Scenes from my "daily fix" (running, biking, walking)

This week was a step back week as far as mileage, but I would not classify it as an easy week.  This week I started an unlimited month of yoga.  For me, yoga is not a cheap endeavor, but I really wanted to do the unlimited month leading up to St. George.  I timed it to coordinate with my taper in running, although the first 2 weeks will be prior to my taper, which creates a tough challenge.  In a routine conservation, with my hubby,  about my training, I mentioned to him that I was thinking about the unlimited month of yoga.  (poor thing - he endures many conversations about my training.  He is a runner too, but I am..., well..., I am..., let's just say... a tiny bit obsessed with it.)  He immediately says "you should,  it will keep you motivated during your last month of training."  Typically, I do not need any help in staying motivated with my marathon training.  Not sure why, but I just love it.  Anyway, I thought is was a very nice touch of "training support."  Also, a little while later,  he walks down the hall and gets some money out of "his" stash and hands me the money for the unlimited month.   We both spend as we desire, and I do have "my" stash of money, but it was a very generous thing for him to do.  Back to the expensive endeavor.  Well, it is expensive for me, so if I go unlimited, I feel a STRONG need and desire to "get my $$$'s worth."  So for the next month I will be going to as many yoga classes as I can fit into my training, and my schedule.
So the week went like this:
Monday - the 10 miler with 5 tempo miles
Tues. - started the unlimited month of yoga.
Tues - am run 6 in Bent Creek, yoga class pm
Wed. - yoga class am, 10 mile hilly bike ride pm

 This is a pretty pic from my bike ride.  Love the flowers - always!

Thurs. - am billboard run with Sheryl - 7.5 miles total - 1 mile w/u, 5 X .86 mile repeats on a hilly dirt road, 1 mile plus c/d  Running in Sheryl's dust all morning.  She is an awesome runner, 47 and flying. She ran a 5k pr this past Sat.  She came in 3rd place overall,  and ran 18:51.   Yes, 18:51, not a typo.   Definitely out of "my league", but it didn't matter to me, and I don't think it mattered to her either.  I like running with runners who are better than me.  I can learn stuff, be inspired, and maybe run a little bit faster because they are out in front.  Great workout.  See the billboard pic below?  Oh - TRUST ME when I say, " the pic does NOT do this last hill any justice."  It is REALLY tough.  I can barely keep running to get to the top.  In fact, you really can't call it running.  (ingenious name for the run, right?)

Thurs pm - hot power yoga.  95 degrees and fast paced class.
Fri - am 3.5 mile run to finish my running for this week at 27 miles.  Had to make some deliveries and pick ups for work, so back to yoga.  4th and final class of the week.

So it's Fri evening.  I have been loafing most of the afternoon, caught up with work, deliveries and pick-ups complete, running and yoga - check.  Now, I need to clean the house and do a few yard things, but mostly I plan to enjoy a lazy, restful weekend.  

CRAZY week next week - sneak peek - unlimited yoga, 60 miles, which includes a 26.2 mile training run at the Tupelo, MS marathon.  Yes, I said 60 and I said 26.2 mile training run.  I told you I'm a little crazy.  Now you are getting the picture.  Looking forward to it, after some R&R this weekend.  Yay!

First Cool Snap

Wow! I can't believe it. It was so nice this morning. We NEVER have this kind of weather in Mississippi in August. This morning's low was around 56 degrees. I can't believe it. I LOVE the first cool snap. It get's everyone in a "giddy" mood in the steamy south.

This morning I headed out for a tempo run. I started with a 2 mile warm up. At this point I was struggling. Woke up feeling, well, feeling - not so fired up about the running plan for today. As mentioned before, too many times (sorry), just get out the door. After the warm up I had a 5 mile tempo run on hills and I averaged 8:18 pace. I was running by heart rate. Took a little while to get my heart rate into range, but from then on it was no problem. The cool dry weather makes a HUGE difference in my running. After the warm up, feeling better, running better, what a nice morning. Finished the tempo and then had a 3 mile cool down and I also ran 12 X 15 second sprints.

The bad thing about an early cool front is it really turns on the "fall fever" WAY to early for South MS. We are lucky if we have a couple of cool fronts in Sept. I still enjoyed ever minute of it. Even now @ 2:30 pm it's only 81 degrees and dry air. Typically it would be in the 90's for sure. Love'n it! I think we even have another cool morning for Tues. Meeting Amber to run so it should be a "chatty, giddy, run." Looking forward to it!

A good run - NOT! Worst run of the summer, I hope!

Out of my whole training plan, this was the one that I really wanted to run, and run with some quality. I wanted to run most of this run at MRP (marathon race pace). As is so typical with my luck and running, Thurs. night's forecast low was 74, Friday night's forecast low 64. I'm just lucky like that. Why didn't I move my run to Sat. you ask? For a few reasons, with the biggest reason being...
1. a few years ago, I always started the week by looking at the extended forecast and planned my long run around the best day, the coolest day of the week. The thinking then was I would have a "better quality long run" which is true, but guess what? When I made it to race day it was HOT and I was not prepared. So after that experience, I plan my schedule and run all my runs with what I am given.
2. Yay! I am heading to Gulf Shores, AL (the beach) this evening. I could have run there, but it is always VERY humid there, and the cold front probably will not make it that far south.

So today was the day. 74 degrees, 81 heat index at 5:10 am, 96 % humidity. I have been training all summer in the heat, and recently running some later morning runs, so I really thought it would be a little tough, but I was ready for it. I decided to run the first 4 slow, and then I was going to attempt the last 16 miles at MRP or under 9:00 miles. First 4 - average pace 9:24, perfect. Miles 5-10 - 9:50 pace on hills - good. 10 mile turn around.

This is my favorite part of the run. I will take pics again on a pretty day. (just north of Charles and Audrey's house)

Feeling OK, but thinking I'm a LONG way from home.

I ran well until 14.5 miles.

This fun series of hills "got me" on the way back. Note - I am at the top of the hill. I had to walk up. Normally, it really slows me down, but I waddle up it eventually. Not today, had to walk up! Also note - you can not see a section of the hill, it is steep enough to disappear. In fact, a truck just went down the hill and is out of sight.

Miles 11-14 average pace 8:44 great. Then the hill. Then basically, I am done. Miles 15-17 around 9:44 pace. At this point, I decided to "give it up" for the day, but hubby left to go out of town, so I have to walk the final 3 miles home. Pouting the whole way. Why can't I learn to run in the heat and humidity. My heart says yes, you can do this, but my "heart beat" says you can not do this. DANG! Heart beat wins again.

So, today my 20 mile run/walk was complete in 3:55 minutes. Ironically, that is my goal for the St. George marathon, 26.2 miles. If the run had gone as planned today, with my water stops added into the time, I was planning on 3:05, 3:10 max. I hate it when a plan falls apart.

I think the heat, humidity, my first 55 mile week attempt, all added up to destruction today. ( I do not think hydration had any part to play. I had water, and/or Gatorade every 2-3 miles and Gu gels every 4-5 miles.) One other possibility, I was probably a little fast on some of the miles. I had several that were 8:37-8:44 pace. As much as I would LOVE to be able to run that, (I need to run 8:45 to qualify for Boston) I am not there, and may never be there, but definitely for now, I need to give it up, and try to run 8:55 consistently. (it's really hard for me to say and do that).

What about the 55 miles? I was supposed to run the 20 today, and only have 3 little miles for Sat. Guess what, I will get those other 3 miles I walked today if it kills me, I will get them. Either tonight, Sat. or Sun. I will at least salvage the week by obtaining the 55 mile week running goal. 6 miles to go!

After the run, I took my ice bath. When I got on Twitter, this is the first thing I read...

"Everything in life happens for a reason. It's all part of our journey of evolving into our highest self."

I know it was meant for more important things than a failed run, but it definitely applies, and I am going to use it to put this run behind me, move forward, and hope this run will be the worst run of the summer and fall.

My favorite yoga pose modified. Awesome! Thanks fitsugar.com

Hit the Hay: Standing Pigeon

Thu, 08/20/2009 - 2:30pm by FitSugar

0 Comments

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If you enjoy stretching in bed before going to sleep or right when you wake up in the morning, here's a variation of Pigeon that will stretch your tight hips.

To learn how to do this stretch keep reading.

• Stand in front of your bed and lift your right knee up. Place your lower right leg on top of the bed. If your hips are pretty flexible, adjust your shin so that it's parallel with the edge of the bed. Flex your right foot and stay here for 30 seconds.
• Then fold your torso over your right leg for another 30 seconds.
• Lift your torso up, and then switch sides.

Check out FitSugar's website for more great info.
http://www.fitsugar.com/3368271

I posted this because pigeon pose on the floor is my very favorite yoga pose.  It is so excellent for runners.  I had never thought about this modification.  As soon as I saw this I had to try it.  I went to my bed.  Totally awesome!  May even be better than the floor version.  Wanted to share with all my running buddies.
Thanks so much FitSugar.  I needed that!

I will need it even more on Friday, mid morning after my 20 mile run.  I am rested and ready.  I had a short nap this evening.  I have the coffee pot set.  I have my running clothes and shoes out, and ready.  I've been drinking water like crazy.  All I have to do is go drop my waters and Gatorades, and to be sure to get to bed early. 

Golden Meadow, LA Redfish Tournament

2nd place - Yay!

Fun day on the water with Chad.

What a nice day!  Chad and I fished the small tournament in Golden Meadow on Sat.   We started with a downpour just before the the blast off.  Not to worry, Chad was prepared with our rain gear.  We had about a 40 min boat ride to make it to our fishing spot.  I took most of the scenery pics while riding to our first hole, except the rainbow pic. I did get "fussed" at when I snapped the rainbow pic. (supposed to be fishing and looking for fish ya know) Also, just before I took the picture I said "look, look a rainbow." Before I could get a rainbow, out of my mouth, Chad is looking around for me to show him the fish I have spotted. Ooops! Then when I snapped the pic, he says "I know I didn't just here that camera phone." Tee Hee! Chad has had a rough day! hee hee hee hee  I did manage to catch the smaller of the 2 fish that we weighed in, so I wasn't totally useless.  (also, it should be noted - if Chad would have had a "true" fishing partner who could have seen and caught more fish, he may have been able to move up to 1st place)  Overall, for me, 2nd was good.  It was a great way to spend a Sat.

August in Mississippi

 

Typical August Mississippi Run 

Do you see the steam in the air in the distance?

Friday's run was an easy 8 miler.  I decided to deviate from my plan just a little bit.  I had originally planned a Fri tempo run, but instead I decided to take it easy the rest of my step back week, get some extra rest, and get ready for next week, which will be my first ever attempt at a 55 mile week.   I will end my running mileage at 29 this week.

I decided to mix things up a little today.  In getting ready to run the Tupelo Marathon (as a training run) in Sept., I am incorporating some later morning runs.  I estimate that I should be finishing the marathon around 9:30 so I am doing some runs that finish around 9:30 am.  Before the run I got in some push ups, and some lunges.  Had intended to lift weights before the run, but ran out of time.  I wanted to be running by 8:10 am so that I would finish up around 9:30.  Then I headed to the weight room to finish my core work, weights, yoga poses, etc.  Nice easy run.  The heat was not really an issue at all with the slowed pace.

Friday afternoon I headed to South LA to fish a Sat redfish tournament with Chad.  Will post some picks soon.

10 Miler, Sunrise, and Horses

Seeing too many of these sunrises lately, but I am really enjoying the training (I know, I am a weirdo, can't help it, I love to train for marathons). Enjoying it, after I get going that is. The first 2 miles today, I kept thinking about how your easy weeks, really are never easy. Similar to how it really doesn't matter if you run 6 miles or 20 miles, the last 2 miles are tough. Why is that?

The plan for today was to run the first 2 easy (9:30 pace) and then run the other 8 miles at marathon race pace (under 9:00 min). During those first 2 miles, I wondered what was going to happen on my pace run, on the hills, wasn't sure if it would happen. To my surprise, I ended up having a GREAT run. Actually had to keep slowing myself down. I even ran my last 2 miles a little faster, normally the last 2 miles I fade and slow down to a crawl. I have been working on that this summer, trying not to die the last 2 miles.

The recap - 9:39, 9:23, 8:48, 8:46, 8:54, 8:52, 8:54, 8:47, 8:41, 8:22
1 pic stop for the sunrise and horsies, 3 water stops. Took one Gu gel at 6 miles. Because I ran a pace run today, I decided to do an ice bath to speed recovery. It felt sooooo good. It also helped with cooling off, and feeling better for the 10:00 am yoga class @ The Yoga Room. Legs felt good for class.

Looking forward to Jen coming out Thurs. am for a bike ride. I am sure I have mentioned, I am not much of a biker, but I do ride some for recovery on my hybrid bike. She is coming with her road bike. This is our first ride together. I hope either I can keep up, or I will not bore her to tears with my lack of speed on the bike. Ha Ha

One Mission Accomplished - A BIG One - the hardest one to achieve.

Just a quick lunch time blog. Busy week! Anyway, just wanted to say, if you haven't heard, (I've been shouting it from the top of the hills) I finally arrived at my goal weight. So very exciting for me. I started this mission the very day that I found out that I made it into the St. George marathon. I started May 11th with big plans of being finished with this goal by July 1st. That didn't work out exactly right, but I continued with the plan.

So last night, I weighed in (I know, never weigh at night) and yippie, hot freakin dog, finally - I see "The Goal" on the scale. 11.8 lbs lost. So excited - wanted to call a couple of people, but decided they might not appreciate the late night call to discuss my weight loss. So the next best thing - send a tweet and facebook announcement. I have been using Twitter and Facebook to announce these things to "keep my straight and on task."

Now the hardest part begins - keeping it off. I am feeling great, healthy, and motivated. The bloggers that I follow help to keep me on track and motivated. Thanks!

Critical Training - the next 4 weeks

South Louisiana Cemetery

If you haven't been to South LA, you will quickly notice the above ground tombs for burial. This was very interesting to me on my first trip to this area, about 23 years ago. (the area is at or below sea level, so you can not be buried underground)

I didn't post these pics today because of my mile repeats today, or because of the 50 miles this week, nope, I had taken them a few weeks back and just wanted to share. Today I had 6 miles left of my BIG 50 week. It's not my first time to get that mileage. When I trained for Houston (2009), I ran 3 50 mile weeks, but for me, it's still fairly new ground and it's - Pretty Exciting! Today, the dreaded mile repeats again. I mentioned to Chad Sat. night that I wanted to get an early start Sun. so that I could run some quality mile repeats, what did I do? I started my 6 mile run, in South LA, at 8:30 am, in Aug. (CRAZY - yes) No good excuse either, just sleep in a little, fooled around a little. You know, coffee, yogurt w/ almonds, send a few Tweets, more coffee, listen to a little news, drink some water, go drop my waters for my run, get all my gear on - (headphones - yes headphones - sometimes I prefer talk radio and sometimes I bore with my Ipod, visor, sunglasses, Frogg Togg Chilly Pad. What can I say TIME FLIES. Finally, get out the door, do my 1 mile w/u, 2 X 1 mile, 2 X 800 (wimped out), 1 X 1 mile, 1 mile c/d and walked another half mile. Times - 7:38, 7:53, 3:52, 3:51, 7:56. So I finished without being added to one of the pics above, so that is a good day. Got my 50 for the week. Life is good! That makes me a happy girl. This week's recap - 4.5 miles walking, 50 miles running, 1 yoga class, 1 day of weights, lunges, push-ups, and 2 days of core work. Also, I've had a GREAT week of healthy, moderate eating. Not sure if it reflects on the scales, but I am hoping for good things. Either way, I am healthier for it.

Each Sunday, I reflect on my training week. I also look to the next week of training. As I look at the plan, what do a see? 4 critical training weeks ahead with my high mileage weeks being the most important. I also see - Yay! a "step back" week, starting tomorrow, Monday. This week I will run 30-35 miles, my long run will be 10, and I will have a tempo run. I do like to train hard, but I do enjoy my little breaks too. Much needed, nice balance.

Early in the post I mentioned the Frogg Togg Chilly Pad. My running partner, Amber, gave me this a few weeks ago. (she is so sweet). Normally, when we run our long runs, we take turns, putting coolers out along our course. We have waters, gatorades, and wet rags. We started the rags a couple of years ago, and we are spoiled. It really makes you look forward to that next stop to get that nice, cool rag, and wipe your face, neck, arms. It's amazing, it really gives you a boost, and now we are basically spoiled by our cool rags. Back to the Chilly pads. Amber wasn't sure about them, but the "sales" rep said "all of the football teams, etc. are using them and they are great." So she decided we needed to try them. I have used mine on several runs and I like it. The pic is embarrassing, but I wanted you to see how I use it. So at each of my water
stops, I use some of the water to re-wet my chilly pad. Before the run, I wet it and put it in the refrigerator so it is nice and cool. It really keeps your neck cool for a long time. If my waters are cold, it is a very nice treat to re-wet it, wring it out, and cool my face and neck. I don't use it for every run, but so far I really like it. Yes, it looks a little funny, but I don't care, my neck is cool (as in NOT HOT, ha ha). Didn't I tell you I am a 40 something year old runner, - "who cares already!"

(Note - I do not get paid to advertise. I do not look down on bloggers who blog to advertise. I may even do it myself one day. We do spend a lot of time with blogging, so hey, if someone can get $$s or products for doing so, more power to them. I just wanted to disclose this is just a personal opinion about this particular product. In the future, if I decide to advertise, I will disclose that too).

Summer run pics & the problem with evening runs.

So excited!  I now have my camera phone operational and can upload to the computer.  Yay!  I love to take pics and it seems that the pictures that the phone takes are not too bad. 

Happy Feet

These are pics from my Thurs. attempt at a tempo run in MS.  At this point, I am about 1.5 miles into my run and my feet are still happy at this point.

The problem with evening runs?  I get HUNGRY! During the summer, I run more in the morning than in the evening for a few reasons, but the biggest reason is the hunger thing. If I wait until it cools off, that puts me running at 7:00 pm, by the time I run for an hour, then shower, and get something to eat, it's 8:30 or 9:00pm. Then I pig out because I am so starving, and then go to bed with a pot belly. Normally, I eat an early dinner, around 5:30 or 6:00.  So waiting until 9:00pm is really dangerous.

So today I headed to South Louisiana. I stopped to get gas about 45 min. north of my destination. When I stepped out of the car, I couldn't believe the heat and humidity. It's only been 2 weeks since I've been down, but boy, it's amazing how different it is from South MS to South LA. So of course, I am dreading my evening run. Instead of waiting for it to cool off, we decided to go run at 6:00 pm. Just to torture myself, I look up the weather at 6:00 pm, just before heading out the door. 90 degrees with a heat index of 101. I need to get 6 easy (junk miles) miles in. Once I get started it really wasn't too bad, I stopped for water/gatorade every 2 miles. Also, the good thing, it was a flat run. I haven't had any flat runs in a while so it was nice to run on a flat surface along the bayou.

So you ask, why did you wait until the evening if you prefer to run in the morning? If you read my blog about my Thurs. run, you notice I was apparently fatigued. So instead of running 24 hours later, by waiting until the evening, that gives me 36 hours of recovery. Also this morning, I had an early morning Chamber of Commerce breakfast, so evening run it was. One other thing,  I do like to mix it up. They say it keeps the body guessing and that is supposed to be a good thing.

There will be days like this!

Today, I had a tempo run on my schedule. I was tired Wed night, so I headed to bed early, had a good night sleep, slept a little extra this am. Still a little tired when I stumbled out of bed, but you know how it goes. Maybe after my warm up, I will feel better(many times I do). I am still running by heart rate, so the thought passed through my mind, because I am a little tired from the mileage this week, this tempo run will be slow because my heart rate will go up fast from being a little tired. I was OK with that plan, just gonna follow my heart. I jogged 2 miles slow to warm up and ready to start my 5.5 mile tempo run on hills. I am a half mile into the run, feeling my legs a little, but noticing, I am struggling to get my heart rate up to my tempo range. My legs are too tired to get me where I need to be. It took me 1.5 miles to get the heart rate up. If I went by pace, I was ok, but wanted to run by heart rate. So I struggled for 3 miles, trying to run fast enough to get the heart rate in range. I stopped at 3 for a water break. I wanted to do the 5.5 miles without stopping, but couldn't make it, which is ok, it's really hot and humid. So I started back and again, struggling to get the heart rate up. I get another 1.5 miles and I am DONE. I decide to bail on the last mile. At this point it's not really a tempo run anyway, it was more like fartleks or intervals, or something, I'm not really sure. So for the 4.5 (3 miles and then 1.5 miles), I averaged 8:14, then I finished out the 10 miles with a slow jog.

So, as stated previously, I'm not educated on heart rate training. Still haven't purchased any books. Today, was a shock. I was expecting a slow pace tempo. I thought with being tired my heart rate would shoot up really fast and I would just run the slow tempo, instead, by pace on the hills, it was a good tempo pace, but not really what I wanted by my heart. So now ????? - I wanted to use the heart rate monitoring because I thought it would be the best guide especially when fatigued. I was prepared to follow my heart, but my legs were too tired to respond. HHMMMM!

So today I have completed 38 of my 50. 3 days to get 12 miles, no problem. When I planned my schedule, I knew this would be a tough week. I have had 3 weeks upping the mileage - 40, 45, and this week will be 50. I needed a step back week this week, but with the 18 miler on the schedule, I needed to use this week to get the 50 miles. Next week, my long will be 10, and it will be a much needed step back week, 30-34 miles. Already looking forward to it.

Thank you Sun! The sun cooperated very nicely with my run this morning. It came out from behind the clouds when I had 1/4 mile left of my tough run. Sweet!

So, am I bummed, not at all. For me 50 miles will be sweet. Also, my training is fairly aggressive. I don't really like when I stray from "the plan", but sometimes it is the right thing to do. Today was one of those days and that's ok. There will be days like this, and I can deal with it.

I am reminded of a blog that I follow:
http://frayedlaces.blogspot.com/
"There will be a day when you can no longer do this... Today is NOT that day." Frayed Laces (I love that)
I am thankful for my health.

I could have run forever until..........

I could have run forever until..... I deviated from my plan. In getting ready to run 18 miles on Monday, I was a little worried after the Sat. running on the Coast.(my hat is off to all of you coastal runners - I felt much better running 18 miles than the 8.5 miles on the coast. Part of that was because I was running a 5k, but the extra humidity is a killer). Also, when I checked the weather (accuweather.com) it said the real feel temp. for 6:00am was already 80 degrees. That's pretty crazy for an 18 mile run. On Sat. I made the decision that my Monday run would be a slow one, an LSD run (long slow distance). I am not really good at LSD runs, but during my marathon training this time, I have decided to TRY do some LSD runs. So with my 16 miler being a marathon pace run, it was appropriate for this one to be LSD, also the crazy heat and humidity quickly led me to LSD also. So I decided to start the run at 6:00 am. I know, I know - you are asking, why didn't you start at 5:00am? Number 1 - I am lazy these days, Number 2 - the 18 miler would roughly be around 3 hours, so if I started at 6:00, I would finish running around 9:00, do a little walking, which would get me to 9:15 or 9:30, and that will be good prep for the Tupelo Marathon, which starts at 5:00am, but I will not be finishing until around 9:30 because I will be running this one as a training run, and will be running slow, around 10:00 miles. So I do have reasons for my insanity, ya see?

6:00 am and I'm off, thanks to the Garmin, I can monitor my pace, and continuously tell myself to slow down, probably about 100 times, slow down, slow down. Not very good at solo LSD runs. If I run with someone who is running slow, the LSD is not a problem, but solo, I just want to pick up the pace, but today, I know picking up the pace would be a BIG mistake. So I stay just under 10:00 min miles. At mile 10 - I really thought to myself - I could run forever. Running, running, running - so I made a deal with myself - if I still feel good later in the run, I can pick up the pace and finish the run. So, at 14, can't take it any longer, still feeling really good. The plan - maybe I'll just try to do 3 pace miles and then finish the last mile as a cool down, back to 10:00 miles. So I did pick it up and ran 3 miles around 9:00, but the feeling of being able to run forever quickly went away. I felt ok, but now the temp is even higher and I just want to finish. Overall, a great run, especially in this heat. No longer a member of the infinity running club, but ended this 18 miler in good shape. I ended up running 9:37 pace for the 18 miles. Let me say - I did stop my Garmin for my hydration stops, so the 9:37 pace is just my running time. Also, let me say, I probably go overboard with hydration, BUT my summer long runs are usually tolerable and I hear some horror stories out there, that I typically do not have, so I would rather go overboard with the hydration to be comfy as possible. So do I stop to much for water, maybe so, but for me, it's worth it.

To give you an idea about my hydration/gu/gatorade for this run, below is what I did today. Normally, I would not have this many stops, but with the extreme heat more hydration is better for me. (I consider 80 degree heat index at 6:00 am extreme, especially when the goal is to finish 18 miles without a heat stroke)

At mile 3 stop for about 4 ounces of water, poor a little down my arms.
At mile 5 (this water stop was for my return trip, but decided to stop and take a swig.
Just before mile 6, while running, Gu (chocolate for me - I'm the only one I know that uses the chocolate) at mile 6, 4-5 ounces of water and poor the rest down my arms.
Mile 8 - 4-5 ounces of water, the rest poured down the arms.
Mile 10 - just before 10, another Gu, at 10 4-5 ounces of water - the rest down the arms
Mile 12.5 - 4-5 ounces of water, the rest down the arms.
Mile 14.5 - another Gu and 4-5 ounces of water.
Mile 16 - 5-6 ounces of Gatorade and 3-4 ounces of water.
Mile 18 - finished - stashed another water and walked for 1/2 mile and then my honey came to check on me. He gave me a Gatorade 8- ounces and I rode the last half mile home.

Not sure about all of this - sometimes I think it's too much, sometimes I think it's just about right. I am a HEAVY sweater (shoe sloshing sweater on long runs, gross but true) so I would rather err on the side of too much than not enough. I can tell you, thankfully, that I haven't had very many visits with "the wall" so I think I am on target. Maybe a little too much, but if I can run relatively comfortable on my long runs, it's well worth the extra effort to go and drop the waters before my runs and take the time to stop to hydrate. After the run, yes, an ice bath. Helps SO MUCH with recovery. By Monday evening, yes, I was tired, but not really like 18 miler, in a sauna, tired. Also, many times when I run long, for whatever reason, I do not sleep well that night, too tired or something. Monday night, sleep like a baby. Tues. am - can't even tell I ran the 18. Awesome! Easy day today, probably 30 min. of biking or walking this evening, and maybe some weights.

Would love to hear what you guys do on your long runs. And, as always, opinions are welcome.

Note to self - still need to do the sweat rate test. You know the one where you weigh before you run,run for 1 hour, and then weigh after you finish to get an idea of what you need for hydration and replacement.

So many notes to myself, I forget about them. It's hard to keep this chic straight.

The week of Aug 3rd is going to be "my week" I feel it!

First - the running updates.
Thurs - an easy day - easy walk 35 min.
Fri. - 2 mile w/u, 4 uphill repeats hard, 4 downhill repeats hard. First time on this hill. Let's just say, it was a real challenge. It is .37 long. This summer I have added downhill repeats (trying to prepare the quads for St. George). I never realized how taxing the running downhill can be on your legs. It really fatigues my legs quickly. This was a humid morning, but really, my legs were a much bigger issue than the heat. The heat really didn't bother me at all today. After the repeats I jogged some more to get 9.5 miles for the day. Fri pm - lifted weights, some core work, push ups, and a few lunges and squats.
Sat. - hubby and I signed up for a 5k in Pass Christian, MS. I was just going to have an easy way to finish up my mileage for the week. With the hill repeats on Fri. and lifting weights, I had no plans to run a fast 5k. We left the house at 5:30 and headed to the Coast. When we arrived at 7:10am it was already 80 degrees, with the humidity it had to be a crazy heat index this morning. Anytime, I go to the Coast, I can always feel the extra humidity. I needed 8.5 miles today to finish off my 45 miles for the week. Because I was not "racing" this 5k, I decided to run a little extra before the 5k. I ran 2.25 before the race. I ran the 5k - 24:48. The first mile was a gradual downhill. I ran it around 7:45. I slowed dramatically from there. I forgot that on Fri. I reset the Garmin and took the auto mile lap off while I was running the hill repeats, and then of course, I forgot to put the auto mile lap back on, so I have no splits for the race. Much slower on 2 and 3. I would have liked to have seen the splits because I did feel like I picked it up just a little on the last half mile so I would have liked to see the splits. O'well, no biggie.

So I finish the race, gasping for air, get some water and Gatorade, and realize, yikes, I have another 3.2 miles left, (yes, I used ever .1 I ran today). So I decided to run the 5k course again. So I start running, into the sun, look at the watch and it's 8:39 am. It's really HOT. I run my first c/d mile and then.....

OMG - I just mailed my Tupelo, full marathon entry on Tues. What have I done. Now it's about 8:50am and I am thinking I will still be running the full marathon at this time, will have a ways to go, and the Tupelo marathon is hilly (this 5k course was flat with a couple of very slight downhills) During this process today, I have readjusted my Tupelo marathon training run time. Currently, I am thinking about 10:00 min. I had been thinking 9:30. Depending on how severe the hills are, I may decide to go for 10:30 pace. BIG NOTE TO SELF - do some later morning runs that finish around 9:30-10:00 to prep for Tupelo. I thought I was already doing heat training, but after today, it was a great wake up call. Thankfully, I still have 5 weeks to get myself ready for the Hotter than Hell marathon. (Currently, my goal pace for St. George is under 9:00 min miles and St. George is "the goal" marathon)

This week in review.
Good things - 45 miles no real problems (a little tired in the 1st part of the week, but recovered nicely by mid week) 2.5 quality runs - I am giving the 5k today a .5 for quality because it was like a marathon tempo run. 1 yoga class, 2 days of core work, and 1 day of weights, push-ups, lunges, and squats. Sunday will definitely be a lazy day - 30 min. easy walk or bike.

Week of Aug. 3rd - I say this is my week because I have 50 miles, I have an 18 miler on Monday, and instead of the normal, run and pig out. I am going to do what the skinny bitches do - (you know who you are). You run, and you do allow some treats, but they are in moderation, sensible. I haven't done this in that last couple of marathons. I have done the "run and pig out routine." I am tired of not reaching my weight goal so I am going to use the extra mileage to make some headway. I am focused and determined. So yes, this is my week.