Progress, Guzzling GU + Staying Committed :)

Right now I'm pretty sure my water count is at least a gallon since my run this afternoon. Running a 14 mile run at a pretty hard effort in the 80+ degree heat left me feeling like I had just run in Phoenix, except this was at 3 in the afternoon, not 5 am :) Anyway, I'm really happy to see progress in my training right now. This is my first 14 miler in months and it was one of my moderately hard moderately long runs :) I averaged 6:41 and hit some miles as fast as 6:21. The terrain was also quite hilly so I thought about the bridges in the NYC marathon and how I need to push push push to maintain pace and stay positive, as if I were in the marathon in November...good practice visualizing :) I ran all over Queens and on some bike paths that had quite a bit of shade so I liked that! I got superrr thirsty late in the run so I stopped at a park and quickly drank some nice cold water. I seriously could have stood there guzzling until my belly was bursting but I forced myself to quickly get going again.

One thing I'm starting to do before my runs is to drink about 10 oz of my GU Electrolyte Brew to get my stomach used to it, rather than just start drinking it on only one run per week (long run). I figure the more my body gets used to metabolizing it and using it while I workout, the better I'll do on race day. I'm also going to start practicing eating a gel with caffeine, or perhaps the Jet Blackberry GU flavor with 2x caffeine, during my runs and harder workouts as well. That way I don't have to worry about getting used to a flavor at the last minute.

I'm craving an ice bath right now, so I hope I can get one in this weekend after the Harlem 5k. I never thought I'd like them this much but when little aches and pains start to show up despite all my foam rolling and rope stretching, I know it's time for one! Whole Foods might be selling me quite a few bags of ice on Sat :) If you have never taken one, I highly recommend it, especially after a really hard workout or race, as good prevention, not just treatment when something starts to bother you.

I've decided to start adding up the hours I spend training, stretching, ice bathing, etc. to show myself how hard I work as a professional runner, and before my big races I can look back and see the hundreds of hours I spend to go after my dreams! Lately my weeks have been in the 15 and 16 hour range, and that's with only 55-62 miles per week! I can't imagine what it'll be at 90-100, geez :)

Being totally out of my comfort zone here in Queens and Manhattan has really prepared me for any situation I may come across in my travels in the future. Not having my favorite places to run, my comfy amazing bed, MY DOGS, my brother and his gorgeous house that I live in, my friends, etc. makes it hard to stay motivated every day. However at least I have Sam here and I can continue to help her be ready for school and being a Div 1 athlete. I'm seeing progress day to day though and I know it will all be worth it in a few weeks :) On my little handmade motivation training calendar for these weeks I'm in NYC, I wrote "Wherever you are, there you'll be...still an athlete- get it done!"..when I read this it helps me a lot..I'm so happy I put it on there when I made it a few weeks ago :)

Quote for today: "Commitment is essentially a state of going somewhere wholeheartedly, without regret or reservation"- (a team commitment card)