I'm gonna run 26.2 Miles

On Vox: Week 8

Week 8 was characterized by tiredness. I had a good run on Tuesday but the rest of the week I felt really tired. Work was more hectic than usual and I didn't do a good job of eating. When I got home on Thursday, I was starving. I snacked on some junk food before I ran which is not a good formula. The Thursday run felt flat.

The long run on Saturday @ Matthews Beach felt more like the same. I felt tired and sluggish. I started off that way. Wisely I decided to ease into the run by taking more walk breaks than usual. 5 minutes of running and a minute of walking. It's a strategy that worked for me the previous week (though I started with my walk breaks a lot sooner this week). For the first half hour, it felt bad. I started feeling better after that. The real shocker was at the turnaround point before heading back, I had reached the 5 mile mark in a much faster time than expected. The return leg passed quickly and I felt stronger the longer I ran. Felt tired just after 10 miles and I decided to use my first gu for the day. The gu gave me a nice kick because the next 3 miles I felt incredibly strong. At the finish, I was tired but I also felt great about the run.

The clif bloxs are pretty good for keeping me balanced. The gu though seems to give me a better boost of energy. I need to find a better combination of the two so I don't feel so tired around the 10 mile mark.

This week have to eat and train better. I'm throwing some trail mix into my bag so that I have food to snack on. Stocked up on easy to make meals from trader joes so I don't snack on junk when I'm hungry.

Originally posted on daniel.vox.com

On Vox: Week 7: Long Run

This week was a 12 mile run on the Sammamish River Trail. I've run this trail before. It's a nice route. Mostly flat (or as Coach puts it "uninteresting"). The weather patterns have been a little odd this last couple of weeks but things have mostly been warming up. Today though was a scorcher! It started off a little nippy but I didn't feel a need to bring along my fleece. That was a good idea. I had two layers today but it really turned out to be a 1 layer day. Hydration was an issue. The water bottle I carried didn't have much water left when I made my turnaround at the 6 mile mark.

I also started off too strong. I followed a pack of team mates going out. They are normally faster than me but I had felt strong the entire week. Mistake! As the weather got hotter, I was struggling to keep up with my normal pace (10 minutes run, 1 minute walk). I threw in a couple more walk breaks (5 minutes run, 1 minute walk) and that seemed to helped. Towards the end, I started feeling strong again and wrapped up the long run on a strong note.

There was a nice surprise waiting for us at the end. Skip, a honored team mate, was making pulled pork sandwiches and fries for everyone. I've been trying to eat better but they looked so good after the run. I finished two sandwiches and some fries (I only wanted one but Skip told me to grab another one when I wanted to leave).

Originally posted on daniel.vox.com

On Vox: Week 6: Long Run

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We had a really great run last week. Our coach (Jim) for this season wants to do more trail runs. Jim likes the softer surfaces of trails especially for longer distances. We'll have a couple more long runs on trails this season. This was the first one this season. I've not done much trail running, mostly at Discovery Park, but Lake Youngs is a much longer trail. There were a couple of sections that should have been tougher (stretches of mile long inclines) but I was just chugging along. Felt great to be out there this week.

The only tricky part was this steep incline before the finish. That part hurt but I just gritted my teeth and got myself up the hill.

Super good run. Really enjoyed myself.

Originally posted on daniel.vox.com

On Vox: Midweek Run

The midweek runs were uneventful. Missed my Tuesday hill session but ran Wednesday and Thursday. I did some good running on Thursday. Ran for just under an hour. The route I took involved going up Interlaken Blvd. That is about a mile uphill and I finished it without stopping to walk. The run from last weekend seems to have made me stronger in tackling hills over a longer distance.

Overall I feel like I'm getting stronger. I'm starting to get tired and I need to get more rest when I'm done. That and I'm also constantly hungry these days.

Tomorrow, we have a long run of 9 miles up by Lake Youngs. Hopefully the weather will be warmer than last week.

Originally posted on daniel.vox.com