Making Progress

27 Days to Go - I've noticed that if I go several days in between runs that it is harder for me to get started the next time. Since I ran a 10K the previous day, my son H and I went out for a short 1.3 mile run just to burn some of his energy and stretch my legs. Before the run, I tested out Honey Stingers Chews in Pomegranate. Very tasty!

26 Days to Go - The YMCA training group on this week was moved to Monday night so that we could have a guest speaker. Adam, the owner of a Danville running shop called The Brick, came to speak to us and tell about his store. I fueled up with Honey Stinger Gel which is a pouch of pure honey but just a little thinner than honey. We ran a 6.13 mile route and I finished it at an average pace of 9:58 per mile. This run was great because I had full energy right from the start. Normally the first one to two miles of a long run are rough for me, but this one was really pleasant.Not sure if it was due to the Honey Stinger or not but I'll definitely try that kind again.

24 Days to Go- Our assignment for the weekend was to run 10 miles. To date I had only run seven miles before so I felt that something in between was needed. Wendy, who is in my training group, drove up from Danville to run 8 miles with me. We ran the 8-mile route at an average pace of 10:22 per mile.

My iPhone died at mile 7.91 and I was not happy about losing all the data. Several days later I opened the RunKeeper app on my other phone (it's downloaded to both). The first screen to pop up was my 7.91 mile run asking me if I wanted to save it. Thank you, RunKeeper! So make sure you have the app linked on two devices and you'll always have an emergency back-up.

It's not too late to register for the Martinsville Half-Marathon, Relay & 5K if you haven't already. #KeepRunning #WeCanDoThis

Energy Boost

Over the weekend Darrin and I traveled to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to attend the Fly Fishing Expo. While in town we stopped by Fleet Feet Sports to check out the available selection of GU and other energy supplements.

The staff there was very friendly and knowledgeable and they walked me through the pros and cons of each type of supplement. They also shared their opinions on the various flavors. The supplements ranged in price from $1.35 to $2.25. I purchased a variety of types and flavors to test out during my training.

41 Days to Go - I selected Vanilla Bean GU ($1.40) as my first taste test. This product is intended to be taken 15 minutes before running and every 45 minutes during the run. After hearing stories from other runners about the gag-inducing thick texture of this product, my goal was to get it down and keep it down. I started off by drinking some water. The salesman at Fleet Feet warned me that you should drink plenty of water with GU. The texture was very thick but if you enjoy icing (I do very much!) you'll like it. I sucked down the entire tube of vanilla deliciousness, drank some more water, puttered around the house for 15 minutes and then headed out for a one mile run at a race pace of 9:25. I didn't have any problems during the run; the GU stayed down just fine. After the run I realized that when the salesman said "drink plenty of water," he really meant PLENTY of water. If you are not properly hydrated, GU will absorb water from your body giving you some serious GI issues. After an evening of discomfort, lesson learned.