double digits that is!
today i ran 10, yes, that's t-e-n, TEN miles today in prospect park. actually, according to dragan it was even more than that, but 10 is such a nice even number.
it was a day of firsts. first time running in brooklyn. first time running mileage in the double digits. breaking the line for having run OVER 100 miles! first time eating (swallowing?) power gel/goo. first time with chafing issues. first time thinking i was not going to finish. first time having a butt-neked massage post-run. aaaah what a saturday. it was also a day of realizing how much stuff i have to buy. but more on that later.
everyone was practicing in prospect park in park slope today. this was no big deal for me as it takes me about the same amount of time to get there as it does to central park...except today the f line was running on the c line and the g train turned in to the f train but the direction that it went was not intuative...so basically it took an extra 20 minutes to get to the park between waiting for transfers and actually getting on the g train going in the wrong direction.
it was also the coldest morning yet, and consistent to how i live my non-running life, i was ill-prepared for the weather. my running pants, which aren't very good anyway because they are cotton, were in the dirty clothing. i have nothing of the long-sleeve yet dry-fit variety in shirts. hmmm. i was stuck in my TNT tee shirt, shorts and a sweatshirt to keep me warm at the beginning of running, but would likely be way to heavy to keep after a while. when we got to the park, we had to wait for everyone since the trains were screwy and had a nutrition clinic before we ran. the clinic was great: coach christine explained how often before we run we have to eat. how often we have to eat goo or other "snacks" during our long runs (we are officially on "real" long runs). what we should be drinking and how much and when. but because of the cold, we were all freezing by the time we started.
i'm not going to lie, the going was hard. i think for me it was a combo of cold, post-vacation, not-enough-recent-training, cold, an achy left quad, a little fear of such a long run, and did i mention i was cold? we were supposed to do 3 loops, repeating the hill at the end of the loop once the first time around. i also was wearing the heavy sweatshirt which i had to take off and carry because it refused to stay tied to my waist. (luckily for me coach steve took it back to the start when i saw him on the hill - thanks steve!) the hill huuuuurt. i have ridden that hill painfully on my bike before and even though it doesn't seem very steep it just keeps going.
one thing i realized today is that i could do a 5 day bike ride no problem after this. it's just NOT the same kind of pain as propelling all of yourself around "quickly" for a long period of time! bring on the bikes!
after some water and chatting, loop 2 was easier. at 60 minutes, it was time to eat the goo. i had raspberry cream power gel. it was very weird, but not nearly as bad as i thought. we ripped off the tops, swallowed it with a nice water chaser and waited for the buzz. mmmmmm. the consistency was that of very thick yogurt, but less creamy and (consistency-wise) more like gel toothpaste. charlotte's had caffeine, mine did not, but i could feel it almost right away. and it didn't bother my tummy, which was my other fear. i'm realizing that tons of food give me heartburn if i run on them, and so i need to do some experimenting with my breakfasts. fun stuff huh!
for loop three we went in the other direction for a change of scenery. about 3 times we thought we were almost done only to find we were mis-remembering the park. ug. i also realized my shorts, which have been so kind to me, had started rubbing my thigh the wrong way...sting-y. time to get some lube (not that kind you dirty people!) seriously though, the last 15 minutes, i really thought i was going to have to walk. my right foot hurt. my legs were dead tired. the good thing was i wasn't winded, and that was the only thing that kept me going!
Wheeeee. 3 loops, x 3.35 miles = 10.05. + a repeat of the hilly section...ah screw it. let's just keep 10 miles for our numbers!
after brunch...i had the brilliant idea of going to get a cheap qi gong (a kind of chinese massage that supposedly releases blocked up energy points, but in reality is a very very hard massage) rub down. so good. while i was in pain at certain points (calves, where your neck meets your shoulder, and my lower back) it was just what the doctor ordered.
tomorrow or monday a 3-4 miler + yoga. not sure which day is which. gotta find an apartment. and need to buy some supplies...long sleeved shirt, body glide (prevents chafing), goo to eat, a hat, some pants & a new pair of shorts to try out...i think "thats it".
OH. forgot to tell you. i AM attempting the staten island 1/2 marathon next weekend. if anyone wants to come cheer, please do. i might not run the whole thing because that will be a big mileage jump, but our coach said it's very very flat so it might even feel like less work than today's 10. wish me luck!
today's mileage: 10.0
total mileage: 109.0
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