The Things I Carried

I ran 19 miles this morning--I'm pretty sure it's the 13th time I have ran 19 miles. And I'm finally getting faster! I averaged 9:35 miles, which is a great improvement from the 16:00 minute miles I was turning out when I was 8 months pregnant. I am crazy.

It's tough and slow getting in shape after giving birth--and choosing marathon training as the means of getting into shape may have been a bit ambitious. But I'm having a great time and its a team effort so far. Sol will watch Finley on long runs and sometimes if its a shorter run, Victoria will take him and I'll take the dogs. And sometime I take Finley. It's complicated.

This is what fueled my run. I ate some Oatmeal Squares on the way to the trail and brought the Nalgene as a back up water source. The cute pink bottle is my new favorite--I have two so that I always have one ready to take with me on the run. And, they are dishwasher safe.

I bought a "fuel belt" yesterday, which is a euphemism for "fanny pack". I don't buy many runner-y items--sometimes I feel like an amatuer when I see other runners with their fancy clothes and water systems and what not. But I finally broke down and bought the fuel belt to carry my phone, key and snacks. And I'm so glad I did! No more trying to shove a bunch of stuff into the one teeny pocket of my shorts. I love the fuel belt.

And I have a new favorite snack to eat while running. I used to only eat GU which is GROSS. But now there are all sorts of things you can take to keep your energy up. My new favorite is the GU Chomps. They are really tasty and easy to eat. Today I had Blueberry Pomegranate. Seriously tasty. I want some right now, in fact. I also ate some Sport Beans and some yucky Power Bar Gel. Pretty much just a whole lot of sugar, but it does the trick.

I'm excited for the marathon. I know my time will be slow slow, but it's the first step in hopefully getting a qualifying time for Boston. I'm currently looking for one to run in April. Any suggestions?