Snow....

Yup, we woke up to two inches of "freshes" on the ground and another inch or so fell during my run, that plus a nice "breeze" made it feel like spring in VT again! All this warm weather was making me feel strange...I shouldn't get sunburn in March, that has to wait until April!

Today's run was likely 17, if not more. Conservative measurements brought up 17.4 on the gmaps pedometer, but because I ran three 5+ mile out and backs, along with a two mile addition, it was hard to calculate perfectly. The last mile was definitely pushing the legs - but walking for a short bursts allowed me to finish running - downhill hurts, but I'm glad I have ours to prepare for Boston's last few miles. Now I think I need to do a bit more flat road running, I really feel better going uphill, strange as it may sound.

I ran this strange three loopie thing in order to test out a fueling strategy. I think most folks are familiar with the phrase "hitting the wall" and I've had experience with this when I was 23 and thought I could run a half marathon on coffee and a muffin. Bam, 12 miles hit and I just shoke my head and laughed - so that's what they mean. You really feel like you've hit a wall. The cure for this is to make sure you have enough carbs and electrolytes (and protein, some think) in your system as you run (or do any exercise) over an hour. So over the years I've been experimenting with the new gel, drinks, etc and just haven't had much success of finding something that works for my stomach and allows me to run too (I can eat most everything while I ski or row).

Enter a sample pack of HEED, a desperate Mom of a toddler with no time to go to the sports store to buy something else, her first 13+ run, and the rest was history. One of my best runs and no stomach issues. I've tested a few other things since that run, but nothing buffers my stomach better and today my energy level was consistant through the run (it was just my legs that pooped out). This run I also tried their endurance drink (for exercise longer than 2 hours) - that stuff looked and tasted horrible before the run, but at 2+ hours, it was strangely exactly what my body was craving. Weird, but cool. I've got my fuel.

I think that's it for now. Got a few other posts rolling around my head, but got a body and a Bryn to feed!