8 Mile Runs, Gu's, Running Watch, and Races Galore!

I've been busy, and I really do wish that it could be because I am running in getting those strides and everything in, but I'm not. I'm consumed with work right now getting everything off the ground. I'm pretty dedicated to getting at least one maintenance run in each week before we do our long runs, but I know that when we get to the further distances this is just not going to cut it. I'm going to have to either have life get less hectic, or I'm going to have to hire a stunt double. I honestly have looked into the prices, they aren't cheap!

8-Mile Runs:

What your looking at is my first 8 mile run. I surprisingly felt more alive after this run than I have after my six mile runs.

This was one of my mid week maintenance runs where I was just making sure to get out there and run. Notice the time, and yeah it was FRIGGIN hot!

Yeah, this was this past weekend's run. I really have never felt more better than after this run. I am tempted next week to get to 10 miles just for the sake of it.  I really only sag about the 4 mile mark or so when I don't have water to replenish so much of the water weight that I'm losing as well as rehydrating me. (I'm loosing close to 5 lbs a run, don't worry I gain most of it back in the next 2-3 days with normal dieting.)

Well i'm not getting the 3-4 Runs that I want to get out of the week, but despite my schedule, I'm actually quite proud of what I'm getting in, mainly because forcing myself to find time at least once a week. It will get better as soon as work calms down.

Gu's 

Well I am getting to the point that I need to replenish the calories that I am losing during my runs on Saturday so that I'm not completely drained after the run and for the rest of the day. Part of this is done through the usage of Gu's. I recently went to my local running store to pick up a pack of 6 where I could try 3 different types. I picked out Strawberry Banana, Tri-Berry, and Just Plain. First of these things are terrible tasting, they are quite possibly the most sweetest things that you have ever had. I have learned to only sip 1/2 of the 100 calorie package and I feel like I get enough of the GU that I am able to start processing it in my body so that 15 minutes later it can take effect (there is a strategy apparently.)

Running Watch:

Turns out just getting out there and running is not as simple as I thought. I needed to (it was my birthday after all) to purchase a running watch. One of the best in the business is Garmin, who make my favorite handheld GPS's for my old hobby of Geocaching. Anyway, after doing some amount of research, I located a Garmin 305 on sale on Craigs List for $100 (MSRP $225). The owner had used it a small number of times and received it from her mother and only ran indoors and had no real need for it. I really like it in that it gives me much more analytics than I had before on my Nike System. I still use the Nike+ system that I have had for a while because I like the graphs a little better than the Garmin graphs, but the garmins preciseness with how far I run is very helpful. I find that the Nike system is about a quarter mile off for every 4-5 miles ran for me.

Races Galore

My calendar is filling up, my running  calendar that is! I'm slated to run in the Marathon Warm-Up Series coming up this fall. This series of three races is 13.1, 15.5, and 18.8 miles respectively. They allow me to get ready to run a certain distance and have the raceday atmosphere and preparation that will make me ready for the Houston Marathon. 

Here is the races I'm slated to run:

October 24: 2010 Houston Half Marathon & Relay in cooperation with Koala Health & Wellness Centers and Luke’s Locker. (13.1 Miles)

November 14: 2010 Houston Masters Classical(25 K or 15.5 Miles)

December 12: 2010 Sugar Land Lake of Williams Ranch (30 K or 18.8 Miles) 

I might fit a 10k or random 5K in there from time to time but I need to be focused on longer runs on Saturday to get prepped for the Houston Marathon.

So you get in the Marathon and drop off the face of the earth....

Well, uh...yeah!


The reason for this is that it is back to school time. Which means that the classrooms that we took the better part of a month tearing down last may needed to be unboxed and put back up for the upcoming school year. To make things more interesting, Corrie got transferred to two different campuses within the first two weeks this year as part of a big district realignment with our jobs. All that too say that we have had a full month of 7 AM - 8 PM shifts of working/prepping/teaching which have led to little to no chance to run in at least the last two weeks. I have wanted to daily, but our time frame just hasn't allowed for it.

I've learned that I just can't run when I want. I have come up with 3 -4 different situations.

After School Run: This is probably going to be my best option this year for my Sub 1 1/2 hour run. I get out of school at 3:45 PM and can get in an eventual 5-7 mile run with the pace I'm running now. I like this option because I can change out of work clothes and immediately get my run in. The negative is that it puts me getting home pretty late. I'm okay with that but it means less time after picking up Cullen before he gets home and has to go to sleep.

Night Run: This is an option that I haven't really tried yet. I realize that it is going to have to be my option whenever I get to the 3-4 hour training runs. I've purchased night reflectors that I'll post about tomorrow after my run. I think these will be good, but it will mean me giving up some time in the evening or putting people to bed earlier just so that I can get in a run before it gets too late.

Morning Run: This seems like the most logical of the ideas for me, but I really don't wake up great during the school year.

YMCA Run: The YMCA is our local gym that we are members of, Corrie and Cullen can go into the Y while I run the trails and we can meet back up. We are going to try to use this option at least once a week.


And I thought this was going to be about just running 26.2 miles in less than six hours....