Less than three weeks until the ZOOMA Cape Cod half marathon. And less than five weeks to go until the Hartford Half Marathon.
Yep, this is getting real now.
As I mentioned, my goal with ZOOMA is to think of it as my last long training run, and an opportunity to catch up with (and finally meet!) some of my favorite local running bloggers.
The real test — my last shot at a sub-2:00 in 2014 — will come two weeks later down in Hartford.
I’ve been pretty conservative with my training, running twice during the week and a long run on the weekends. My mid-week runs usually consist of 4-5 miles of intervals (.25 at a 7:30 pace, followed by .20 of recovery) and a 4-5 mile tempo run (8:30 pace), and they’ve generally gone well — even though I’m usually running at 5:30am.
My long runs, I admit, have not quite gone as well and my pace has been nearly a full minute slower than my hoped anticipated half marathon pace. In fact, these have been my slowest long runs out of the three half marathons I’ve previously trained for. So what gives?
And then it had dawned on me — perhaps it was time to change up my long runs. Trust me, this thought sent a shiver down my Type A spine. But sticking with the same old-same old clearly wasn’t working anymore. So I did the following:
1. Found a new route.
2. Ditched my go-to music playlist for an audiobook (farewell Pitbull, hello Jennifer Weiner)
3. Switched from my chocolate cherry Clif Shot gel to Sports Beans
And you know what? Last Sunday’s 12-miler was probably my strongest training run to date.
Here are the results:
1. The new route was a no brainer. Actually, it was a nice and shady route that led me through four towns … a personal record. It had enough hills to make it a challenging but not so much that I was gasping for breath.
2. As far as the music goes, that was tough but I think I’ve become almost too dependent on my music playlist, and on Saturday night, as I was laying out my running clothes for the morning, the thought of hearing that same tired playlist made me cringe. So I went on iTunes and found a Jennifer Weiner short story for $1.99 that was also 1:30 long. Sold!
Whoa, talk about a breath of fresh air! No lie, those first 8 miles FLEW by (and I’m not the kind of runner that ever says something like that). I was so engrossed in the story.
The bummer is that most audiobooks are crazy expensive ($25+) but thankfully Dr. G. had two credits at Audible so I downloaded (for free!) the new Jennifer Weiner and Elin Hilderbrand novels. I’m not sure I can run a race to an audiobook but my music won’t seem as old and tired if I’m not listening to it 3-4 times a week.
3. The Sports Beans were kind of a random thing, but I had gotten to the point with my long runs that the thought of gel made my stomach turn. I know other people who swear by the beans so I decided to give them a go … in the fruit punch flavor, of course.
I was nervous about running and chewing, having had a few disastrous attempts at the Clif Shot chews during a half marathon last year, but the Sports Beans were definitely easier to chew and swallow. A word to the wise: Be sure to open the pack before you start running. I didn’t and found myself having to stop and open it mid-run.
Anyway, I guess it goes to show that you need to mix it up sometimes — even if you’re a stubborn, stick-to-a-routine person like me. These three small changes really did feel refreshing and rejuvenating.
And know what else is refreshing? When you’re 3-year-old comes home from preschool and tells you she drew you a picture to wear on the front of your shirt when you run but I need to use “those pointy things” (safety pins). Yes, friends, I have a custom designed race bib.
Kaella (KaellaOnTheRun) says
So cute! I love the race bib!!!