Back to the great outdoors

Because of laziness, less than perfect weather, and just habit, I have been doing my training for the last month from the comfort (or discomfort) of my treadmill.  Laziness because it takes a LOT of planning and whatnot to do long runs outside.  Less than perfect weather- my body rejects August heat and humidity.  Comfort- I stream Netflix to the TV while I run, so it was perfect for catching up on some shows.  And discomfort because I'm pretty sure that treadmill running kills my poor legs.

After a week and a half off from running and worries creeping in about my ability to do the half marathon in October, I was ready to take this show outside and test out my legs again.

Self doubt always tries to sideline me, and there were more than a handful of times I considered skipping out on the run.  Luckily I know this about myself and made sure that I had a running partner for the morning.  It is much harder for me to flake out on something if there are other people involved.

I met up with my friend Nicole yesterday bright and early (7:30am on a Saturday is early for this girl).  But before meeting up with her, I had to gather all of the "stuff" and pace around my house making sure I'd done everything I needed to do before setting out to run 10.

First (always always first):  coffee.  Some don't like to drink coffee before long runs (probably out of fear of a mid-run pants pooping extravaganza), but I MUST get in a cup or two of coffee. 

Second:  breakfast.  I'm not much of a breakfast eater, so I almost forgot this step, but I figured I best eat a little something.  Had a couple of mini muffins.  I never know if I am under-eating or over-eating, but it seemed sufficient. 

Third: water.  I am a terrible terrible water drinker.  Friday night around 10pm is when I realized I'd hardly consumed any water that day.  So much for hydrating the day before a long run.  I did my best to drink a ton of water before bed and then had a little more before my run.

Fourth:  get dressed.  It was partly cloudy and cool.  Forecast called for rain, but it looked like the sun was coming out.  Forecast also called for wind (which is one of the reasons I considered flaking out that morning.  I HATE wind).  I settled on shorts and a t-shirt even though it was cool and windy.  I would only be cold for a minute and then knew I would heat right up as I started the run.

Fifth:  gather my GU (jet blackberry is my favorite... it has 2x caffeiene and tastes okay...for GU anyway), electrolyte tablets for my water (we use NUUN tablets), and my water bottle.  I don't carry my bottle with me when I run because it's too heavy, but I need it for my car ride home.

Sixth:  Body Glide.  I chafe on runs that are longer than 5 or 6 miles.

And then I gather all of the etcetera items:  iPod, headphones, headband, iPod armband, Garmin, fanny pack thing that holds my GU and tablets and check card... blah blah blah. 

Seriously, this is why I have been doing so many runs at home on my treadmill!  It's like packing for a week long trip to leave the house to run.

Anyway, so I finally got out of the house and met up with Nicole.  The sun was shining and no hint of rain and the wind was not terrible.  Still a little windier than I would like, but not awful. 

We chose to run some of the route for the half marathon.  The route goes along the river (which is finally below flood stage for the first time since March pretty much).  It was a really beautiful morning and we saw lots of other runners along the way.  I think that's one of my favorite things about running outdoors is seeing other runners and feeling that sense of camaraderie. 

I was really nervous about my ankle/shin crap that's been bugging me, so we took it pretty slow (13:30-14:00 miles).   And my leg ended up feeling great!  A few twinges here and there after about 7 miles, but still bearable.  We picked up the pace at the halfway point though and continued to feel good. 

One thing I never include in my overall time, but probably SHOULD, is the gas station pitstop.  At 5 miles we stopped to use the restroom, have a GU, and buy a Gatorade.  I always stop my watch during pitstops.  Techinically I suppose I should keep it running.  Oh well.

In the end we ended up with 9.25 miles because we didn't go exactly the same route on the way back and ended up short on mileage.  I knew that was going to happen as we were coming up to the end, but I just didn't feel like doing a loop or two around the block to make up the mileage.  It felt close enough to me at that point.

All in all, it was a wonderful run.  No more treadmill for me if I can help it.  It is beginning to feel like Fall and it is absolutely perfect for running.

One thing I WILL warn against, however..... after the run, I drove 5 hours to see Black Eyed Peas in concert.  We had "Standing Room Only" tickets.... AND the walk from our car to the concert had to have been close to a mile.... my legs are WRECKED this morning.  I can hardly walk, they are so stiff and sore.  Not a great idea to put my legs through all of that in one day, but the concert was amazing and makes this terrible pain worth it.  :)

Hope you're all having a great Labor Day weekend!  I know I am!