10 Miler

Yesterday morning I knocked out an easy 10-miler. It's weird how earlier in the year I had to train for three months to be able to run in the Papa John's 10 Miler race, and now I can just go out on a Saturday morning and run 10 miles. It was a great feeling to finish the first long run of my training comfortably and confidently. Not that it was necessarily easy, but it was enjoyable - which worries me because I just finished "Ultra Marathon Man" and as Dean Karnazes' coach told him, "If it felt good, you didn't push hard enough. It's supposed to hurt like hell."

One thing that I've decided to do with my long runs is to chart out my fluid and calorie consumption. So, adding yet another sheet to my marathon training Excel file, I planned out how much water and/or Powerade I would take in at specific miles. I'm still struggling with what to eat while running. I wish I didn't have to eat, but it really becomes necessary once you've been running for more than an hour. Since the marathon will probably take about 4:00-4:30 hours, I need to figure out what works while training. I've tried gels, beans, and bloks, but they all are pretty rough on my stomach. So yesterday, at mile 6 I ate a peppermint. It was easy on my stomach and actually kind of refreshing. I tucked it away in my cheek and let the calories seep in. I know that the beans and the Clif Shot Bloks pack a lot more punch (calories, sodium) than a peppermint does, so I still have some testing to do. I wish someone would make a hard candy thats packed with electrolytes. Hmmm...I smell a business opportunity.

After the run, I laid on my living room floor with Emma the dog for about 15 minutes, then I got cleaned up and we went to see Transformers with some friends. I had no idea what to expect from the movie, and Transformer guru Adam kept telling us to go in with low expectations and I was actually pleasantly surprised. It was funny and entertaining, and pretty interesting. I asked Chad a few questions about the robots and it was very cute when he started explaining about the Autobots and Deceptacons. I thought Shia LeBouef had peaked with Even Stevens, but he was actually really good in this movie.

Last night we went into Wilmore for a pizza and chocolate cake fest with our dear friends. It was just what I needed after a long run. I conked out around 9:30 while everyone was playing Tiger Woods golf on the Xbox. I've read about how much marathon training can affect your social life but perhaps I have an advantage in that department because our friends are used to me wanting to go to bed at about 9:00pm anyway.