Tag: heat

Week 25- Of Heat and Headaches

What’s up party people?

Yah, no, I’m never saying that again.

Last week was a typical work week.  I got in a few miles, did some yoga (say what?), probably watched too much TV, probably ate too much food, definitely consumed too much popcorn while watching Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.  Oh and I Twitter stalked the Western States results.  As one does.

Monday- 2.32 miles   I headed for the lake path after work hoping that the combo of the dirt trail and the flatness of the loop would be good for my foot.   It was a little warm- mid 80’s but I was only out there for a short time so how bad could it be?  Good lord, I was sweating so bad in those short 2 miles- what gives?  😛  However, as long as I focused on my form and how I landed on both my ankle and my left foot, it wasn’t a bad run.  I was feeling a little encouraged.

Tuesday- Rest  I wasn’t going to be stupid though and push it.

Wednesday- Rest I was actually supposed to attend a business mixer after work but I ended up feeling super nauseous and sick to my stomach towards the end of work so I ended up just going home.   Which sucked because I was planning on running after the mixer too.  However when I got back to town, I realized those plans would have been scrapped anyways as town was blanketed in smoke due to a brush fire on the army base.

Thursday- 3.14 miles It was 60 degrees in work town and 100 in home town, where do you think I ran?   Yeah, I never claimed to be a genius.   It actually didn’t feel that hot but I tried to be smart and made sure I took walk breaks consistently even if I didn’t feel like I needed them.  I also made sure I had plenty of hydration on me.  Overall, this was a decent run and I only one odd twinge from my foot.

Friday- Hey, migraine, I didn’t invite you to the party.

Saturday- Yoga My migraine was still an unwanted visitor when I woke up in the morning and it never really eased up.  It was another really hot day so I wasn’t going to push it with my head already being on the edge.  Instead I started a yoga series in the evening.

Sunday- 5 miles/ yoga Temps in the 80’s felt pretty marvelous after the previous few days.  I wasn’t feeling like running though so I kept putting it off. Truthfully I just wanted to take a nap.  But I made myself change and lace up my shoes and get out there for a few miles.  I told myself to do 3 but I was feeling ok so I ended up doing my neighborhood “easy” 5.    I shouldn’t call it that… the hills make it feel the opposite of easy.  I later did the second yoga video.

10.5 miles for the week.  Well, at least the number is going up and I think my foot is starting to cooperate.  Fingers crossed.

How was your week?

Watermelon? Yes, please!

Disclaimer: I received Watermelon Gatorade Endurance and Mango Energy Gels to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Fueling and I have a bit of a rocky relationship.  I have a tendency to run with just water.  Want to know a little secret?  I ran Big Sur on zero fuel.  I realized a few days before that the pack of gummies I shove in my pack every race day but never touch was actually expired.  Oops!  I don’t eat breakfast before races either.   Part of it is because I am always concerned about my stomach acting up and part of it is that it has never seemed to hinder me.

Yet, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t missing something.  So, occasionally I try to step outside my tiny box and try new things.

Enter Gatorade Endurance Formula and Endurance Energy Gels.

Ok, though- in truth- on the rare occasion that I ran with pumped up hydration- it was good ol’ Gatorade- the orange flavor is my jam.  Mix a bottle with some water and that would be my “last minute” race prep.   The Endurance version was new to me though and the flavor even newer.  Just in time for the heat of summer, Gatorade is introducing a tasty Watermelon flavor to the Endurance line.

And tasty it is.  I was actually super concerned about the taste, I Love watermelon but hate watermelon “flavored” things.  No worries here!  I love the taste!  It does not taste like it is watermelon flavored, it just tastes like watermelon!  I was hard pressed not to drink it all at once.  Also, I generally run with luke warm water so I was curious what it would taste like when ice cold.  The answer?  Even better.  I had a migraine while at work recently  and I was trying to hydrate well.  I had the Gatorade Endurance Formula with me at work so I figured why not?   Ice cold Watermelon Gatorade Endurance was kind of amazing.

So what makes Gatorade Endurance different?

Gatorade
Along with no artificial sweeteners or flavors

I love the taste and it makes me actually want to drink more while running.  Which is great as summer has made its presence known and it’s over 95* most days in home town.   That’s half my struggle right there- making myself drink the hydration when I know I should.

How about the Gels? 

gel desc

I am not a huge fan of gels.  I normally can’t choke them down even with water which is why they have never been my fuel of choice.  That is so not the case here!   In fact on first taste, I wondered if I even managed to taste any it was so subtle and smooth.  In fact I had, it was just so easy and the new Mango flavor was tasty, I just couldn’t believe it.  I didn’t even need to drink water after it.  Who knew??

As for energy- I haven’t run a real long run since San Diego.  So I used the gels more as a pre-run boost.  Which considering how tired I’ve been lately was probably a good idea.    At first I didn’t think it was making any difference, then I noticed I was holding a 10 minute flat pace on 100* runs on my running portions without trying.  These days, that’s fast for me but we’ll leave that for another post.  Hey now, maybe there’s something to this fuel thing?  I am looking forward to trying it on my long runs.

Ok, so some potential downsides-

  • If you mix the Endurance Formula powder with super cold water it tends to clump. I’ve noticed this with most drink mixes though, it’s probably why I drink mostly barely cold or room temp water.
  • I wish the scoop was a little smaller for smaller mouthed bottles.  I made a little bit of a mess when I forgot my soft flasks and had to use a plastic water bottle one day.
  • Right now they are both only available to buy online or at a few specialty retailers.  Ok- this actually isn’t a drawback for me- I live in tiny town, USA, so would be ordering online anyways but this could be a factor for someone else.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like the new Watermelon flavor from the Gatorade Endurance line and I am going to continue to work on my fueling with the Mango Energy Gels- I have big race goals this fall.

How do you hydrate?

Want to hear more thoughts on the new Gatorade Endurance Formula?

Lindsey – Karen – Lissa –  Katy –  Jessica –  Kevin –  Amy –  Jenn – Vanessa –  Ang

Rambling On 35

Let’s ramble.

It’s almost July, people, how??? I mean, seriously? It’s almost fair time.  Give me a funnel cake!  Well, in a month.  But in reality I am in denial that the fair is almost here… and that the year is half over.

I did it again.  I committed to a race out of town on the same day there will a local half in me hometown sponsored by my work.  Oops.

Speaking of work, I will be traveling for work at the end of next week.   Not gonna lie, I’ve never driven that far by myself so shout some podcast options to keep me alert on the long drive.

Summer heat has officially, fully arrived.  Which also brings fire season.  Can it rain at night?

Something angered the Instagram PTB and I’ve been shadow banned. Me? I’m boring- what the heck did I do??? Grrr.

Share something new in your world!

Week 24- Landed Wrong

How is halfway through June?  I am so in denial.

I finally had my CT scan on Monday for my ever present side pain and I was glad to finally get that completed. Scheduling it for the afternoon wasn’t too bright but I made it work.

Later in the week I felt like I was run over by the tired truck. I was so damn tired from Wednesday on and I couldn’t figure out why. I fell asleep on my lunch Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and took a nap on Saturday. Everyone around me seems to sick with something so maybe I was fighting a bug or something? I don’t know.

Then there was my foot but more on that below.

Monday- 3.41 miles  Maybe heading out for a run after a day of fasting and drinking a ton of barium wasn’t a good idea. Combine that with 95* weather and while this run started out ok, things turned south on me at the halfway point and my stomach let me know that I needed to to back at my car sooner rather than later but could I please not run to get there? 😂

Tuesday- Rest

Wednesday- Rest I was planning on running but then the brother offered to take the family to dinner so food won out.

Thursday- 2 miles  This was not the plan for this run.   However a little over a mile in, I landed wrong on my left foot and felt a shooting pain.  I stopped, walked but it felt ok so I adjusted my shoelaces and my shoe and ran on.  Only to pull up short less than 1/2 mile later by the same stabbing pain in my foot.  And this time it didn’t go away.  I turned around and hobbled back to my car.

Friday- Rest I never run on Friday’s but I really wanted to make sure to take it easy on my foot.  The odd thing was that it didn’t feel horrible when I woke up or throughout the day.

Saturday- Rest Once again, I was resting the foot but it really did feel ok.   I actually spent the morning helping my brother buy a new truck.   When you’ve bought as many cars as I have, you get called in for reinforcement.  Well that and your resting bitch face.  😛  However it’s hard to be as helpful as possible when the Toyota dealership gets a shipment in the night before and one of those trucks happens to be the exact truck your brother was eyeing on the Toyota website right down to the color.  They were literally pulling the plastic off and he looked like a kid in a candy shop.  Poker face! Poker face!

Sunday- 3.1 miles Not the long run that I hoped for.  As soon as I put on running shoes, I knew my foot wasn’t happy.  What gives?! My foot had felt fine until then.   Grrr.  I still headed out for a run hoping that it would ease up.  I tried to run nice and easy and just focus on my form and sometimes it worked.   Mostly, not so much and then I landed in a pothole.  I kept the run short and on the slower side so as not to aggravate the foot any more.

8.56 milesfor the week.  I didn’t think I could run less than last week but I did.  Boo to landing wrong.

How was your week?

Big Sur Marathon Training-Week 16

And with the end of week 16, there’s only 7 days to go.   And yet, I’m still waiting for the freak out.

If you were reading this blog when I was training for San Francisco then you may remember that I was hot mess for the entire month of July leading to the race.   I was breaking things, tripping, my heart rate was spiking all the time and I was having panic attacks.   So far, that hasn’t happened yet.  I am sure it will happen at one point and time.   I mean I have leg issues, doubts and oh, according to my app, I am supposed to be on my period.  Thanks Mother Nature.  😒 But until then the penny is still in the air.

So let’s get to last week.  I was still giving my leg some space so my mileage is once again super low.   I also came to an interesting theory- which may be me grasping at straws but hey plot twist- last minute shoe change!  Because that seems like a great idea right?

Monday- 1.12 miles/ PT exercises So this was not supposed to be this short but I was having a big wardrobe malfunction.  My pants kept sliding down.  I don’t mean they needed a slight adjustment, I mean they falling down and taking my underwear with them.  😛  After the 5th time in the space of a mile, I gave up.   It may be time to retire those crops.   Except when it came time to do laundry- I washed them instead of tossing them.

Tuesday- PT exercises I had a super early DR appointment so it seemed like a very long day.

Wednesday- 3.11 miles/ PT exercises I was dressed much more appropriately.   This run went pretty well.  Maybe too well as I ran too fast.   Why do I keep doing that??   I mean what business do I have running a 9 minute mile this close to race day?  This isn’t 3 years ago!  That’s now how I roll these days.  But it was kind of fun.

Thursday- PT exercises  I am sure something else happened but I can’t remember what.

Friday- PT Exercises Who am I???? But my leg was feeling better so yay!

Saturday- Nada I had planned on running in the morning as I was volunteering at a silent auction for Habitat for Humanity that evening.  However my mother and I had talked about doing an 8 mile trail on Sunday instead so I passed on the run and got a little more sleep and ran some errands before heading to the SLO Airport for my shift.  Where I proceeded to get lost trying to figure out where to park.   A couple hours into my shift, I knew boots were a very bad idea.  Bad idea.  After 6 hours of that, I was fried.  I let my mother know that the trail was no longer likely.

Sunday- 5.29 miles The trail might have been cooler.  Instead I headed out in the afternoon and it was around 86*.  Yeah, I’m not acclimated yet.  It was a little rough.  Plus, once again I had moments where I was running too fast.  Stupid.  Trust me, the warmth got to me and I slowed way down.  Wanted more miles but I was beat.

9.53 miles for week.  I miscounted!  I really meant to at least be over 10 miles but I screwed up the math.  How do I do that with only 3 runs??  Oops.

7 days people. 7 days.

How was your week?