Beer bandito

The perfect weekend run is about as ephemeral as hitting the right sale that has all the things you want in your size, and you know that you have gift cards to cover every single item.  And don't you know it, Saturday brought both of those things.  It was so perfect, that I couldn't believe my luck.

I am working hard to establish a routine for the night before and the day of my long runs.  I keep hearing about the importance of a long run routine, and while I haven't had problems with cramping or tummy trouble in recent runs, I want to have all of this ironed out before starting up with marathon training.  So Friday night I made some epic Pork Fried Rice, and then we went out for beer.  Rice and beer are two things that seem to work fine for me the night before a long run.  All of the carbs.

Ammon got greedy with the beer, and I couldn't even handle it.  He required that I take a picture of him before I got my beer back.  Not kidding, he wanted a picture of this, so he got what he wanted, and I got my stout back.

I had been feeling less than stellar in my runs for a week and a half, and had no expectations for my run on Saturday.  I just went about my business, and spent the morning doing some cleaning and run prep.  I left the house shortly before 1, and instantly had a false start when I forgot my house keys and decided that the headband I was wearing was just not going to work.  So a mile into the run, I had to make a pit stop back at the house to swap headbands and grab my key.  It was a 45 second pit stop that I'm pretty sure paid off in spades when I didn't have to think about my hair again for another 88 minutes or so.  Running eight and a half miles takes a long, long, long time.  Just in case you didn't know that before, consider yourself educated.  It takes me about 100 minutes, which can either feel like an eternity or a blink of an eye, depending on how things are going.  I intentionally chose a running route that I knew I would enjoy, and then sought to ignore my garmin for the balance of my mileage.  Nobody can ever fully ignore that handy device dutifully attached to their wrist, ticking down the time, but I sure did try my absolute best, reminding myself that it was going to take as long as it took, and that the best thing I could do was pace myself out and just enjoy the run.

I wish you could have been with me for this run.  It was the run where everything in the universe comes together to just turn out better than planned.  My compression socks helped keep swelling in my legs and blisters on my heels at bay.  My new long run shoes were absolutely perfect.  The weather was flawless, and I had exactly as much water and fuel as I needed.  I didn't even need to stop for a potty break.  My legs felt like they were working properly, and at 6.5 miles I genuinely felt like I could run a half marathon right then and there.  I felt strong.

 

 

This entire training cycle has been plagued with fears and doubts about this half marathon.  About if I could successfully run a half marathon without my body giving out partway.  About if I'm wasting my time even pondering the concept of a full marathon.  I knew that I needed to have some awesome long runs later on in the game in order to have the confidence to step up to the line ready to fight for a PR come May 4th.

I came home Saturday feeling ready to fight for the time I want in that next half.  What was even better was that I came home and didn't feel completely wasted.  Instead of falling into bed for a coma nap, I went and shopped the sale at Old Navy.  They were having a one day sale on their tank tops, and I couldn't pass up the prices they were advertising.  Well, once I was there I got a little bit sucked in, and walked out with more than I had first anticipated.

17 items for $100, paid for in full with gift cards.... Yesssssssssssss.  The only thing not on sale were the flats, but my current black flats are so gross, I had no choice but to buy a new pair.  Also, I am so in love with mint still, and glad that it isn't "out" yet.  It takes me a while to catch up with fashion trends, and I'm glad I haven't missed the boat on this one entirely.

I know I won't have another long run day quite like this one again.  I am hopeful, however, that the good vibes generated on this run will help me create some much needed training momentum to get through the last few weeks before race day.  Somehow, the race has crept up on me, and I need all the help I can get to make it there happy, hale, and healthy.

Tell me about your last "perfect" workout.