Sunday Summary: Nike+ Sportband

It has been a simple Sunday so far. My dreamy family let me sleep in and let me tell you, it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Yesterday was a little busy. I had 18 miles on the schedule, but if you have been keeping up, you will know that I have not been keeping up on my long runs. I love that there is a good "short" marathon training plan in Runner's World called Late Entry on page 37. It is a 4 week plan, I have 7 more weeks until the marathon. I plan on keeping my 2 week taper from my original plan and adding the 4 week RW plan right before that. I will do 12 next weekend and start the RW then Taper weeks. My goal is to finish without being pulled off the course which means finishing in under 6.5 hours. Sounds doable I know, but my first and only marathon finish time is 6:23:37 and San Diego Rock N Roll 2006. It was an easier course (terrain), I had a partner mostly and I didn't miss a single training run. I bonked in that event at mile 10, literally walked until about mile 16-18 then finished pretty strong. The humidity factor and my nutrition plan were less than perfect. This time, I'll have good weather conditions on my side, experience (mentally) for the distance and a better sense of my nutritional needs.

My girlfriend, whom I will from here on our refer to as Ms. Pepper Spray (MPS) said she needed to get in a long run this weekend, 8-10 miles. I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to get back into the swing of things having a partner. So I mapped out 10.2 miles. Like a smart girl that I am, I decided that cheese, salami and wine are not a great night before meal. So Friday night I had cheese, salami and a mixed drink made with Maker's Mark. Really?! I don't know when I am going to learn my lesson, but fortunately my digestive system protested Friday night and I had no, as in Z-E-R-O GI problems on my run Saturday. Woo to the Hoo! The pace was pretty slow for my friend who has earned her way to sub 10 minute miles, but it was faster than I probably should have reasonably held for 10 miles. My goal was to finish in under 2 hours and we came in at 1:56 (11:30ish pace?). Not bad, considering a mini walk break for Gu & Shot Blocks. This is the first time I have run more than 8 miles since July 4th so I am very happy with the result.

Good News:

My July 4th, 8-mile run had me limping because my ITB on the left side was acting up. Like someone driving a knife into the outside of my knee kind of acting up. Since then I signed up for physical therapy and my knee didn't even threaten any problems on my 10.2 mile run. In fact, while my legs and hips started to feel fatigued, I probably could've squeezed out a couple more miles and felt ok. Good news, saved $80 on the same day TRI registration by not registering (too tired). How is this good news? I used the money to finally get me a Nike+  Sportband. It won't give me an elevation profile when I download data, but I will get distance, pace, reg. clock time and calories both while I run and downloadable for tracking. I just don't have the cash for the Garmin I would want and I am not even sure if I want it. The Garmin 310XT is pretty bulky. 

Bad News:

I still haven't purchased my replacement bladder for my camelback fanny pack water thingy. So I stuffed a water bottle in there instead and my lower back is not please with me at the moment. More bad news is that I didn't have time to ice bath after my run and was teaching a tamale workshop with my mom an hour after my run. I was on my feet for 4-5 straight hours, then went out with D, R and a couple other girls for D's birthday. My body was toast. My feet, knees, hips and lower back were begging me for rest and I was supposed to do a triathlon today. So no triathlon today, much needed rest was a requirement today.

Yeah, pretty boring update, but there you have it, it is a pretty simple Sunday around here.

Thankful Three

1. Got a new sports bra today in the next size down, so excited for shrinking boobs.
2. For running partners, so didn't think I was going to make it to 10 when I mapped it.
3. For grandparent's, my hubby and I get a lunch date alone this afternoon...which will include a shopping trip to REI. YAY!