Sunday, March 21, 2010

Fantastic Fifteen

Today's schedule called for a 15 mile run. I have to be honest, I was intimidated by the thought of today's run last night and even put it out there on my facebook status. I had many people be very supportive and encouraging on facebook last night which truly did help a lot. My alarm went off at 5:30 AM and of course I hit snooze for a good 30 minutes. Once I finally got out of bed, I headed downstairs and had my standard cup of coffee, banana, and peanut butter toast. Today I decided to try something different and I took my shot blocks before I even started running. I opted for strawberry flavor, not too bad.

I spent the next few minutes drinking some water and getting my running gear on and I was out the door bright and early. In fact, the sun didn't come up until I was about 20 minutes into my run.

I started out slowly since I knew I would be covering a lot of ground today. I was glad to realize that my legs felt good and I was feeling very optimistic that today's run wouldn't be a repeat of last Sunday's terrible ten miler. I did run the same 5 mile loop I ran last weekend so that I would be able to hydrate and fuel after each loop.

Miles 0-5 (loop 1)
48:50
9:46/mile

I stopped and had a few drinks of water after the first loop and then I was off again.

Miles 5-10 (loop 2)
47:50
9:34/mile

Around mile 9 of this loop I took out my sports beans. It was quite frustrating since I had to remove my gloves in order to get the package open. It was crazy how hard it was to actually open the resealable package. Once I finally got it open and went to pour a few in my hand, two or three landed right on the road..oops. I slowly ate the sports beans while I continued on with my run. I went for the orange flavored sports beans. This was my first time using them. I think I have found my new fuel of choice. They were very easy to eat while running and quite tasty. I grabbed water when I got back to the house at the end of loop 2.

Miles 10-15 (loop 3)
47:00
9:24/mile

I made a point during the third loop to check my time when I hit 13.1 miles. My time was 2:06 which is a good minute faster than I ran the Cleveland 1/2 Marathon last May. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. Right around mile 13 my feet started to hurt and my legs started to get heavy. When I hit the "half marathon" point of my run I just kept telling myself I had less than 2 miles to go and I could run 2 miles in my sleep. By the 14.5 mile mark I was tired with heavy legs. I was so happy to see the street sign that indicated the end of my 15 mile run. I couldn't get to that sign fast enough! I got to that sign and stopped my Garmin.

Finish Time
2:23
9:32/mile

Overall, I had a really good run today. It was the polar opposite of last Sunday's run and I am so thankful for that. It made me realize that I can do this.

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

6 comments:

  1. Great job! I'm so glad you had a better run than last week. What a difference! I like sports beans too - I think they are the easiest to eat. I like the way you kept telling yourself you can run 2 miles in your sleep! That's exactly how I talk to myself at the end too, when my feet and legs are hurting and I just want to stop. Awesome job!

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  2. Thanks Connie! I often talk to myself when I'm running. Whatever gets the job done, right? I really did enjoy the sports beans. The shot blocks are so hard to chew. I have to stop and eat them. I was able to eat the sports beans without stopping. I think I found my new fuel. I guess I will just use the shot blocks I have left for before/after my long runs until they are gone. I also tried carb boom and I can't stand them. They are really big and very "stick to your teeth" chewy. I'm so glad I only bought two packages. I don't anticipate my eating the second pack. I really enjoyed the orange sports beans. I also have a pack of lemon lime in the cupboard but I am wondering if I will like them as much as the orange. I am thinking I want to steer clear of the assorted flavor pack just because I am not a fan of all the jelly belly flavors in the first place. Do you have a favorite flavor? How are you feeling after your 20 miler?

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  3. Awesome job with the run! Keep up the good work!

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  4. Not to shabby.... I think that is an amazing time!! Way to go :)

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  5. Hi Jodi! I've been feeling good after the 20! I think I have tried the green jelly beans ( lemon-lime?) and the red ones ( some kind of berry? Cherry?) I didn't try the orange yet!

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