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Music or Miles

I have several posts in progress but wanted to do a quick update on my progress before I forget. I was really trying to hit my first 30 mile week last week but ended at 27. My long run was 13 miles or 12.8 according to my car since my Garmin died at 6 1/2 miles so I had to drive my route to get a total. When I turned my Garmin on, it gave me a low battery warning. About two miles in, I was not yet loving my run and told myself I would go home to finish on the treadmill if my watch died. When the screen went blank, I just kept going. I knew if I went home, I would be done; there would be no treadmill miles. So I calulated a route that would bring me close to 13 miles and just ran. The funny thing is I plugged my iPod into the computer the night before thinking the battery might be getting low. I now know I would rather run without music than without mileage, so the Garmin will be fully charged the night before any future long runs.

My long run had two highlights:

  1. At the end of the run, I felt pretty good. It's nice to know I can make it to the finish of next month's half marathon feeling strong.
  2. I finally had the courage to give GU a try. I went with chocolate, since someone had compared the texture to chocolate syrup. It wasn't as bad as I expected, especially followed with a generous amount of water. The texture was very similar to Hershey's chocolate syrup, and the taste was bearable. I can't say I noticed a huge surge in energy or anything during my run, but I think I had more energy than normal after my run. My stomach had a few crampy moments about 10 minutes after I washed down the GU, but it didn't really seem to make much difference. My GU-phobia was primarily because of my history of tummy troubles. I used the GU five miles in, but I always seem to have some tummy rumbling around mile 5 or 6 so it is hard to say whether or not it was because of the GU.

So another running week begins. I'm aiming for 30 miles this week, with 15 for my long run.

Comments

  1. Like you, I can't say I've noticed a boost of energy after eating Gu either, but I keep using them. I'm thinking that I'd notice if I didn't eat them (or something else), though.

    Glad you were able to get that long run done - quite an accomplishment to nearly run a half marathon!

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  2. Good luck on the 30 miles! If running by myself, I need both my ipod and my garmin!

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  3. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!

    If my Garmin dies during a run, I have a VERY hard time continuing. I have this mentality of 'If the Garmin didn't record it, the run doesn't count!' It's an unhealthy dependence! lol

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  4. Hi! You'll get that 30-mile week this week no doubt. Have you ever tried Accel-Gel? It doesn't have quites as much carbs as GU and it has a little protein added to help with recovery. I've had stomach issues on runs before too and Accel-Gel seems to work fine. It's not as thick as Gu either. Great blog!Happy Running!

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  5. I like vanilla bean GU the best so far.

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