The Anti-Running Runner

Today I wanted to run to the beach. It's a treat for me, but there's a cost. Ten miles. And I don't get to end at the beach, that's just the halfway point. But I love running to the water. There's just something about it. And most of the route (miles two through eight) is really beautiful. This morning I left around six thirty. Not early enough. It was soooo hot and humid already. I knew from the first mile that the run would be a challenge to finish, and that I'd end up walking some of it. Things I should've done differently: ~Gone to bed earlier last night ~Woken up earlier this morning ~Drank more water yesterday On Tuesday, I got up intending to run about four miles, and ended up doing seven. NOT normal for me. But some kind of fluke cold(er) front had settled over St. Pete. The cloud cover kept me from getting any direct beatings from the sun (not the case today). I thought this was probably the last cool day I'd have for a while. I sho...

I didn't realize it was National Running Day until I saw people posting about it on Facebook. Because I started meeting with a friend, Terry, each Wednesday morning to run, we already celebrated NRD without knowing it! These days my running averages three to ten miles about three times a week. It's that time of year where starting after sunrise becomes more and more challenging. When I do manage to crawl out of bed before sunrise (like today), it makes a huge difference. This was a wonderfully cool morning. Terry and I had a great time chatting, getting to know each other better, lifting each other up in encouragement, and praising God for the gift of another day to run. If I get a late start, I still try to run consistently with my planned goal of every other day. So my punishment for hitting snooze is suffering through the heat. A few pics from a late start a couple weeks ago at the pier: The pier building is closed but there's still a water fountain. Lo...

Yes, we finished! When I left off, Alyssa and I were halfway done. We had gotten water twice so far, and we both felt pretty good. At Mile 14, we saw a porta-potty and both decided we needed to use it. There was no line (always nice) and it was clean. Afterward, we got water at the station and went over one last small bridge heading inland.  The next two miles, we went through some neighborhoods with lots of shade. Although we had none before, I hadn't felt overheated. I think the temp at that point just broke 60. I took my first nibble of Shot Blok at the Mile 16 water station. Just before Mile 18, we hopped onto the Pinellas Trail heading north back toward Clearwater. The full sun quickly warmed us up, but I wasn't too hot. I mean, it was still at least twenty degrees cooler than the last marathon. And all that water I drank the day before helped, I'm sure. But poor Alyssa was feeling it. I should mention that she didn't really train for this race...

At 6:30 AM on Jan 19th, hubby dropped Alyssa and I off at Coachman Park. A ride to and from any race is such a blessing. Alyssa and I have decided it's essential for a marathon. We don't recommend driving yourself if you don't have to. A side trip about my pre-race eating habits: I have finally learned what works best for me and my uber-tender running stomach. It tells me loud and clear what it does and doesn't like. The problem? During long runs when I haven't eaten the way my body wants me to, what I have often felt is motion sickness. At least, that's the closest thing I can compare it to. Once in the fall during a late evening run with Hea (18 miles), it felt like that creature from Alien was about to burst through my diaphragm. Mainly because I ate a sea salted almond around mile eight. Body rejected. It should've been an unsalted almond, but now I can't eat any type of almonds before or during a run. The other thing I've learned is tha...