Another 20 miler.....

Can you guess what this post is about?  ;-)

Yeah no creative title for this one. 

So yesterday morning I had another  20 mile run scheduled.  Kinda made me wonder why I picked the training plan I have, two weekends in a row of 20 mile long runs?!  Eeks!   

Actually, I used the Smart Coach program on the Runner's World website to design my training plan.  I like how you can tailor to how many miles per week you want to do and how hard you want to train.  Its worked well for me in the past, so I've stuck with it.  

I pulled together my supplies for the run. 

Pre run - Clif Bar, Oatmeal Raisin Walnut

During run- Just Plain flavored Gu's

My mom and step-dad gave me my very own box o' Gu. 

I of course had to do the coastal route! 

It was too beautiful not to be sea side.  

Plus for some reason doing an out and back along the ocean just doesn't seem as long as venturing on several twisting turning roads.  

Made some friends along the way..... 

These guys were just hanging out by the side of the road. 

Another scenic Gu & water stop. 

I feel bad for people that only have corn or highways to look at on their long runs. 

So I planned out my pre-run food and during run food ok.... but once done I realized I FORGOT to pack my post-run food!!  Ack! 

I stopped by a convenience store and grabbed a Vitamin Water, then headed to the grocery store as I needed to go there anyways. 

I picked up an Amy's Spinach & Feta Pocket.  It was kinda blah....  but I ate it, needed FOOD!

So now its time to start bringing down the mileage a bit.  I believe next weekend's long run is only about 13 or so miles and the following weekend is down to 8!  

This month's Runner's World arrived yesterday, it has all kinds of info on the NYC marathon!!!  Lots of interesting people running it, tips, etc. Kind of like their April issue which is loaded with Boston Marathon related articles.  It definitely has me very excited for the race now.  :-)

Oh and I also need to report on my plantar's fasciitis.  The night boot/brace thing seems to help!  When I get up in the morning, my foot doesn't hurt!  During my 20 miles I could feel a little something, but it wasn't painful.  I am going to stay tuned in to how my foot is feeling and scale back if needed, I want to make sure its ok for the marathon.  I do think speed work bothers it a bit, so I may dial that back a bit.  

How was your weekend workout(s)?  

Britt

Reach the Beach!

First off, I highly recommend a relay race with friends. 

Its a great bonding activity, you never know what is going to happen. 

It can be a lot of work to organize, especially if it is a 24 hour race but it is definitely worth it!

There are all kinds of relays now but Reach the Beach and Hood to Coast are a couple of the original 24+ hour relays.  My running crew is talking about maybe doing one in Florida put on by Ragnar Relays, although I also found one that goes from Key Largo to Key West.... its a little shorter too and we could have a smaller team.  

Any how back to Reach the Beach.  

THURSDAY

We headed up to northern NH.  Luckily one of our crew has a good hook up, so we had a free place to stay.  I hit the hay relatively early, as I knew I wouldn't get much sleep Friday night. 

FRIDAY

I was up before 7am, showering and packing up. We had to be at the start close to 8am to get registered.  I was our team captain so I had to do all of our check-in, I also was our first runner too! 

My first run was about 8 miles so I had to fuel up for my run.

BREAKFAST

-poppyseed bagel w/ PB

We of course had to take a few team pictures........

And decorate our vans...

Although this year was a bit sad compared to past years.  We just didn't have much time to decorate or the motivation. 

But at least we had me & Tito.  ;-)

And then we were off!

Beautiful scenery along the way of course. 

This was one of the transition areas. 

If you don't remember my explanation.  There are 12 of us on a team, you can have less too but no more than 12.  If you have 6 or less you are considered an "ultra" team. 

We each ran 3 legs, the legs are split up by the race directors, you have specific transition areas.  Once you pick an order you have to stay in that order.  I was our 1st runner so I ran legs 1, 13 and 25.  

The total mileage of the race is just over 200 miles.  Each runner has a combined total of miles ranging from about 14 to just over 22.  I was the lucky person with just over 22 miles.  :)

While it may sound great that most of the first few legs have a lot of downhill.... you quads pay the price.  The start of the race, you are full of energy...... you are excited.... you are.... well stupid..... you go out too fast and later on when you have to run up hill during your later legs.... it. really. hurts. 

But despite all this talk, I was able to recruit a newbie from my blog.....

Mrs. Our Life is Delicious donated her husband to the cause.  :)  

Or well he donated himself I guess. 

Yay Artie!!!  He even sported his "No Meat Athlete" shirt. 

A little action shot.... Artie jetting off on his first leg after the hand off. 

Soon it started to get dark..... and that meant dressing up in such fashionable items as

-reflective vest

-2 blinky lights... one front, one back

-head lamp

This is my sexy night runner pose.

I swear it did get dark on my run.

This was a leg or two  later when it was really dark out. 

My teammate Tom was getting ready to head out on his run.  It was one heck of a hilly run too... he started going straight up a hill that lasted at least 1/3 of a mile, went down for a bit and then right back up.  

So I have to admit, my eating was not all that spectacular.  For lunch I had a turkey, swiss, baby spinach and mustard sandwich.  It was camera shy.  Also had some trailmix and a chocolate chip cookie 

But after my 2nd run of the day, I got snacky and we had lots of snacks. 

Twizzlers......... evil.

Cheez-Its....... even more evil. 

But when you are living in a mess like this...... it kinda fits I guess. 

My van was lucky and we finished up our 2nd leg by midnight.  We headed to the next team transition area for some sleep.  Most of us slept in the van.... on seats, on the floor, outside in a tent... where ever we could find a place. 

SATURDAY

At 4:50am we got a call from the other van.  Their last runner was on course for her 7 mile run and I was on deck. 

I started my run just around 6am. 

 It was dark, but soon I could see a beautiful sunrise in the works.....

My team stopped by to give me some support..... 

It was my longest run, about 9.5 miles and the first half was pretty much all uphill.

This is at about the top of the hill section, right before I hit the downhill.

As you can see I was happy to see them and the downhill!!!

Me finishing up my final run and passing off our reflective slap bracelet "batton" to Mia

So my team thought it was odd that in my purchase of food for the van I got baby spinach.  I figured.... who wants just a meat & cheese sandwich, spinach is an easy addition and its like lettuce but even better for you. 

Well it became a running joke. 

At one point we showered one of our teammates with spinach during his run.

Here we are posing with our mascot vegetable....

Pretty much the answer to any problem involved....... baby spinach.... and sometimes hummus or baba ghanoush (which we didn't have any of but its fun to say).

Then we finally REACHED the beach!

This is the crew after we ran through the finish line together and got our medals. 

Our Stats

Overall Time: 28:48:42

Average Pace: 8:20/ mile

Runners: 6 guys, 6 girls.... ranging in age from 29-47

Overall an absolute blast!  :)

Let me know if you have any questions, its hard to fit it all in.  But hopefully that gives you an idea of how it all went.  

Britt

My big news & another beach run!

Hello!  Hope you are having a great Sunday!

I could be out biking with the hubby on his birthday ride, but I ran this morning and have stuff to take care of this afternoon.... so I let him go ride with the boys.  He's all excited to ride his new bike!  (a new one was required as his frame on his old one cracked!)

We had a fabulous time last night, but unfortunately my pictures came out awful..... it was so dark in the restaurant (and I didn't want to use my flash).  So after I skipped my 5 mile race in the rain, yes I'm a wimp, I took the hubby out for his birthday dinner (well the fancy one).  

We went to one of my FAVORITE places ever in Kittery, Maine called Anneka Jans.  If you are ever in the area I HIGHLY recommend this place.  So. Good.

What we ate......

Bangs Island Mussels, Bacon, Shallots, White Wine, Cream

Organic Greens, Sweet & Sour Golden Raisins, Toasted Pine Nuts, Champagne Vinaigrette

Halibut pan seared w/ peas, lobster cream sauce, spring onions and potatoes (what I could remember, they don't have it on the website)

Seared Duck Breast, Wild Rice Pancake, Grilled Asparagus, Blueberry Glaze (the birthday boy's meal)

We shared a yummy bottle of Pinot Noir.  After dinner we met up with some friends for cocktails.  

I took it easy though and didn't finish my drink at two places we went.  I had to be ready for my run this morning!

Today

I didn't get the earliest start, but that is ok at least I got going.  :)

I ate breakfast in the car, as I needed a little ocean for inspiration again.  

BREAKFAST

-Clif Kid Twisted Fruit 

(super sweet)

-Kashi Granola Bar
Then I was off.  See why I go to the coastal route to run.
In some parts there is even a nice little trail, but primarily nice WIDE bike lanes most of the way.  

I brought 3 Gu's with me.  I took one about every 40-45 minutes.  This was at about the half way point.  Me and lots of surfers.  :)

I didn't do all 20 miles though.  The first half of the run I was dragging, the second half I got some energy but I could feel a little aching in my right foot's arch.  I ended up doing 16 miles in about 2 hours and 15 minutes, so around an 8:30 pace.  

I grabbed some stuff from the car and hit the beach.  

I figured some nice cool ocean water would be good for my feet.  

Aaaahhh.......
I did some stretching on the beach and enjoyed some food and drink. 

-Cashew Larabar
-Peach & Mandarin 10 Calorie Vitamin Water

(I was craving something other than just water, which I drank a good amount of on my run... thanks to my fuel belt)
I couldn't stay too long though, I had to run some errands and get home.  On my way home I picked up the hubby's b-day cake for dinner to night with the family. 

I was HUNGRY so I whipped up a quick lunch....

LUNCH

-canned salmon & chickpeas w/ little olive oil mayo and herbs

-peas

-left over potato salad

It was actually pretty darn tasty, I also have some leftovers for tomorrows lunch too!  Yay!

Ok, so my big news.....

.......

..............

....................

Nope not pregnant.  LOL

I got my own website.  :)  

Figured if I was going to do this blogging thing I should go a little more all out. 

I'm not transitioning quite yet, but you can do a quick preview if you want.  

www.runnerbelle.com 

I welcome any suggestions too.  :)

Enjoy the rest of the day!!

Britt

Pre Run Eats

Despite the fact that I slept in (had to cut myself some slack after a long day yesterday) and skipped my run this morning, I'll focus a bit in this post on what I eat before a run. Don't worry though I will get my run in, may just be during my lunch hour.

So before I touch on the pre run eating I'll review my eats so far today.... but its nothing shocking, just the usual suspects....

However it did have on addition, some Caribbean Granola I picked up at a local farm stand/store on Friday. It has dried pineapple, dried papaya, coconut and almonds in it.

PRE RUN EATS

Apparently Blogger hasn't been allowing people to comment all the time. Not sure if its something I'm doing or just the site being fussy. I'll see what can be done. Rather frustrating though when you are a blogging newbie and its exciting to just get a few comments.... lets you know that people are actually out there!

You may have noticed before my long runs I don't eat a whole heck of a lot. On Sunday I just grabbed a handful of cereal a little bit before my run and only took water with me. I had only planned a 12 mile run but ended up doing 14, if I had known I was going to do that I may have taken some Gu with me.

I rarely eat a lot before a run, especially in the morning as I just don't run well with a lot in my tummy. Ideally it would be nice to have something more substantial to eat and then wait a hour or two before heading out for my run, but I'm typically a bit time crunched and just want to get going with my run & my day. This light pre run eating has therefore also become part of my racing routine, as most runners know... don't try anything new on race day, stick to what you did during your training! So usually before a marathon I keep it light, a couple hours before the race I'll eat half a bagel with peanut butter and keep hydrating with water, then about a half hour before the race I'll have a GU and some more water.

Everyone is different so you may have to learn through trial and error what works for you. I know I need to stick to somewhat bland foods before a run and absolutely have to stay away from dairy the night before and morning of my long run.

Some Suggested Reading/Watching On The Topic of Pre Run Eats:

(All of these are from Runner's World)

Runner's Digest (includes various food issues, eating the night before)

The Pack Rules: Essential Advice from Runners & Readers (includes pre, during and post food info)

Pre Run Fuel: Video on Pre Run Food Suggestions

Tomorrow I'll blog about how I fuel during my long runs.

Have a great day!

Britt