Well I had quite the weekend that just passed. I am in the final weeks of my training for the Niagara Falls marathon!! I only have 1 more long run and then a decrease in the distance and then its race day!! Saturday I had to do 19 miles (my longest run in almost a year actually) I found it quite easy to prepare for the run which was delightful! I knew I had to do it, and I knew that hydrating and fueling is so important on these runs. I always have a few "go to" things in preparation for a long run. I get up and eat a little bit of oatmeal not only to fuel the run but to take away the empty stomach rumbling that I normally wake up with! I like to lay my stuff out on the counter so I can visualize the fuel and set the distance for when I will take each of them. This run's fuel was a bit different however my experiment seemed to pay off. I grabbed my GU for miles 4, and 16 and then I had a powerbar that I planned to eat half of at mile 8 and then the other half at 12. The thinking behind this was to gain a bit more energy in the middle of the run so my body would have more to pull from later in the higher miles. I also did my best to drink as much as possible the day before the run, I think I got a gallon and some which is GREAT!! The run was great it started out with a nice easy 2 miles alone at 4:30am on the north shore that was beautifully lite by the full moon! It was incredible and then I was joined by the rest of my running friends for 15 miles and then did the last 2 alone again and it was perfect! I felt so strong, so fresh, and really good! I haven't felt like that after a long run in awhile. God truly kept me feeling this way!
So having such a great run on Saturday led me to entering into a sprint triathlon on Sunday morning. I didn't know if I would participate in it because of how I might feel after my run but honestly as I walked around saturday afternoon I didn't even feel like I had ran so I knew the Tri was gonna happen. I was excited to do this triathlon, it was only my 3rd triathlon and every time I race I get more excited and fall in love all over again with it! I was even able to get a new personal record on my time in completing it! I was of course slow out of the water (I'm working on this) but I knew the bike course and I was able to regain ground on the bike and pull ahead of a number of people! The run was good..... I am really learning my body, there is a difficulty in knowing how much you can push on the bike to still have energy to run. It takes me a long time to get my running rhythm down where my legs don't feel like jello or noodles after I get off my bike. I know in time my body will learn how to adjust quicker than the first mile of the run. However it was a great race I felt again strong...well as strong as I could for swimming, cycling, and running! I was caught off guard by the race director and was given a very VALUABLE piece of information that I will not forget in my next races. He told me I wasn't smiling or looking happy when he saw me in the transition area. I know there are lots of reasons for this, focus being the main one, just tuning everything and everyone out and just doing what I need to do at that time. However I know that I race for a higher purpose and I don't have the same attitude that everyone else does so I need to be careful in the future to race with the Joy of the Lord shining through me! Although someone might thing how can you smile when you swim 1/2 mile, bike 14 miles, and run 3 miles??!! Well its possible and not only at the end of the race but during it! I do know there were moments when I couldn't stop smiling because I was feeling so alive and just loving the gift God has given me in this way!
