Last long run

Today I ran my last long run before I tackle 13.1 in a week. Most of the training plans called for 6-8 miles as sort of a taper. I knew that I needed one more 10 miler under my belt for some confidence. Have I mentioned that running is incredibly mental??

I have had a little bit of trouble updating music on my iphone since the hard drive on my computer crashed a few weeks ago. We had to get a new hard drive and it has been a PITA losing everything off of the old one. I attempted to update my music last night. Apparently I did just the opposite. I erased it all. Fantastic! Imagine my anger when I tried to play my "running" playlist just before I started my run and it wouldn't work. Not cool. So, I went with the next best thing....Ke$ha on pandora. Bwahaha! I am not sure why Ke$ha was the first "artist" (if you call her that) who popped in my head. It worked out just fine though. I kind of liked not knowing what the next song was going to be. I might have to try this more often.



I felt really really good during this run. I was trying out some new things that I want to implement in the race.

I wore a spi-belt. I am on call this weekend so I needed somewhere to hold my pager in case I got called in. This is basically just a fancy fanny pack. It definitely did its job. I didn't even notice it was there. I wanted to test this out because I really want to carry my camera along during the race next weekend. I think it would be cool to take a few pictures along the way. It might slow me down a bit, but I will never run my first half marathon ever again.

I have also been experimenting with fuel options. I notice that a few miles into runs I seem to run out of gas a little bit. I did some research and found information on Gu, Shot bloks, and sports beans. I actually purchased all three a few weeks ago. I tried them out before running with them. I could not stand the consistency of the Gu. Ick. And the sports beans had a weird salty taste to them. Luckily, I LOVED the shot bloks. They are like amazingly helpful fruit snacks. They are delicious. So I decided to test them out during a run today and I think it went well. I ate 3 of them about 20-30 minutes before my run. I ate 2 more about 5 miles into my run. I probably could have eaten 2 more at about 8 miles. But, now I know. That's why I was doing this little experiment. :)


I also purchased some new dri-fit socks this last week. I had heard that cotton socks weren't great for running. I have a couple of blisters so I thought I would try out some dri-fits. I have to say that they didn't make a difference to me. I couldn't really tell the difference as I was running and they didn't prevent my blisters from getting worse. Oh well...maybe a different type or brand of sock.

And finally, I had also heard that compression sleeves were great for recovery after a long run. I am all about it. So I bought some of those on Thursday. I never realized how expensive running was until I heard about all this cool stuff that could help me! :) I have to say that I have totally been missing out by not having compression sleeves until now. They are amazing. I popped them on pretty quickly after my long run and my legs are loving me for it. I really do think they will help with recovery. I do have to say that my feet are a little jealous. I might have to find a good deal on some compression socks too.


I hope you are having a great weekend. And now with that being 2 posts in 1 day - you probably won't hear from me for about a month. Ha! :)

Hi

I suck at this blogging thing. Woops.

I enjoy reading other blogs that have daily (sometimes more than once a day) updates, but I can't seem to get myself in a blogging routine.

A little update....

My first half marathon is ONE.WEEK.FROM.TODAY. Holy cow! Time has flown by since we signed up in October (?). My running has been near non-existent this week. You would think with the race being so close that I would have the motivation to lace up my shoes and hit the road. Not so much.

I am feeling extremely nervous and anxious. I am not sure why. I really wish I could go into this race with the attitude of "just finish with a smile and enjoy yourself." I can't seem to wrap my mind around that. I am, apparently, too competitive and tough on myself. Competitive might not be the right word. There is NO way I will win this race or even come close. It's more competitive with myself. I know the time that I am able to achieve and now it's just a matter of doing it so I don't let myself down. Stupid mental side of running getting to me.

I have had 3 (and hopefully 4 after today) 10-11 mile long runs in the course of my training. I feel like if I can run 10 or 11 miles then I can run 13.1. I want to save that 13.1 for the race. I want to have that feeling of miles 12 and 13 to be the longest I have ever run to be in this race situation. Hopefully I don't eat my words and the wheels won't fall off after 10 or 11 miles.

My long runs have ranged from a 9:20-9:33/mile pace. That 9:33 pace came on a long run after a night out the night before. It was pretty miserable. So I like to scratch that pace out of my mind. 9:20/mile or faster is what I will be shooting for. Again, I wish I could just ignore the numbers and just run to run. It won't happen so I might as well share my goals with other people. More pressure does me good. No? Oh.

I am so excited for the trip to Nashville. As I have mentioned before - I am going with 3 of my very good friends from college. This will be the first half marathon for all 4 of us. I can't wait to experience this major accomplishment with these girls. And I REALLY can't wait to celebrate said accomplishment next Saturday night. :)

I am starting to make lists for packing. It's a little overwhelming doing a race so far away and being gone for 4 days. That's a lot to pack. I tend to over pack anyway...add a race to the situation and I can only imagine what my suitcase is going to be like next week.

I have been stalking weather.com for the next Saturday's forecast. It looks like a high of 78 and partly cloudy. That 78* could be a bit balmy, but with an 8AM start time I hope it's more low 60s to begin with. Missouri weather hasn't been that warm just yet so I am hope I am able to deal with that minor detail of heat.

So to the runners who read this blog:
Any advice, tips, etc. for my first half marathon?
How do I shut off my brain and just enjoy the experience?