3:15 done

I ran my 3:15 hour long run yesterday. Thankfully I had Rhonda to run with me. She was a life saver and very good at chatting! It was NOT a good run.

The first 11 miles Kristi B joined us. We had a fight the 25-30 mph wind on the first leg and the last, but beyond that the wind didn't bother us too much. K did great - her longest run so far!!!!

I started having stomach issues shortly into that first hour and the first Gu did not help. When we looped back to R's to drop off K, I had a granola bar hoping it would help. It didn't. It really sucked. I have never had stomach issues like that and I am guessing it is because of the medicine I am on in combination of not eating the right thing during the day. The bummer was that my legs felt pretty good. Of course, at the pace I was going at the end - how could they not feel good!

I made it home, paid the babysitter and crashed on the couch - afraid to move. I logically thought I should get something in my stomach but really didn't want to take the chance. I made myself get up and take a hot shower, which I had a hard time making myself leave. Can't I stay in here forever? And that did make me feel better - enough so that I was willing to chance something in my stomach. A plain bagel and strawberry jam. Once I got that in, I was willing to chance some ibuprofen to mask the muscle pain so I could sleep. And I actually did sleep fairly well. Glad it is done and just hope the next run goes better!

One more thing -

Usually I try to be a positive person when it comes to running. Oh, I say the occasional, "Let's get this over with!" or "I am struggling." Or just plain, "Ugh". But overall I think my running friends would not say I am a negative Nelly. However, lately there seems to be a plethora of stories about things you need to worry about if you are out on a run. If it isn't getting hit by a plane, it is this:

Once again, thanks to Runny is Funny.

Holy Crap!

Holy Crap! For two reasons this morning.

First Holy Crap and starting on a happy note - a TON of people came and ran this morning. It looked like a big sale was happening at Walgreens. NINE! Jenny and Wendy made their repeat seasonal return (I missed them last time since due to not hearing my alarm clock). And Dan (Wendy's husband) joined us too!

Second HOLY CRAP and not so happy note - Jenny and Wendy have turned into speed demons over the winter and the overall slower momentum of the rest of the runners did not slow them down. Instead the group increased their pace to try to keep up. However, the wise ones (over 40) and thus able to resist foolishness behavior, decided to actually enjoy the morning run and settled into a much more reasonable, but still faster than normal, pace. Thanks goodness Elyse and Dan were there or it would have been either a lonely or miserable run for me.

On an even funnier note: Last night I had a dream, and I am not joking about this, that we were at a marathon expo and as we were leaving we said "We will see you at the post race celebration with beers in our hands!" To which the race organizer responded, "Sorry, no beer this year." Which elicited the reply, "WHAT???" And he explained that it was a new law which prohibited them from serving alcohol after races. To which I responded, "That's it - now I am definitely NOT doing marathons anymore!".

So, I interpret this dream a couple of ways...

1. It was a NIGHTMARE, not a dream.
2. Apparently, I do need a break from marathons.
3. It is an obvious indication of my opinion of the laws politicians feel compelled to enact for the "good" of the people. (sarcasm)
4. Maybe I am running marathons for the wrong reasons - all of which come in 12 oz containers and contain a yellowish brown beverage with a lovely white foam on top.

A search of the Internet came up with this appropriate picture:

And also helped me discover a great new blog: Beerrunner

Product Reviews

I have done three runs since my last post. A normal morning run. A 14 mile pace run. A Sunday evening sucky run.

The pace run was good. Well, it was very hard, especially the last 3 miles, but the pace as a tiny bit faster than I hoped. So, the suckiness (Is that a word? It is now!) was worth it. Plus I got to run with the very humorous Sullivans. They were very kind and delayed their run so I would have someone to run with since No Show Gal bailed on me for better running partners (the Cousins). It was very kind of them, but I am still going to give Tom grief for being a NPP (Non Poll Person).

I just got back from a Sunday evening run with as I alluded to before - SUCKED. It was a beautiful evening too! Perfect temperature, no wind. One of those evenings that EVERYONE is out taking walks. However, it was the evening and my body just is not used to running at the that time. It was one where one I looked at my pace I had to remind myself that it was just a good thing I was out running.

So - on to PRODUCT REVIEWS.

MUSCLE MILK LIGHT

After my pace run I got a request on my cell phone to bring home some marshmallows to roast over our new fire pit. (One of those times I did NOT enjoy the easy access of technology). However, I was feeling like my usual recovery drink of Diet Mtn Dew was not going to be good enough nor was it going to make my night of sleep any easier to come by. Plus, the one I had in my cooler was not icy cold. So, since I could also benefit by stopping by the grocery store in my nice and stinky state, I decided to go and get the marshmallows and some CHOCOLATE milk. I have read in many places that it is indeed the best recovery drink. It didn't take much convincing. However, in the long and large cooler space at the front of the store I could not find a chocolate milk! There was every energy drink you could imagine, but no chocolate milk! I tapped my heels three time and said "I want go home, I want to go home". But since I was already in Wisconsin (the DAIRY state) I stayed right where I was. Still no chocolate milk and after running 14 miles, there was no way in H - E double hockey sticks that I was going to walk to the very back of the store to see if they had single serving sizes back by the gallons.

Then my eye happened upon:

Hmmmm (in a skeptical tone). If you look carefully, you will see below the words 'Nutritional Shake", the words "Contains No Milk". I was very, very skeptical. Did I really want to spend the money (over $2.00) to take a chance on something that might gag me? I decided it would give me some good blog material, so what the heck. But I also bought some flavored water so I could wash it down if it was indeed nasty. Nothing like driving around in your car looking like cat trying to hack up a hairball.

So, I got in my car and started slamming it it. As I was slamming it I thought, 'Not too bad!" Then I stopped for a brief second. Apparently, your taste buds aren't able to take in the full taste of a liquid when it is passing over its taste buds at high velocity. Now, the taste wasn't that bad, but it wasn't like chocolate milk. More like a cheap malt ball, which I don't like.

I have no idea if the drink helped me recover faster, but I do know that next time I will opt for the much cheaper, better tasting and scientifically proven good ole chocolate milk!

PRODUCT REVIEW NUBMER 2 -

Sennheiser MX75 Twist-To-Fit In-Ear Stereo Sport Headphones

Normally I don't wear headphones runnings I prefer people over my iPod. However today I was running by myself, so I took my husbands Sennheiser headphones with me. I got these for him for Christmas after he said he was happy it was cold out because now the ear band or hat will help to keep his earbuds in his ears. He unlike me, NEVER runs without his iPod - even when he is running with me (note to self - future blog material). He mentioned that at a recent race he saw a women who had taped her earbuds into her ear. Although he sympathized with her, he didn't think he would ever do that. Any Whooo... on my Christmas list it went and of course, Internet Search Goddess that I am, I was able to find a pair of earphone that was specifically built to address his dilemma AND all the reviews agreed that they worked. After wearing them twice, I have to agree that they work swell. I never have to adjust them and they never pop out. My husband has worn them on long runs and they did not hurt his ears. So they get two thumbs up from us. Of course, I had to wipe the girl sweat off them before I returned them to him. Here is a picture of them in some dude's ear (not mine or my husband's).