Saturday, August 30, 2014

Back on Track

Thank you all for your kind words on the last couple posts. I forgot that even when the school year starts smoothly, it takes some major readjusting. This week my legs felt better and I was able to get all my runs done!

I mentioned in my last post that I ran Monday evening with Kristin. After having such a successful night run, I chose to do Thursday's at night, too. I just decided that some extra sleep might help me get over the long run hurdle I've been facing.
It started raining as I paused to take this selfie. It was the perfect way to finish my run.
I did five miles, repeating the bridge twice. It had stormed earlier so I got out a bit later than I planned. I forgot my visor so I was pretty glad the rain had stopped, but it started again just in the last mile, which was perfect. I hit some of my fastest paces in awhile, and was able to maintain them. Color me pleased!
She sent me this picture like three times. Talk about good motivation! (Steph has Celiac, too, so it's always important to figure out which brand of bread is best to use for this kind of delicacy.)
Coming off that run, I was feeling confident about my long run Saturday. I knew I wanted to get back into the double digits but still didn't want to ramp up from the lapsed mileage to the full 16 that's still waiting to be run. 

At this point, I've decided to get back to where I was when I had that week off and build again. (I can do that, because my training plan is like 26 weeks long haha.) Technically this week was a cutback week but I used it as a normal building week, so I'm finally back on track.

So this morning I was smart about my long run. I did my first three miles without my fuelbelt, then stopped by the car to put it on and did my next six miles with it. I paused at the car again to drop it off and finished my last two without it.
Finally! A weekend run that left me smiling and confident!
Starting without the weight of the belt, and therefore being more comfortable, went a long way in helping me get through those first few warmup miles. And losing it at the end was amazing! As a result, my paces were more even and were about a minute faster than they've been this summer. I didn't have to walk at all, although I did pause to stretch my calves a couple times when I took fuel.

I ended up doing 11 miles total and felt really good the entire time. I think the slightly lower humidity helped with that. (It was only 76 with 96% humidity when I finished haha.)
Pretty much how I feel after my training this week.
All things said and done, this was a great way to start the long weekend!

Are you running long this weekend?
 Are you a French toast fan?
Running in the rain: yay or nay?

ABK

15 comments:

  1. Yes, I am running long this weekend - 13.1 miles, to be exact. :)
    LOVE French toast, but don't allow myself to have it very often, since I can eat wa-a-ay too much of it at one sitting.
    Running in the rain: Yay! Love it. As long as it's not super cold as well.

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  2. OMG Nutella french toast?!?!? You should ask your friend to share the recipe with us! That would be great after a long run. ;)

    Great job on the double digits Ali!!! Mentally running by my house/car is difficult for me. But it does sound like a great idea for fuel pick ups!

    I'm running long on Sunday. I'm hoping around 16-18 miles. :)

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    1. She said she put nutella between the bread slices, dipped both sides of the sandwich in the usual French toast mixture of egg, cinammon, and milk, and pan-fried it. YUM.

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  3. I'm so happy that your runs went better this week! You completely rocked your 11 miler :D

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  4. Ugh, I had 95% humidity on my Friday run which was only 3 miles. Way to go getting in 11 miles in that mess! Now that I've been running a bit, more in the morning I've noticed it's about 10 degrees cooler than in the evening, but the humidity is 30% higher... I'm still trying to decide if the tradeoff is worth it!

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    1. I can't decide if heat or humidity is worse. I think humidity, too!

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  5. I love French toast....YUMMY!!! And running in the rain? If it's a warm soft rain...it's perfect...if it's a complete down pour...yuck!!! I'm so happy you had a great week of running...see...we need to have those bad runs so that we can appreciate the good ones so much more!!!

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    1. I love soft, drizzly rain...but once in awhile a run in a downpour is fun, too!

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  6. Great job getting that long run done. I am glad you are back on track. :) You are right, even under the most ideal circumstances, starting the school year is never easy. I love French toast and just had it the other day when we went out for bfast!

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  7. I am so glad your groove is back! I have realized that I am definitely not a morning runner. Which is bad, since most races are in the morning. But if I try to get up early to run, I just feel terrible the entire time. Sounds like you rocked your long run! Congratulations! I always feel weird when reading about storms in other places because it has been SO long since I've seen any rain at all. It's actually kind of depressing.

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  8. Congrats on completing your 11 miler!!! Sounds like it was awesome! I liked how you didn't carry your fuel belt for a few miles. I have a love/hate relationship with my hydration pack. I love it because it really is the best thing for longs runs, but hate it because I hate wearing it! I did 10 miles yesterday and wore my "Fit Fanny Pack." I only carried one fruit buddy and a bottle of aminos. Worked out well :)
    I'm glad your love for running is coming back. How about you fly to NY this weekend and we will run 18 miles together? :)

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  9. I like to place a water bottle the night before a long run in a convenient spot so I can stop by a couple of times...I don't like carrying it with me. The sloshing...
    Good job completing the 11 miles!
    I like running in the rain to a point--if I get sopping wet--no thanks.
    Not a breakfast person in general (I know, odd!) I would rather have dinner leftovers, than breakfast food :)

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    1. I like to have breakfast food at all hours of the day!

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