Well. Well. Well. Look who finally decided to show up. Yes, I'm talking about you, summer! So relieved you're finally here! Makes running a lot more pleasant. Especially when it's too warm to wear a coat, but too wet to go without. I finally picked up some sunscreen and all I was thinking was, "I better be able to use this."
This week I've been mostly focusing on increasing mileage and experimenting with new ways of hydrating during my longer runs. It's getting pretty warm on the dyke, so I don't particularly want to be passing out from heat exhaustion. Especially since I saw a BEAR there this week! Waking up to one staring at me in the face may be a bit unnerving.
One of the joys of running trail is getting the opportunity of seeing some wildlife. There I was, happily minding my own business, grooving to some M.C. Hammer, (I'm kidding. Well not really, so Shhhh...) and I see a guy on a bike come towards me at about 150 meters away. Behind him was a big black creature that darted across the path into the bushes. My first thought was, "Wow. That guy has a really freakin big dog!" Then as I got closer, and the guy on the bike passed me and his dog wasn't following. I then realized, that ain't no dog. Especially, when I looked down the bank and I saw the bear just hanging out. Black bears will generally, only chase if they are startled and see you running. However, they are rarely aggressive and predatory. Click here for more info on Black Bear running Safety. So do I walk right past him? Uh. No. (I'm crazy, not insane.) I turned around and went down the other trail that runs sort of parallel: De Boville Slough. All of the "green" and marsh surrounding this trail tends to make it a bit more humid in some parts, especially on a warmer day. A few times I was thinking, "Phew! It's like running through a hot tub here." Nevertheless, it's still a nice, easy run and a lot easier on my joints than running on pavement.
As the Frosty 50k is now only six weeks away, I have to make sure that my hydration choice is going to fly well on race day. I've used either Powerade or Gatorade in the past, but I still find I start cramping or seizing with longer, hot runs. I was recommended to try e load endurance formula. The Running Room carries it and rather than buying the larger $50 containers before trying it out first, I got some individual packets in different flavours. I tried the lemon out and it tastes like a cough candy. Kind of gross but it works! I had one of the most comfortable "non-crampy" runs in a long time. I went with 2 hydration belts as well. Yes, I looked really cool (Ha. Ha. Ha. Not.) but they did the job. I do have a Camelbak but it's really hot to wear and it slides off my shoulders. One of my belts carried a large bottle that I had my eload in and the other had 2 small bottles of water which was more than enough for me. Unfortunately, about 5 kilometers in, my water already tasted like it was thrown in the microwave for 2 minutes. The bonus of carrying two belts is that you can carry more with you. It weighs me down a bit but as I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm a bit of a turtle while running anyway, so it doesn't really matter much.
As I don't have a Garmin (yes, I know - I'm totally in the dark ages), I wanted to find another way to track my runs. I do have a Nike+ Sport Watch but it's limited in it's functionality and I have to attach a sensor to my shoe. Instead, I downloaded the free Android app from MapMyRun to my cell phone. After installing it, I turned it on and away I went to use it. When I got back home, I saved it and it automatically uploaded it to the website. It will also post on Facebook as well if you don't turn the share mode off. I didn't really want people knowing where I live, so I did just that. It tracked exactly where I went, the mileage, time and elevation. You can also go to the website and post extras about your run such as how you felt, where the run was (road, trail, treadmill, etc) and the weather. The best part was that it didn't suck my battery dry either. I still want a Garmin, but for now - this works just fine!
Over the next few weeks, I'll be mostly focusing on building mileage and cross training on my "off days" which so far has been swimming, biking and weights. The time on my feet, is by far the most important thing at the moment if I want to be able to get through the ultra next month! I just hope the sun decides to stay and I didn't buy all that sunscreen for nothing. Thanks for reading.
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