Sunday, June 6, 2010

ADK Run




I was happy to have a new route to run this past Saturday, for the second weekend in a row. I went from the beach to the mountains, as we were visiting Mike's Mom for the weekend at their home in the Adirondacks. Usually when I run up there, it's in a state campground along the lake next to the house. I like it because it's woodsy, hilly, and beautiful. Although sometimes I get spooked that a bear is going to come charging out of the woods to eat me, and campfire smoke isn't the greatest when you're sucking in air, but if I get the chance to run, I go.

I planned a ten mile run on Saturday, it looked like it was going to rain for a while, so I tested my favorite theory, if you want the sun to come out, leave the sunglasses at home. And it worked. This was the first time I was bringing water on a long run, as well as a Clif Shot Gel in raspberry. Usually after six miles I'm ready for water, and this was only the second time I brought gel on a run, I'm testing out how they work on my stomach, and so far so good. I think it's funny how all the times I've done long runs, (Boilermaker, my half marathon) I've made due with Powerade and water. So this is a new ballgame for me.



Mike drove me to the bottom of their street, which is a steep hill, I would have blown out my legs before I had even started if I ran down to the main road. I've walked down, as well as up (one night I walked home with Jeannine from the bar....but that's another story) but running is different. Off I went, right away I saw I was running an 8:50 pace, so I slowed down to a 10 minute mile. Went through town, and onto a bike path, it was hot when the sun came out, but the breeze did a great job of keeping me cool.

I got to the point where I planned to turn around, at a Donut shop that has THE BEST sugar and plain donuts. Kept sipping my water, and when I had hills, I ran them around an 11:30 minute pace. I planned on taking the energy gel at mile six, and the next time I checked G-Unit, it was 6.3 miles in. So I sucked it down, the flavor was decent, but I wasn't thrilled with how warm it was. At the eight mile mark I saw Mike coming down the road in the Jeep, I told him I had two miles left, so I ran up to the golf course and back to finish it off. Ended with a 1:45 for 10 miles. Averaged a 10:16 pace, which I was happy with, because even after the hills, I had energy left, and my stomach didn't explode from the gel.

My next race is the Boilermaker, it's a month away and I'm planning on being better about my diet until then. I've been "splurging" a bit too much lately, especially since Mike came home with pretzel M&M's. As if I needed a new chocolate candy to covet. I'm also going to start taking Isotonix this week, the multi-vitamin and opc-3. Mike's co-worker gave me a bottle of each to try out, he swears by it so we'll see how that goes.

Note my pathetic attempt at including an elevation chart of my run from Garmin. Mike did something with my laptop security settings last weekend, so I resorted to putting it in as a photo. Along with a photo of the two of us last night after dinner, right before I fell asleep with Eliza in her bed at 9:30. Yup, it was a wild Saturday night in the Adirondacks.

15 comments:

Rob said...

Moll - this is a great photo of you (and Mikey too)- your eyes are open!! Great run!!

Liz Mays said...

I can see why the change in scenery would be wonderful when running.

Do tell me about these pretzel M&M's!

J said...

Running in the Adirondacks is awesome! Sounds like a great time! I can't believe the Boilermaker is a month away! I gotta start doing some longer runs!

ajh said...

Sounds like a good run. I'm not good with the gels either and plan to do some experimenting. Good luck!

Unknown said...

Sounds like a great run! I love the Clif products. I am thinking that they may be better for my tummy than GU. Try some nuun for your hydration!!
Cute photo too!!

Unknown said...

Pretzel m&M's? That's bad news if they come to Columbus! :)

Great job on that run. That profile looks brutal!

Suzy said...

It sounds like you had a great and hilly run!! Some gels taste better warm (banana) and some are horrible. I'm bummed I can't do the boilermaker this year...maybe another time. Have a great week!

Nicki said...

Love those new location runs.

Right now, I am staying in E Syracuse the night before the Boilermaker. Maybe we can get together. I'll try to remember closer to the race.

I love the elevation charts. Have yet to get a Garmin but try to find them because sometimes I look at where I run and think - "People need to see the elevations"

Johann said...

Nice run! I experiment a lot with gels and other stuff on training runs. Definitely worth it.

Big Daddy Diesel said...

How fun, new route, new gels, new toy with garmin, though I am a little jealous how yours makes the a smoother read outs.

Steel Springs said...

Great job on the run! I'm glad that the gel didn't bother you. I think it's fun to try out new things on my long runs.

N.D. said...

I love doing new routes - it's so refreshing and I feel like an explorer!

Unknown said...

I love running hills - even in the Adirondacks. I get such a feeling of power from finishing them.

Watching nutrition before a race is so important. You'll have to let us know how the changes go.

Jill said...

Awww, I love that picture of you two :). Sounds like a great run, hills and all. I've never been to the Adirondacks, one year I'm definitely getting out there! Nice job on the run, yay!!!

Mark said...

Seriously slacker, I mean... work in some hills next time, will you?! You didn't say whether you actually stopped for the donut at the turnaround. After this run, Boilermaker will seem like a walk in the park.