Rookie Mistakes...

Every Saturday I do my long run in preparation for the St Jude Half Marathon on Dec 6. Lately I have been heading out to the Greenline to do these runs because my neighborhood is getting old. My goal Saturday was to run 11 miles in 1:55, but I really set myself up for problems.

Saturday morning I invited two friends of mine to run with me. I usually do not like to run in groups, but I have been trying to branch out more and letting people push me further and faster. I find that running with a group makes it harder for me to stop and walk a bit when I am with others. Maybe it is an ego guy thing...

So Saturday I woke up at 6:30 and got ready to meet the guys at 8 AM for 11 miles. One thing that always messes with me is running in the cold because I am always afraid I am going to over dress and get hot. Saturday morning it was 34 degrees here in Memphis, so I really had to start digging out some cold weather gear. So after about three different running clothe changes I finally felt like I had a good combo and heading out to meet the guys. I had my fuelbelt, gloves I could ditch and glasses and I was ready.

The run started off really well. We were all having a good time talking and before I knew it, we were at the 5.5 mile turn around and we started heading back. I was having no issues and I was on my pace I wanted to be on...until about mile 8ish.

Then I realized that I did not eat anything that morning before my run. I had no fuel. And instead of realizing that and hitting the GU I had in my fuelbelt, my focus became about just finishing. Around mile 9.5 or so, I could feel my calf twinging, that good ol calf cramp was coming, but I wanted to keep going. I wanted to hit that 1:55. My running partners slowly inched away from me, leaving me to run alone (which was totally cool!) I could sense that my running gait was changing, but I kept trucking along, and finished in 1:54:33. Right on Target.

So here are my rookie mistakes I made, and I should know better:

1. No food before the run. This was extremely stupid of me and I know better. I had plenty of time to grab a bite before my run and for whatever reason, I didn't. I know this effected me in a bad way!
2. No water at all. While I had two bottles around my waist, I never went to them. After the run I did drink water, but I never had a swig. Now granted it was cold and I don't think I needed as much water as I would on a hot day, but going two hours without water is just stupid.

I am not sure what I was thinking, because we all talked about water stations and gels and how we would use them on race day, but I never even thought about it. It kind of sucked, inviting people to run with you and then being the one that got dropped, but it was a good reminder for me to fuel up before and during a long run. I won't make that mistake next Saturday. Saturday is another 11 miler!!!

HAMMERTIME!

I am slowly getting over this nagging cough and I really am hoping to be back up and running soon. I have actually missed it, but this cough has been no joke! My biggest fear was trying to come back to early and having this crud linger on indefinitely  so I am planning on Saturday as being my comeback time. I plan on taking it slow and easing back into the miles and routines. The only thing I can say about this cold is that it seems the best thing for me was sleep. It seemed that each day I got a good night's rest, I was a little bit better!

So since I had almost 2 full weeks off from training (that's another post in itself) I decided to do a couple of things. One thing I did was some research on Redman 140.6. I found out that on the course that are going to have Hammer products and Gatorade. Only problem is that I have never used Hammer gels or products before, so I thought it would be a good idea to order some and start using them (Remember, nothing new on race day!) So I placed an order for the starter pack of Hammer products! Here is what I got in the mail:

2 packages of Hammer Recoverite, 1 package of Hammer Soy, 1 package of Hammer Sustained Energy, 1 package of Hammer Perpetuem, 1 package of Hammer Whey, 1 package of Hammer Heed, 1 package of Hammer Endurolytes Fizz, 1 package of Hammer Endurolytes, 1 Hammer Energy Bar almond Raisin, 1 Hammer Chocolate Peanut Hammer Bar, 1 Hammer Vegan Recovery Bar Almond Cacao and 9 Hammer gels: Expresso with caffeine, Chocolate, Tropical with caffeine, Montana Huckleberry, Raspberry, Orange, Apple Cinnamon, Banana, and Vanilla.

Now that is quite a starter pack! It only cost me about $20, so I was literally blown away by all this stuff, especially since I am not sure what all of it does! I mean, I know what they gels are for and what they do, but as far as knowing what the Whey, Soy and Recoverite does is beyond me! Now to be fair, they did send along a lot of reading material (Hammer Nutrition Consumer Guide) that explains the products, but man, that's a lot of reading to do! Plus a representative from Hammer called me to ask if I got my order and if I had any questions about any of it! Had I been at home, we might have had a lengthy conversation! (He did say I could call them anytime I had a question about the products). I know that nutrition is a huge part of Ironman training, so I am looking to get a heads up on it as soon as possible and I have a lot to learn, so it is going to be quite the journey. My ironman training actually starts in late May, which will be here soon. ( I know you were all looking for a MC HAMMER reference, but I just couldn't make it fit!)