This weekend’s long run was 14 miles. Originally it was supposed to be 16, I’m not exactly sure at what point the mileage changed (since we’ve been running with the PF Chang’s Team In Training group so much lately), but 14 was fine by me. Technically I am in the tapering stage now after last weekend’s 20 miler.
This morning it was 27 degrees according to my car’s thermostat when we began at 7:00 AM. Brrr……
We ran from one of our typical locations in the city, but the coaches switched up the course a little bit so it was slightly different for us. I kind of liked the change, since we’ve run the other course so much lately.
Today I tried changing my fueling strategy yet again. I decided to eat a banana and a mini bagel before the run in hopes that my energy levels didn’t fall while running. I switched from Cytomax to Gatorade G2 during the run. I hate that it has so many chemically created sugars, but I used Gatorade the whole time I trained for the 2008 PF Chang’s race and didn’t have these stomach issues I’ve had lately, so I switched to that. During the run I packed a Honey Stinger gel packet and the Honey Stinger organic energy chews in Cherry Blossom flavor. I never did consume the gel packet, I didn’t need that much food during the run. But I really liked the energy chews, they tasted pretty good, were easy to eat and I kind of liked ingesting my calories a few candies at a time more frequently as opposed to an entire hit of fuel at once. My stomach wasn’t angry on this run, but then this problem has never started before 17 miles so maybe I am experiencing a false hope today and won’t know until marathon day.
My friends Melinda and Jimmy took off early on the run, running with Mike from the PF Chang’s team. Jim and I hung back a little, taking it at a little easier pace.
Toward the end Jim started to slow down a little due to some aches and he encouraged me to head off on my own. I took off at a much faster pace, averaging about 8:20’s for the last two miles. Unfortunately, during that time I also stepped in a little bit of oil spilled on the road with my right foot. I took a couple steps after that and my foot just slid along the road, so since I was right next to a 7-Eleven I popped in the store to wipe off the bottom of my shoe.
While I was in the store, apparently one of our friends was driving the course and saw everyone else. When I wasn’t on the course between Melinda/Jimmy/Mike and Jim, well people started to get concerned. At the end everybody kept coming up to me to ask if I was okay. It’s nice that everybody was so concerned about me, especially since I did have a rough time last week. I felt bad that I caused people a mild panic as well!
We never did get really warm on today’s run. Gloves were an absolute necessity the whole time, I think it just warmed up about 10 degrees over the run. But at least I didn’t have icicles in my hair this week! Honestly, I am eager for some desert warmth to return (and those summer runs in 100+ heat actually sound pretty nice right now).
I did get a Garmin Forerunner 305
If anyone has any cool Garmin tips and tricks for me, feel free to leave them in the comments!
Jill Will Run 
what an awesome gift from your husband!!! But brrr…that run sounds cold!
Husbands are the best. Mine got me the Garmin 405. I ran Saturday for a little over a mile when I realized I had stopped the timer. I would give you a tip but I’m still learning how to use it as well.
I have the Garmin 305 too. I love all the functions and abilities it has but my one complaint is that the face is too big and my left wrist bone that sticks out takes a lot of abuse!
Hey Jill – forgive the random question but I don’t see an email address for you anywhere on the blog…is it possible to get a decent run in in Vegas if you’re staying on the strip? Any advice on where to go on a short run?
Is it always that cold there in the winter? You guys get the worst of both seasons! It was 37 degrees when I went out to do my long run this weekend and that is about as cold as I can handle. I will still take the cold over the hot. I get stomach pains just thinking about running in that heat! It doesn’t get much colder than freezing here, and it only happens a handful of times a year. Glad to hear you didn’t get the stomach issues you got before. I like G2 too, but I have a packet of cytomax I need to try before the marathon since that’s what they serve. I wonder if that is the source of your tummy troubles.
you know it’s sad but i’ve been longing for our summer heat here too, even our damn humidity!
I’ve never used the Garmin 305 but if there is a possibility of locking up your screen (for me it’s the bezel) I suggest doing it so as you strip off layers, you don’t accidentally shut off your gps or stop tracking your run. I did that a few times this summer and it sucked.