Getting on Track Again

Two weeks away from the half-marathon and just finished up about a week's long vacation from running. Oi vey. I finally went on a successful run this afternoon (although only 6 miles) in the rain. I'm typically a not running-in-the-elements type of person, but the light spring rain was surprisingly refreshing. I'm glad that I managed to keep my time around 9:40 per mile on this casual run, especially since my last attempt at an 8-miler last Thursday was a disaster for some reason. I went out on the W & OD trail with the intent to run an easy 8, but that easy 8 turned into a mediocre 5.5 and a 2.5 mile walk. I was low-energy and my legs were very crampy. I think it might have been due to the lack of potassium in my diet that whole week. I tried the Jelly Belly energy jelly beans for the first time, which were 100% better tasting than the Gu gel. Icky Gu gel.

Tomorrow will be my first attempt at a 10-miler since the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler a few weeks ago. I get off work early afternoon (but will be working again later at night) so I will have the time to hit the W & OD. I'll be trying the Clif gel if I remember to bring it with me tomorrow. I really hope that I can run the full 10. I'll make sure to eat a decent breakfast, grab a banana, stay hydrated, get some sleep, and eat some carbs for lunch.

Saturday I'm participating in the DC Challenge Urban Scavenger Race. I don't think it really qualifies as an actual run-race since we will be stopping a lot and are allowed to take public transportation so I'm not counting that day as a training day at all. It will still be a blast though!

Maybe for once I'll actual run all the distances I have planned on the days I plan on running them. This week is go go go before the half. Next week I'll be winding it down a bit, taking it slow...minus one 10-miler that I hope to be able to do early in the week. I will at least be running the half with a friend to keep me motivated. However I never train with a partner, so I hope running together goes well!! I need to be able to pace myself throughout the race.

Hitting the hay now and dreaming of hitting the pavement...