Sticky, Sweet, & A Little Overdressed

Ran the full Scenic 10 course again this morning, and finished in 1:44:18 (I finished in 1:41:45 last time), which is a little disappointing but I was definitely feeling like I’m in a slump, so it’s pretty good for a slump.

I also used gel shots before and during the run to see if those would help my performance. I think they really did help me keep going — it’s conceivable that I would have been even slower or not finished 10 miles at all if I’d not eaten (? not “drank,” surely — maybe just “sucked down”) the gel shots. My energy level sagged quite a bit at several points, but within 10 minutes of taking that second shot, I was starting to feel peppier. Amazing what 100 calories of carbohydrate can do for you, even as you’re burning off 1200+ calories.

So I’ll use those in the race, I think.

Figured out yesterday that my tensor fascia lata muscle (it’s right in the middle of the hip) is more of a problem than my iliotibial band is now, so I focused on warming that up and stretching it out beforehand, which seemed to make a big difference. My hip’s not hurting nearly as much as I was worried it would.

This is getting exciting! The race is only two weeks away, and I have about eight more runs to do before then. I’m not expecting to make much progress between now and the race, especially since I plan to taper in the last few days. So basically I’m at the training level I’ll be at for the race. And that’s a little scary as I don’t feel comfortable running 10 miles, but I guess feeling comfortable would be kind of a luxury.

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