Fall Weather!!

Finally we have some fall temps here!! When I woke up this morning it was a lovely 50 degrees!! Perfect long run weather! I was ecstatic. I did have to think a little bit more about what to wear, shorts or capris…tank or t-shirt?? I figured I would rather be a little chilly in the beginning so I went with shorts and a t-shirt. Ended up being PERFECT. I headed out to my usual long run place and headed out for my 9 miler. My legs felt a little more tired than usual and I figured my time would be a little slower, but it wasn’t!! At the beginning of the run I kept glancing at my pace on my Garmin to make sure I wasn’t going too slow or too fast, but by the 2 mile mark I was in my groove. I really just need to let myself run (on my long runs) and not worry about the pace at the beginning because I always get into my groove without trying!! I stuck in a bunch of hills on this run mainly because I really just love hills! Crazy, right? I would much rather run hills than run flat. Anyone else like this?? I think it’s kinda neat that when I go to do my long runs each week, I see the same runners and walkers every time! I’m getting to know their face well!!

 

My run was quite uneventful, actually really relaxing! I did see some crazy looking ORANGE mushrooms growing from the ground! Anyone ever seen orange mushrooms before! Wish I would have had a camera to take a picture!!

 

I did 9 miles in 1:35 which is a 10:34 min/ mile pace! Last week I did 10:43 pace for my 8 miler so I am super happy to have gone longer and a bit faster today!!

 

Normally after my runs my tummy is not very happy and I don’t end up eating anything for hours. However, today I was starving when I finished and could not get food into my tummy fast enough!! Here’s what I made super fast:

 

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2 mini ww bagels, one with PB and one with cream cheese, a banana, and Awake tea! Perfect meal!!

 

Running question: At what mileage do you start incorporating gels, shot blocks, etc. during long runs? I’m at the 9 mile marker and not sure if I should be fueling during my runs. Currently I am just eating a zbar one hour before my run and taking sips of H20 every 3 miles or so and it has been ok up to this point. So I was just wondering when I should start using fuel on my runs!

Second question: At what mileage do ya’ll start taking ice baths? So not looking forward to this!!

6 comments:

  1. Your meal looks like a smiley face :)

    I use my energy chews on runs over 12 miles...works for me! Ice baths...ummm....I should use them...haha. I've only done them after 20 mile runs, but I'm sure you could use them after any distance. If I wanted to be religious about it'd, I'd probably do anything 16+.

     
  2. I love your smiley face meal! So cute!!!

     
  3. Your smiley meal is cute! What exactly is awake tea?

     
  4. If I know I'll be running for more than 1 1/2 hours, I'll mix a jel or two with a small water bottle and just sip on that for the duration. anything over 1 1/2 hours I do a jel every 45 minutes.

    also, for the ice bath I usually do it again for anything over 12 miles, but I have also done them after 9ers just because I felt I needed it.

    Great job on the 9 miler. Thats aweseome! Big relief getting the test over too :)

     
  5. For me, I take a gel for anything over 10 miles and start adding shot bloks for anything over 14. And ice baths (and recovery socks) are anything over 12. Good luck!

     
  6. I am LOVING this weather! I had to think carefully, too though about what to wear when I got up to work out this morning. It's really chilly in the mornings!