I think I CAN!

Tonight I hit the treadmill on base for 5 miles. Man, what a treat. It's still hot and muggy down here in GA so a run in a AC building with a TV on in front of me was like a workout in Disney World.

I'm not a sports fan but I did get to catch the Eagles/Cowboys game last night while ...what an exciting game. Five miles were done quicker than I could imagine.

One thought that keeps bugging me is my long run this weekend. How far? Do I go with what is on my training schedule or do I do the mileage I missed due to a bug 2 weekends ago. Well, the good news is that I still have a few more days to decide.

Happy running friends!

Today my gym partner Jose Bag had to bail on meeting me at the gym.  So I got a chance to do something I normally don't....run in the sunshine on a weekday.  Ok, that does sound weird but during the week  I run at night under the stars.  Sure it's hotter and more humid than in the morning but it's the whole I don't get up before the crack of dawn unless it's a long run day syndrome.  Needless to say, it's a totally different experience.

While running I did however come up with some ideas for my training.  Starting with my long run this weekend.  I've been on the fence as to whether or not I should make up the 22-23 miles I missed 2 weeks ago or just jump ahead and do the 25 miles this weekend.  OK, the safe/smart thing to do would be to run the 22 miles.  Being hard headed and needing to prove something to myself I've actually decided to do a marathon even if that means doing the 25 and a cool down walk of 1.2 miles.  It'll be my personal race.  I'll come in first and in my mind for a brief moment at the end of my race, I will be a Kenyan.  The made up imaginary people at the finishline (by my car) will be cheering wildly as I finish.  BTW, in case you didn't know this, folks with adult ADHD have great imaginations - we almost never get bored on long runs.

I'm about 4 weeks out from my next ultra (50K in Nashville) and 11 weeks out from the JFK 50 miler.  I've been missing one key ingredient in my workout....hills.  Gosh, how in the world could I forget to put those back into my routine?  (Probably becuase I hate them) There are a couple of good size hills close by that I'm going to start hitting on a weekly basis.

OK, that is the report for today.  Run strong and happy friends!!

Got my stuff together for another great long run  tomorrow. 

I hope you have a great long run too my friends!

I'm  about to share something that is so obvious that you can feel free to post "well, duh" responses in the comments. 

My awful run starts the night before.  Rather than eating a good pre-race (or just pre-long run) meal I eat a huge hunk of red meat.  I'm sure there might have been a bite or two of veggies but for the most part just meat.  I wake up the next morning.  Both kids catch me as I get ready and turn on the whine about they either want to go with me or they don't want me to go.  I run as quickly as I can out the door....no breakfast.  Do you see where this is going?

I start the long run on base.  Within 5 miles I can't find my zone and I'm out of sorts.  I gel. By eight miles I'm struggling to keep going.  I've got no strength and I'm losing my confidence.  By mile 10 I've got no confidence and I'm going only on determination...I gel again.  By mile 13 I'm passing by my car, I've lost all confidence, I feel like poop, and  now I'm belittling myself.  I call it a day.  As I sit in my car trying to figure out what caused everything to go so bad it dawns on me that no matter how much gel I ingest it won't pay the food deficit my  body was in. OK, here is where we can all say...well duh!

I'm so disappointed in myself for not planning properly that I can't even begin to type it out. Today was a HUGE wash.