Running Chick

Another week in the bag. This is what, week 6? I can’t remember and I’m too lazy to check the calendar.

My Saturday morning long run of eight miles was much better that last week’s seven. I didn’t get run over, I felt decent and thanks to Lady Gaga, Radiohead, Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry and Mumford and Sons my head stayed in the game. I don’t typically run with music because I like to hear what’s going on around me, but after my mental breakdown last week, I thought it might help. And it did, too. Around the five mile mark when the first negative thoughts popped into my head, I cranked up the volume on my Shuffle and let Lady Gaga tell me all about how she wanted to go ride around on somebody’s disco stick and was able to keep the negativity away.  Such a poet she is, that Gaga.

My runs were a little bit slower this week than last:  4 miles @ 10:18 (hill training), 3 miles @ 10:15 (shin meltdown) and 8.15 miles @ 10:40 (long) for a total of 15.15 miles @ 10:29.

I tried a new product on Saturday, Nuun active hydration tablets.  I typically fill my flasks with a Gatorade (orange)/water mix, but when I was rummaging around in my running box on Friday night to find a gel, I came across a Nuun single-tablet packet that I bought last summer but never used. I wasn’t planning on taking anything but water in my flasks because I forgot to pick up Gatorade, so I was happy to find that little tablet.  On Saturday morning, I filled up a measuring cup with 16 oz. of water and dropped the tablet in and it fizzed it’s way to life, just like Alka Seltzer.  I drank one flask on my run (maybe a little bit from the second flask), and I thought it tasted pretty yummy, way better than my watered down Gatorade and definitely less sweet. It was slightly fizzy, which was a little bizarre & off-putting at first, but after my second water break I didn’t really notice it. The best thing is I didn’t suffer from any post-run stomach issues with the Nuun, like I do when I use Gatorade. I’m certain it’s because Nuun is sugar free. I think I’ve found my new hydration product.

And, finally, the shin report. I had more discomfort that I’m comfortable with during my eight mile run on Saturday and I’ve decided that in order to not let them get any more out of hand, I’m going to take next week off. My schedule called for two four mile and one nine mile run and I don’t think there was any way between today and my next run that they were going to settle down enough, so it’s going to be a week of trainer rides for me.  I don’t really mind riding my trainer, but it does get a bit boring after 30 minutes (my longest ride has been an hour).  I’m going to try and do 90 minutes on Saturday to make up for my long run and I’m already worried that I’m going to be bored to tears. I know people who ride their trainer for four or five hours! How they do that without going bonkers is beyond me.

I also ordered The Injured Runner dvd which I should get on Tuesday. It looked like it had some pretty useful exercises for the typical injuries it seems like I’m always getting and thanks to a discount coupon, I was able to get it for around $15 with free 2-day shipping from runningwarehouse.com. I’m hoping it helps.