“Win”sday is “Just a Little Giveaway” Day!

Well, it’s finally here. 27 followers and nearly 4000 page views in 3 months is not too shabby in my book. Speaking of books, if you have followed for a while or know anything about me, I love to read – especially about my hobbies. Knowing this, it probably comes as little surprise then to know that I have more than a few running books and I follow more than a few running related blogs (just see the sidebar).  For me, reading is key to my understanding of things. It helps me to “marinate” a stray thought into something useful, or to put a complex concept into practice. Such was the case with running. 

Reading about running is educating, enlightening, and motivating.  I can honestly say that I would not be running today without Chris McDougall’s Born to Run, and I would not be training for an ultra-marathon were it not for Dean Karnaze’s Ultramarathon Man. With that said, I want my first giveaway to be something special that might help you out, or might help you to help someone you know to get out and get running!

So, the prize is The Courage to Start, by John “the Penguin” Bingham.  

I read this book several months ago and it instantly hit home with me and helped to keep my running fire burning hot. As the title suggests, the book is aimed at those just beginning to run and covers topics from how to get started to what to wear, and how to set achievable goals to get there. This book however is not only for beginners, as it has pages of humorous anecdotes and tips to keep the veteran runner going as well.

To enter (leave a separate comment for each entry):

Mandatory Entries:
- Be (or become) a follower of Just a Little Run and comment on this post that you are (just click the follow button) = One Entry
- “Like” Just a Little Run on Facebook and comment on this post that you did = One Entry

Additional Entries:
- Facebook or Tweet about this giveaway and comment on this post that you did = One Entry

- Blog about this giveaway and comment on this post that you did = One Entry
- Tell me what your favorite running book is or what got you started in running = One Entry

That gives you 5 total chances to win this great book - two are mandatory! Please don’t forget to leave a separate comment for each entry! The deadline to enter is 
Wednesday, October 5 at 11:59 (Pacific Time).
I will select the winner using random.org and announce the results on Friday, October 7.

Thanks, Good Luck, and Have Fun!

**This book was not provided to me, it was purchased with my own hard earned money.

**If you are a company looking for a blog to promote your product or business, please email me! Justalittlerun(at)gmail(dot)com

TNF 50 Weekly Training Update: Support Your Local Running Store

Another week of training in the books and I am feeling strong.  I have a couple nagging injuries (that’s too strong a word), but nothing too crazy. I am really enjoying the running and the improvement in my endurance every week.

Back to back (b2b) long runs of 23 and 20 were the highlight of this week’s training. Additionally, I only ran 4 days instead of my normal 5, but that was due to a meeting that precluded me from running on Thursday, so I just made it a rest day and moved my long runs to Friday/Saturday instead of Saturday/Sunday.  It actually turned out pretty nice as I had no run to do today, but rather was able to just hang out with the family and eat this:

Clam Chowder from Domenico's!

Yup, that’s clam chowder in a bread bowl from the world famous Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey!  It was definitely awesome and I am trying to figure out the logistics of having one of these at about the 40 mile mark of TNF 50!

I also threw in a gnarly 11 mile run up an over Aguajito Rd (twice). This is a route that I had to walk every hill on several months ago, and now I am running the whole thing twice! It’s great to feel and see the progress.  If there is any weak point in my training right now, it’s trails. Ideally, I would like to be on the trails at least once a week, but it has been tough to make that happen as I have to drive to run on trails. This will definitely be a focus of mine moving forward though.

OK, so changing topics. Do you shop at your local running store? I’ll be honest, my local running store is Fleet Feet Sports: Monterey and I do not shop there nearly as much as I should, or would like to.  Sometimes it’s tough to support your local store as they don’t have the ability to stock every pair of running shoes from every manufacturer in every size and color, nor can they slash prices as deeply as the online retailers. After all, your local running store has real overhead, including rent for the building and salary for the employees and they probably don’t do the volume of sales in a year that your favorite online retailer does in a day.  So the bottom line is that your local store may not have the best prices or selection, but they’ve got something that your online retailer will never have.  They have a name and a face. They have knowledge of the best local routes and races. They know where you can find a running group and maybe even a new running partner. They are also there on Sunday when you just have to get that piece of gear that can’t wait for FedEx or UPS.   

Friday, I ran into Fleet Feet looking for some Injinjis (by the way, I won 3^rd place in their video contest, but the prize does not include a pair of socks….can you believe that?), and whatever else looked interesting.  Well unfortunately they do not carry injinjis, but I did drool over the NB Minimus 10 and considered buying a pair to try out, but honestly I am so happy with my Kinvaras (review here) that I don’t think I can justify switching now.  Anyway, as I was chatting with the ever helpful and friendly employees (also fellow runners), I wandered over to the clearance rack (yes I’m cheap) and started browsing shirts and shorts. As I looked, one of them asked me my size (medium) and then asked if I wanted the long sleeve NB tech tee with their store name on it! I said “absofreakinlutely!” She gave me a long sleeve tech shirt for free to help advertise their store! Well I did more than that; I actually picked up a new Mizuno Rider Tech Tee and a Brooks visor also with the Fleet Feet logo. So what’s the moral of the story? To me, the moral is to stop in and visit your local store. While it’s great to always get the lowest price on things, there’s nothing like going into the store, trying on some shoes (or drooling over gear) and having some nice conversation with likeminded runners!

Do you have a favorite local running store? What is it, and how often do you shop there?

So, to wrap up the week:

Mon – Rest

Tue – 9 @ 9:34

Wed – 11 @ 9:38

Thu – Rest

Fri –23 @ 10:08

Sat – 20 @ 10:09

Sun – Rest

Total miles for the week – 63

Next week’s goal: Knock down 65 or so miles with another weekend of b2b long runs of 4 and 3 hours, with at least one of them on trails. After this week, it’s recovery time! As always, thanks so much for reading! We just reached 25 followers, so stay tuned for my 1^st “Just a Little Giveaway!”

Gear Review: Camelbak Annadel Hydration Pack

A couple months ago, before I officially started my marathon training plan, I was trying to figure out what I was going to use for hydration on my longer runs.  I have a fuel belt that holds four 7oz bottles and a little pocket for keys or maybe two gels.  I have used the belt numerous times during different training plans and was never completely satisfied with it.  I don’t like the way it slips and slides around my waist and I still had to carry something extra to hold enough gels for my long runs.  After trying the belt for a while, and deciding I wasn’t a big fan, I decided to try carrying a bottle in my hand.  This didn’t work for me for two reasons:  One, I still didn’t have anything to hold my gels or keys or whatever, and Two, It made my arm tired.  I think I would just tense up carrying it and my shoulder and arm would start to ache.  I thought about carrying a Camelbak in the past but always thought it would be too bulky and heavy.  Well that all changed one day while we were exploring the equipment booths at the Sea Otter Classic.  We came across the Camelbak tent and I realized just how many different variations of the Camelbak there are.  After doing some research I finally decided on the 2011 Annadel Camelbak.  I have taken this pack on every run (ten miles or over) for the past three months and have absolutely zero complaints.  This pack works perfectly and I am so happy I have finally found something that works for me!

Here are some specifics about the pack and why I love it:

-          It is women specific and designed specifically with running, walking, or racing in mind.

-          It has a 1.5 Liter Antidote Reservoir (which is just a fancy way of saying it has a 50oz bladder with a quick seal cap, big bite valve, easy to clean mouth opening, and is BPA free).

-          Only $49.00 and comes in three girl fun colors (blue, pink, and black).

-          Front and back reflectivity and a very light weight slim design.

-          Two pockets designed to carry keys, trail maps, energy bars, gels (I can fit about ten), cell (I can fit my iPhone), or anything else you can shove in it!

Pros:    -     Very comfy and easy to put on and take off.

-          Easy to fill and clean

-          Pockets hold a lot

-          Affordable

Cons:    -    Have to take it off to get in the pockets for gels or whatever

-          Can cause chaffing on back if you wear a back clasp sports bra.  I avoid this with a little body glide!

Bottom line:  This pack is easy to clean, easy to fill, light weight, comfortable to wear, and has enough storage for almost anything you might need.  If you haven’t settled on or are just starting out researching your hydration options the 2011 Annadel Camelbak was a great choice for me and I definitely recommend it!

TNF 50 Weekly Training Update: The Fear of Overtraining

Another hard week of training in the books, and I’m feeling pretty good overall. A little achy, but more so from the CFT, than the miles this weekend I think.   I still owe you all a post on the training plan that I am following, so that will be coming this week (seriously this time…I promise). 

The highlights for this week’s training was the b2b long runs of 24 and 16 and the hill work that I was able to incorporate into my running this week. The 9 miler on Thursday and the 24 miler on Saturday both has some pretty silly elevation that is leaving me very confident as I continue on in my ultra- training.  Now I really need to start focusing on getting out to the trails more often so that I can continue to work the hills while also focusing on the tougher terrain. 

In other news, I want to switch gears really quickly to talk about over training.  For the last two weeks or so, the HeadThinker has been dragging. She’s been keeping up with her runs, but complaining that she’s tired and that her legs just aren’t recovering. Well, long story short, she’s overtraining, and it’s my fault! I feel so bad that I have put her into this situation.  Basically, about 6 weeks ago she was feeling great and wanted to up her mileage because 1) she was feeling strong and running well, and 2) she wanted to make sure she could run multiple 20 milers and at least one 22 miler prior to her marathon (Nike Women’s Marathon on Oct 16^th).  Well the first week or so went great and the next week was ok, but then the wheels sort of fell off. Now, less than 4 weeks out, she is having to take a lot of time to rest and recover and probably more importantly, she has lost a lot of confidence!  We added lots of rest days and dropped her mileage and now she is slowly ramping back up with one more week of solid training before she starts to think about tapering.

Obviously there are a couple of lessons here. First, what works for one will not necessarily work for another.  I thought that since I had followed a similar high mileage plan that it would work for her as well. Unfortunately, I failed to realize that I have run about twice as many miles as she has this year and her base was not up to the challenge for increased mileage so soon. Second, it is imperative that you listen to your body over your training plan or training partner. While being tired is normal, always being tired and sore is not.  Never be a slave to a sheet of paper.  Finally, we (well really she, but I am vested in her success as well) are very lucky that she did not get injured, which would have totally derailed her marathon plan. The first marathon is something special. I want her to have the same chance for both joy and success that I did. 

Have you ever dealt with overtraining? How and when did you finally realize it? Were you able to overcome it and still complete your goal race?

So, to wrap up the week:

Mon – Rest

Tue – 9 @ 9:42

Wed – 9 @ 10:14

Thu – 9 @ 9:25

Fri – Rest

Sat – 24 @ 9:54

Sun – 16 @ 10:54

Total miles for the week – 67

Next week’s goal: Maintain mileage at mid to high 60s and complete another b2b weekend of 4 hours and 3 hours. I'm also thinking about a giveaway when I reach 25 followers (4 to go!). What do you think?

Anybody Else Have a Running Telescope?

Was making some lunch today and looked across the kitchen into the dining room and I saw this!

It's a running telescope if you can't tell. It's adorned with my visor, a couple CW-X Sports Bras, a pair of Nike compression shorts, my Nathan Waist pack, a pair of CEP compression sleeves, a Spi Belt knockoff, and a couple heart monitors for the Garmins. What a waste of a telescope, but what a damn good running gear hanger!

How about you? Do you have a running telescope or a treadmill closet?

A Good Run and a Great Surprise

Today, I finally got to run the Aguajito Loop with The Running Jackalope (my buddy Marcus). He has been raving about this loop for a few weeks now and I have pretty much been begging him to let me know the next time he was gonna run it. I had to bail on him the last time he went due to my 32 miler I ran on a whim, so when he suggested we run it today I was all for it. It was awesome! 1200+ feet of elevation gain over the first 5 miles and then back down over the next 4.

I had only run this route once before and then I only ran the first 6 miles without the additional climb. That was early this year and I literally had to walk up every hill! The run nearly killed me! Needless to say, I have come a long way this year and it feels great. Today’s run is a testament to hard work, so I urge you to keep pushing in your training, even if you are temporarily stalled or even moving backwards. Stick with it and you will see improvement.

OK, now to the surprise. So I get home from my run and everyone is gone except for the OverThinker (my oldest son) who is playing PS3 – no surprise there. Well as I walked into the kitchen, I saw the AntiThinker’s homework on the dining room table. Now with a nickname like the AntiThinker, you can imagine my interest to check out her homework, so with some concern (and interest), I walked over. Her assignment was to read a newspaper article that her teacher had given to the class that highlighted the efforts of a Vietnam Vet who was credited with saving nearly 2700 people during the WTC attack on 9/11 (article here), and then write a paragraph either about 9/11 or another event in their life to explain how a hero solved a problem. Here is her paragraph:

To say I was touched would be an understatement. I was floored. Of all the people she has learned about in school and in life, she chose to write about me. Unbelievable. It’s amazing the things that kids do and say and today I could not be prouder of my little AntiThinker! Perhaps it’s time for a new nickname…

So two questions today (your choice):

What is your biggest fitness improvement?

What has your kid (or someone close to you) done lately to surprise you in a positive way? 

Two for Tuesday and a Video

Normally, all my posts have something to do with running (and this one won’t disappoint), but that’s mainly due to the audience that frequents my blog (mainly DailyMilers).  I do want to eventually grow my audience and my material to cover other topics as well, so in that vein, today I am gonna mention two things that have been on my mind since I woke up this morning. Both are unbelievable, though for vastly different reasons.

First, I read today that the poverty rate (according to 2010 numbers) is 15.1%! That seems absolutely unbelievable to me, even given our current economic woes. To think that 15 out of every 100 people you see live below the poverty level (22K a year for a family of 4) is just amazing. It is a sad reminder of how far we have fallen of late. I realize there are many contributing factors, and do not want to debate those here, but I was just floored by the number. Even sadder is the fact that 22.1% of those living in poverty are children. Worldwide we are still very fortunate, but you just don’t think that so many people are struggling in America. Kinda provides a new perspective doesn’t it? (full article here)

Second, as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, my 3^rd quarter of grad school is over, so today I had the excellent opportunity to watch Dr. Phil. Not by choice per se, but I didn’t jump up and change the channel either.  Anyway, the guests today were none other than Cindy and George Anthony, the parents of the recently acquitted Casey Anthony who was accused of killing her daughter Caylee.  Cindy Anthony (the mother) was trying to see Dr. Phil and America on the thought that possibly Casey had a brain tumor and that was to blame for her erratic behavior and the disappearance of little Caylee. Unbelievable! My jaw was literally on the floor as I listened to this and watched as George sat there silently, not saying a word. Please tell me that people don’t actually believe this. Hell, please tell me that they (Cindy and George) don’t actually believe this! I still can’t believe that she (Casey) got off for the murder of her daughter, but that’s a post for another time.

Ok, so since the title of the blog is “Just a Little Run,” here is today’s link to running. I recently rejoined the Facebook ranks and came across the Injinji Footwear page; you know the makers of those famously awesome toesocks.  I have been a fan of Injinjis for quite some time (I need to post a review on here), and I saw that they are sponsoring a contest for some free socks and a chance to become the face of Injinji, so I had to enter. By the way, I recently saw the video for LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” and was hooked, so I put that song with an idea for the contest. It didn’t turn out exactly as planned, as I had initially planned to put the “Party Rock Shuffle” into the video.  With a 90 second time limit and instructions to focus on the socks, I didn’t think it would fit, so I kept the song, but dropped the dance. Here’s what I came up with:

So, three questions today:

1. What are your thoughts on poverty in America?
2. Casey Anthony brain tumor? Unbelievable? Do Cindy and George believe that Casey is innocent?
3. Injini contest video – winner? Do you like Injinjis?

TNF 50 Weekly Training Update: Step Back Week

So I finally settled on a training plan (more to come on that in the next day or two – promise!), and wouldn’t you know that it started with a step back week of 41 miles. I decided to take it even easier and only ran 22. Boy did I need the rest! I grossly underestimated the toll that multiple 50 and 60 mile weeks capped off with a 32 mile run out of nowhere would affect me. Interestingly, I honestly believe that the effect was more mental than physical, though unfortunately I do have some lingering physical issues including some sort of lower ab strain and an angry left hamstring. Again, the 22 mile week was awesome though I ran too hard on the 10 miler, clocking an average pace of 8:20. While 8:20 is not a particularly fast pace for me, given the fact that I haven’t run “fast” in quite some time and I have the aforementioned ab strain and angry hamstring, it was not a smart decision.  Oh well, I’ve always been accused of being book smart, but having very little common sense. Glad that I can still accommodate that assessment of my strong points.

This week I took two days off in a row for the first time in a long time and it felt great. Felt a little guilty at first, but shook that off after my first beer. Today actually makes my second two day rest of the week, but no beer tonight as I am planning on posting 9 tomorrow. I spent an uneventful 9/11 at home watching football and contemplating. I thought about posting yesterday – after all I am a Marine and have done a few combat deployments over the last few years, but honestly I had nothing new to offer to all of the other great commentary on TV and in print. I do have some strong opinions, but will save those for another time as well.

Anyway, a new week is upon us and with it comes the end to my 3^rd quarter (of 6) here at the Naval Postgraduate School.  Needless to say, it has been busy of late finishing up my requirements for the quarter, so the step back in running helped. I was also busy this week working on a side project which I will also post in the next day or two.  For now though, it’s time to climb back on to the training train and get going. Oh yeah, Saturday I have to run my semi-annual Combat Fitness Test (CFT), which consists of an 800 meter sprint, 2 minute max effort over-head ammo can lift (30lbs – 100 lifts for max score), and a maneuver under fire course that consists of running with ammo cans, fireman’s carrying another Marine and some assorted sprinting and low crawling (video here). I think it goes without saying that it should go nicely with my scheduled 24 miler!!

How hard do you find it to relax and take time off from training? Does it ever get easier?

So, to wrap up the week:

Mon – Rest

Tue – 5 @ 9:40

Wed – Rest

Thu – Rest

Fri – 7 @ 9:51

Sat – 10 @ 8:20

Sun – Rest

Total miles for the week – 22

Next week’s goal: Build mileage back to mid 60s with b2b long runs this weekend of 24 and 18 and score a 1^st class on the CFT!

Here's another CFT video: Be advised, these are Marines, so there is strong language.

32 Mile Run: Key Takeaways and Lessons Learned

Yes, you read that right. I just ran 32 miles for fun….for the hell of it…because I can. Notice I didn’t say that I should have or that I had to, I did it on a whim, for a tee shirt (that I didn’t win after all). Regardless, it was awesome! The run. The experience. The aftermath. It seriously was badass and I am extremely proud and impressed by myself all at once. Anyway, here is a quick recap (yes I promise that I will try to keep it short)!

Prep:  Friday night I didn’t really carb load, but I did eat well (Pork roast with sauerkraut – Yummy!) and hydrated as well as stayed off my feet as much as I could, layed off the beer and was in bed by midnight! I woke up at 7:15 and wanted to be out the door by 8:30, but the first 20 was with Julie and the BabyThinker, so we were a little later than 8:30, but not by much. For breakfast, I had two PB&J English Muffins and a cup of coffee.

Gear:  As for gear, I wore my Kinvara 2s, Injinji toe socks, CEP compression sleeves, and Garmin 305. I also wore band-aids on my nipples, but they were an epic fail as the sweat caused them to fall off somewhere around mile 12 and mile 24 (yes I re-applied new ones). When I dropped Julie and the jogger off at mile 20, I grabbed my Nathan Hydration waist pack for the next 12 miles.

The Run: The first 20 miles were pretty uneventful honestly. I gelled at miles 6, 12 and 18 with PowerBar Gels and I consumed about 48oz of liquid – 24oz of Gatorade and 24oz of water. As for pace, we averaged right at 10:00 minutes per mile with a slow of 11:00 and a fast of 9:33 with stops at 5, 10, and 15 for Julie to gel and for pee breaks.

Once we finished the first 20, we stopped at the house and I grabbed a slice of left over pizza and gathered my Nathan waist pack, a couple of gels and filled my bottles with 22oz of Gatorade and 22oz of water. I was off and felt really strong. In fact, miles 20-23 were awesome and I felt really fresh.  Miles 23-26 reminded me that I had run 26 miles. I did gel at mile 25 just for good measure.  Miles 26-29 made me question why I ever decided to run in the first place. After all, I could be sitting on the couch drinking beer and watching college football. Also, at the end of the day, who – besides me – gives a sh*t as to how far I just ran???? I gelled again at mile 29 and I finally scaled the huge wall that had been in front of me for the last 3 miles. Miraculously, after that wall, I felt awesome and contemplated running for a full 6 hours! Ultimately, I didn’t, and stayed with the plan to stop just after 50K because I really wanted to run 18 Sunday with Marcus and figured that 50 miles in two days was a pretty solid goal. Pace averaged about 9:45 with a slow of 10:48 and a fast of 9:23, with walking at mile 25 for a gel and a stop at mile 29 to half fill a bottle at the water fountain.

The Aftermath: Post run, I actually felt pretty good. I was tired and a little achy, but felt really good and could have kept going. I drank a pint of chocolate milk as I got in the door and made some more Gatorade to try and get rehydrated. I ran a cold bath and dumped all of our ice in, but it wasn’t enough. The water was cold and it sucked, but it should have been colder. After about 15 minutes of soaking my legs, I drained the tub and took a hot shower. Bloody nipples and hot water do not mix! Ouch! Following the shower, I put on my CEP compression socks and put my feet up while I watched football and continued rehydrating/dehydrating (water/beer), pissed that I could not watch the Florida game as planned because cable is stupid.

Lessons Learned:

• Running is physical (obviously), but there is a large mental aspect to it. Train for both. If you neglect the mental, it can crush you.
• While many have enjoyed much success in ultras (and marathons) on relatively low weekly mileage (35 miles), I really feel that 50+ miles is a good number for me as the total time on my feet (8 hours or so) per week helps with really long runs.
• Nutrition is paramount! Find what works for you and train with it. Perfect it. Make it second nature. Gels are good, but at some point during an ultra you will probably need solid food (especially for middle to back-of-the-packers like me). I know that PB&J works as well as Pizza. I will continue to experiment and will try some powerbars or something next.
• If you expect to perform well when you race, run long when you train. I absolutely believe that you should train like you want to race and replicate as much as possible. Time of day, terrain, weather conditions, etc…
• Be careful. Overtraining is real and will really screw you up. However, you need to push your bounds and get out of your comfort zone once in a while. Do this smart and do this safely as an injury during training – especially if you are doing something stupid – is not worth it. The confidence that you can gain from pushing your limits is invaluable!

Alright, I am gonna stop there, because this post is not short at all. I hope that what it lacks in brevity, it makes up for in value.  Your comments are welcome and requested.

**Lastly, disclaimer here – I am not a professional runner nor trainer and I have never completed a 50 or 100 mile race. Hell, I only just completed my 1^st marathon.  The opinions expressed here are mine, and mine only, and come from my experience. Your experience, or that of others, may be vastly different. Do what works for you, and pass it on. **

Good luck and good running!

Weekly Training Update: Shock and Ouch!

I decided to make this week’s title a play on “Shock and Awe,” because I love a catchy title and because I felt like last weekend’s mountain run and this week’s planned runs were something worthy of comparison to the initial American military campaign against Iraq in 2003. 2003 Iraq was epic and I hoped that this week’s planned runs would be as well. In my honest opinion, they were, but we’ll get to that later. Additionally, there was more than a little shock at how stupid I can be sometimes and the ouch, well, the ouch is a holdover from the brutal downhills that I ran last Saturday.

The week started out rough, as I had to take two forced rest days due to the lingering soreness in my quads from last Saturday’s run.  It really sucked, as I have a hard time admitting that my body is not as strong as I wish it was. To be completely honest, my quads were sore until Thursday, but there was no way I was giving up a full week of training for some soreness, no matter how bad it was. Before my unplanned rest days, the plan was to run a double on Tuesday (7 and 7), do hills Wednesday (7), do a double Thursday (7 and 7), rest Friday and then run back-to-back (b2b) long runs of 20 Saturday (with Julie) and 18 on the hills with Marcus.  In last week’s update, I alluded to an attempt at something epic this weekend, but had kind of written that off given the forced off days early in the week.

What ended up happening was running doubles on Wednesday and Thursday (7/10 and 6/6) and resting on Friday. By Friday evening, I decided that I might as well try and be epic on Saturday just to see what it feels like. For a detailed understanding of being epic, you should check out The Una Runner’s blog. Both he and Brian K. were truly epic this weekend.  Anyway, I went to bed early Friday night with plans to run 20 with Julie (while pushing the BabyThinker in the jogger) and then go for a few more miles solo afterwards. The first 20 went great and Julie did awesome! This was her longest run to date in her marathon training and she really killed it. She is looking very good for a strong marathon performance in October! Upon completing 20, I dropped her and the BabyThinker at home, had a slice of left over pizza, grabbed my Nathan hydration waist pack, refilled my water bottles and grabbed a couple gels and took off!

The plan was to run 11.68 more for a full 50K, but early on, I thought that I might go for the 6 hour mark and a goal of 36 miles. The huge wall I hit at mile 26 convinced me otherwise, though at mile 29 when I finally climbed over the wall the thoughts came creeping back. A few things that I was thinking about though was not hurting myself, being able to run long on Sunday, and getting back in time for the Florida kick off (but that’s another story).  In the end, I decided to stop at 32 and live to fight another day. It was absolutely the right call. I could have gone further, no doubt in my mind, but it would have cost me some to do that. I also now know that the 50 miler will be tough, but completely doable, granted I stay smart and wait until December 3^rd to be epic (thanks AJ!).  I will post a lessons learned from my 32 miler tomorrow. 

Key takeaway from the week for me is that it’s easy to let your ego write checks that your body can’t (or shouldn’t) cash. It was a hell of a hoot running that 32 though!

How about you? How often have you thrown caution to the winds in an effort to do something epic?

So, to wrap up the week:

Mon – Rest

Tue – Rest

Wed – 17 – 7 @ 9:16 / 10 @ 9:52 - Double

Thu – 12 - 6 @ 9:24 / 6 @ 9:20 – Double

Fri – Rest

Sat – 32 @ 9:56 – “Do Epic Shi*t 24-Hour Non Jog” Challenge on DailyMile

Sun – 8 @ 9:43 – Recovery Run

Total miles for the week – 69

Next week’s goal: Get back to a solid plan and start training smart again before I get injured. Winning battles is fun, but not if it means that I lose the war!