More hills and even less sleep

So this morning was a 10-miler in Sabino Canyon. Warning: whining ahead.

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I only got about 2 and a half hours of sleep last night. My alarm went off and I hit snooze, then shot out of bed, realizing that I was late already. I had considered sleeping in and making up the run later, but I figured it would be good practice for race day eve. One never really gets the amount of sleep they should the night before they run a marathon, so I thought that this would be good practice. Wrong.

I started off strong, but just ended up totally petering out and finishing the miles for the sake of just being done. I switched to a timed interval, running 7 minutes and walking 1, which helped me fight off complete and utter exhaustion. A few more wrenches in the works were a different hydration belt out for a test drive and a dropped metronome.

Since the heat has increased and my need for liquid intake has increased exponentially, I've realized that two 10 ounce bottles are not enough, even with refill stations along the way. Jennifer lent me her belt with 4 bottles (8 oz each) so I could take it into the canyon and experiment with it. Did.not.like. I'm so glad I tried it before I dropped $50 on it....so now it's back to the drawing board....

You know how I've been running with a metronome to stay on pace? Well, it clipped to my old belt perfectly and stayed put. Not so much with this new belt. About 10 steps into my run, it came flying off, turned off, and reset itself. :( ::Whine::

When I finished my run, my coaches said they'd noticed that I was struggling a bit today. I agreed. It happens. Coach Rick told me last season: "Bad days are flukes; good days never are". I'm subscribing to that today. I'm glad I went out and practiced with the team and that I got some good hill training in, but I'm even more glad I came home to take a nap right after.

Double digits and double vision

No news means good news, right??

RIGHT??

So you'll forgive my lack of updates? Pretty please?

I think today I'll go for an entry that is vignette style, as my friend Stuart used to say.

• I can't believe how fast we broke into the double digits. Holy crap. I remember when ten miles was MONUMENTAL (notice the word mental in there) and it still is, but it came through our schedule like a steam locomotive, and there's no sign of stopping!
• July 4th's run was, in a word, sweaty. The night before, we were treated to a spectacular show of thunder and lightning, accompanied by some torrential downpours. So not only was there actual WATER in the Rillito River, there was some nasty humidity to go with it.
• What goes well with murky water and humidity? BUGS, of course! About 3 miles into our 10 mile run, I looked down and noticed that my arms and legs were covered in tiny bugs that had tempted fate and landed on my sweaty limbs. Fatal mistake (for them). They got in my teeth and eyes, too. Fun times. After I was done, I looked down into my shirt and bra and there were plenty of bugs there too. Everyone looked the same coming in- drenched in sweat, and covered in bugs. None of us really seemed to mind, though- we wore the bugs proudly. :)
• I couldn't be happier with how my training is going at the moment. While I'm still not on pace to qualify for Boston (that's fine with me), I am really proud of how consistent I'm pacing, no matter how I feel or hurt, whether it's mile 2 or 12, I'm still within 20 seconds of my previous mile! And I feel GREAT! ::knocks on wood:: Let's hope this sticks around, okay?
• I'm just under $500 shy of my fundraising goal, which is amazing. I cannot thank you all enough for your support. I am truly honored to be running for such an important cause, and that you hold this cause as close to your hearts as I do. Thank you.
• Last week's run was a 12-miler. Coach Daz ran with me miles 5-12, and I was thankful for that. Normally I don't mind running alone- I actually almost prefer it. I get into my zone and just go. It's pretty cool. However, this day, the heat and sun really got to me. I was wearing my purple training jersey and it was just plain too hot. I actually ran out of water (that was my fault, folks) and was pretty uncomfortable. I got a huge cheer from the rest of the team when I finished, though, and boy was I glad to be done.....I get home and download my run, expecting my mile paces to have tanked in the last quarter of the run. Nope. 10:30's. The whole time (except when I refilled my hydration belt). Woah. Talk about muscle memory!
• Tonight is the first night of an 8-week track workout program put on by Fleet Feet. It's not so much speed work as it is working on endurance and stamina. It's a laps and drills- running straightaways and jogging curves, etc. I'll talk about it more once I know what's going on!
• I got hooked up with a Pearl Izumi T-shirt that says "Legs, the alternate energy source" :) Dig it!

That's all I've got for now, I've got to get to practice.

Happy running!