Running Randoms

With not blogging in two weeks I figured I’d just summarize some running related randomness going on lately.

-I am officially signed up for 3 races in September.  When I ran the EBACC 5k I discovered that if I ran the Quarterback 5k or 10k and the White Rose 5 Miler I’d be completing the new “717 Series” (717 is the main area code of this area) and get a free tshirt at no additional charge.  I had ran both of those races only once years ago so I figured why not?  Besides, who can pass up a free shirt?  The third race will be my 3rd half marathon; the Hands on House Half on Sept. 29th.

-I’m running harder long runs than I did in my half marathon training last year.  By harder I mean hillier.  This is for several reasons.  1 – The half marathon I’m doing apparently has a rather tough hill in it as well as a few rolling hills.  2 – My legs tend to feel better on long runs that have hills because of the changing muscles used; I intend to do a full blog entry on this/regarding hills in the near future.  3 – While I love having rail trails in close proximity for training, they can get boring both physically and mentally.

-I have finally experimented with some sports beans and chews on my long runs.  The main reason for this is that after my half last fall I felt super jittery and lightheaded as soon as I finished.  I blame this primarily on the fact that the first few aid stations had only water and no sports drinks.  Hands on House’s website says it will offer both at every station, but I’m not taking any chances and plan to keep some Honey Stinger orange blossom chews in my pocket.

-I learned that while websites may say it’s okay to exercise 24 hours after a massage, if I do so I will feel like a slow, newbie runner.  (Random – newbie makes me think of noob which I heard on an episode of the Big Bang Theory this week which makes me think of all the time I spent playing Guild Wars during college).  I was scheduled for a massage before we went to Ocean City, but realized I wanted to run a long run the next day so I rescheduled the massage (priorities right?) to this past Tues.  My legs felt really good after the massage though my upper back felt like someone had been punching it.  My darn desk job tightens my back up like nothing else.  I intended to run an easy 4 miles Wed. after work which quickly changed to 3 miles after I realized the heavy, sloth-like feeling in my legs was not going to go away after a mile.

-I have a love/hate relationship with yoga workouts.  I love how much they help on recovery days and I know they’re likely aiding in my staying injury free.  I hate how slow and boring they seem.  They may make my body feel good, but mentally I get too distracted thinking about other things and wanting the workout to be finished.

-I attended my dad’s jr high cross country team’s first scrimmage last evening.  I do not miss my high school cross country course.  The opposing team was coached by a former teammate of mine and I asked if she missed our course; she said she didn’t.  It is by far the hardest course in the county.  While it made for tough cross country runners, it certainly was never enjoyable to run it.  I swore when I graduated I would never run it again.  It took at least a year but I have since ran it, just not very often.

-Attending that scrimmage made me miss my track kids.  I was definitely burned out by the end of last season, but I have since recovered and am looking forward to next season.  Already I have started thinking of different workouts and fun things I want to implement such as a scavenger hunt.

-I find that once I start hitting double digit mile runs, miles 8-9 or 9-10 become the toughest mentally.  They’re also the miles that I start thinking about food.  I remember during my 14 mile run last year I started craving all kinds of random things from french fries and funnel cakes to green smoothies.  I ran 12 miles this morning and around mile 8 I started craving about a peanut butter and banana smoothie.  Fortunately I texted Jason when I finished my run and there was a homemade ice cold one in the fridge waiting for me when I returned home.

Do you use sport beans or chews on long runs or races?  Do you do yoga and if so, what is your take on it?  Do you get food cravings during runs?