Anacortes Half Results

Location: Anacortes, WA

Official time: 1:57:44

Chip time: 1:57:40

Pace/mile: 8:58/mile

Overall: 49/126

Gender Place: 21/71

Age Place: NA

Oh my gosh....can it be true? I am actually posting a half marathon race recap? YES IT IS! I still need to do recaps for the Kirkland Half and the Seattle Rock N Roll Half, but maybe that will be my goal for the upcoming week :) On to the race recap...

After spending the night at the Little Bro's place up North, we woke up early and drove to Anacortes, WA for the Anacortes Art Dash Half Marathon. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, Anacortes is very positioned between Bellingham and Whidbey Island, both of which are North of Seattle. It had been years since I was in Anacortes, but it was really a cute, small town. It was actually much, much nicer than I expected (I would even go back for a weekend, tons of small shops and views of the Puget Sound....but I digress) It was a quick drive and we found the start of the race quickly.

The packet pickup was situated right behind the Town Hall, and there was no line. I easily picked up my shirt and bib in no time. Unfortunately, I didnt READ the website well enough, and there was no timing chips for this race. WHAT? Luckily I had my Garmin with me, or else I would have been really pissed. The race was only $45, but still! I was surprised.

 Walking to the start

 Getting ready and standard shoe shot...

All of the runners walked 2 blocks to the start of the race. I again was very surprised to find out that the 5k, 10k and half marathon runners were all running on the same course at the same time. Yes, you heard that right. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem sharing the road with other runners, but a 5k is a totally different race than a half marathon. As the gun went off, I quickly found that I was running entirely too fast and I didn't want to get tired. Slowing down was difficult and luckily again, I had my Garmin to keep me on pace. As the Garmin beeped for the first mile, I actually had my fastest unofficial mile PR yet: 7:43 for the mile! At around mile 1.5 the 5Kers hit their dog-leg, and went back to the start line. It was a relief to not have sprinters running around me :)

Mile 2-4:

Mile 2 was along the Tommy Thompson Trail, which was a nice paved path along the waterfront. Luckily there were no other pedestrians in this area. It was really a nice run along the water, and reminded me of parts of the Bainbridge Island Half. We then reached a pedestrian foot bridge (or the tressel that is on the logo at the top of the page. It was really nice because it was REALLY long, and we had a cool breeze off the water on both sides of us. I have never run on such a long, low bridge before, but it was really scenic and beautiful.

Oh, did I mention that it was totally flat?? The 10kers had their dog-leg right before this tressel, so they didnt get to run anywhere along it. Too bad for them (haha)

Mile 4-5:

I purposely didnt look at the elevation for the half marathon. I figured I would be running the race no matter what, so I wasnt thinking about it :) Well, as it turns out, there is a HUGE LONG HILL at mile 4. I mean, it is really huge. It was one of those monster hills that even experienced runners walk up. As this was the case, I turned the corner and saw everyone walking. I made a point to not walk, and just power up the whole thing. I might have been going really slow, but I still managed to pass 2 people on the way up!

 As always, the picture doesn't do it justice!

At the top of the hill we then had a steady, long decline. My legs were really tired, so I was not going as fast as I could have on the descent. Oops.

Miles 6-9:

This part of the course was flat again, and all along the waterfront. Aside from the huge refinery, there were pastures and views of the Puget Sound. It was really pretty and relatively easy. Somehow I forgot to bring my GU! I kept thinking that it wasnt a big deal, and that there would probably be a GU booth somewhere along the race. Well, I was wrong. As I hit mile 8, I realized this and just kept thinking "I need more energy, I need more energy..." It was really not a good idea to dwell on this, and I was psyching myself out. I even ended up walking for about 1.5 minutes just to calm myself down. After that, I was okay, and just focused on finishing under the 2 hour mark.

Mile 9-10:

We circled back again and went back over the tressel. Luckily I knew the end was ahead and it was all flat from here. I also saw a huge seal swimming along with me while I ran above on the path. That is definately something you dont normally see on a half marathon!

I was passed (insert sad face here) buy a man who was pushing another handicapped man in a makeshift running wheelchair. I am not sure if it is the same person, but I have read about someone who does the same thing and brings their handicapped brother along in every race. I'll have to research this more....

Miles 10-13.1

From here on out we were back on the Tommy Thompson Trail and heading back into town. It was still really flat and had few pedestrians to avoid in our way. Since there were so few runners in this race, I was really running by myself for most of the rest of the race. It was a really wierd feeling.

I did run past an older guy in his 50's. He noticed my Garmin and asked how fast we were going. His goal was to break 2:00:00, and I let him know he was well on his way. I kept on cruising at that point and just focused on the finish.

Running through town was difficult because we actually ran past the start and went a few more blocks to the finish. The volunteers at the end of the race were mostly really nice, but there were a few towards the end that I had to ask which way to run since it wasnt clearly marked. 

The finish line was out on a pier at the point of the city. Luckily I finished in:

So much better than I expected! For feeling as drained as I did, I was thinking I wouldn't break 2 hours. This isn't my PR, but it is my second fastest race :)

 Well, its not a medal, but it IS a ribbon :)

At the end runners were presented with a finisher's ribbon, and had an awesome snack table (string cheese, yummy almonds, fresh plums, bagels, breads, bananas, etc!) The Art Walk was right next to the pier, so most runners went through that afterward.

 You cant tell, but the shirt is the color of a highlighter!

Overall it wasn't a bad race. I really enjoyed the snacks at the end and the finisher's ribbon, but running with the 5kers and 10kers was difficult. Also, psyching myself out with no GU was irritating. I will definately be prepared with my GU for this weekend at the Tacoma Narrows Half Marathon!

Happy Running and Racing!

Anacortes Art Dash Link

Link to Results

Return of La Nina?

Nooooo!

So I was reading an article on King5.com (Seattle's local news) and apparently we are in for a lousy, wet and cold winter. Last winter we had La Nina, which meant it was warmer and dry. I was particularly a fan of 55 degree farenheight average in January! Not good news for local outdoor runners:

Seriously, I really prefer El Nino to La Nina!

A recap of last week's Anacortes Art Dash Half Marathon on the way!

And another two...

Okay, okay.....I have been another bad blogger lately. I SWEAR this time it was not just me being lazy. So much has happened in the past 2 weeks. Aside from starting a new position (and I am up for interviews this week AGAIN as well! Yay!) my grandmother also passed away. Urgent family get-togethers and frequent trips home in addition to 2 weddings have made things quite busy. I promise to be a better bloggy buddy in August!

To start things off in the right direction, I signed up for 2 more half marathons! I am going for a new Half Fanatic moon level as well. Currently I am a "Neptune" and I am going for "Uranus" (haha, seriously, it is not my choice of a name!)

Neptune (my current achievement):

2 Half Marathons in 16 days or

3 Half Marathons in 3 consecutive calendar months

Uranus (next goal):

3 Half Marathons in 16 days or

6 Half Marathons in 6 consecutive calendar months or

8-10 Half Marathons in 365 days

After these two races I will be at Uranus and will have completed 6 half marathons in 6 consecutive calendar months! (Mercer Half, Whidbey Half, Bainbridge Half, Kirkland Half, Seattle RnR Half, and the next two.) Pretty exciting stuff :) So here are the next two half marathons I signed up for:

Anacortes Art Dash Half Marathon (Saturday, July 31, 2010):

This half is located in Anacortes, WA, and also includes a 10K and 5K race. Races fees are $45 and include a race shirt, goodie bag and finishers ribbon (not medal?) This looks to be a smaller race, but should be enjoyable. The course runs along the water at Anacortes and along some sort or bridge. I am hoping for pretty scenery and hopefully not too many hills!

Tacoma Narrows Half Marthon (Saturday, August 7, 2010):

                                                             

This half is located in Tacoma, WA and runs across the famous Narrows Bridge, through Cheney Stadium and finishes in downtown Tacoma. The current race fee is $90 and includes a t-shirt, chip timer, goodie bag and commemorative finisher's glass. This race should be somewhat hilly, but probably and hopefully no more hilly than other races in the Puget Sound area. Should be another beautiful route.

I am really excited! Although I have not been blogging, I have been running, so I feel prepared for these races. I cant wait and a recap to come shortly! Are any of you running in these races?

Happy running racing!

2 years! ♥

Okay, this is only somewhat running related.....but today I am celebrating 2 years with my boyfriend :)

Ill skip most of the mushy stuff, but I am so happy with him (and to find someone that will put up with my running schedules, races, special meals, driving me to and from races, taking corny pictures of me while running....you get the picture)!

He even knew I wanted to run after work, so we have later dinner reservations! Yep, he's a keeper :)

Beat the Bridge 8k, May 2008: our first race

Post Seattle Marathon 2009: My first half and his first full marathon

4th of July, 2010 (after the Fun Run)

Thanks for running with me, and always supporting me too!

Happy 2 years! ♥

Running Randoms.....

A few random things about running that I encoutered in the past week:

A HUGE deer: while running over the weekend, I came upon a HUGE deer. Now I have seen deer before, but nothing like the size of this one. I am guessing that it was young because it didnt have antlers (or it was a large female) but it was gigantic. I mean, it was the size of a cow! Are they normally that big? It just stood there while I ran up to it on the road. I tried to make a lot of noise to scare it away (from me, and out of traffic) but it just stared. Good thing no one else was around to hear me!

 Similar to this, but larger!!

I ran into a tree: yep, you heard it right. On my early morning run last week, I ran into a tree. Well, I was running and there was a large, low branch in my path. I went to duck my head, but I didnt duck enough. I smacked the top of my head into the branch. Whoops!

A crazy mumbling runner: while walking to work this morning, I saw a runner approaching me. As she got closer, I could see she was talking to herself, saying "....almost there! I'm almost there!" It was so strange....I sure hope I don't mumble out loud while running! I'm pretty sure that I don't.....

This list goes right up there with the cat on the leash. Have you seen anything strange while running??

Wait, what??

Hmmm….two things:

First, I somehow woke up extra early today to run 5 miles before I went to work. Anyone who knows me this is somewhat impossible since I am NOT a morning person and a complete night owl. I don’t know what motivated me to actually get up and run (vs my normal hitting the snooze button multiple times) but I’ll take it!

 Somehow my run was more groggy than normal. I thought I would have been more awake since I wake up early for races, but it just wasn’t happening :)

Second, I JUST realized that my time in the BYS Fun Run on the 4th of July was only 3 seconds off my PR from 2009! Wow?! How did I not realize this? I was seriously thinking my PR was faster, and I wonder if I would have pushed it harder in the race if I had known. Hmm??

Looks like I need to sign up for a few more 5ks soon…..I am NOT running at my potential! Has anything strange happened to you lately??

4th of July Fun Run 5k Results

Location: Bainbridge Island, WA

Official time: 25:23

Chip time: 25:01

Pace/mile: 8:03/mile

Overall: 100/361

Gender Place: 22/177

Age Place: 3/19

On the 4th of July I decided to try to run in the annual Fun Run 5k on Bainbridge Island. I ran this race in 2008 and lets just say that it wasn't pretty. The course runs through downtown Winslow, has 2 major hills and is not for the out-of-shape. You can read my other recap here from 2008.

This is a rather small, local race, so I arrived about 15 minutes before the start of the race to register and get my t-shirt. The race was $25 and included a shirt, but no chip (they have never had chips). There was also an option to do the 1-mile Race as well for around $10. I registered and grabbed my shirt and headed to the start. 

While waiting for the gun, I noticed that there were around 400 runners already waiting. I weaved my way to the middle of the pack. There was one false start, but then the race started on-time at 9:15 am. As we started down the street, I realized that people with their dogs, small children and stroller were up at the front. Really? I ended up running through a few bushes and dodging people to get to where the runners where. Not what I was expecting. 

The first .2 of the race is downhill, then we start a slow decent until we reach the first mile. This is usually where people start dropping back. I was able to run and felt strong up the first long hill, and thankfully passed a lot of people too. We turned and went about .5 downhill. I used this as an excuse to run faster and try to get ahead of my normal pace. I was surprised again that most of the people around me were running slower on the downhill than on the uphill. Bad knees or something? I didn't get it...

There was a water station around mile 1.8 that was well stocked. At this point I was running at less than an 8:00 pace! I was pretty surprised...I was keeping pace with a girl who looked to be about 4-5 years older than me. Since there was few people in this race, it was awkward that we kept jockeying for position the rest of the race. More on her later...

We then started the dreaded HILL. Not only is this hill steep, but it is long and deceiving. You think you are at the top at one point, but really it is a false summit and you have to keep climbing. In 2008 I made it to the top but had to stop and catch my breath afterwards. It wasn't pretty! I just kept my head down and kept on going. It was nice to actually be the one who was passing others this time around! Unfortunately there was a little boy who was about 10 that flew by me....grr....

At the top of the hill there was a few people trying to catch their breath and sitting down! I even saw a guy puking at the top! I felt really bad for him, but it was pretty gross!! The last .5 was all downhill and I tried to catch my breath and go as fast as I could. I kept running back and forth with the girl that I saw earlier. I made my mind up that I would finish before her....no matter what it took. 

As we turned the last little corner we start to run through the downtown again. I was able to see the end in sight just as the girl passed me. I kicked it into high gear and sprinted past her at the very end of the race. Unfortunately that pesky 10 year old cut me off at the end as well (he must have had it in his head to beat me, haha). 

My Garmin said that I was about 25:01! This is fairly close to my 5k PR!! My goal was to get around 27:00 because it is such a difficult race, and I blew that out of the water! While walking through the end of the race, I noticed that I came in 101st....that pesky little kid robbed me of the top 100! Grr..... (UPDATE: I actually placed 100th! Yes! That little bugger took 99th......and he was under 14 years old!)

While grabbing a water and waiting for my friends to finish, I overheard the girl that was running with me during the race talking about ME! She was taking to a guy about how this girl "cut her off at the end".....um, no, I didn't do that and I just plain out beat her! Guess some people are sore losers  racers :)

Unfortunately there are no stats posted yet from the race. I was hoping to get this recap done earlier, but I was waiting on these results! Ill update if the results ever get posted.....I want to know my age group placing!

Also, on a side note, I went to a wedding later that day on the 4th of July. While talking with a group of people, one of my friends went around and introduced everyone. One of the girls looked at me and asked if I did the Fun Run earlier that day. I said yes, and she replied: 

 "you looked familiar....you beat me by one second in the race!"

Haha, whoops! It was really awkward talking to her. Apparently she does a lot of races and runs often. I don't think she was too fond of me though :) Overall, it was a great race and I took over 6 minutes off my time from 2008. I celebrated with a margarita or two afterward at the street parade :)

Hope everyone had fun on the 4th!!

UPDATE:

I placed 3rd in my age group! Woo Hoo!

www.bainbridgeyouthservices.org/funrun.php
Race Results Link

Benefits: Boys & Girls Club of Bainbridge Island

"You ran....on purpose??"

Holy heat wave Seattle!

Well, summer is here all right....we hit 94 degrees in Seattle! To be fair, it was 91 degrees when I went on my run. I was set on getting at least 5 miles in, and I really didnt think it would be that big of a deal while at work. Yeah, I was wrong.

That was one of the most difficult runs ever! I made it my 4 miles at a 10:00 pace, but it wasn't pretty with the hills. For kicks, I decided to run another mile, thinking I could run back through a few sprinklers on my way. Within FEET of reaching the sprinklers someone turned them off! So much for my cool down.....it must have been there to tempt me :)

Anyways, when I got back from my run (dazed and confused, haha) a woman was walking through the front doors. She looked at me and said:
 
"You ran? In this heat......on purpose?"

I smiled and said yes, and she looked at me like I was crazy. Getting a few miles in isnt that crazy, is it??

Happy heat stroke running!

Well, hello summer!

In true PacNW fashion, summer has finally arrived AFTER the 4th of July. Most of you who are from around Seattle know this, but for all of you who are not, we rarely, rarely get hot weather before July. Then BAM, summer arrives just in time! Literally, we might hit 95 degrees tomorrow! A week ago Monday, it was a lovely 60 degrees, and it might have dipped into the 50's during the day.  Im not kidding....

Check the time....its 10:00 PM!

I decided to finally get a good run in since the RnR half, yet the weather was not cooperating. I ran 6 miles at about a 9:30/mile pace. The heat just takes it out of me. I did pause a few times to take the follwing pictures:

Hello, Seattle!

Rat-cows on the loose....

Sunset over the Olympic Mts

Love the awesome sunset......and no, that wasn't enhanced! Ill spare you all the self portrait this time....85 degrees at night wasn't a pretty picture :) We'll see how many I can get in in tomorrow's heat! Here's hoping to more than 10 miles this week, why wont the weather cooperate?? Recaps to come...I didn't forget!

Happy hot running!

A good excuse this time....

Bad blogger again, but I have an excuse this time...

I just started a new job last week! :)

Needless to say, this past week was my worst running week so far. I only logged 10.1 miles, which is way below my usual 25-30. I guess starting a new position, going to a wedding, a bridal shower and having a certain vampire-related movie debut at midnight one day last week took up all of my time. My hip was a little sore after the Seattle RnR Half, so I think I might have needed the days off. Im hoping to get back into it tomorrow and log those miles! Also, a recap to come tomorrow too...

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July….it is always one of my favorite holidays!

Another new half PR?

Yep, another new half marathon PR at the Seattle Rock N Roll Half this morning!

1:55:59!

Recap to come tomorrow...Im too exhausted to type it all tonight. Hope everyone had a great race, it was my favorite so far!

Seattle RnR Expo & Bloggy Dinner

INSANELY busy last 3 days....I can't even begin! Lets just say that the Seattle Rock N Roll Half is almost here and snuck up on me! The expo was the last 2 days, and I have to say it was amazing! Not only is this the largest race I have run in (about 35,000-40,000 people!) but it is the most well organized event to date:

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Seattle Health & Fitness Expo sets the stage for an exciting marathon weekend! For two days, over 100 exhibitors will offer free samples, showcase the latest in running gear, sports apparel, health & nutritional information and much more.

Literally, they were not kidding! There was TONS of freebies, discounts and samples to be had by everyone. I particularly loved the Sports Beans booth (which my other Step-Sis was working) and the GU booths. I also enjoyed the random free samples of fresh kiwi and the Fage yoghurt stand. Yum!

Not only was there plenty of free swag, but there were great discount too. I was able to snag a 24 pack of GU for $20, including tax! There were all flavors and sizes and types (GU, Chomps, Brew...) but this is the best deal I have found anywhere. Also Sports Authority had some awesome deals on discounted new running gear. I should have picked up a few Under Armour shirts....

This event was HUGE and very well organized. Although this race differed from others in that you had to bring a signed waver form AND i.d. **and they will NOT let you take someone else's bib!** the lines were organized by corral number and the lines were short. After you picked up your bib and D-tag, there was another line as an option to upgrade to the full marathon, or change your corral number (which I did, to finish earlier...more details to come on the reason!) It was really simple to do, and there were no questions asked. My kind of packet pickup!

 Bib with D-tag attached

After we received our tech shirts, there was instructions on how to put on the D-tag and plenty of people to answer questions. After this area, we were ushered into a large Brooks RnR memoribilia area. I have never seen so many items to purchase for a race! Plenty of options for men and women's shirts, tanks, shorts, pants, jackets, hats, socks, keychains, etc. I mean, they had everything and more that you could think of. I was impressed, and actually bought another Brooks Seattle RnR tech shirt (pic to come!)

There was even an area to win free Brooks swag too. Unfortunately I was horrible at the ball-toss game, but the rest was fun and free.

All in all, it was a great expo. Just check out all that I went away with:

Yes please!

After the expo I met up with other awesome bloggy ladies at the Spaghetti Factory to carbo-load before the race. I am so happy that I was able to meet up with a few local familiar faces and even a few bloggers from across the US!

Bloggy runners!

Seriously an awesome night! A HUGE thanks to Mel for setting up the evening. I don't know how she does it all! :) I cant wait to run with all of you ladies tomorrow!

Night and good luck ladies! (and thanks to Kerrie for the picture!!)

Wow, 100th post!

Wow, wow, wow.....

Where did the time go? I never would have thought that I would EVER have a blog, let alone post 100 times! So far it has been an interesting journey, and I love all the bloggy friends I have made and even met. Thanks for making the past 6 months so rewarding :)

Lovely view at the park....so what if I was the only one laying out!!

I went for a final long run yesterday before the Rock N Roll Half this weekend. I decided to put in some miles at a slow pace just to get my mileage up. I ended up running 10 miles including hills at a 9:47 pace. It was 78 degrees during the run! As you know, I am not good with heat, so I think that also made me run at a much slower pace.

 Sunny colors for the sunny solstace weather!

Randomly during the run I spotted a 4-leaf clover! I decided to grab it on my second loop, and when I stopped to pick it, I found 2 other 4-leaf clovers right next to it! I really do have a special talent for finding clovers. The last time I found a 4-leaf clover I ran a sub 2 hour half at Kirkland. Here's hoping for good luck again on the race this weekend!

I just got back from the Seattle Rock N Roll expo, and I have a ton of info to post. I'm off for a quick run around the neighborhood, but will post soon. I hope everyone is enjoying the sunny Pacific Northwest weather.....I am loving it! It seems that summer FINALLY decided to show itself here!

Happy running!

Image found here

RIP Bug...

Yuck, it finally happened....

A bug flew into my eye while running! I should also preface this post by saying that I am horribly scared of any creepy, crawly creature, expecially bugs and spiders.

Well, I should say that actually 3 perished while on my run, but the first was definately the worst. I dont know how this hasnt happened to me before, but I sure paid for it on this run!

While running 6.2 around a local park, I was cruising along at a good sub-9/mile pace when something hit my eye. I quickly stopped and started blinking, but I could see it was HUGE. Since I hate bugs and are terrified of them, I frantically started clawing at my eye to get the thing out. Literally about 3 minutes later I felt it and tried to get it out with my finger (so gross!) but only a small portion of the bug came out! Without getting too graphic and grossing myself out more, pieces of the bug kept coming out of my eye during the rest of my run.

If you cannot tell already, sadly, the bug did not make it.

I guess there are just not too many bugs to fly in my face in the city. And that I am extremely thankful for!

Sorry for the gross post. Happy (bug free) running!

Thank You :)

After having an exceptionally crappy day, I found this waiting for me in my mailbox:

An AWESOME gift pack from Julie over at Minnesota Mileage!

The goodie pack included:

• A lovely note :)
• 2 Powerbar Energy Gels in Strawberry Banana
• Pack of Jelly Belly Sports Beans in Fruit Punch
• A Starbucks gift card

So amazing! I am new to the bloggy world, and this is the first thing that was sent to me. If you all are not familiar with Julie, she is a super-speedy bloggy runner who has completed many 5k, 10k and half marathons, but she is now training for her first full marathon! She not only sent this awesome gift pack, but has supported me since the beginning of my blog. Thanks Julie :) 

Not only are the gifts amazing, but the Powerbar Gel is a flavor that I have not tried yet, and I have never had Sports Beans (which I found out my other Step-Sis is working the Sports Beans booth at one of my upcoming races!) Product reviews to come!

Perfect for my 10 miler this week and a new product review!

This is my excited face, haha. I'm a huge dork....

On a running side note, I went for a quick 4 miler and realized that I didnt start my Garmin! Boo! I run with my iPhone and took a call a few minutes into the run.....but I never stopped running. I ended up running my 4 mile loop (with hills) at a 10:00 pace and without stopping and talking the entire time! I might have sounded funny on the phone, but she knew I was running, so I think it was fine. I could have gone faster, but I probably would have run into something or someone while talking and with my headphones in. I also probably had quite a few funny looks in my direction (I probably looked like I was chatting with myself, haha). Oh well, I got the run and the call in!

Happy running and thanks again Julie! :)

Back Blogging

Yet again, I was a bad blogger yesterday :( Yet, thanks to the wonders of Blogger, I can post this yet put a different time and date on it (sneaky, sneaky!)

 

Anyways, I went for a lovely 8 miler today (well, yesterday, but you get the hint!) I did a 4 mile loop twice that included several hills. It has been my regular loop now for the past 2 weeks, and it can be pretty challenging to get a sub-9 mile pace for the entirety of the run. I realized that the Seattle Rock N Roll Half is coming up in a few weeks, and I need to start running my longer training runs!

I ended up running an additional hill, but finishing 8 miles at a 9:15 pace. Not bad, and definitely an improvement over the last few longer runs, but not at my goal yet!! grr.....

It was also an extremely dark and stromy day again in Seattle, with periods of sunshine. My kind of run (but not tanning/summer weather!)

This picture doesnt do it justice!!

Why cant it just be sunny like this all the time??

B-E-A-utiful!

Alright, well I am a cheese-ball. Hope you all are enjoying summer weather somewhere and getting your longer runs in :) and not back-blogging like me!

Running on Builders Bars!

After reading the article I posted yesterday about the guy who runs on bananas, I keep thinking about the runs I have accomplished lately and trying to figure out which runs were more successful than others and why. I have come to the conclusion that he might be able to run only on bananas, but I could probably run only on Builders Bars!

On all of the runs that I have done lately (hill runs or just regular runs around the neighborhood) my speed and energy level seems to go with how much protein I have had that day. Usually this means if I had a Builder's Bar earlier that day or not. Even just yesterday I ran 6 miles and was completely dragging. I not only ran one of my slowest paces in months (9:45/mile) but I had no protein in my system. Today I had a Builders Bar and ran 5 miles at a 8:55/pace including hills. That is a huge difference!!

I don't think I would go as far as eating ONLY Builders Bars (I would need coffee, GU and Hefeweizen in the mix too!), but one a few hours before a long run seems to give me better results. More on my review of Builder's Bars here.

Is there anything that you HAVE to eat before a long run or race?

Happy running :)