Running progress - week 2

I'm getting there. During the past week I lost another pound and cranked my longest run up to 10.5 miles, with an extra 1.5 miles of walking at the end. I'll just keep trying to add for a few more weeks. Five and a half weeks until the race.

Getting ready to go for my long runs is quite the effort. I realized that it was somewhere between an assault on Everest and a woman packing for a spa weekend with friends. I'll leave it to you to figure out which has more things to bring. I decided it actually needed to go on the blog.

First the things that are required before walking out the door.



We have:

• Sunscreen for the face and back of the neck. The sun here is 50% stronger here than at sea level and two hours in it would be a lot.
• Runner Glide for the inner thighs to keep from chafing. I would think that my skinny little thighs wouldn't have this problem, but I guess there is a lot of friction when you rub your thighs together 10,000 times on a long run.
• Car keys for traveling. Why drive when you can run out the front door? Right now my knees are a definite weak spot. The doctor said something about "yadda yadda stop running forever yadda yadda". I didn't catch all the details. So, I can either run fast, or long, or hills, but right now, no combinations. Everywhere around us is hugely hilly, so I drive about 3-4 miles to find some flatter turf.

On to the actual running garb.

• A 24 ounce water bottle that has a strap to grab your hand. It makes it less work to carry it all that way.
  
• Two 10 ounce water bottles that go on the little hip belt. I don't have places to refill, so I should probably be carrying the other 2 10 ouncers that go on the belt.
• The belt, for water and all my other crap.
• Clif Shot Bloks for energy. These serve the same purpose as power gels, but they are much more pleasant, like square gummy bears. I don't start hitting these until my runs get around 8-10 miles.
• A wrist strap from RoadID. It has my name, address, phone, emergency contact, blood type, and NKA (no known allergies). If you run, hike, bike or whatever, you should wear something like this in case of an accident. They are inexpensive and last forever. http://www.roadid.com
  
• A very light, airy hat for sun protection.
• A wash cloth. I sweat like a pig when I run and I like to try and keep some of it out of my eyes.
• An iPhone to provide music and call for help when I run too far from home. Haven't had to do that in a few years, but it did happen running to Wake Forest one day. Thanks Julie!
• Headphones with good ear grabbers so they don't get flushed out in a sweat torrent.
• A ForeRunner GPS watch. Sometimes I use the iPhone for tracking my progress, but the watch is more accurate and easier to check as I run.
• A heart rate monitoring chest strap that talks to the watch. I almost never use this, but I was getting it out for something else and decided to strap it on. The results were different than I expected, but that is for a future blog post as I learn more.

You would think that is enough, but I also have two supplies for the post-run.

• I simply can't stay hydrated with what I can carry, so I get back to the truck and down 32 ounces of water.
• Then the ice pack goes on the knees. Sucks to get old.
  

I see some of the other runners go by with just an iPod Nano and some headphones. I'm just hoping they are doing a 3-4 mile run and nothing more.

Maybe I should just get one of those kid strollers, load it with all my supplies and push it along. That might not work for the Jupiter Peak run though.