For the first time in a long time, I was stressing over a run. This morning was my first long training run – eight miles – and I felt like the pressure was on.
My week was extremely busy, a little stressful, and I needed sleep. I went to bed early with the run on my mind. I slept like a baby last night. I turned the AC on, tuned the world out, and enjoyed my comfy bed. When the alarm sounded at 5:30, I was ready to face the day. I started with a small breakfast.
I’ve found that I need fuel before runs, but not as much as I once thought. Today I had one whole wheat mini bagel with PB and 1/2 a banana. It was the perfect portion of food before a long run. I digested for an hour before heading out.
A new training partner joined me this morning!
I invested in a CamelBak for marathon training, but I’ve been leery about trying it out. It’s gotten plenty of good reviews, but I wasn’t 100% sure how it would work for me. I decided to rip the tags off after my trip to DC. While biking last weekend, I saw sooo many runners, walkers, and cyclists wearing these. This morning, she had her christening!
(Attention crazy drivers: You will see me coming!)
My thoughts: If you have any plans to participate in an endurance sport in the heat, go get a CamelBak! Mine is a 1.5 L “women’s fit” model and it was perfect. It took me a little while to adjust the straps, but once I got situated it was fabulous – no chafing, no bouncing, lightweight. I can’t say enough good things about this! My only concern is how to keep the water pouch and tube clean….I’ll work on that!
And the run was amazing! I’ve completely one full week of training runs and I feel great. All that worrying for nothing! I don’t know if it was the sleep, hydration, fueling or what, but my eight miles flew by this morning. I’ve been pretty speedy – for me! – during most of my short runs, so I knew I would need to work on pacing for longer runs. My goal for today was to run eight miles at about a nine minute pace. I needed to reign myself in a bit and enjoy the run.
Enjoy, I did!
Total Distance: 8.0 miles
- Mile 1 – 8:58/mi
- Mile 2 – 8:54/mi
- Mile 3 – 9:08/mi
- Mile 4 – 8:51/mi
- Mile 5 – 9:04/mi
- Mile 6 – 8:53/mi
- Mile 7 – 8:56/mi
- Mile 8 – 8:57/mi
Total Time: 1:11:46
Average Pace: 8:58/mile
Pacing does not come easy to me, so I was pretty happy with these stats. Thanks, CamelBak! I think I’m really going to love training with you!
When I got home, it was time for round two of breakfast. This time, I decided to enjoy a favorite – oatmeal!
In this bowl:
- 1/2 c. old fashioned oats
- 1 c. water
- 1/2 banana
- 1/2 c. blueberries
- 1/4 c. cottage cheese
- 1 small scoop of peanut butter
Delish! It was nice to eat breakfast #2 in the morning sun. The day is off to a great start!
I’m headed off to western MA with the family today. We’re having a poolside BBQ. I can’t wait to eat good food and lounge the day away. Check back for the fun recipe I’m contributing!
