I'm a Runner Too!

Sunday can only mean one thing during half-marathon training...the long run.  Today I had a 9 miler on the agenda.  I did a bit of, ahem, carb loading last night by way of a late night bowl of cereal.  I tried to go to bed early last night but that didn't happen.  I think I managed about 7 hours of sleep though, which is plenty enough.

I got up this morning and had my coffee and fed the kids.  Miguel had gone to his soccer game so I was on my own.  I wasn't all that hungry so I wasn't in a hurry to have my own cereal.  Next thing you know Miguel is home with an armload of pupusas.  Of course, that changed my breakfast plans.

A pupusa, cabbage and salsa.

Is a cheese pupusa good running fuel?  Guess we'll find out.  I was going to run with my buddy Catherine but she couldn't run until 3:30 and I was so antsy I could barely stand myself, bouncing around the house like a toddler.  At 12:30 I couldn't take it anymore so I took off.  I did a loop run from my house that had a pretty good sized hill in the first two miles.  But it was nice to get it out of the way early.

I took 6 shot blox with me with a plan to eat 2 every three miles.  But at mile 3 I didn't really feel I needed it.  So at mile 4 I had two.  My run was going along smooth, I was pushing myself but feeling up to the challenge.  I had two more shot blox, at mile 7 I think.  And I started cramping right about that time.  Fortunately I was passing near enough to my gym to stop in for some water.  The cramps took a while to go away but with plenty of belly breathing they finally dissipated after a half-mile or so.  I was passing a driveway and a car was exiting.  He waved me by and then hurriedly rolled down his window to tell me, "I'm a runner too!"  How cool is that?  I needed a little boost to morale and that gave it to me.  I'm a runner too.  For some reason I just really liked hearing that.

Reminds me of the time I was running in 2000 when I was in the midst of (what turned out to be a very temporary) fitness effort.  I was running down the street and neared a group of people.  One man said to his group, "move over, a jogger's coming."  Did he mean me?  That stuck with me, I had no internal sense of being a jogger (a word I now avoid, we're all runners!).  We really need to reinforce any positive feedback we get.  Most of us have a tendency to focus on the negative but it's the positive that needs your attention.  And the positive that will get you where you want to go.  Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.  Henry Ford gets credit for that one. 

Despite all that mental mojo my body was getting tired and I had to do some self-talk to get me through the last few baby hills, "You can do this, you are strong enough, your mind might doubt it but your body is ready."  That last one really gave me some umph.  Finally I was looking at downhill/flat for the rest of the way home so I mustered all my strength to finish strong.  And I did!  My last mile was my fastest, 9:10.  And that included those baby hills!

Check out that overall pace, 9:31, I was thrilled!  I was working a little harder than I'd like, an average heart rate of 166 is a bit high. Anyway, I'm still hopeful I can pull off 9:30 for the half.  With plenty of carb loading, a taper, and hardly any hills - it seems totally possible.  I just hope the stars align.  Ok, here's the full story for anyone that's interested.



Yesterday at the mall GNC was giving out free stuff.  I got a bottle of Amplified Recovery Fuel. The whole thing has 290 calories.  That seemed like a lot so I had half after my run, I really like the sound of amplified recovery.  I must admit, I feel pretty good now several hours later.  After a shower I had another pupusa for lunch.  I also had a string cheese.  It's a heavy cheese day I guess.

I feel so much better than I did last week after my run.  Maybe it was the nicer weather, the recovery drink, or maybe last week was just a hump I needed to get over.  In any case, I'm a happy runner.  My toe didn't bother me at all, though I did get a small blister on the side.  I have to remember to wear seamless socks on long run days, makes a difference.

Tonight we have a houseful of folks leftover from their watching the football game. I haven't started drinking but that's a possibility given the loud rancheras and the beer and vodka that are now freely flowing.  The guys are grilling carne asada, chicken and all the fixings so I'm sure I'll have a filling dinner.  I've already had a couple oreos and some tortilla chips.  I wasn't really planning for a party tonight but it seems to be happening around me.  Oh well, it's kinda, almost New Year's Eve, right?  Part of the lore of the long run, at least for this woman, is that I can eat and drink more than usual with no negative impact on the waistline.  And while this may be true, there are limits to that truth.  Don't overdo it Michelle, you feel better when you eat and drink a reasonable amount.  Yeah, talking to myself again.   What can I say, it works!