Saturday's run

Ok, so I just looked at the calendar and realized that my half marathon is in just 3 weeks from yesterday. Yikes! Will I be ready??

Yesterday, I donned my ifitness running belt, grabbed my water bottle, and hit the trails for an easy 6.5 miler. I brought my phone with me and even set it to record my run, but I made the decision to not worry about time or distance (I'd already mapped out my distance, so I had a general idea of where to go for my 6.5 miles). I just wanted to enjoy the run.

I walked to my starting point and stopped to stretch. I've been pretty terrible about stretching and my shins have really been protesting, so I decided I really need to be better about stretching after my warm-up and then again after the workout.

I started out a little on the slow side but was feeling pretty good.

Not too long after crossing the first bridge and heading back north along the river, I started to feel pretty tired. I needed a pick-me-up. I brought a couple gel packs with me, but my tummy always tends to feel a little nauseous and the thought of having any kind of gel really turns my stomach. I tried to just keep pushing through but eventually decided I should just give it a try.

I figured I'd walk a little ways before the next trash can, so I could open the packet, eat it, and get to the trash can just in time to start running again.

Not so.

My hands had gotten so super sweaty that I couldn't get my Hammer Gel packet to open. I even tried ripping it with my teeth. I still hadn't opened it by the time I reached the trash can and had to stand there for what seemed like a very long time still struggling with it. I finally got it opened and ate it. I tried the Apple Cinnamon, and it was actually pretty tasty. Didn't upset my stomach at all. Yay!

This all happened at just under 4 miles, and it gave me the perfect boost to finish out my run. Double yay!

I did have a couple physical problems during the race. The normal shin pain that kind of comes and goes. A little numbing in my right arm. A few pebbles in my shoes.  Shoes rubbing my ankles raw.

Maybe I should run with headphones just to distract me from dwelling on all these minor problems. I also think I should probably incorporate some running on the treadmill because that tends to help with the shin pain.

After my run, I got in a longer-than-usual cool down. It felt great to just walk several blocks after running. After getting home and stretching and showering, I spent some time icing my shins. I think this was really smart, because today, they are not really bothering me so much. Sweet.

All in all, this was a great run for me. I'm not sure I could have gone on for another 1.5 miles (next week's long distance), but I felt pretty good at the end of this one.

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Later in the afternoon, we made a run to the Scuba Center in Edina, which happened to be across the street from Marathon Sports, so while Jeff paid at the Scuba Center I stopped into the running store. I got a new (my first) handheld water bottle.

amphipod Hydraform Handheld Thermal-Lite

I'm pretty excited to try it out. I think it will be so much better than just running with my water bottle in my hand.

I also got some new non-cotton running socks.

asics intensity™ low cut

I really hope that these will help a lot with the problems I've been having with the shoes rubbing my ankles raw. It's happened to me on several runs now, and it's getting very annoying.

I also picked up some Clif Shot Bloks (orange) and some Gu Chomps (blueberry pomegranate) to try out. I think that I might be more mentally able to stomach these than the gel packs. I'll let you know!

Tomorrow, I'm scheduled for a 5 mile run. I plan on bringing my running gear to work with me and just running home after work. It's about 5.4 miles, so that should be perfect for a nice warm-up and cool-down! I'm very excited!