My training schedule calls for running every other day, so that puts my long runs on a Sunday one week and then a Saturday and continues to alternate. At first I thought this would be problematic since Tony works on Saturday mornings and I would therefore always have to run in the afternoon on those days or adjust the schedule. I am hesitant to adjust the schedule because I really like the idea of running every other day. It gives my body just enough time to recover and I believe I am avoiding injury as a result (I'm crossing my fingers).
Today was phenomenal. The afternoon run worked out perfect and alleviated some of the GI issues I had experienced last week and on previous runs. I was able to sleep a little longer (7:15...I know, the life of a mom of young children), enjoyed some coffee, and had 5 mini muffins. I was able to get ready at my leisure and this left me plenty of time to use the bathroom, etc. I also had plenty of fluids prior to the run, probably 32 oz. of water at least and had some more of my ghetto pasta around 11am because I figured that would be enough time to digest before running.
Stretching before my run...a must for me since I have ITband issues.
I love my smart wool socks!
When Tony returned from work, I started getting ready to go. I fed Tyler so both of us would be content during the run and I was able to make it out the door by about 1pm. I added a little Gatorade to my water bottle and set out for my first of two routes I planned.
My hydration for the run...the first water bottle I carried (mostly water with a splash of Gatorade), the 2nd and 3rd positioned near the door for refilling when I stopped by the house (the 3rd was straight Gatorade).
The temperature was a little warmer today, 26 degrees when I left the house, so I was dressed lighter than last week and it worked out perfect. Decked out, once again, in my yellow, devil-horned hat, I got myself pumped with Lady Gaga and did an out and back. Quite frankly I was running around like I was the coolest thing since sliced bread. I had a bit of a bounce in my stride and sang along to the tunes I shuffled through...note...Tony's selection is even worse than I originally thought, elevator music as well as the soothing tunes we use to put our children to bed were on the MP3 player.
I made the quick stop back at my house to refuel with the Gatorade, refill my water bottle, and I even took a bite of a protein bar that was surprisingly delicious--much better than Clif bars I've had in the past.
The second part of the run was just as pleasant. I do have a bone to pick with Champaign--plow your streets, not just the major ones! Fortunately I purposely selected a route that I thought would be plowed (I went around the community college near our house and the streets are cleared very nicely as well as the walking paths for the students).
I made it back from my 9 miles in around 1:40 which included my stop at the house and 2 stop lights that I had to wait at. I feel I should still factor those added times in because I intend to stop if I need to during the race.
Post run I felt much better than I did last week. I noticed being a little sleepy so I did squeeze in a 30 minute nap and found my muscles a little tight when I got out of bed, but things seem to be feeling good right now.
It is hard to speculate what made this run work out so well for me. I am wondering if it has to do with the afternoon running time as opposed to the morning. I also stayed better hydrated this time around--I drank two of the water bottles during the run, which is significantly more than my 2/3 I drank last week for a further run. The conditions were slightly better considering only a small amount of ice formed in my water bottle this week as opposed to the complete freeze last week (which is basically why I didn't drink as much during my run last week).
Sorry for the blow by blow, but I have multiple purposes for this blog. One is to keep family and friends informed, one is to document my journey, and another is to help me keep record of what works and what doesn't work so I am the most prepared I can be...I hope you can bare with me!
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