My goal for 2014 is to improve my swimming and biking, and complete the Double Mussel and REV3 Poconos 70.3 races. I'm in the process of moving from Rochester to Albany, and am looking forward to making some new friends!
Powerbar Performance Energy Blends are really truly delicious, and everything about them sounds like they'd be a good product.
But they don't give me the same boost that the Honey Stingers and Gus do. When I take one on the bike or running after I start to feel tire or hungry, I feel no different ten minutes later.
Plus, at $3 each ($2.50 at my bike store), they're pricey!
Nutrition: There's no doubt that they're a better product than the more processed energy products. The ingredient list is short and the list of impossible-to-pronounce items is nil. Each pack is 80 calories.
Taste: Super yummy! Just like applesauce.
Packaging: I like how the cap closes so you can take a little at a time. I also like how it flattens.
I did my first swim-bike brick Sunday. I swam 1500 then rode 54 miles.
Every long run/swim/ride has left me positively famished by the end, so now I'm grappling with how I'll get through this event with enough energy.
Before I went to the pool, I had a Greek yogurt and a banana. This was enough for the entire swim, which was about 20 minutes. Then I did a Honey Stinger when I was out.
Once I was on the bike I consumed sport beans and one of those PowerBar fruit squeeze packs, and I mixed just a little bit of Gatorade powder in with my water.
By Mile 25 I was crashing hard. I stopped at a gas station and partially out of desperation, partially out of knowing from previous times that a salad and trail mix weren't good options, I snagged some pretzels and an ice cream sandwich. Surprisingly this didn't hurt my stomach too much, and I bounced back instantly and finished the ride strong but completely famished, topping it off with a DFC protein shake then grazing on nachos from Moe's Southwest Grill for the rest of the evening.
How would I sustain myself with a slightly longer swim, two miles tacked onto the bike, and a half marathon after all that?
So, it's mission find some easy on the stomach, gluten free (or maybe I should go ahead and do gluten and accept the tummy ache the next day...), portable, real food options for the race. I do like dried fruit, I'm going to make some quinoa bars to experiment with, hmmmm...
So I'll just start at the beginning of one crazy day! I'm still reeling, so some edits will likely be necessary tomorrow.
I was up at 5 and downtown by 5:45. The exits were already blocked off so my mom managed to drop me off a few blocks away. The Plain Dealer reported that there were almost 20,000 runners in the various events, it was a madhouse! Check out the photo on the link that has everyone running down the shoreway.
We were in Browns' stadium so I was happy for lots of bathrooms and places to spread out. I warmed up just enough to get the heart rate up, then stretched for a long time. The starting corral was really chaotic and disorganized, I ended up having to walk across the mud to get in the very vicinity of where I needed to be. They got us worked up with "Cleveland Rocks"
Once it starts it takes me 7 minutes to reach the start, so the clocks on the course were worthless, but I had my Garmin. I try my best to stick with the 4:45 pace group but it was difficult. I ended up back with the 5 hour group at the beginning and did some zigzagging to catch up (probably why my Garmin said 26.49 at the end)
I caught up to the 4:45s but lost them quickly. They stopped at every water station (every two miles) so it often took some time to get in step with them after. I only really stopped at 6, 12, 18 and 22.
Still, the first two miles along the shoreway were a lot of fun, the energy was unreal, I liked being by the lake, and passing Edgewater Park where my high school cross country team used to train. Some complained about the hill as we ran up the on-ramp. I've done much, much worse.
The first 10K was a breeze. It was really hard restraining myself, I wanted to speed up.
The second 6 and change took us through Tremont and Carnegie Ave. which was a really phenomenal part of the course. The crowd support was unreal. I ran a lot of this without my iPod because there were bands and people playing music everywhere!
Just before the halfs turned off, I hit a marathoner's jackpot -- a port-a-john with no line. (The port-a-john lines were another chief complaint I've heard of the event). With the Indians' stadium in sight there were lots of cheers as we bid farewell to the half marathoners.
Then things started to get real.
I was back with the pace group at this point, and as we headed down Euclid Ave. toward the east side I was really glad for it. As we got through the CSU campus and left downtown things got really quiet. I started to get tired. The pace group started to get chatty. That helped.
Miles 13-19 were definitely the hardest. At one point I got ahead of the group and ended up stopping to stretch my knees and ankles while they caught up. I see my mom around Mile 15, which gave me a boost. Miles 16-19 I went for all the peppy, make me smile songs on my iPod. Usually these make me speed up, but in between my exhaustion and the pace team I stuck to 10-11 min miles.
I think the double caffeine Gu kicked in at Mile 19 because at this point I found some new energy. Around 19.5 I realized the pace group was behind me. I told myself I'd stick with them for the first 20 -- close enough. I kick it up to 9-9:30. I turned off the fast pace alert set to 10:00. My iPod, set to shuffle on the 12-hour playlist was all about the classic rock, which was perfect.
At this point every single muscle was screaming. My legs feel so numb. I'm soaking wet and hardly notice. But I'm passing people. This part of the course was really pretty. We turned onto a bike path as we went through several parks and along Lake Erie. I watched waves of the lovely brown waters splash against the breakers. I watched a bird eat a dead fish. I saw these people, I think they're from DetermiNation (photo from the Cap City race... the CLE signs were similar). Any distraction was a welcome distraction. I'm keeping a sub 10 pace.
Every mile marker gave me new energy. I was going for it and was going to finish. I didn't care what my watch said. I ran the way my legs wanted to carry me. Kali, who ran the half and blogs about her running ventures, was there around Mile 24. Another boost. I passed Mile 25. I'm exhausted, dying, but I'm going to make it.
I can't touch my iPod at this point -- the battery is dying, and my hands were so slimy, so I just took what the shuffle function gave me. First I hear Fleetwood Mac's Don't Stop. Then, the Beatles' The Long and Winding Road. Then I see Mile 26 and hear cheering and music. I tuck my headphones in my FuelBelt and start sprinting.
I cross and the first person I see is my good friend Theresa Edwards, who was volunteering and handed me my medal. I'm exhausted. Once I stop running I can barely walk but I stumble through the chute, catch up with an MIT friend.
I remember high-fiving the guy at Mile 8 with a sign that said "18 miles til beer". I had a free drink ticket and beer was the last thing I wanted. I'm delirious. I am soaking wet. My mom brought me dry clothes. Changing was painful.
So, after you run 26.2 miles, you eat what you please. I had yet to try Five Guys before, delicious! Then for dinner we went out for Mexican.
At that point, I was happy for this:
And, of course, this:
I'm all signed up for the next session of MIT. I'm going to train for the Columbus full!
I know I haven't held a lot of affection for my hometown (and I know this is in my last post too), but it is only fitting that I end this post on this note:
I've had the same Raspberry Gu packet in my jacket pocket for about three weeks.
Here's my confession: I'm afraid to try it. I like the gummies -- Gu Chomps, ShotBloks, PowerGels. But I can't bring myself to try the fast acting stuff.
I don't want to try it for the first time on a long run because I don't want to have to quit early because my poor, wicked sensitive stomach rejects it. When else would I want to give my body a shot of concentrated carbs and caffeine? So that means this week I will try it on a shorter run.
I was off work this week so I've been up in Lakewood with the parents. I'm driving back tomorrow. I tried to do one run outside, but it was so bitter cold and windy by the lake. Did 15 miles total. I was feeling exhausted and sluggish through Wednesday, but Thursday I did a treadmill hills workout and totally rocked it.
Instead of the normal MIT long run I'm doing the winter run in Granville Sunday. 15 miles. I took an extra rest day today.
And I'm still addicted to Lost. About halfway through Season 2... Jack and Ana Lucia just decided to start an army.
Not as bad as they were when I finished, but
my muddy feet.
So I come home, tromp up to my 2nd floor apartment and show off my race swag, but Matt just glares at me.
"Umm, are you going to take those off?"
Oh, you mean my running shoes that are caked with mud, before I wander around the house anymore? Yea, probably not a bad call.
I did the Salt Fork 10-Mile Trail Challenge this morning, about a half hour east of Zanesville. Final time was 1:57:42. On the surface that's nowhere near where I wanted to be. But, given the completely insane course and race dynamics I'm not disappointed.
Edit: I'm feeling better about my time now. Top female was 1:33:46!
It's December and cold was a given, it was a nice day for a run. Chilly, but no rain or snow and not much wind. I wore my running tights from LL Bean and a pair of athletic pants on top of them. I wore my long sleeved tech shirt from the Nu Race Trail Run, and then my bright yellow polyester fleece from LL Bean. And, of course, my Asics Kayanos, which only have 20 miles left on them:(
I also loaded up my FuelBelt with Gu Chomps, Gatorade and fruit bites.
I forgot my watch. I decided to leave my lucky baseball hat in the car because there was a slight wind. And my cheap Target headphones finally went ka-put, so I ran in silence. Wasn't that bad, a lot of the other runners were chatty.
Still, it was a great day, great crowd, great event. The course kicked my butt, thoroughly and completely. Even though it was a basic short sleeved tee, I love the shirt.
As in, THE long run. The Cleveland Marathon is now 183 days away. Took a couple steps in preparing today. I'll get to those in a minute. But first...
This week marks a new record in weekly miles, 27! Old record was 25. I actually did two long runs this week -- did 11 Monday to make up for a miserable day Saturday, and 10 today. Of course, my short runs were very short, I did 2 miles of hill repeats on Tuesday, normally I do three, and Thursday was an easy four miles on the treadmill.
Today's run was wonderful. I ran the bike trail but took a different route. I started at the Y and ran five miles out, all the way to the cow pasture. I was off today and I have a feeling this was one of the last times I'll be running in the sunlight for awhile. It went well, nothing hurt and I'm not really sore now. Just tired.
Then I went to Columbus. Fleet Feet put a note up on Facebook that there was a new model of my shoe out, the Asics Kayano, so they were closing the one I have out for wicked cheap. Of course when I got there they were already out of my size! But I'll poke around online and try to order a couple pairs, I'm sure it's out there.
