Sunday, March 13, 2011

Thinking about the half

I feel surprisingly good today. No belly pain and no soreness in my legs. That really just makes me want to push myself for the half... since I'm not dying today and all. My splits were dropping off at miles 8 and 9, so I don't think I could have continued around that average pace of 9:30. But then again that 15k course is hilly and that had to have taken a toll on me. I read a review for the race today and somebody else commented that they had never run a race with so many hills in Texas. My half is supposed to be pretty flat, or at least that's what they're advertising... "fast and flat." I'll be the judge of that! I compared elevation charts for both courses and the biggest climb in the 15k rose 100 feet in 2 miles while the half rises 150 feet over 8 miles- then is downhill 'till the end. Who knows... I just want to analyze everything and sometimes I can't!

I used that new SPIBelt instead of my Amphipod belt to see how I liked it before the half. I liked the new belt better even though I had to push it back down to my hips a few times in the beginning. By mid-race I think I just didn't care anymore. I just really don't want to wear the bulky belt for the half. I've come up with 2 solutions. A- I can have family hand me bottles with sport tops throughout the course or B- I can try a handheld bottle. I don't want to walk through water stations and I can't seem to coordinate drinking from a cup and running at the same time. I just know I need to drink more water next time. Maybe I even need to down a bottle of water (or two) the second I wake up. As long as I give my body plenty of time to deal with that water, it couldn't hurt anything to do it.

I think I'll be a running geek tomorrow and go hang out at the running store to try on water bottles and ask questions. I need some more of those Honey Stinger chews anyway.

2 comments:

Pam @ herbieontherun.com said...

I can't run and drink from a cup either. I dang near drown myself every time I try. I got a handheld a while back to use on the runs that are too short for my Fuel Belt but too long for nothing. I hate it. I hate having to carry ANYTHING in my hands when I run. And it kind of makes my arm hurt from holding it in one position for too long.

Pam @ herbieontherun.com said...

I didn't tell anyone about mine either. I had been blogging for months before I ever even mentioned it to my husband. I figured he would think it was stupid. And he kind of does. lol The only other people I know personally that know about it is one runner friend and my sister. Everyone else is just people I've met through their blogs and through comments. It's really cool how well you get to know people through the blogging community. Stick around--you'll see!

We should TOTALLY meet up in St. Louie!