Training Update

Yesterday I went out on the most glorious day we've had in a long time. It was THAT great, but when you're dealt lemons, you have to make lemonade. So glorious it was.

It was supposed to be a 14 miles (22.5km) run but it ended up being a 15 miles run. Instead of my Fuel Belt, I decided to try the Camelback again, but this time I only filled it with the amount of water that I actually needed, about 750ml instead of 2.2L. Felt nice and light. Because it's hard to clean, I use water in the Camelback, so I brought 2 gels, which I first poured in a gel bottle. Another thing I tried was to use Vaseline on my feet. Lately, I noticed that I have a small recurring blister on one of my toes and also that when I run for a long time, my feet seem to macerate a bit (you know when some of the skin turn a bit white). This can lead to blisters. So I put a nice coat of Vaseline on both feet before putting my Injinji socks. 

From Running

Call me silly, but I think the Injinji socks look great. Anyway, my feet looked perfect after 24km. During my 50 Miler, I will reapply and change my socks after each loop, which are 20km so I should be golden.

I felt REALLY good on that run. The first and last miles, leading to the trail, are a pain in the ass because of the traffic lights but after that it's pretty good. It was nice enough that I could wear my running hat without losing an ear. I also wore actual road shoes, my Nike LunarTrainer, which I hadn't used for months.

I stopped every 8 km and walked for 3 minutes while I ate and drank. I'm not usually a walker. When I used to go for a run with the running room, the walks drove me nuts. During the Toronto Marathon, I ditched the pace bunny because he walked the aid stations. But I have to be realistic: running 50 miles in trails, non stop, just ain't gonna happen. So I'm practicing my run/walk. I felt like I could have run all day. I was right on my slow-poke 50 miler pace (5:40/km while running) and my HR was at 65% (of reserve). I had a couple of episodes where I had to make a conscious effort to not go after other runners, but I controlled myself and just kept going.

The gels were ok, but it was still Winter and I had a hard time sucking the gel out of the bottle because its viscosity had increased because of the cold. I might try to pre-dilute half-half in water, or keep the bottle close to my body. Not sure yet.

The run wasn't so long that nutrition was an issue, but the water+gel combo didn't cause me any issue. The thing with gels is to make sure I drink enough or else it just sits there and I've felt nauseous one or two times.

I had ten dollars on me, so I finished my run ... in front of the beer store. Bought me a six pack of Labatt Blue and it was the perfect end to a great run.