My friends and I met the PF Chang’s TNT team at a local park so we could run 14 miles with them today. I was nervous for the run. I’ve just been feeling so grumpy and down on my training lately. The half-marathon on Sunday was hard, fun but still tough. My body ached for several days after and I wasn’t really looking forward to our run today.
I woke up early to get ready. We were meeting at 7:00 AM so, like usual, I had to make time for breakfast and other morning preps. But like last Sunday morning, I just couldn’t choke down my oatmeal. I made the bowl, but ended up tossing most of it in the disposal. I don’t know what’s up with this, maybe I need to find a different pre-long run fuel.
It was very cold this morning, my car said it was 39° when I arrived at the park. I know there are plenty of you out there that run in colder temps, but this felt brutal. At this moment, I felt pretty eager to start running just to get my blood pumping and hopefully warm up some!
There were moments that the run felt a little hard, but overall I felt good. Halfway through, I wasn’t quite convinced I was having fun yet, but I was able to snap out of that funk. I pulled my long-sleeve shirt off after about 9 miles because I had heated up to the point where it was unnecessary. We ran a little slower than what I would want my race pace to be, but it was still a minute faster than what Runner’s World training calculator recommends for my long runs. (They recommend an 11:30 pace for long runs, which seems like it would be really hard to maintain because I’m used to running quicker!)
The worst part of the run came at the end. There is a big storm brewing now, snow is even predicted. The pre-cursor to the storm: really strong winds; which descended upon the valley right at the end of our run and we were running straight into the wind. There were moments that I wasn’t sure I was moving forward and wondered if the wind was actually pushing me backward.
I had to laugh when I plugged in my Nike+ today, it’s pretty obvious where the wind hit.
(As you can tell from that, my Nike+ was functioning today. It didn’t cooperate on Sunday for me. On the other hand, my watch totally died today. I went to press the button to start the timer and it went blank. Most likely just the battery, but this makes it really hard to leave my Christmas gift under the tree… it’s a Garmin 305!)
Today’s run boosted my confidence and was something I needed to get me through these next few weeks of training before running the PF Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon.
Jill Will Run 
You can do it…you can leave the christmas gift under the tree-or use it and then wrap it up again christmas eve???
The wind has been HORRENDOUS! Especially yesterday! I bet it was howling in Vegas!! Good run especially in the wind because I know how horrible it was!
Good job on the run.
I never eat before a run, ever! Unless I want to get up three hours before the start and choke down the oatmeal, I just don’t eat. I’d rather fuel my body on the runs with hammer products and eat when I get home. Just the thought of burping up oatmeal is not appealing to me and I’ve done a lot of reading on the Hammer site about not eating.
I have a hard time running RW’s suggested pace for training runs. But I do know that you shouldn’t worry about your long run being slower than race pace. You’ll be fine.
Doesn’t it feel good when you complete a run that you might have otherwise skipped? Great job!
Saw your note on my blog (sorry, I’ve been bad about reading everyone else’s the last few days). Don’t feel bad about complaining about the cold, it’s all relative! At this time last year, if you’d asked me to run in 39 degree weather, I’d have laughed in your face, it’s just that now it seems warm compared to the mid 20s. 😉 If I had to deal with the heat you and others go through, I’d probably be crying like a baby.
I agree with Penny’s suggestion above, use it and then re-wrap it!
Maybe PB&J on toast would be a better pre-run fuel? I usually have that with 1/2 cup of juice. Sits well and has carbs and protein.