept checking and it never let up).  I scraped that idea and just did one of the arm workouts from Nike Training Club that gets in some leg movements as well.

Thursday: I hit the treadmill and covered 5 miles fairly quickly.  I finished before Wait! Wait! was done so that was a good feeling.  I felt great the whole run and when I got home I did the 15 minute runner stretch workout from NTC.  I should really stretch more often because it felt awesome afterwards.

Saturday: I went to the park to conquer my 12 mile long run for the week.  Friday night I debated for a lonnnng time about whether or not I wanted to do it on Saturday or Sunday.  It was supposed to be cold and snowy on Saturday and then warmer on Sunday, but rainy in the afternoon.  When I woke up at 6:45 on Saturday with a ton of energy I figured it was a sign that I should go ahead and get it done.  I'm so glad I decided to go ahead and get it done, because it was a pretty amazing run.  I took it nice and easy and while it was definitely slow, I felt great the whole time.  I felt a little bit of tightness in my right ankle at one point, but other than that life was good.

I had never done a run longer than 8 miles at the park before and I think it helped that I was constantly planning out what loop I would do next.  Probably the worst part of my run was that I got that country song "Hony Tonk BaDonkaDonk" stuck in my head for the last few miles.  It randomly popped in and I couldn't shake it for the longest time!  The most exciting part of my run was that I felt amazing afterwards!  I made three stops on my run and had a couple sips of watered down G2, some water, and a shot blok each time.  On my drive back home I had the rest of the packet of bloks and then made sure to eat some soup soon after I got home.  I know that I'll have to adjust for warmer runs (this one was in the high 20s), but at least I got it right for this run!  I had a mini celebration while I was running because I realized that it was my longest training run to date!  In previous training plans my longest was 11.5.

Maddux was fine with being perfectly lazy that day.

Sunday: Maddux and I took a cold, but great walk at the park which helped loosen up my legs a little after Saturday's long run.  In the evening I hopped on the treadmill and ran 5 slow miles.

On to week 16!  Happy running!

Five Things about my Long Run

1. It happened on a Wednesday.  I was snowed in my apartment complex (I don't go anywhere when it snows) and decided to go to the gym to just get out for a little bit.  I kind of joked to my sister that I might as well get my long run out of the way, but didn't really think it would end up happening.  Then, I got to the gym and it was a ghost town.  I figured no reason not to do it when there was no telling what the options for a run would be this weekend (it's so cold.  I'm pretty sure the trails won't be passable and the 'mills are always more packed on the weekends).

2. Yep.  It happened on a treadmill.  11 miles.

3. I broke it into two sessions of 5.5.  It made it seem a little more bearable that way.  I listened to Wait! Wait! for the first half and my music for the second half.  I started with my Shot Bloks at miles 3 and took one every mile and a half to two miles with some water.  I didn't feel perfect afterwards, but I didn't feel absolutely disgusting either.  Maybe I'm starting to figure it out?

4. It felt pretty good (especially the first 6 miles).  I took the whole "long runs shouldn't be a race" thing to heart and took it nice and slow.  I really want Race Day (less than 50 days away now!) to go well and if it takes holding back a little on long run days then so be it.

5. Maaaan I wish I would have planned ahead a little better.  None of my "good" sports bras were clean so I just went with a random one I hardly ever wear (not the best choice) and when I got home I found that none of my sweat pants were clean.  You can't run 11 miles on a snowy day and put on clothes other than sweat pants.

Maddux says all that matters is that you nap afterwards.

Any fueling advice?  I think I need to start using Gatorade on my runs in addition to water, but I'm wondering if I should switch it up from Shot Bloks a little.  They've been working ok, but I'm thinking there might be a better option.

Does this count??

Happy Friday! Be sure to swing by the blogs of the Friday Five hosts: Mar, Courtney, and Cynthia!  You will not be disappointed!

Week 11 Update

I'm officially over half way to race day!  I can't believe how fast the time is flying by.  It seems like it wasn't that long ago that I was sitting and planning out how my plan was going to go.  After 11 weeks (and no missed runs woo!) I think I'm finally going to have to make some minor adjustments.

This week running was TOUGH.  I'm not sure exactly why (although I'm guessing I might be on the verge of getting a cold), but I've just been really tired.  I can't complain that the first 10 weeks of my plan felt basically strong overall, but it was a little disappointing this week having legs that felt like lead.  Even my arm workouts were hard!  I swear somebody added some weight to my little 5 pounders ;-)

I did a good job planning ahead this week.  I made sure to get one of my runs done early in the week so I wouldn't have to worry about fitting it in if life got busy (when the treadmills are open you have to snag 'em!).  I had plans to meet my college roommate and another of our sorority sisters to try on bridesmaids dresses on Saturday and since I wasn't sure how long it would take and the weather was less than stellar I decided to knock out one of my weekend runs on Friday.  It was nice to be able to just hang out with the girls without having a workout looming over my head.

Can't wait to see this girl a TON for wedding fun this year!

Saturday night I might have had just a little too much fun, so I shouldn't have been surprised that my long run felt so hard, BUT after a glorious, speedy (for me) 9 mile run a couple of weeks ago I couldn't help being a little disappointed.  Yes, it felt good to have my 10 miles done, but it would have been nice for it to have felt a little better.  I need to make sure that I'm taking care of fueling during my runs.  I only had two shot bloks left, and while it ended up being ok, I think it definitely would have helped to have a couple more, even just for motivation's sake.  I did keep a muffin and some craisins stashed in my car and ended up eating them on the way home, so that helped a little, but I was nervous to eat them during my run!  I didn't want to make matters worse!

*Embarrassing side story: I had to take my nice friend to the airport and headed straight to the trail afterward for my run.  I guess I took hydrating a little too seriously because I thought I was going to wet my pants by the time I got to the trail.  I figured I would be able to make it to the Portapotty, but by the time I got to its location I realized it was GONE.  I quickly hustled to the next one about a mile down the trail and it was gone, too!  At this point I'm in a complete panic (I mean, there aren't a whole lot of options along a somewhat crowded trail..) and I ended up crashing a baby shower in the little community area.  Luckily, they were just setting up and were the nicest people ever, but maaaaan.  Not my favorite moment haha!  At least that first mile or so was fast!!)

This weekend I have an 8x800 instead of a long run.  I'm debating switching this for an easier mid distance run.  I'm going to wait and see how my body is feeling before I make any decisions.  Maybe my body was just tired, it happens, but I want to make sure the majority of my runs left in this plan are strong and if that means easing up a little then that's what I'll do.  I realized that my 21 week plan is actually a 20 week plan as I was entering dates in (oops) so I had to adjust the end a little bit by switching a speed workout the week before for an easier run.  I'm also going to have to plan out my runs a little better coming up because I have some fun travel plans coming up!  I just found out my brother is coming along, too, so I'm even more excited!

We plan on reenacting this moment.

Happy running!!

Tower of Terror 10 Miler: A Post of Many Pictures

Fall weather has been good to me.  Running has been going well.  In preparation of the Tower of Terror 10 Miler I had one last "long" run.  I ran a little over 8 amazing miles OUTSIDE.  I felt great and had high hopes for the race.

September has gone by incredibly fast.  I feel like I was just trying to convince my friend to run the race with me the other day, and yet race day was here!

My amazing friend Laura and I hopped on a plane for Disney Thursday night and had fun adventures planned for the weekend.  The race wasn't until late Saturday night, so we had plenty of time to explore the parks before we ran.  Friday was dedicated to the Magic Kingdom.  I hadn't been there since I was 8, but it was every bit as spectacular as I remembered.  I absolutely loved every minute of it.  After, we went to Epcot and were happy to find a food and wine festival waiting for us.  We enjoyed delicious margaritas and empanadas after seeing dolphins at the Finding Nemo ride!  I couldn't have asked for a better day. I could go on and on about our Disney adventures, so be glad this is only a brief overview ;-)

Saturday we decided to spend the morning at Animal Kingdom.  I had never been and I LOVED it.  It was so much fun seeing all the animals and spending the day in a park so different from what I had expected.  The park was shady and definitely had a safari feel to it.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend as much time as we would have hoped since we had to get to the race expo to pick up our packets.

I really enjoy race expos.  I love looking at all the different products they have to offer.  I ended up buying one of the travel massagers since I didn't have room in my bag for my foam roller.  I think it's my new favorite running accessory.  It feels much better on my IT band than the foam roller :-)

After relaxing with some of Laura's family for a wonderful dinner, we headed back to the hotel to rest up before the race.  Our race didn't start until 10PM and we were a little worried that we wouldn't have the energy to run 10 miles!  

We shouldn't have worried, because once we got to the race I felt completely energized.  Although we had to wait in our corral for a while, the time passed by quickly and the start was incredible.  As we took off the music from the twilight zone played and fireworks went off.  Throughout the course there was spooky villain music and fun props.  One of my favorites was the hyenas from the Lion King!  There was also a dirt trail that had Pirates of the Caribbean music and pirate themed decorations and we got to run through the Wide World of Sports on different tracks and see ourselves on the big screens.  The race was crowded (people off all abilities and speeds were participating) so we spent most of the time weaving in and out of the masses, but we stuck together and kept a nice easy pace.  My main goal was to enjoy the race and prove to myself that I could run that far!  We ended up finishing the race in 1 hour and 57 minutes with a strong finish.  

So happy to finish!

One of the best parts?  I felt AMAZING the whole time!  Yes, my legs were tired, but I had 0 stomach issues.  I took 3 Clif Shot Bloks along the course and the remaining 3 right after I was done.  I probably should have been more careful because the race was pretty humid and I sweated quite a bit.  Luckily it all worked out and I have high hopes for my upcoming half marathon.

Overall I had a wonderful impression of Disney races and Laura and I tentatively made plans to run in the Disney Princess Half Marathon in a couple of years.  They had plenty of water stops, lots of volunteers and crowd support, and at the end they gave us this box.

We were excited when they told us it was a snack pack!  Inside they had provided us with cheese and crackers, a Clif Bar, chocolate, trail mix, and gummies.  They also gave us Powerade and bottles of water at the finish line along with our awesome medal.  By the time we got back to the hotel it was almost 2 AM.  It is a miracle that this grandma stayed up so late ;-) 

Needless to say, we weren't thrilled to leave Disney.  Laura wasn't pleased when I made her take a picture right before heading to the airport, but we couldn't leave without one last goodbye to Mickey!

See you soon, Mick!

I am lucky to have such a great friend that's willing to travel with me to run!  Thanks again, Laura!  I can't wait to become princesses soon!

So Long Sweet Summer

Remember this sweet girl?

Oh hey, Bama!

She got adopted this weekend!  I'm so, so happy for her and her "fur"ever home.  I'm glad she found someone who is willing to help her through her shyness and give her the love she deserves.

Saturday I spent a little time in the gym on the elliptical.  I decided to venture a little off my normal routine to shake things up a bit and chose to do the interval workout option on the machine.  It basically was 2 minutes at level 7, 2 minutes at level 10, switch and do 2 minutes backwards at level 7, 2 minutes at level 10, repeat until you are panting and sweating way too hard for a 32 minute workout.  Got it? :-)

After, I came home and did a few arm exercises: 15 push ups, 15 tricep kickbacks, 15 bicep curls, 15 overhead tricep raises, repeat 3x.  Yay cross training!

This weekend was the Lucky Dog Animal Rescue's happy hour fundraiser at a local bar.  My nice friend agreed to go with me and enjoy $4 Dogfish Head drafts while I played with a sweet puppy.  I love my boy way too much to share my full time attention, but luckily she was adopted this weekend, too.

Love that face.

It was a beautiful day, so we decided to walk the 2.5 miles to our next stop.  My friend had gotten a Groupon for RFD a while back, and we had been meaning to use it.  Since my summer is officially over (insert mad tears here), it seemed like an ideal time to go.  I was excited to see a veggie sandwich with goat cheese and pumpkin beer on the menu!  The pumpkin beer tasted more like pumpkin pie juice, but if some pumpkin beer is out it means that Dogfish Punkin' Ale is soon to follow.

Sunday I lazed around for a really long time.  I made Julie's peanut butter pancakes using Peanut Butter Company's White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter.  They didn't stick around long enough for a photo op.  Yum!  By the time I finally got around to my run it was getting late.  Honestly, I was super cranky about summer ending and all I wanted to do was cuddle with my pup.  I had every intention of running outside, but the skies looked ominous and it was getting darker.  So, you probably guessed, I took it to the treadmill.  Again.  Next long run I promise I am doing outside.  It might be because it is a race weekend, but you take what you get sometimes.

The run was ok.  Like I said, I was ridiculously grumpy the first 5 miles.  I was in this mental slump with a totally negative attitude.  I'm actually really ashamed because normally I manage to pull it together a little more.  After 5 miles I took a Clif Shot Blok.  I tried the cherry ones this time and they were just as delicious as the strawberry.  My legs finally loosened up a little and then took another Shot Blok at mile 7.5.  I wanted to experiment cutting back a little bit to see how it would affect my body, which was probably dumb seeing how awesome I felt after my 11.5 run when I nailed it.  I felt great until mile 8 when I started having awesome tummy troubles.  After a quick break, I managed to power through and ended up with 10 miles in 1:34:32.  At the end of the run I took another Shot Blok and drank some G2 when I got home.

Despite my mental blahs, I'm actually pretty proud of my time.  It was a little faster than last time and my last mile felt really strong.  I need to build up my confidence so I can take it outside and power through.  Luckily I'll have a friend to run with on my next long run.

I had to work today, so I need to go spend some time with my sweet pup.  I missed him way too much today.  Working is hard!  Happy Monday!

Long Runs + Snack Packs

Did ya hear the news?

Yesterday was National IPA Day!  Did you celebrate?  Beer = Carbs.  Carb Loading = Energy for Long Run.

Flying Dog's Snake Dog IPA for me!

I'm pretty sure I have cracked the code that equals long run success.  Spoiler Alert: It was not the beer (I don't think).  Remember that time when I ran 10 miles and then got really sick?

Yeah.  That was no fun.  Today, I ran 11.5 miles and I have now been officially done for just about 2 hours and I still feel great.  The secret?

These babies:

I actually had the strawberry ones today.  I figured they would taste less like cough syrup than the cherry ones and therefore give me a better first impression.  My opinion?  They were a little softer/chewier than I expected, but honestly they reminded me a lot of the gummy fruit snacks I ate as a kid minus the fun shapes.  Just a thought Clif, but perhaps you should make some shaped like Disney princesses?  Please?

Today was all about the mental games.  I took it to the treadmill, which was actually smart distance wise because my Nike+ was more than a mile off!  Probably need to do a calibration run sooner than later..

I packed a small bag to take to the gym with me.  The treadmill probably thought Christmas had come early as I unloaded my belongings into the cup holders (ipod, water bottle, Clif Shot Bloks, sweat towel..).

I decided the best way to conquer this run was to break it into more manageable chunks.  I started by doing a 4.5 mile chunk and then stopped to eat 2 bloks.  Then, I did another 4.5 mile chunk and ate 2 more bloks.  This is going to sound ridiculous, but I kind of bribed myself with them.  Only 2 more miles and then you get a snack!  I should probably be embarrassed that that was running through my mind.

By the time I finished my second set of 4.5 miles, I only had 2.5 left.  The verdict?  I felt pretty awesome the first 9 miles.  I kept the incline at .5 and varied my speed between 6.0-6.1.  The last 2 miles felt really tough, but by the time I got to that last .5 I somehow mustered up some more energy and finished strong.  I ran 11.5 miles total in 1:50:43.  Sorry, no picture proof today.  It would have required three different pictures and then letting you do the math. ;-)

After my run, I had a few swigs of G2 and propped my feet up against the wall while I talked to my mom on the phone.  I laughed because I could hear the mail man singing Kanye's "Mercy."  I wonder if he knew he was singing out loud?

Now I am going to continue to lounge and will probably eat about 3 more bowls of macaroni and cheese before the day is up.

Happy weekend!  


A Smile for Your Weekend :-)  Thanks, Baby Bro!

Probably TMI

First off, Maddux is a survivor!  

Maddux was ok with resting.  We love naps :-)

I got in a run at the trail after I dropped him off to keep my mind off what was going on at the vet.  I don't know if I just had too much on my mind or if it was the fact that it was already over 80 degrees a little after 8am, but it was not the awesome run I was anticipating.  It just felt hard.  Normally if I am close to making 5 miles during my 45 minute runs I just keep going until I've hit it.  Not this time.  As soon as my watch hit 45 minutes I was done.  A few hours later the vet called and told me I could pick up my little boy.  I think the vet office workers may have made fun of me a little.  The tech said "Wow, I can tell you really missed him," when I went to pick him up.  Is it that obvious?  Maddux is recovering really well and except for the spot where he actually got the shot, you can't even tell anything is wrong with him.  Woo!

My run schedule got a little off again this week.  My little brother came to visit!  Wednesday it was 104 degrees out, so I managed to convince him to go to the outlets with me for a little shopping.  

There was also beer.  That probably made shopping a little better for him.

Thursday it was still a little warm, but we decided to go and see the sights of DC.  Since we were getting some quality walking time in I decided to put off my run until Friday.  Ben finally got to see the highlights.  We started at the Lincoln Memorial and made our way around the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial.

Hey DC, meet my little bro!

It was nice to have someone to explore with.  I feel like so often I miss out on doing cool things because I'm over the traffic in this area.  When you deal with it the entire work week you aren't too excited to go back in it later, but I'm pretty sure seeing the sights will never get old.  Days like this remind me of why I love living where I do and how lucky I am.  I like when people come visit me so I can pretend that I am an awesome tour guide.  

I'm pretty sure Maddux is going to be this big after he's done with steroids.

Friday I got my butt out the door for another run.  I ran on the treadmill (surprise) and I was pleasantly surprised that it went much better than I expected.  I had a little bit of a cold the past couple of days, and when I finished up my 5 miles in 46:19 I was pretty excited.  I felt a little tired going in, but after I eased into the run it was actually really good.  Ben is a huge Braves fans, and lucky for him, his visit coincided with the Braves/Nationals game.  

Ben tried to cut out my Nats shirt.  Also, we are happy because it wasn't raining yet.  The Nats also hadn't blown their lead yet.  Gotta say, it was not their best night.

The game ended up going into extra innings after the Nats decided it would be fun to blow a 9 run lead.    I think I hit a record for staying up late.  I'm an old lady when it comes to staying up, but made it until 2AM(?!?!).  Needless to say, I did not get up early to run on Saturday.  I had 10 miles on the calendar, but decided to push it until today because my friend and I were going to Gonzo Fest at Flying Dog.  I mean, "Good people drink good beer."  It was definitely worth postponing the run for good beer and fun.

I kept putting off the run today.  I got to another late start (lazy weekend, anyone?) and was in serious need of groceries.  My fridge looked so sad.  I reasoned that after running 10 miles I would need to refuel so of course I had to go shopping first.  I didn't end up getting to the gym until almost 5pm.  I decided to take it nice and slow.  I wasn't feeling confident at all about this run.  Physically I felt fine.  I was a little worried about my IT band because I could definitely feel a little strain on my run on Friday, but other than that I had no reason to think it would be a bad run or that I couldn't finish.  I foam rolled like a champion a few times today to help alleviate that worry.  I'm really happy to report that I didn't have an ounce of IT band pain this time around!  I kept the incline on .5 until mile 5 and then I wimped out and dropped it back down to 0.  My pace ranged from 6.0-6.2 (10:00-9:40ish) and overall there really wasn't anything remarkable about this run.  There were a few times when I struggled mentally.  I counted to 100 and back to 0 a few times and that helped pass some of the time.  I stopped for water every couple miles and then had a strong finish for my last mile.  I finished my 10 miles in just under 97 minutes.

Proof!

  

Ready for the TMI?

After my run I took Maddux out to the dog park.  I knew I should eat something really quick before, but my aunt called right when I was walking in the door and between trying to talk to her and get Mad Dog out to pee, I just didn't think about it.  As I went to pick up after my pup, it hit me.  My stomach cramped and I knew that I had to make a mad dash back to my apartment.  Later, I tried to eat a turkey sandwich and it took me a long time to choke it all down after my stomach finally settled down.  This has happened now several times after my longer runs.  I don't remember having these issues in college, and I will tell you they are very memorable ailments.  I'm not really sure what changed.  I think I'm going to talk to a doctor about it, but I'm thinking that I am losing too much salt during my longer runs.  I am a disgusting sweater (work hard, sweat hard, right?) and even though I try to drink gatorade, I think I need to do a little more to avoid this nonsense.  It's not fun and to be honest, it's kind of embarrassing, especially after races.  I practically had to knock someone out of my way in my haste to get to the bathroom at the Hot Chocolate 15k.  I know, nothing anybody wanted to know, but part of having a running blog is sharing the good, the bad, and oh yes, the ugly, too.

On that note, I will end this oh so lovely post.  Hopefully I will have some answers soon so that there will be more good (and even bad) and not so much ugly up here.  Have a happy running week!