I am super fantastic!

Another end to my second fifty mile week! And what a good one it was! My runs are usually shifted around a bit because I always work either Saturday or Sunday (or both!), and that's not very conducive to Sunday long runs. I've been able to do them on Fridays for a little while now, which is nice in that I get them over with before the weekend!

I did my ten miles after working at 5:30am yesterday. It was one of those days where it wasn't SUPER busy, but it was steady all day so there wasn't really any time for a break. Since I didn't get to eat much at work, I had a Luna Bar and a banana when I got home. I tried the Carmel Nut Brownie flavor, and it was pretty good, but I'm not sure how much I like the Luna bars...something just seems different to me. There are plenty of bars and non-bar food to eat, so I suppose I'll make it! Spring showed up a little bit yesterday, so I got to run in a tshirt and shorts! Woohoo! However, I guess the theme of April is wind, so I had to deal with that both yesterday and today.

Thursday, April 9
10.16 miles in 1:15:49, avg pace of 7:28

I realized with about a mile to go that I was probably running too fast, and I was like, um, that might not be so super for a 20 mile run the next day. But, it was a little too late at that point. I went to bed early (okay, that means like 10:30 for me) since I had woken up so early, but I was still super tired when my alarm went off at 7:30 this morning. I reset it and crawled out of bed at 8:00, but my legs felt tired and I totally wasn't in the mood to run, let alone twenty miles!

But, you gotta do what you gotta do, so I started my standard pre-race breakfast. Toast (from the toaster oven since our toaster is offically broken) with peanut butter and a banana, as always. I drove out to drop off my waters, which was when I realized that it was still soooooo windy! The runners that I passed did not look like happy campers, and they looked cold! So not motivational, especially since I was hoping to run in shorts. Tights it was. I decided to pin my beloved Honey Stinger Energy Chews to the inside of my tights, as I wanted to practice eating on the run. I'm not really planning on walking through the aid stations like I have in my previous marathons, so I thought it would be a good idea to practice half-choking half-breathing. Woo! I finished gearing up and headed out the door. Two hours and forty-two minutes later, here's what I had:

Friday, April 10
20.11 miles in 2:41:14, avg pace of 8:01
Splits galore: 8:14, 8:12, 8:03, 8:01, 8:13, 8:04, 8:00, 8:07, 7:53, 8:16, 7:59, 8:01, 8:02, 8:09, 7:55, 8:03, 7:55, 7:58, 7:52, 7:20, 0:47 (7:33)

I'm sooooo happy with this run! I can tell in my splits where I was running directly into the wind (I could feel it too!), and I'm happy that my pace remained fairly consistent even though I was facing the wind head-on. I felt less tired than I did for my last 20 miler, and I think the fact that I can run 7:20 for my last mile is a good sign that the next six are totally do-able. I would definitely be pleased if this is how my marathon splits go! This run actually went really fast...the miles just kind of clicked off and I only hated life when the wind felt like I was running into a wall! Running and chewing the energy chews actually went really well. Since the chews were next to my body the entire time, they were super soft and mushy and therefore easy to chew! I recently discovered that Garmin records "stopped time," and I only stopped for 2:33 during the entire run! That was so I didn't run into a tree when I went to pick up my water bottles.

Recovery! I was in full-on recovery mode today. When I got home, I walked a little and then stretched. Then, I decided to up my recovery, and enjoyed the following while hopping into an ice bath:

Recovery smoothie! It sounded like it would taste good, and the protein couldn't hurt, so I mixed it in with cold water (you can also use milk or soy milk, if you're in the mood for extra calcium!) and drank away! It was definitely yummy, and you should give it a try sometime! Like I said, I sipped this while in an ice bath! Or, at least my wimpy version of an ice bath...I don't actually use ice! I climb in the tub and turn the water on to the coldest it will go and let it fill up around me. The water is still FREEZING, and it's easier for me to adjust to the temperature as it sneaks up versus an initial total plunge. I'm actually pretty good at ice baths as long as my toes stay out of the water...I can't stand cold toes! I stayed in for about fifteen minutes while reading the new Runner's World (woohoo!).

PS If you want to check out my wonky (is that a real word?) thumb nails, look closely in the picture. I've done a little reading about it, and I think they might be like that forever. Get your iron, kids!

The rest of my day involved walking around a little town (about an hour away from my house) looking at cute shops with my mom! Walking is also good for recovery, so two thumbs up for that. We found lots of various flavored soaps, more decorations than you would know what to do with, and a visit to Great Harvest! My mouth drools when I see Great Harvest bread on Kath Eats Real Food, and I knew there was one in the town we were visiting, so we had to make a trip there! They were soooooo nice there! They cut off huge chunks of different breads so I could try them. We ended up bringing home a loaf of Popeye bread, which has parmesan, peppers, spinch, and onion...so so so good! My mom has celiac disease, and she had heard that they make gluten-free bread, so she asked them about it. The guy who was helping us said that, yes, they have it, but they usually only bake it on Wednesday. However, someone had ordered a loaf and hadn't picked it up, so they had an extra. Since it was two days old (which is really no big deal), he gave it to us for free! How often does that happen?? Like I said, it was a great experience, and I wish they were closer!

Time to actually make the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies I talked about (twice!) earlier this week...and then tomorrow is a fun day of wedding dress shopping with one of my best friends from high school! I haven't seen her in over a year, so it will be fun to help her pick out her dream dress! Have an awesome weekend, and Happy Easter and Happy Passover!