Prime

Gatorade G-Series drinks

So it's been a full 3 weeks since I got myself back out and running on the road...and it took that long to feel good about running again. In the big picture, it took 10 runs, but then again...it took 10 runs.It's very discouraging when you get to a really good place doing anything and then have a huge set back.

I was almost feeling a little desperate trying to figure out how to prepare better for my runs, which in reality, I suck at big time! I'm never really well rested, hydrated or fueled. It's no wonder things were going downhill - fast! Then, the Saturday we took a trip to Alpenrose we stopped at Fred Meyer to pick up some goodies to bring to the races and I grabbed a big ol' Gatorade Perform. Because I ran that morning I decided I needed something with some electrolytes. Then after I drank half of that bottle I decided to check and see if Fred Meyer had the other drinks that are in this drink series. (FYI - I did find the Prime Pouches at FM this past weekend).

My first search was unsuccessful, which was a little bit of a bummer. So I didn't think of it again until Tom and I were walking around Target on my lunch break one day last week and I found the "G series" there. So I grabbed myself one Prime (Mixed Berry) and one Recovery (Berry). I'm not that good at fueling myself for activity, so this would be an interesting test.

This past Saturday morning I was up bright and early and getting ready to run my 4 mile run - so I got my Prime out and dumped it into a glass just to see what I was putting in my body. It wasn't half bad. It was easy to down and there really isn't a whole lot so it was perfect. Then I waited for 15 minutes and took off.

I spent the whole run wondering if I actually felt different, I did feel better and not achy or anything. Oh, just a FYI, this run was also after a day of not hydrating well, didn't necessarily get a good nights rest OR fuel that great...we went to Alpenrose the night before and stopped at Albertson's to get some Fried Chicken and Jo-Jo's. Yeah, that's good nutrition! Anyway, with all that information floating around in my brain, I was wondering how I might feel.

Oh, another thing - the purpose of the long run is to run it slow...very, very slow...but steady, not walking slow, but almost. It's hard to run really slow...try it sometime...it takes a lot of thought to keep the pace down.

Anyway, here I am making my way down to the new intersection at the Library by Fred Meyer and I'm realizing that I'm feeling really good. Craziness...How long will it last? When should I plan to stop and walk? Do I need to stop and walk? I decided that I was feeling so good that I probably could make it to the light, then make a decision.  I get to the light and my goodness, I'm STILL feeling really good. Not possible. Is it because of the Gatorade? Because really, that's the one thing that IS different and I'm actually feeling really good.I figured at one point that I would start to get tired and achy, so I decided to wait until that happened and then take a walking break. I'm chugging along and I'm more than half way back to our house and I'm STILL feeling really good. Very interesting...okay, I'll keep running. You know, you get to a point where it's just silly to stop and walk because the finish (home) is so close. Well, I got to that point and decided it would be wimpy of my to stop and walk because I was within a mile of our house - I know that running that distance isn't that hard so I continue to plug along.This was nearly unbelievable because I actually ran the whole route. The week before when I did the 4 mile run for the first time I finished a minute faster (with walk breaks), but I felt not so great when I got home. On Saturday I felt so good! It was amazing! Now I'm just plain giddy - I had a really great run and had a decent time.

Time to recover. So I pull out the Gatorade Recover drink and the first swig I took was NAS-TEE!Okay, so I drank half the bottle and decided that it was just too gross to finish. Blah. I then decide that I'm going to switch back to Chocolate Milk. Best recovery drink...EVER!

I have to ramble on just a little more - this morning I did a 3 mile run and had a Fierce Grape Prime which was blue (grape is purple in my book) and Chocolate Milk for recovery - and felt really good again! As I was running today, I had a revelation. I think in 3 weeks of running consistently, my body and finally decided to cooperate with my mind and let me become a runner again - also, I like to think that the Gatorade Prime is helping that much more!

It feels good to be improving instead of standing still or going backwards. I'm looking forward to the running events that I have in mind to do this year. At some point I think I'll actually think more about nutrition and all that other good stuff. Right now I'm just happy to be doing something at all!


That's my story and I'm sticking to it

I like the way this looks...consistency is EVERYTHING!

Just What I Need...

Another bike...

Fuji Classic track bike

This oh so basic bike is a cool $549 (MSRP). It's a fixie, no frills, no nothing. It's pretty much what you see is what you get.

I'll need one of these too...

Alpenrose Velodrome - Portland, OR

We've got some space, I wonder what the permitting process would be for a velodrome. Hmmmm...

Discouraged

Now that I'm getting back into the swing of things, I'm finding that it has been very difficult getting back into my running mojo. I was doing pretty good before I was way-laid with my allergies and cold...now I'm just having a hard time getting back into it.

I need to remember to cut myself some slack. I'm starting with the week that I left off with and my running condition suffered slightly being under the weather. Also, I kind of started up my training where I left off. I'm not so sure that was a good idea or not. So, last Monday was 2 miles - then a RACE in Ridgefield...YIKES!

So, since then my legs have been tired...and somewhat rebellious! Saturday was so-so and today I just felt plain ol' discouraged. My times are getting worse because I'm so out of it! The good thing is, my pace is still well below my target training pace. So that's something. It is just so hard getting back into a running routine - hoping that this funk doesn't last too long.

Run, Run, Run!

Wise Words...

The best way to become a mentally tough runner is to believe that you're a mentally tough runner. Ryan Hall

Tortoise and the Hare

(GOOGLE IMAGES)

I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that I'm getting slower (it is a SLOW process). Not that I was fast to begin with, but still...my run times are slower now than they were 4 years ago. And all that I have read about slower run times as you get older...well, that's pretty much true. 

Since I started participating in running events it seems like my times have been pretty consistent. My first 5k was at Livestrong 2008 and I finished in 39:37/12:46 pace. My PR for a 5k was at Blue Lake 2009 Run #1 36:28 run time/11:45 pace. My 8k PR is the 2010 Shamrock at 1:01:00 for a 12:12 pace and my first 10k last year was 1:23:56/13:31 pace. There have been several other events that I have entered and finished strong, but slower than I would like. Many of my times have been hovering around the 13:30s. Not horrible I guess.

So, as I make peace with getting slower, I'll continue to try to stay consistent. Like not getting so slow that I'm walking....or that the walkers on the course pass me while I'm running. 

Oh yeah, so now that I'm on THAT subject...yesterday I did the Ridgefield Independence run and did a decent run. It's a hilly course, but a good challenge for me to do every year! Anyway, there was one race walker that I just could not catch up with! When it got to the point that running up hill was not feeling good I stopped and started walking. Then this woman just goes blasting right past me...walking!!! I don't know when, but at one point I ended up in front of her and once again I stop to walk the last hill before heading back into town and Miss Speedy-Speederson goes zippin' past me again! Show off! I'm going to blame my short legs for my inability to keep up with her...hahaha. Seriously though, that kind of hurts my already fragile ego... ;)

So, now that I am finally feeling well enough to start running on a regular basis, I'm back to my training plan. I decided to pick up where I left off in June. So I am a couple of weeks behind now. Hopefully I won't lose too many other training runs. I'm pretty sure that the Run Like Hell 1/2 marathon is going to be the Run Like Hell 10k again this year...{sigh}...maybe next year.

I'm starting to wonder if maybe running just isn't my thing...or maybe my 47 year old body is trying to tell me running isn't supposed to be my thing. I'm not going to listen. 

Onward!