I just finished my long run of the week, just 10 miles, but it was third consecutive day of running so I wasn’t sure how I’d feel, especially after last week’s 10 mile run that left me out of myself for most of the day. It was the perfect run. I got to listen to the author of Do Hard Things, few quotes that really resonated with me
You want to be good? DO HARD THING. I am true believer that nobody is born with so much talent to win all the time.
When other asked him how can you possible do that? His answer: I have a secret weapon, work hard! hahah….. I’d say the same whoever asks me about crazy things I do.
Why I do things that seem so daunting and challenging? Because I want to push myself to the limit of agony and see if I can push through it. This is the perfection description of my feeling toward running long distances! 😀 Thank you!
Back to my run.
I was supposed to run on Sunday but we have a night outing planned and my poor sleep might lead another poor run, so I did it on Saturday instead. I run through a 0.75 miles path, back and forth countless loops. Did I find it boring? not at all because I was enjoying the breeze, the shade, access to water and fuel, and the running podcast. My target pace was 10:15-11 min/mile, really easy run. But I felt so good that I was running sub-10 min/mile for the first two miles. I had to slowdown to make it truly easy. That’s the beauty of having a plan, so I don’t burn myself, and get the benefits of long easy runs. To pace myself, I had my watch set up to show HR. Whenever It went above 145 bpm, I’d slow down a bit more. At the last mile, I ignored the watch and run as I felt. Overall, I averaged 10:15 min/mile, on the dot!
Fueling strategy: I usually run fasted up to half marathon distance but I know I need to train my stomach as I go through the training process, to get used to digest fuel. Last week’s gel didn’t sit well. Today I tried eating half of Ucan bar after 6 miles. It didn’t bother me at all, and the last 4 miles felt as fresh as the first 6! It seems to work! 😀
I am so energetic after the run that I went groceries shopping with hubby, and plan to practice golf while Sofia takes her lesson.
This is the feeling that pulls me to running over and over again! 😆
Let me leave you with the pic of Lizzy after Friday’s morning run, with our friend moon paw 🙂
Our New Journey 
I remember when I was training for marathons, the fueling part was something I spent a lot of time thinking about and researching. I never really liked the gels too much either- they seemed to upset my stomach. For my full marathon, I wore a running fanny pack and I broke pretzels into little pieces, along with some gummy bear candies. The combination of the salty pretzels and the sugary gummy bears did the trick for me! Neither one caused stomach issues for me, and the carbs gave me the boost of energy I needed. I had read about that combo in a running magazine and tried it. I also spent a lot of time on running forums reading about what other people tried and what worked for others. It seems like something that is very personal. I also used to run big loops and would leave water parked by my car, so I could just run by and drink water instead of having to carry it with me. So many things to consider when marathon training. I didn’t really like that part- I found it a little overwhelming! The shorter distances are definitely more simple. But it’s cool to train for the long ones, too.
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