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Thursday, July 29, 2010

Good Morning!

And happy long-run day, haha!
Thanks for all the sweet comments and congrats yesterday on our anniversary. I also loved all the comments about married vs. single life and the special aspects of each. I can relate to all of those, on both sides! Looking back at my wedding pics reminded me that I wanted to do a few posts on my wedding - I was on a very strict budget, both of time and money, yet I pulled off a unique wedding for under $8000 total. This included every single dime we spent, from the rings to the reception. The average New Orleans wedding costs $36,500 (the national average is about $30000) so I feel pretty good about cost. I might put up some posts on saving money without stressing out. If I can get my act together :)
Yesterday the hus surprised me with this Mignon Faget cuff: I love it but I wish he'd quit getting me extravagant gifts when all I gave him was a leftover Christmas card with the verse crossed out and my own message written inside.

So, my long run: I resolutely set the alarm for 5 am this morning, then I checked the weather and saw that it was 90 degrees with 90% humidity basically from 3 am to 7 am. What's the point of even getting out of bed? I ended up getting on the road at a little past 6, maybe 6:10. It was already warm and super muggy, but I was prepared this time: I brought Cliff shot blocks (which are pricey, geez, over $2.50, good thing there are 2 servings in there), gatorade, and a little baggie of sea salt and potassium tablets. I was going to compound my own capsules, but I didn't have time to swing by Castellon pharmacy and pick up some empty capsules. Sometimes I like to play pharmacist.
This run went ok. I was feeling slow and sluggish from the start and I had "heavy legs". This is because yesterday I tried a new workout as my cross train day, and I whomped my thighs.* Plus I forgot my compression hose yesterday at work. But really it was ok; I have super sore stiff quads now but I got through my run well and even picked up the pace for the last few miles. I was a lot slower altogether compared to last week, but I think part of that is my chosen route: going up and down St Charles ave a few times during commuter hours is slow going - lots of traffic turning in front of you and lots of lights. I also had some longer walk breaks because it takes a freaking long time to chew those shot blocks; I tried running and chewing and it was making me queasy so I canned that idea. I had 3 shot blocks and about 13 ounces of gatorade, plus 90 mg of potassium and a highly exact pinch of salt.
My shot blocks review:
Good:
-More portable for spaced calories - you can eat 33 calories at a time instead of trying to squeeze out small portions of GU, then run holding an open GU pack.
-Kind of like eating candy! Yummy!
-Nice, healthy ingredients (I mean, as far as fake foods go).
-It was a pleasant change to chew something instead of swallowing gel.
Bad:
-I could feel them in my stomach, but take that with a grain of salt because I get sick to my stomach a lot when I run.
-After eating them I felt like brushing my teeth for the rest of the run.
Have you tried shot blocks? What's your running fuel?
*If you're wondering, it wasn't some awesome thigh workout. It was a Women's Day ab workout, and I was obviously doing everything wrong since my abs feel fine and my thighs hurt!

8 comments:

  1. Happy belated anniversary! I'm a GU gel user, but I think everyone is different and must find what works for them.

    You asked about Annapolis--I never write race reports (other than my blog) so I don't have one to give you. But I tell you a few things about it--the first 1/2 is relatively flat; the second half, not! It's really scenic and has a great post-race party. If you are into race swag, that is always good too. I highly recommend it!

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  2. hi gracie! so nice to find you! NOLA! love it! my husband was born there and we are HUUUUGE saints fans!!! i whisked him away to florida though :) love your blog! now a follower!

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  3. http://twolittlesists.blogspot.com/2010/07/fashion-inspiration-new-orleans.html

    you might like this post :)

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  4. I was pretty happy with the Shot Blocks last week. I have a thing of Gu Chomps for this week and then my testing is complete and I'll have to go get some more of whatever I decide worked the best!

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  5. Misszippy - thanks, now I'm really tempted!
    Sist and sist - nice to have ya ;-)
    Abbi - I have a Gu chomps sample but I haven't tried them yet. The sample size is only 50 calories so I'd have to bring back up fuel or die on St Charles ave.

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  6. I fuel with gatorade and then I take Gu's about once every 6 miles or so? So approximately once an hour (I am way slower than you!) I can only stomach the vanilla ones, though... Any other flavor makes me so queasy!

    Well done on the long run. Always a good feelign to check another one off. I am doing a 15 miler on Sunday. Wish me luck!

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  7. I once took ONLY shot bloks on a 16-miler. It was not my finest moment :S Now I take GU every 4-6 miles, I need to stock up on more GU's this weekend actually!

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  8. Your hubby sounds awesome! Can't wait to hear more about budgeting without stressing!

    You are way more of a hardcore runner than I am. I'm just in awe.

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